out of kingdom

Sà-wàd-dee-kâ from Thailand.

Our third leg of the trip took us to Phuket Island, Thailand. Even though we’ve been to Thailand three times now, we never go anyplace except Phuket. Why?

Because Phuket is like one of those favorite meals at a good restaurant. And even though there might be other tasty things on the menu, you can never stray away from your tried and true favorite. So while I have heard there are many gorgeous provinces in Thailand, we always come back to Phuket. The weather, the beaches, the food, and the people are so vacation perfect in every way. An excellent end to our Far East adventure.

No Murphy holiday is complete without seeing this face at least a couple of times.

 

Phuket beaches are the best.

 

The recipe for a tropical paradise – soft sand, cool breezes, and warm water. 

 

Our hotel was built right up against this waterfall.

 

And another spectacular lazy river.

 

…With some excellent slides. Olivia must have went on it 25 times.

 

Even a private grotto pool and our very own slide.

 

The hotel infinity pool with the million dollar view to the sea. And notice the weather. So hard to believe it’s December.

 

Tiger Prawns are the specialty here, and we indulged every chance we could.

 

Sisters in a peaceful moment of “not fighting.”

 

The cruise was also fun. Lots of deck parties to attend.

 

Fun shows with famous characters and…

 

Even celebrity sightings.

 

Ice skating in the middle of the ocean was a thrill for us. And they made it snow…

 

The waiters totally understood kids. Olivia ordered a “Blood Soda” and the waiter brought her a “Shirley Temple” which is what she meant to say.

 

The best part of my trip was getting to spend a whole day with my dear friend Lek who flew to Singapore just to see us. 💖

 

Indulging in our Star Wars obsession.

 

We are such nerds.

 

No White Christmas for us this year, but I think we survived.

 

One last plunge into the cave dive pool…

 

Goodbye…until next time. สวัสดี ค่ะ Thailand – you are one of our favorites.

 

 

It’s no secret that I am not a country girl. I was raised in Orange County, California which is probably one of the least agrarian places in America, and I have had very little exposure to real animals. And so, while I like animals on television, close encounters with actual animals makes me very nervous.

Well Batu Caves is teeming with, you guessed it, roaming gangs of wild monkeys. In order to reach the temple you must climb 272 steep steps while feral monkeys scamper all around you and under feet.

 

See the scary eyes narrowing…

 

Getting into his monkey attack stance just before he screamed right in my face.

 

Ebola!

“Selamat Datang” – from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Batu Caves built in 1871 and consisting of 3 temples honoring Lord Murugan (the War God), Lord Hanuman (the Monkey God), and Lord Ganesha (the Elephant God) is one of the most famous landmarks in Asia. Rising hundreds of meters high on a side of a limestone mountain reaching towards a majestic cave, this 272 step temple is the most holy place for Hindus in Malaysia.

Even though we were warned that we would be greeted by birds, monkeys, and possibly even bats, I was unprepared for the sheer number of wild animals everywhere.

It was very crowded because there was an Indian Festival going on with lots of music and festive outfits.

 

The temple honoring the Elephant God Lord Ganesha is very ornate and brightly painted upon every square inch.

 

Brian refused to go inside afraid he wouldn’t be able to find his shoes afterwards.

The start of the 272 step climb to the Batu Cave temple.

 

Some worshippers prostrate themselves climbing the journey on their knees.

 

And the very aggressive monkeys everywhere who snatch food and whatever else right out of your hands.

 

Paige loved the raucousness of it all. The screeching birds, shrieking monkeys, the music and drums along with the praying, chanting and smoking incense was a sensory overload.

 

This is the entrance to the caves and another temple inside. We decided to forgo the forehead blessing since its made of saffron, sandalwood, and cow dung.

 

There are multitudes of bats flying around inside and unknown substances dripping on our heads from the ceiling. I lasted about 30 seconds in here. 

 

Olivia found a friend on our tour of the Royal Selangor Pewter Factory and Museum, the worlds largest pewter maker on the planet. Notice how excited Paige and Grace are to visit the factory.

 

For being the largest pewter maker in the world, Royal Selangor has only one factory and it’s remarkably small and old school.

 

Artisans create impressive pieces in pewter and silver mostly by hand.

