June 2024 - Page 2 of 2 - Letterbox on the Lane

Singapore – 2024

The morning after Jackson’s birthday party, we jetted off to Singapore for the long weekend!

This trip had a bit of a learning curve for us.

My plan was to stay on Sentosa island, go to Universal Studios, and also visit Legoland in neighboring Malaysia.

The first challenge was to find an affordable hotel. As it turns out, Taylor Swift was performing in Singapore this weekend. The prices of the expensive island rose considerably. I felt lucky to book a room at the Sofitel resort on Sentosa island.

The next hurdle, which I was not able to overcome was the transportation to Malaysia from Singapore. To hire a private car, the hotel quoted me $600. I found a few other private drivers, but their mornings were booked, and could only collect us after lunch. They quoted prices around $400. I also reached out to Klook to jump on a bus, but the bus departed Singapore before our flight arrived. Taking a local bus or taxi was risky, as you had to hop out of the vehicle at the border, and find another ride on the other side. I was not willing to take that risk. I ended up cancelling the trip to Legoland before we even departed Jakarta.

The flight was uneventful. I used my Grab app and booked a taxi to the hotel. Here I made a rookie mistake. I did not get Singapore dollars from an ATM and I did not look into getting a Singapore SIM card.

It was a bit of a challenge to find the taxi pickup point, but we eventually connected with our taxi and were on our way.

As I mentioned, we were staying on Sentosa island. The island is quite small and popular, so there are schemes to reduce the number of cars on the island. If you don’t have proof of a hotel reservation (or other documentation that you should be on the island), then you must pay a fee. I went to pull up the hotel confirmation on my phone, and discovered that I had no data. This caused me quite a bit of stress until I found the email was available on my phone without data.

One crisis averted.

Next up, we arrive at the hotel, and the driver wants paid in cash. I advised that I booked through the app. My balance should be billed. I can pay by credit card. (Remember – I did not stop for cash at the airport!)

He was irritated with me. He pointed out that the app showed I had to pay him cash. He suggested I speak with the concierge of the hotel. Perhaps they could pay, and then bill my room. The hotel was filled with Swifties attempting to check in and check out – the concierge was not happy with me. He checked with the hotel manager, who was slammed with lines of customers – and told the concierge to just deal with me. The concierge pulled out his wallet and paid my taxi bill with his own money. This vacation was really off to a rocky start.

It doesn’t get much better. When I booked the room, check-in was at 3pm, but my ‘package’ promised an early check-in, if available. I attempted to check in around 1pm, and was advised that they were still checking guests out, and could not possibly check anyone in yet. At this point, I was regretting not booking the afternoon transport to Legoland. Jackson and I had lunch at the hotel, we lounged by the pool with tropical drinks. We checked back in with the front desk several times, and finally, at 5pm, our room was ready. I was REALLY agitated, but was trying to show outward calm, to set a good example for Jackson. This was hard.

We went for a swim and had $36 chicken tenders from the poolside bar for dinner, as the food was just exorbitantly expensive. I cringed when he said he was still hungry and asked for more.

The next day, we headed to Universal Studios. It was quite easy to get there from the hotel. We walked down the driveway and out to the main road to catch a shuttle bus. We then had to catch a tram to the park. It was a bit of walking, but really not too bad.

I had already purchased the tickets online but was not able to buy the fast passes. I bought them at a kiosk outside of the park and we finally headed in. Our spirits were high, we were ready for an adventure. We found that it was quite a small park. Some rides cautioned that they were not suitable for all ‘body sizes’, so I assumed that meant me. We skipped those rides – such as the Revenge of the Mummy ride. We rode others and had a lovely time. The lines were short, and there was absolutely no need for the fast passes. Then, the clouds burst open and it started pouring down rain. We bought ponchos and went inside a restaurant for lunch. We had ramen, chicken nuggets, and fresh fruit. The rain cleared so we wandered a bit more, until I got sick to my stomach and I just wanted to go ‘home’. We made a dash back to the hotel. Walking quickly to the tram, and then finding the shuttle bus. We stopped at all the stops on the way. My tummy was raging. By the time we got to our stop, it was pouring rain. With our ponchos on, we splashed through the puddles to get up to the hotel and to our room. This was par for the course on this less than perfect adventure.

