Asia, Alaska, Alive

Isn't it funny that once you return from a trip, it seems like it never happened and you never left? But then you look back over your pictures and realize that these memories that are so crisp in your mind did indeed happen. I always love looking at my pictures once I get home and reflecting on everything that my five senses took in. So intense in the moment, and so much to take in.


{Did they really expect me to sleep on the 14 hour plane ride when this was my view out the window? This was in Alaska}

Asia was my seventh, and final continent to visit. It was a big one on my bucket list and I feel excited to be able to now cross it off. To be honest, I didn't have much of a desire to go to Asia, partly because I don't like crowds. And I'm not a huge fan of big cities.



However, despite these two things, I enjoyed every moment and LOVED the diversity between all the countries visited. And the people. They were all delightful. The countries visited included: Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, China and Japan. And a few days on the cruise ship as well.


First impressions of Singapore: super clean. They have ten million laws about not being able to smoke, chew gum, pee on streets, spit and so forth. And the consequences are pretty severe so people don't do so. I would move there just because I hate gum.


The architecture was incredible. My fave was the three buildings with the ship on top. There's a pool up there apparently. Also cool at night, but I think I already posted a photo on that.


I knew nothing about Singapore but learned a lot. Their population consists of Indians, Chinese, Malay (the original fishing village people) and.. okay, I forget the last group. But such a huge diversity of different cultures all fused together, along with different religions.


Did you know that the person whose image is portrayed most in the world is Buddha? Given that each temple seems to have at least 100 different Buddha statues in different shapes and sizes, that makes sense. World religions have always intrigued me, because they are so tied into culture and when you look at each one, there are nuggets of truth, but along the way, it strayed and distorted that truth into something else. Watching people in the temples worshiping and praying was interesting. And sad. At one point, I wanted to yell "He's dead. Worship the living, victorious, risen Christ!"


I consider myself an adventurous person concerning food, but some things make my stomach turn. Like going to the wet market and seeing the frogs, turtles and eels people were picking to later kill and eat. Ribbit ribbit.


And oh the gardens! I had always heard that Singapore had amazing gardens. We went to the National Orchid Gardens and they were absolutely stunning. Dozens upon dozens of different species and colors of orchids. I didn't know they were so beautiful. I took about a bazillion photos, but decided to just post one to give you an idea. If you want to see more, check out my fb album. What an incredible reminder of what an incredible Creator we serve. Who made so many different orchids for us to enjoy and to reflect His glory and beauty. Incredible.


And crazy spiky plants were cool too. So linear. And I'm sure there's a better name for them, but I like my name.


We stayed at the Raffles Hotel and it was fantastic. Historic and famous, and huge. Was fun to walk around and explore all the stores and restaurants attached.

After two days in Singapore, we boarded our cruise ship where more adventures awaited us and many new friends. Stay tuned for some photos from Thailand.