Elephants, diving and Singapore, oh my!

The 4th of July is around the corner,  but oddly the U.S. Embassy Kuala Lumpur celebrations have all come and gone.  First time I've worked for the federal government, and there is literally nothing to do on the anniversary of the nation's (and Charlotte's) birth!  Sigh.

                                                                                                     But that does not mean life is boring!

Craig and I had our second pool lesson to get certified for SCUBA and are heading to Redang Island on Friday for our open water dives.  Word is things get more challenging in the ocean!

Last weekend, we travelled just outside KL to see the elephant sanctuary and then to Singapore.

The poor elephants, like so much wildlife here, have lost much of their habitat to the palm plantations.  

It's hard to say if they are happier entertaining the likes of us,

but getting up close enough to look deeply into the eyes of an elephant was pretty amazing.  She had really long lashes! 

Of course Craig had fun on a different level...

                                     Singapore is so close but completely different from Malaysia...

                                                                             Sidewalks.  Singapore has very nice, wide, even sidewalks where Malaysian sidewalks are quirky in many ways. Our KL sidewalks come and go, sometimes cracking away or offering precipitous drops to the street; and the scariest are smooth tile stretches that resemble ice after a rainstorm...

 

... and taxis.  Singaporeean taxis are high-end, well-maintained cars with drivers in uniform that are well-spoken and talkative. Malaysian taxis are charmingly small and a bit rickety with drivers who don't know the name of our street but always respond to "Proton shop Ampang?" with a quick nod and "Yes yes yes"...

... and motorbikes.  Malaysian streets and highways offer up unending streams and rivulets of motorbikes weaving between cars, along shoulders, dicing apart lanes of traffic.  Driving is a new kind of video game.  At first you just sense something seems so calm in Singapore, then you realize there are really only cars on the road, no motorbikes !

We visited the giant biodomes at the Gardens by the Bay, and checked out a huge succulent garden and Baobab, olive, and palm trees growing inside.

Seeing the Singapore Embassy and meeting my boss and his team at the regional medical office was also a treat.  But best of all, we saw Craig's new ENT, who after a quick scope assured us his tongue still looks great.  Next up is the big CT neck and chest scan in December !!!

  

              Before we knew it, we were back to our "normal" life of tennis lessons, video making...

                    ...and household effects receiving for Craig and managing the health unit for me.


My new running buddy left for a Honduras this week, and our social sponsors, my boss and his wife, and many others are leaving in the next two weeks.  Such is the life cycle of a US Embassy !!!  The transition season is in full swing and underlines how nice it is that we are together!