Spring Break to End All Spring Breaks

Left Salatiga amidst a torrential downpour. Spent the first night in Yogya as our plane left at 7:00 in the morning. Arrived in Singapore mid-morning and were all a bit taken aback by the bright lights and startling efficiency of the city. All of the escalators were in working order, the bathrooms were clean, the trains came when they said they would, signs indicated where to go and what to do and how much to pay and there was no crowd of hawkers with promises of cheap taxis and gaudy trinkets to fend off. I will admit it was a bit shocking after seven months in the free-for-all of humanity that is Indonesia. Once we got used to it however, the creepy, bizarre quasi-fascist aspect of life in Singapore became more visible. There are signs everywhere to watch your belonging, throw out your trash, keep an eye on your neighbor. There is a super friendly ad campaign running which is aimed at reinforcing all of the rules on the public transit system. These three heavily made-up women in bright taffeta party dresses vamp their way through video reminders at every station platform to remind you to allow the passengers to disembark before you get on the train, not to litter or chew gum, etc. Backed up of course by the ever present transit police in serious uniforms, on patrol for anyone trying to sneak a sip out of their water bottle. It was a bit like being in movie Brazil and I found it oddly comforting. I don’t know what that says about me.

We stayed in Little India which was great fun, super lively and very much a neighborhood. The weekend we were there was the World Cricket Championships and every night the cafes were packed to overflowing with cricket fans all cheering to a single television over the bar. Ate some of the most amazing food imaginable. And cheap! Singapore has these hawker markets which are a bit like food courts except that they are in neighborhoods and the food there is fresh and clean and so good – lots of great Indian, curry puffs, biryani, probably the best butter chicken I’ve ever had, traditional Chinese with roast duck, chili crab, fish head soup and this thing called carrot cake that did not resemble a cake in any way shape or form, nor did it appear to contain carrots but it was really good.

And we did do other things besides eat – we walked all over the city which is really wonderful -- new, funky architecture mixed in seamlessly with colonial British buildings, went to a couple museums and about a dozen different malls which isn’t hard because everything is a mall, saw the Lion King (finally!), spent an entire day at the Universal Studio’s theme park, and another with our friend Ash in Chinatown. We met Ash over Christmas on our boat trip from Flores to Lombok. He was traveling with his friend Peter with whom he plays in a band in London. Both are young and hip and were incredibly lovely to Seamus in particular who was by that time pretty much done with his parents and all of the other middle aged Europeans on the trip. Ash spent his high school years in Singapore at boarding school and was a wonderful tour guide and companion for the afternoon.

We loved Singapore but four days was about right. While it is fun to explore, the essence of it seems to be the transfer of wealth. Every mall had a Gucci and Louis Vuitton. Boutique restaurants are on every corner and the common pastime is shopping. It is a lovely city, wonderfully laid out with lots of green space and public parks, but the action is in the malls which for our family had a limited appeal. We did our best but even Seamus wore out on it after a bit and that is saying something.

Left Singapore for Phuket where we hopped a cab to the southernmost tip of the peninsula. The resort we stayed at was great – at the end of a dead end road with neat, simple Thai style cabins that went up the hillside into the jungle. We were put at the tippy-top (I think to distance us the noisy family from the honeymooners) but it was great and felt much like sleeping in a tree house surrounded by jungle and vines and wild birds. Great fun for mom and dad who needed a little R & R after Singapore and thoroughly enjoyed drinking white wine on the deck and reading their books, not so exciting for Seamus and Graham who could have used a little more action. Still we swam in the ocean every day, rented bikes, the place had a great pool, and we worked on our tans which in all honesty are mostly pink and peely. Ate dinner every night at the beach side café about 100 yards down the road with no complaints. Fresh fruit juices, pad thai, great seafood and curries every night. The place we stayed was great but it may be, from what we saw, the only not grotesquely overly developed place left in Phuket. As long as we stayed at our hotel, we were fine, but to wander too far was to surround yourself with large sun-burnt Australian men with tiny Thai ‘girlfriends’, tattoo parlors, trinket shops and happy-hour specials. We got what we needed which was a respite between cities but to see the area properly, one would need to expend considerably more energy than we did.

Next destination: Bangkok and it did not disappoint. I remember loving when Kirk and I spent a week there 20 years ago and found it as fabulous as ever although our accommodations were much nicer this time. For some reason which I still don’t understand we were upgraded to the most gorgeous suite at our hotel, complete with espresso machine, soak tub, three television sets, teak panels and silk walls throughout and a lovely view of the park and city scape. Kirk was occupied with his conference most of the time so the kids and I took our little sky train maps and set off to explore the city. Visited 9 temples in three days, the Grand Palace, countless markets, rode the water taxis, and (you should sense a theme developing here) ate the most amazing food!!! Bangkok has the best street food of any place I have ever visited and we tried it all. We learned that pad thai is best when cooked over charcoal and that if you can say hello and thank you in the local language, you will get better service.



Fulbright was very generous with us and included the kids and me in the dinners and evening activities where we met some great people. This was particularly satisfying as Seamus and Graham got a crash course in Southeast Asian politics and geography because everyone they met was doing amazing work and very happy to share -- from water purifiers in Cambodia to tics in the northern Thailand to Burmese refugees on the Malasian border. To a one, they were incredibly patient and welcoming to the myriad of questions Seamus and Graham were throwing at them. At one point, I went to check on Seamus who was discussing with two grantees whether, when the time comes, he should take his Fulbright in Vietnam or Cambodia. Totally made me laugh. The final night of the conference, Fulbright hosted a dinner at the Grand Palace where, under a full moon, we were treated to traditional Thai dancing, food, and hands-on art activities.

Both kids have become really great travellers. They are never worried about being lost or confused. The sorts of travel problems that would have sent our family into a full-fledged tailspin at the start of this year just don’t seem to bother them anymore. They can hold their own in a nice restaurant (ok barely, but they can) or chow down on street food with ease. Seamus never seems to have any hesitation in meeting new people and making new friends, even if they don’t speak the same language. Our friend Katie once described this as the ‘VIP room that is Seamus’ life’ and apparently it recognizes no borders. The day we went the market in Bangkok’s Chinatown was particularly impressive. The place was packed so we agreed on a meeting place since we knew we would inevitably get separated. Every time I came upon Seamus he would be chatting it up with some shop keeper, two or three locals trying to translate his questions, little old ladies foisting tastes of this or that on him, one guy giving him his family history, another serenading him with Elvis tunes once he learned Seamus was from the US!



The year has been long for the kids, both of them, it has. And they both claim to be homesick for Bozeman and their friends and they hate Indonesia and they hate their school and they can’t wait to get back, but when I see them in action, when they are in their element, I know that this year is making a difference in their lives, even if I don’t know how just quite yet.

Ended the trip with a one-day transit lay-over in Kuala Lumpur. Because of the flight schedule, we could not get home in one day so we were going to have to stay overnight in either Jakarta or KL. Kids chose KL to add another stamp to their passports. KL was a bit of a disappointment. Reminds me a bit of downtown Denver, lots of tall buildings and lots of splash but when you get up close, there’s really not much to it. We were mercifully saved by Colleen and Ken, another great Fulbright family spending the year in Malaysia with their three kids. They are living in a high-rise in KL and provided some badly needed normalcy time after a very high energy 10 days. Have not decided what to do with Spring Break 2012 but this one is going to be tough to top.