See Tho picked us up at the hostel and took us to dinner downtown. Dave and I shared a delicious and incredibly fresh seafood variety platter. We asked See Tho a million questions about Singapore and the variety of cultures that exist peacefully here, and he had insightful answers. We had a great conversation and really enjoyed his company.

We then drove to the northern part of Singapore to the Night Safari – a sort of wild and natural-looking zoo that you visit at night. We rode the tram part of the time, and got out to walk part of the time. It was a beautiful evening, with rain here and there that cooled things off.

The animals were so close, sometimes within a few feet of the pathway that the tram followed. They must have fed them right before we went by, because they were often all together and eating. The animals were from the Southeast Asia region, Africa, and South America, with many deer, buffalo, tigers, lions, leopards, elephants, wolves, anteaters, porcupines, hyenas, and others. There was a bat enclosure that we walked through with free-flying bats of all sizes. They were hanging upside-down eating fruit and sometimes flying. It was crazy being right among them. All of the enclosures were so natural looking that it was sometimes hard to believe the animals wouldn’t just jump over and say hi. The whole place was built in a rain forest so it looks and feels real. It was the most amazing and enjoyable zoo experience I’ve had.

See Tho returned us to the hostel at about midnight and we were so happy to see our box had been delivered by the airline! We are now set with all our gear.

After twenty-something hours and three flights (one of which was nearly 15 hours) we have arrived in Singapore! Three of our boxes made it, but one did not. That box contains Dave’s panniers packed with all his clothing and stuff, plus all the tools and spare parts for the bikes, among other things. He can’t put the bikes together without those tools, let alone ride without panniers and all the stuff to live on the road. So, we made a claim with China Airlines and we’re hoping for the best.

We were met at the airport by Knik, a friend of Dave’s parents. What a wonderful surprise, because we had lots to carry, including three big boxes. So the taxi driver backed up his van right outside the door and we hardly had to worry.

We’re at the Inn-Crowd hostel in Little India, an area of Singapore full of bright colors and the smells of spices and incense. Last night we roamed the streets for a while and ate an incredible Indian dinner. There are lots of vegetarian options here since so many Indians are vegetarians. We got to bed around ten and both slept really well.

Tonight we’re having dinner with See Tho, a colleague that Dave worked with in the Maldives. Then See Tho is taking us to see the night safari.

Dave just got off the phone with China Airlines and they say the box is on its way this afternoon. Keep your fingers crossed!

Yesterday we made piles and checked off lists, today we pack everything in panniers to see how it all fits!

We printed out our packing list to go through our piles of stuff yesterday and have come up with several changes I’ll need to post. We have a bit more in the repair bag, a couple more spares of things like foldable tires, and our clothes have changed quite a bit.

We also have ONE bag dedicated to the first aid kit, which contains several kinds of antibiotics and antimalarials in addition to the basics. I spent a lot of time with my travel doctor back in Flagstaff and got prescriptions and directions for self-treating all kinds of things, then filled the prescriptions through Walgreen’s mail-order pharmacy while I still had rockin health insurance. I paid a couple hundred dollars in co-pays for a couple thousand dollars worth of prescriptions that we’ll take to SE Asia as well as Africa in the fall. (The anti-malarial Malarone is new and by far the best in terms of side effects but costs a LOT of money, and my rosacea treatment cream for my face is absurd.) Dave compared everything to his Wilderness First Responder knowledge and books and has The Plan for all things medical.

Once we’re done packing today I’ll update the SE Asia Packing List, since there are folks already finding the page through Google. I want this site to be a useful resource in addition to a fun read.

We leave Denver on Monday night at 9:00 PM!

It’s not like we’ve been sitting on our arses doing nothing these past few weeks. But here in the last few days we find ourselves with growing to-do lists. Eek! But we’re getting after it like the two organized and efficient planners we are.

Between yesterday and today, notable checked-off items include:

• Securing lodging in Singapore for four nights – we’re looking forward to seeing the city and meeting friends of Dave’s parents and a colleague of Dave’s.
• Finalizing travel insurance – you would not believe the amount of fine print I’ve read in the last three days. I take that back, if you’re one of my close friends you are not at all surprised. What I’ve come up with is World Nomads travel insurance, which offers the best coverage for the kind of travel we do (bike touring, with some time to be spent hiking, snorkeling, and SCUBA diving) without any add-ons and at the best price by a good bit. We both feel really good about this coverage, and I’m sure Dave’s mom will sleep at least a couple hours a night as a result.
• I’ve set up my cell plan with Verizon so we can use the phone in SE Asia.
• We took pictures that I am sizing & printing out on photo paper for all our visas we’ll need. Much cheaper than paying for passport photos at AAA or elsewhere.
• Dave has completely finished all the work on both of our bikes. It’s a LOT of work, including replacing all the cables, swapping tires, replacing some of the cogs and rings, new brakes for him, new Selle An-Atomica saddles for both of us (see Dave’s saddle review and my saddle thoughts for an explanation), new rims for me, and much more. Basically, he reconditioned both bikes from top to bottom. The bikes are now ready to be boxed up and checked as luggage.
• There’s more, much more, but now I must get back to the list…

Four days to go!

Dave and I spent a week in La Crosse, Wisconsin to spend time with his family there. We stayed with his parents, Rich and Jan, in their condo on the La Crosse River. Dave’s brother, sister-in-law, and nephew drove up from Golden as well, and we all had fun playing Scrabble, ping pong, sledding, and snow shoeing. Jan cooked up a feast complete with about 50 kinds of cookies for us to chow on for the week. We all drove to Madison from La Crosse on Christmas day to visit with extended family on Rich’s side, wonderful people that I was glad to get to know a bit, and they made me feel extremely welcome. Then Dave and I stayed a couple of nights with Kris and Leslie, the couple with whom we’ll be paddling around Baranof Island in the summer. All in all it was a great week.

Now we’re talking about the last few details of our upcoming SE Asia trip: deciding on bedding, whether the cook kit is necessary, sun protection for our face & neck while wearing a helmet. Most other details are set, and the bikes only need a wee bit of tinkering since Dave has already done most of the work.

We only have two weeks of winter left, then we’ll be in the sauna of Singapore and the beaches of Malaysia soon enough.

We fly out of Denver on January 14th, and will arrive in Singapore a day and a half later. For some reason the tickets had to be paper, and I have them right here beside me. How exciting! In a month we’ll be on our way to hot and humid beaches and jungles.

Right now I’m watching it snow, the tiny flakes blowing down on a good eight inches already there. I’ve seen three vehicles from the neighborhood drive by with skis on top. I guess everyone wants to skip Friday at work for the powder.

I’ve never been on a vacation where I escaped the cold winter to a warm beach. Will I like the sound of waves from inside our tent at night? I think I will. I sure hope we can camp on the beach as we make our way North.

It’s going to feel amazing to be back on the bike every day. It’s such a natural routine to get up, move your body, eat, move your body, then stop and rest each evening.