I couldn’t justify spending $60 on chicken nuggets again, so I worked on my Grab app, updated it to a Singapore account, and ordered burgers from Shake Shack. (This update also allowed me to book a taxi back to the airport and be able to pay for it!!!)

On our last morning, I was concerned about going out into town and not being able to call a taxi to get back to the hotel or to the airport, so we hung out at the hotel. We enjoyed the amazing hotel breakfast, went for a swim, put our feet into the fish pond and allowed the fish to nibble our feet, and then we followed two peacocks around. It was actually a really nice, relaxed morning…full of discovery.

Many colleagues in Jakarta enjoy getting away to Singapore, but we do not feel an urgent need to go back.

CELEBRATE, LIFE, PARTY

Minecraft 10th Birthday party – 2024

Birthday Party setup — Let the fun begin!

Jackson turned 10 this year – double digits!! After much deliberation, he decided that he wanted a Minecraft party and so I got started with the planning.

Creating games and activities that stayed on theme, but also had elements of math, science, and art was quite a challenge – but in the end, I was quite happy – and so were the kids.

The party was scheduled after school on a Friday – so we had a pizza party. When the kids arrived, they were each given a personalized VIP all access pass and then selected the toppings that they wanted on their individual pizzas. The kids ran around for a bit as their pizzas cooked and then after our bellies were full, we started with the activities.

Kids decoding an encrypted clue — Deciphering the encrypted clue

Activity 1: Mining: Geocaching/Scavenger Hunt

This one was a challenge! I wanted a geocaching hunt, but I was unable to set the coordinates for each cache, with enough accuracy for the kids to find them. I tried lots of apps and re-set coordinates a few times before deciding to focus on the ‘hints’, and to scrap the coordinates part of the activity. I encrypted each hint using the classic substitution cipher to make it bit more challenging.

It was dark and pouring down rain. We were all running around outside in the rain, trying to find the clue to the next cache, which held the clue to the next one. In the midst of all this madness, we discovered that one of the clues was missing! I’m not sure whether the wind/rain blew it away or whether it was the ‘suspicious looking’ older kids that watched me hide them! I ended up telling the kids where to go next. Most of the kids were really engaged and enjoyed this activity. (especially finding a clue in the locked ice cream cooler and frantically asking the venue staff to unlock the cooler so that they could reach their next clue!) I had two that were totally not into it.

The last clue led us to a ‘diamond’. It was actually an egg-shaped ball of tissue paper filled with candy and treats. We played a quick game of ‘pass the parcel’ before sitting down for an art project.

Activity 2: Dyeing: Painting creeper and pigs pixelated/graphs

Earlier in the week, Jackson and I painted 12×12 square canvases with a background of green for creepers and pink for pigs, and created grid marks with chalk. I got the idea from Pinterest.

At the party, the kids used a pattern to color in the grids using different hues and shades. This was a bit messy, and the kids could really be creative. Everyone seemed to enjoy this activity, and they all took their canvases home.

We sang Happy Birthday and had cake and ice cream before moving on to the final activity.

Activity 3: Hunting: Nighttime swimming with a bouncy slide!

It was dark and the rain had stopped. I threw inflated cows and pigs into the pool, and the kids had to ‘hunt’ for them. They were supposed to pose for a picture with the Instax camera when they caught their ‘meat’, but it was too dark. And the kids were having too much fun! They got to swim for about an hour before the pool closed.

I’m glad that I decided to use an outside venue to host, so that I could enjoy more of the party. It worked out great. I was so happy to have a few extra hands to help. I did have to pack up all of my party decorations and supplies and drag them home, but otherwise, they did all of the cleanup.

