It had been a few years since we’ve gone back to Asia due to the pandemic. Despite the busyness of packing up the house and getting ready for our move, we decided it was important to go back and see family. E and Y went straight to S’pore while Mommy would spend a few days in TW first and then meet them in SG.

All ready for the super long flight… SD->SF->SG.

And like 20 hours later, they landed!

They got in super early in the morning so they decided to have breakfast and use the lounges to clean up before heading home.

Huge vat of laksa.

It was their first time to see Jewel, the new terminal at Changi. It was most impressive!

Daddy just had to stop by the Apple store at the airport.

Uno with Mama (Grandma) upon arrival. :)

Morning papaya. Mommy would be jelly.

Ice kacang with the cousins… refreshment from the heat/humidity.

And Udders — owned by Daddy’s friends.

Along with other desserts…

A kabocha pic to send to Mommy. They’re kind of small?

Singaporeans like ‘dem eggs soft boiled.

Pillow fight/fort making.

With a human sandwich break. :)

More (non-airport) laksa…

Curry puffs and soft-boiled egg (peppered!).

Thinking back to the sweetest golden kiwis that we consumed daily in NZ.

Arcade time!

Lucky first try @ the country club claw machine.

Grandma’s renowned orchids. She has one named after her.

Bot waiters.

Early Christmas gift.

Pinocchio at the theatre.

Hehe, an Asian Pinocchio. :)

Grape juice? Hrmmm…

Doraemon special exhibit at the National Museum of Singapore.

Church at KKMC.

Uncle Jonathan!

Early Christmas present opened. ;-P

Teamwork!

Xander’s b-day party at the cc club’s pools.

Pristine (and huge) swim area.

No wonder cc memberships cost an arm and a leg in SG.

Find E & A hiding.

Happy 10th birthday, X!

They all dried off and continued to play in the indoor playground…

Daddy’s beloved liver, kidney and all the innards… ;-)

Chillin’ @ the cousins’.

And their pool…

All the keuh’s.

We have one in SoCal now, in Costa Mesa. Have yet to go.

Known for their XLB’s.

Especially the colored ones!

Mommy left less than a day later. SD->SF->TPE.

Uncle Dan (Mommy’s bro) lives by all the good food places in Taipei.

Any bitter melon fans? And gimme all the kabocha!

Every soy milk flavor imaginable.

Picked up some Chinese Pokemon packs for E. Supposedly they are authentic?

Food, food, food everywhere!

Had fun browsing Don Don Donki. Found out later this is also popular in SG. They are open 24/7.

Dad and sis. :)

Christmas bunnies? Interesting…

Daddy would’ve loved these cinnamon rolls.

Def looked better than Cinnabon!

A little SG in TW. :) Apparently, Dan eats here at least once a week?

Eats @ Taipei Station.

7-11 culture is big here. Wished the states had the Asian style 7-11’s. Y wants to open one. :)

Loved all the cafes and eateries. Noting this flower wall as we’ll need to do landscaping again for our new place.

Matcha in love w/ the matcha!!!

Mom loved this art piece (and was inspired to later paint her own version).

Then Mommy and parents went to do i-Ride Taipei at 101, upon Dan’s suggestion. It’s essentially like the Soaring ride @ Disneyland but you get to see different sights throughout the whole country of Taiwan in a few minutes. Really enjoyed it!

Like two kids rushing to their amusement ride. ;-)

Then Mommy dragged Dan to a digital art museum. He was a bit dazed and confused. Sorry, Dan. But thanks for accompanying!

Dan makes fun of Mommy for liking this vegetarian cafeteria. He said it’s equivalent to eating at McD’s in TW. Nooooo!

Tried some sambal kangkong in TW. Not bad. But soon will have more in SG!

Back at Mommy’s fave place in the whole wide world – Taro King!

Gotta say, the quality seems to have gone down a bit and it tasted sweeter than before? Or maybe my sugar levels have become more sensitive, hehe.

In front of the hotel Mommy’s other bro got married at.

Walked around the area a bit…

Christmas decorations were out.

At parents’ fave hot pot place.

Someone had ice cream first. :D And gave the evil eye, lol.

Parents go so much they had all these extra freebies.

Shrimp were so large!

They gave us extra seafood, too…

Stayed at Hotel Gracery for a few nights. It was a great location, right by a MRT stop.

Grace at Gracery. :))

Strolled through a few parks…

A legit bird whisperer. They were following him! My mom attempted to get said birds to follow her and it didn’t quite work out.

