I have neglected my blog. This was a habit started over twenty years ago, right before I moved for college in Chicago. As college wound down, my penned thoughts metamorphosized to track my burgeoning interest in wine, then, after we moved to Sydney, evolved further to capture primarily in pictures the breathtaking surf and golden beaches of Australia. Since moving back to Singapore, though, my enthusiasm for lugging around heavy DSLR and lenses fizzled, and with it, my diligence in keeping this photography blog updated.

Not to say we have been sitting idle. I write this while sprawled on a king-sized bed in a wooden hut that opens right out to the ocean. The salty sea breeze tickles my face with my stray strands of hair even as it slaps waves against the wooden posts of our over water hut.

Last night, as we were drifting off to sleep, the sky exploded with fireworks. One mile directly across from us was the sister beach resort to our private island, and they were playing host to a large group of 40 Dutch fathers and daughters from an international school in Singapore for a weekend of bonding. The minute display fireworks was part of that experience. We were glad we weren’t stuck on the island with a horde of rambunctious kids and drunk dads (we took the same ferry over), but it was a lovely touch.

Later in the night, I woke up multiple times, not used to the strong whirl of fan overhead or the ever changing sounds of the ocean tides. Each time, I padded the three steps out to our balcony and sank into one of the 3 lounge chairs. It was calming to peer up at the dark sky, watch the clouds part to reveal the multitude of stars. We will miss this when we move – this heat and humidity; the sticky sweat that beads up on your skin mere minutes after stepping out of a lukewarm shower; and the sweet, relieving breeze that envelopes you at random moments.

Some people say the best time to plan for another vacation is when you’re on one. Can’t say I disagree, as I’m lying on the bed and looking out at the clouds rolling overhead, and plotting if we can squeeze in one more tropical island vacation this year, this time maybe in the clear waters of Raja Ampat, or Gili Islands, for some diving, snorkeling and paddle boarding. For another few nights of languidly watching the lapping waves clad in just our tees and shorts and flip flops.

Fingers crossed. 

But it’s been a great year so far, travel wise. We started it off with a working holiday in Melbourne, where I pulled stupid hours across different time zones – worth it though since we managed to catch a few days of the Australian Open. On that trip, we spent a beautiful week in Mornington Peninsula too, and got in some light paddle boarding, walks along its stunning eastern cliffs, and partook in some delicious wines and an epic Sri Lankan meal that we can’t stop telling everyone about. 

In February, we took advantage of the Chinese New Year holidays to steal to Tokyo and Nagano for some quality and cheap sushi, and skiing without crowds.

Also in February, a long weekend to Anilao with a couple of my coworkers to dive. Highlights of that trip: a cheeky little octopus whom I batted about a shell with, and a tornado of spawning Jacks. 

And in March, we spent a week in Seattle, where I worked during the week and used the weekends and evenings to explore our future home base and look for neighborhoods that we want to make our own. After, Jeff went to visit his parents in New York, while I flew south to Vegas for my company conference and tacked on a day to visit Death Valley.

We stayed in Singapore in April, to take a bit of break from the travelling. But I got antsy before too long, and we booked in a long weekend trip to Taiwan to visit with C who has just relocated. I worked during the days, but we had delicious meals at night and on the weekend, we booked a driver to take us to and around Taichung.