The kids took home party bags with 3x3x1 Rubic’s cubes, pickaxe pencils, Minecraft vinyl stickers, ring pops, licorice TNT, their canvases, and their VIP name tags/lanyards. I had also planned for them to take a few instant photos of themselves enjoying the party, but they just did not turn out.

The party was a success! And a week or two later, a mom randomly approached me and said they were at the venue the night of the party. She said our party looked like so much fun, that now her son also wants a Minecraft party!!

Cub Scouts, LIFE, TRAVEL

Cub Scout Camping – Caldera – February 2024

Our second camping trip of the Scout year found us back at Caldera Adventure River Resort in Citarik: https://calderaindonesia.com, about a three-hour drive outside of Jakarta. We started our journey at 5:30am, and we broke up the trip with a pit stop at a Starbucks along the way.

According to my standards, we were not glamping this time. Actual tents on the ground, but they did have mattresses and electric cords supplied. And the tents were put up for us prior to our arrival…so some may call that glamping!! It was so damp. Everything felt wet…including the mattresses and bedding.

This camping trip really stretched our comfort zones, and Jackson and I agreed that we would not do any more camping after this.

The day started with a ‘baby’ hike that ‘anyone’ could do. I even asked in advance about the challenge level, and if there was an ‘out’, should I decide not to continue. I was assured that it was an easy hike and I could just turn back if it became too much. After hiking up the mountain in 90-degree temperatures, I could feel myself getting overheated. (It was my own fault – I was ill-prepared. We did not bring water bottles, had not had breakfast, etc.) I was ready to turn back. I was confident that Jackson could make it to the end, but I was not confident that he could make it with ease, so I had him return with me. At this point, we were in the middle of the rice terraces. The guide brought in two others on motorbikes, and Jackson and I were ferried back to camp on the backs of the motorbikes. This was both terrifying and exhilarating. We later learned that the hike finished with the scouts climbing a near vertical hill to get out of the rice terraces, clutching at roots to pull themselves up!! (It was after this that we agreed that camping was not for us!!)

Next up was the river rafting. Jackson joined the group, while I sat out and continued to calm my nerves. He had a blast! This is his favorite part of camping at Caldera. While they were out, the sunny skies turned black and then opened up on us. We were in for a wet weekend!

Altoids tin filled with Band-Aids and Neosporin — I had to pull out the first aid kit, and bandage up a Boy Scout.

We managed to learn some new things and worked on our adventures. The Webelos worked on Into the Woods and some of the activities for the World Conservation Award. It was pouring cats and dogs at dinner time. Working on the Castaway adventure, the goal was for the kids to make two recipes without using pots/pans. The plan was for them to build a fire and cook pizza breads in foil and hard-boiled eggs in paper cups over their fire. The rain put a damper on the kids starting a fire to cook their food, so we attempted to make the pizzas on a camp stove. Although the pizza breads were wrapped in heavy duty foil, the blast from the camp stove was too much. The foil melted and the pizza tasted like fuel. Luckily, there were enough hot dogs for everyone!

There was enough of a pause in the rain that we did have a bonfire after dinner – and as the Caldera Team was setting up the bonfire, the Webelos set out to build a fire without matches. It was amazing to watch as they each took turns using cotton balls and string, toilet paper rolls, a flint and striker, and magnesium to light their own fires! After safely extinguishing the Webelos fires, we joined the group and enjoyed s’mores, watched the Boy Scouts perform a few skits, and then performed our own.

Thankfully, Jackson was exhausted and was able to fall asleep. I lay in the sweltering damp tent, thinking about the large spider the size of my hand that I saw in the dining hut and the 12-inch centipede that was in the bathroom and sent Facebook messages to my dad, complaining about the day. He told me “sounds like you are making memories!”. Dad was right. I tried to look at it from that point of view and tried to get some rest.

The next day, it was still raining. Everyone was ready to go home. We were standing by in hopes of getting cleared to do the Flying Fox (zipline). It was not to be, so we packed up camp and headed home – hot, wet, muddy, exhausted – memories made.