Ending a vacation is always hard. We've all been there. Starting back to school, work, and routine after a nice break. Walking into a musty house (either too hot or freezing), an empty fridge (full of the few rotten remnants you ran out of time to handle before leaving), and having to get everything jump started again. For the first time or two, your own bed and shower don't really feel like your own. You move a little less quickly in the kitchen, as if you've forgotten where to find a cup. Yes, we've all been there. It's been so pleasant to not have a schedule, not have to get up early and make lunches and send kids out the door. With the exception of a few critical things like when the movie is or what time Blue Pumpkin closes, I have spent the entire trip unaware of the time. Or the day. Or heck, even the year.
True, some of the logistics at home will be easier, thanks to our didi's help. The house will be spotless, food in the fridge, dinner on the table. Christmas decorations will be put away. Flowers will be fresh. I can dump our mountain of laundry in a pile and it will get cleaned, ironed, and sorted. That part is great. Really great (but you have to live in Kathmandu to get such a luxury, so go ahead and try it).[Editor's Note: We had four smiling faces upon our return. Even our guard and driver who had the day off came in just to greet us. The house was clean, our luggage was carried, laundry was started, dinner was ready, Christmas was put away, and bread was made. Yes, it felt good and made the transition a little easier.]
We couldn't have picked a more perfect place to end than Singapore. Thanks to our friends who let us camp out at their beautiful home for a few days and who were willing to shuttle us around the island and explore with us, we ended on a great note. The best part for me, the most therapeutic was the green space. We did hit one mall for a little bit, and I got to see a movie I really wanted to see (Sarah's Key--I loved the book and the movie was great too) but mostly we just spent time outside. We did a tree top canopy walk. We did most of the Southern Ridges walk, which is an unexplainable, incomparable, urban walk with interesting and beautiful spots along the way. At the end of it, we took a really cool cable car down to Sentosa Island and had a fabulous time at a beach that was so surreal I felt like we were on the set of The Truman Show or something. It was gorgeous, spotless, perfect for families, uncrowded, pristine sand, and quite surreal. Yesterday we took a boat out to Pulau Ubin, which was just on Yahoo's list of 10 most secret islands. Minutes from modern Singapore's hustle and bustle is this completely undeveloped island full of sheer beauty. We rented bikes, which was quite experience, and our group of 4 adults, 7 children, and one fetus (no, not mine, don't panic), pedaled all around the island. I didn't look as great as Julia Roberts with her flowing sundress on her bike through Bali in Eat, Pray, Love, but I felt like her. I rode my first tandem bike with Yared on the back (his best quote of his was, "Mom,the best thing about this bike is it keeps moving even when I stop pedaling!" Addie rode behind Chris so happy you would have thought we were on a train or something. You could have filmed a commercial of us, that's how perfect it was. We fortunately avoided any falls or road rash, though we did get separated from our friends and felt really bad as they had it much more rough than we did for a while. Of all the things I miss sometimes from either America or Sydney, more than food, fresh edible produce, tap water, (I won't bore you with the rest of the list), the biggest thing is green space. I miss being able to go on a walk, sit in a park, go for a bike ride, and ultimately breathe clean air. To be able to do all of those things for a few days was absolutely wonderful beyond explanation. Oh, and the Singapore airport is seriously the kind of place that you really hope your flight gets delayed so you can hang out there as long as possible. Fortunately ours did. Numerous gardens (orchid, cactus, sunflower, etc.), huge screens with various things showing, free foot massages, large children's playgrounds, hands-on displays, free Internet everywhere, free VOIP call stations, fish ponds full of koi, rubbing tables for the kids, spotless bathrooms with toilet paper and a dedicated warm water sink and towels, free games and kiosks and just cool stuff everywhere. I have seen my share of airports, and this is the winner. Want to travel with kids? Do it just to spend time at the Singapore airport.
Now, off to home sweet home Kathmandu. Let's just say there won't be any airport Wii or K'nect stations waiting to greet us on arrival. Just a whole lot of real life...
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