Went to check out the Hive, one of Dan’s co-working spaces.

His little cubby hole.

It had a modern industrial aesthetic.

Dan’s desk.

Put Glo to work, haha. ;)

Then went back to stay a few nights @ Mommy’s parents’ place, which is also in Taipei but further north, close to the ocean.

Their lobby is pretty grand.

Library.

European style gate.

Gameroom.

Gym.

Community room where they host events for the residents.

Dan helped Mommy find some kombucha. She was going into withdrawal. J/K. But it’s pretty scarce in TW.

All the drinks!

Neighborhood market shopping.

Dan got a u-Bike to accompany Mommy on her run. Thanks, bruh.

The little island of Bali. We biked there last time but didn’t get to go this trip.

Morning run sights.

And the fruits… omg, the tropical fruits, mmmm.

View down to the pool from my parents’ place.

We took a side trip to Yangmingshan National Park for some fresh air.

Stopped by the cutest little garden cafe driving up.

Loved all the greens and florals they planted outside.

And inside, too…

The freshest squeezed grapefruit juice.

We also had lunch up there — lots of organic veggies and more bitter melon. They were out of bamboo shoots, which they are known for, though. Bummer.

We didn’t get to do any hikes as we had Glo with us but we drove around a bit more and spotted wild monkeys.

Went to a night market… Mommy used to love these in her youth but maybe it’s just getting old, but not as fond of the crowds and bustle (热闹) now.

Walked around Tamsui Old Street (淡水老街) with Dad, Glo and Dan. Fresh coconut water + shavings is heaven! And like a tiny fraction of what they cost in SD to boot.

Street performers/buskers.

Dan needed a midnight snack. :)

Couldn’t get enough of dragon fruit/pitaya.

Days just flew by and it was time to head to SG. Last day in TW in front on my parents’ place w/ Glo waiting by my luggage, haha.

Their place is really convenient by a metro station.

It was kind of fun not driving for several days…

We had a light lunch at this resto that is one my fam’s faves before going to the airport. Oh and did I mention that Dan was coming with me to SG?

We were saving room for the lounges. The lounges in Asia (and elsewhere BUT the U.S.) are top notch.

Boss doing boss things, hehe. Ask him how many lounges he has visited… He’s traveled around the world mainly trying to hit them all up. ;-P

Next stop: S’pore!

Hello la, Singapore. :) It’s been awhile (for Mommy). Fairly short 4.5 hr flight from TW.

They all had dinner at the airport and picked up me and Dan.

Mommy was also pretty awed at the Jewel. The Christmas exhibit was very cool, with timed lights to the waterfall.

Then it started “snowing”!

Daddy can be silly anywhere.

Y’s parents backyard is just as lush and well-kept.

The koi are still alive.

Always reading in the car…

First (and one of only a few) cup of matcha in SG… Not as good as TW?

Really, upon my arrival??? Lol.

Spent the good part of a day @ the Science Centre. Y’s bro knew someone who worked there so he got us tix.

The optical illusions exhibit was neat.

Creepy.

Nicola Tesla exhibit. E did his science project on him this year.

Into the fart chamber they went.

All about poo(p).

This is like at every science museum.

Simulating a typhoon.

Looks like Lexie does not like roller coasters.

Yes, more of the world needs to know about UX design!

They loved the mirror maze.

Played outside for a little bit before we started sweating…

Biking around the neighborhood for awhile before they started sweating again. ;-P And um, Daddy, that bike is a tad too small for you.

This looks like E is driving, haha. They are right hand drive.

Woke up to daily breakfasts by the garden, prepped by the helper.

Spoiled again by all the sweet tropical fruits. A lot pricier in SG, tho.

Walked through the lit supertrees at Gardens by the Bay.

The architectural details were to be admired…

Dan met up with us and we all stopped for dinner at an indoor hawker center. Thank goodness for aircon… It was still pretty humid at night.

Singapore Flyer.

By the LV ball.

We all got to meet up w/ Mommy’s bff from h.s., Shirley, and her 4 girls. Her hubby’s fam is Singaporean so they were visiting relatives.

We went to the Art & Science Museum w/ Shir and girls.

What a unique flower building + lovely flower/pond in front.

The inside was just as well designed.

Sunflower digital exhibit.

Japanese inspired digital art.

The interactive play spaces and stations were thoughtful and fun!

Nearly missed the crystals/lights immersive experience. So glad we didn’t!