 

The original Money Tree. This is one of the first forms of currency. When you wanted to buy something, you broke off one of the branches.

 

A replica of the famous Petronas Twin Towers in pewter.

 

Paige so hoping there was alcohol in this, but it’s 100+, a local Malaysian drink similar to Gatorade but carbonated.

 

Grace amusing herself in the museum by making funny faces surprising the other tourists.

 

Olivia amusing herself as only 5 year olds can.

 

The Petronas Twin Towers. Even though it no longer the world’s tallest building, it’s still really cool.

 

And it’s not made of glass like you might think. Because Malaysia’s so hot, It’s actually mainly made of steel, so the occupants won’t be cooked by the sun.

 

And some famous Malaysian culinary offerings- Chicken Curry, Turmeric and Ginger Fried Chicken, and my favorite was the Flying Pancakes. I ate my weight in those.

 

Even though Kuala Lumpur is very modern, there are little pockets of charming vintage parks around the city…next to high tech electronic billboards.

 

The view of the city from the Kuala Lumpur Tower, Southeast Asia’s highest tower. When it’s not a tourist attraction, KL Tower is a giant TV antenna.

 

Olivia frightened of the Malaysia Mask Man, even though it’s just a cut out.

 

 

Singapore – Day 3:
Anyone who has ever been to Aquatica would be hard pressed to consider Adventure Cove an actual water park.

Why? Well mainly because there isn’t a pool here that seems deeper than 5 feet and the most death defying ride (if you can call it that) is a 4 foot rope that you climb to ring a bell, and then if you are brave enough, jump to your possible death into a.. kiddie pool.

Kind of depressing that Santa weighs less than me, but I give him an ‘A’ for effort.

 

Best Lazy River ever!

 

Paige and I on the Aquarium portion of the Lazy River.

 

They even had a snorkel pool, and Olivia was a champ snorkeling for the first time.

 

What they did not spend on scary rides, was more than made up for on everything else.

 

China Town which sadly, we really didn’t have time to explore in depth.

 

This temple is not just for looks. People come and worship here all the time.

 

We didn’t know until it was too late that our Christmas Lights Tour required all of us to don Christmas hats. In the end, we just went with it.

 

Don’t they look cute? And yes, we went all over town like this.

 

Christmas Light Show…awesome in every way. These towers actually collect rain water during the non-holiday season.

 

These lights were all expertly choreographed to Christmas music and wonderful in every way.

 

My family getting comfortable and enjoying the amazing show…all except my littlest elf who is playing on her Itouch. Argh..every single trip, at least one of our kids does this.

 

Merry Christmas! I do love Christmas lights.

 

Olivia who is turning into an avid little photographer and looks like a naughty elf here.

 

Either she or one of the kids took this shot. Pretty good eh?

 

Window shopping on Orchard Street and admiring the Christmas Decorations.

 

This is white and yellow corn flavored ice cream, which I liked and of course, Brian did not.

 

No matter what country we are in, there’s always room for ice cream.

 

Christmas through the eyes of your kids is priceless and magical.

 

Goodbye for now Singapore, we loved visiting you. Now onto the second leg of our Far East Tour. We’ll see you back in 5 days!

 

 

So my friend Laura Brophy Gordon (whom I suspect is secretly Asian) recommended that I try the Tose for breakfast. And while I was totally game for it, I became forestalled by my personal kryptonite – Dim Sum.

For those of you who don’t know, Dim Sum are small plates of heaven served for breakfast in Asian countries similar to Tapas, but mainly consisting of dumplings and other indescribable goodness.

I ordered so much food, we needed almost another table (it’s that FOMO thing again). But this time my entire family descended like locusts and a meal that should have taken a leisurely 2 hours was completed in a record breaking 32 minutes. I don’t even have any good pictures because they ate the damn dumplings so fast that I had to put down my camera for fear of not getting any myself.

We love how so many places are fully decked out in Christmas finery everywhere we go.

 

I can barely take the picture fast enough before my greedy family snatches up the Dim Sum.

 

P-O-R-K dumplings…indescribably good. My family ate 24 of these alone.

 

My kids cracked up at the scrubs uniform and face masks. Clearly food is serious business here in Singapore.

 

 

Singapore Universal Studios is probably one of the best amusement parks we have ever been to…and that’s saying a lot since we have lived in both California and Florida, and I even worked at Disney for a time.

First, the attractions and decor are top notch and equivalent to anything Disney has to offer. Secondly, the Singaporeans hate the sun so there are sun shades and fans everywhere. Third, unlike Saudi Arabia, everyone here is unfailingly polite and courteous, happy to queue properly without pushing, shoving, or cutting. Tons of trees and mosquito free, this park is ideal for families with attractions and shows for every age level. We spent the entire day enjoying some of the most fun and nausea inducing rides imagined.

Singapore is not only super efficient, it’s also super cool. Even escalators are special here.

 

And the Christmas decorations are crazy beautiful. Actually almost everything is beautiful here. Notice the Muslim lady in the corner. That headdress and sunglasses…so love her look.

 

I hated the movies but loved this ride.

 

Olivia is very excited to get the Lion. She kept singing the Katy Perry song, “and you’re gonna hear me roar,” the entire time.

 

Brian found his mini me.

 

The girls getting ready to ride one of the gazillion roller coasters.

 

Look! A picture of me. Proof I was here.

 

And no cheeseburgers at this Food Court. This is Laksa (curry noodle soup), with coconut water, and dragon fruit. Brian had Dinosaur chicken nuggets.

 

And possibly the single worst ride ever! This is basically a Ferris Wheel cage that takes 12 minutes to load, makes 4 revolutions that lasts about 17 seconds, and takes another 12 minutes to unload before you can be released.

 

This was one of the best moments of the entire day…magically snow started falling. We were all entranced.

 

Poor Brian! He is always the pack mule on these adventures.

 

Hawkers Market. This is Olivia’s face when I told her she could order whatever she wanted, and Brian’s face when I added “no matter how much it costs.”

 

We did drop some serious money here, but who can blame me? So many yummy things to eat, and our stomachs only so big.

 

And notice how clean all the food stalls are. Paige left her wallet on the table and a waiter ran us down to return it to her. We really love the people here.

 

Hainanese Chicken Rice.

 

Shrimp and Pork Wonton with homemade egg noodles.

 

Roasted Duck and Pork Belly.

 

BBQ Stingray and Chili Crab which my friendMarissa Ilagan recommended, and I tried. It was super messy and totally ruined my manicure, but completely worth it.

 

Olivia hailing a taxi on the very clean streets of Singapore…

 

To see some old friends. I won’t give anything away but I will say the it’s as good as it always was. Han Solo, you had me at “Hello”.

 

And living up to the Murphy motto, “Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.” Once again, we were the last ones standing leaving the deserted mall at 1:30 am.

 

 

So for Christmas this year, the Murphys are traveling to the Far East, and our first stop is Singapore!

Our first impression of Singapore is one of tropical lushness, pristine cleanliness, and a humidity level comparable to Florida. The temperature here is balmy but pleasant ranging from 80-95 degrees.

Even though the flight itself is only 7 hours, our entire trip counting layovers, customs, passport control etc. was a grueling 12 hours. Thus, our first day on the ground was spent recovering from jet lag and enjoying our resort hotel and of course, room service.

Even though Singapore is a small island that has a very large Muslim population, the country is very progressive and seems to appreciate some pretty risqué art.

 

Everywhere are larger than life statues of human forms in various states of undress. This is from our hotel lobby.

 

Look! An ATM that dispenses gold bullions.

 

The fabulous hotel pool that we could not get enough of. This is the view from our balcony.

 

And the same view at night, which is even more spectacular than during the daytime.

 

Black Pepper Crab – a specialty of Singapore.

 

And some crazy weird desserts. Brian would not touch this, but it was actually quite good.

 

 

Corfu-beautiful Greek island where we were perfectly happy to see practically nothing. Due to the short time we were allowed onshore, and our propensity for sleeping in, there was not much time to do much. Add to that, no planned excursions, and it was basically a day of blissful loitering. We saw the Old Fort and that was about it. The highlight of the day for us was the lunch. We ❤️Greek food!! Seriously Good Eating!

The entrance to the Old Fort at Corfu. We eventually climbed all the way to the top of that Lighthouse.

 

No wonder people love Greece-it’s so pretty everywhere you look.