This was another exhibit on a different floor that we didn’t stop for but this figure was….um, interesting? Very detailed work. Maybe a bit too detailed, hehe.

Decided to grab lunch at the hawker center in the mall. They found the Lego x LV window display amusing.

Fish soup.

Yong tau foo.

Mommy’s kinda meal. :) First kangkong in SG.

Dan was staying in downtown and had been doing a lot of his own thing but he joined us for lunch. He loves squid.

Introduced Shir to sting ray.

Little E was able to enjoy a little nap despite all the noise in the food court.

More ice kacang.

Then all the kids were excited to go to an arcade.

Night safari! The last time we were here, E was a baby and pretty much cried the whole time. :*P

Satay snack at the safari.

Coconut for Mommy.

Great seeing animals from this side of the world.

P.U.!!!

Another biz idea for the U.S. — fresh OJ dispenser?

They all spent the night @ Y’s parents’ place (where we were staying)…

More food pix are in order. :)

Mommy got to visit with her friend Rebekah (from TX days) for a bit after lunch but we forgot to take a pic. So good to catch up!

Then we dropped off the kiddos at this Nerf play place where parents were not allowed inside… Y’s bro and wife shopped around in the mall and let Y and G go up to the top of Marina Bay Sands Hotel w/ Dan.

It was noticeably cooler and less humid up there, haha.

It was nice walking the perimeter and seeing all the different perspectives of SG.

We went all touristy and purchased the photo package. One of the (green screened) shots…

Dan had to jet so we had a bit of alone time to roam around the mall. Of course Y had to check out the Apple store by the water.

Went to the LV ball store that had a collection with SD ties.

To show E later…

Picked up the kiddos from the Nerf place and they got some bread ice cream.

Uno, to get them off devices. :)

Went to Kinokuniya to see what kind of comics/Pokemon stuff they had and ran into Shir’s fam again of all places! The cousins spotted their kids and vice versa.

Grand finale (and Thanksgiving for the “Americans” visiting) dinner was chili crab and every other kind of crab!

Y’s fave.

G prefers the plain.

Gonna miss the fruits.

They went to their beloved neighborhood prata place for last breakfast.

And also picked up some otah.

Some family photos.

Hong baos and frisbees. :D

Then it was off to the airport early for some shopping and last eats. Official Pokemon store.

‘Til next time, Jewel.

Goodbye hugs.

Thanks for coming, Uncle Dan!

Another fam pic. :)

See you soon, fave funcle.

We hung out outside as long as we could… Had like 5 mins in the lounge.

It was Mommy’s first time since the airport changed.

Again, blows away any of the U.S. lounges…

Singapore Airlines (and any Asian airline) food also much better than the U.S. airlines… And allergy friendly, too. :)

Flight wasn’t full so we got to spread out. But doesn’t beat the first class experience, hehe.

Be back lah.

Udders has a partnership w/ SG Airlines. Yay for Y’s friends.

We landed at LAX and had planned to stay a day in Marina Del Rey before heading back to SD. Early morning long run by the water for G.

Seeing family was great but gotta admit, missed running in open spaces.

Daddy and E rented a scooter to get to the bike shop to rent two bikes for them.

The hotel had adult cruiser bikes so Mommy took that one. They didn’t have kid’s bikes.

We stopped for donuts at Blue Star in Venice — remembering them from Portland.

And matcha!!! The last time we were at this chain (Cha Cha Matcha) was in LA.

Then we got on the bike path to Santa Monica.

Haven’t seen Muscle Beach in awhile. :P

A few pier stops.

Made it!

Played some of the arcade games on the boardwalk. E’s been really into arcades of late.

Another lucky first — he played against 3 girls in this game and won! Wonder if they thought surely one of them would beat this kiddo, hehe.

So happy with the prize shark.

Biked a bit more… Daddy had to hold the shark in one hand while biking. ;-P

Then biked to the infamous Erewhon to grab some lunch to bring back to the hotel. Mommy loves browsing here but yes, everything is overpriced.

Daddy found this water (and price) funny?

Our haul.

$20 sushi. :DD

Then they returned their bikes and scootered back to the hotel. (Note shark in tow).

Had lunch at the hotel, checked out and attempted to Lyft or Uber from LA to SD. The first one cancelled on us after finding out where we’re going, probably… Finally a Lyft seemed committed and arrived about 15 mins later.

Knocked out pretty quickly in the Lyft… Yes, shark beside. :)) Less than 2 hours later and about $150 (not bad!) out, we arrived at home sweet home.

First long haul trip since Covid in the books.