 

Brian-the world traveler burdened with all his kids’ and wife’s stuff.

 

Getting ready to climb the thousands of steps to the lighthouse.

 

I am smiling here, but that’s because I don’t realize yet how long the walk up to the top is.

 

We were sweating buckets by the time we got to the top.

 

Olivia is a trooper. No stroller for her on this holiday.

 

But the view is so worth it…almost .

 

Grace is so happy to have a friend to go on vacation with.

 

Yep-the water is really this blue.

 

My favorite part…the taverna overlooking the sea…and an ice cold drink.

 

Olivia’s favorite part. She actually ate all of this, and did not throw up.

 

Here is my lunch…really the Best meal to date!!!

 

 

Brian’s lunch!

 

I have no idea what this is-some kind of fried cheese and honey combo with cucumbers and olives. Sounds gross right? But it’s actually incredibly delicious!

 

 

“Greece” is the Word! Unbelievably, the city of Athens looks a lot like…Detroit: full of cars, smog, and graffiti. Due to the rain, lots of tourists were deterred from site seeing, and the place was not wall to wall people. As always, we hired a private driver to take us around and again that turned out to be a great decision.

First, we climbed the Acropolis even though it was drizzling. When we got to the top Zeus must have been smiling upon us, because the rains dried up, and the clouds cleared away. The Acropolis was really fabulous, and I highly recommend it.

It’s drizzling and slippery to get to the top.

 

Europeans are so matter of fact about safety. I love how fatal death drops only have a piece of string to warn you of the danger.

 

Traveler’s Tip-Do not wear cute “Greek” sandals to climb the Acropolis-they are worthless against the slippery marble.

 

Unlike what you actually see on TV, the marble is not white. It’s very yellow.

 

So far the Greeks have spent over 100 million Euros to renovate this. And those cranes have been present inside the temple for over 50 years.

 

Olivia blithely ignoring one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

 

The views are spectacular, but see the city behind? You can imagine how crowded Athens must be.

 

Changing of the Guard-fascinating and weird at the same time.

 

Olivia asked, “Are they wearing elf shoes?”

 

Horsing around and shopping a bit.

 

Olivia running amok – really! Where are her parents?

 

The Temple of Zeus. Usually it’s very crowded but the gray skies made all the sites nice and open.

 

So lovely…

 

An homage to Paige who taught Olivia this pose for so many of our family pictures. Thanks honey!

 

Goodbye Athens! You are a lovely country with excellent food.

Have you ever heard of Montenegro? Well, its a small seaport city located near Arendale and a favorite vacation spot for Anna and Elsa. Hah-just kidding-but it might as well have been true for all I knew about this country; which was pathetically little. I won’t give you a history lesson. You can look it up on Wikipedia, but I will tell you that even though the newly named country of Montenegro is only 9 years old, it’s actually been around for centuries – and is absolutely medieval. A small fully walled city perched upon a mountain overlooking the Mediterranean complete with castles, fortresses monasteries, moats, and even cannons. We packed our time here with a private boat tour, a visit to a splendid island church, afternoon drinks overlooking the Mediterranean, and a dip into the Adriatic Sea.

Montenegro-a fairy tale country if there ever was one.

 

We had a private boat tour with friends.

 

Olivia loved having free roam of the boat. The kids sat in the front the entire time enjoying the sun and sea.

 

Hundreds of churches built on the sea front, the mountainsides, and even islands everywhere.

 

This church took 200 years to build and every rock had to be rowed out to the island.

 

Ornately painted ceilings.

 

The church is still in use today.

 

Unlike other sites, you can get really close to and actually touch their exhibits.

 

We spent the afternoon leisurely enjoying drinks with our friends.

 

Coca cola – Montenegro style.

 

And of course Grace found the only ice cream shop in the village.

 

Olivia who is getting great at taking pictures.

 

Clock towers are everywhere.

 

Our view from the boat is too magnificent.

 

The kids jumping into the Adriatic Sea from our boat.

 

This water was very salty and cold but that did not deter Olivia one bit.

 

What’s more fun than going on vacation with your parents? Going with your Math teacher. Bruce Cooke organized this fantastic excursion for all of us and even Grace admitted she loved it.

 

Inside the walled city of Kotar.

 

How gorgeous is this?