Alison's Asian Adventure

On January 22 gal pal Alison Fiekowsky arrived in Singapore for a long awaited visit. It was another notch in the belt of adventures together for Alison and Raye which included Paris and ten annual girlfriend trips with 3 other women. This adventure included not only Singapore but also Phuket and for Alison a trip to Vietnam before heading back to the US.

Raye and Alison wasted no time and a day after Alison's arrival (no time for jet lag!!) boarded a plane for a three day relaxing trip to Phuket. They planned to stay at the Laguna Beach Resort, a recommendation from Raye's friend Denise. It was an amazing resort with a large beautiful room facing both the pool and the beach-such a deal!!!

It took no time to relax in the tranquility of Phuket enjoying reading by the pool, walking on the beach and of course getting $15 massages, and shopping for Jim Thompson silk items! Being greeted at breakfast by the resident baby elephant was a most delightful surprise!! The baby elephant was trained and did tricks that you normally think only dogs do.

One of the highlights of the trip was connecting with Pat and John Lychek, friends of Paul's Aunt Pat and Uncle Herb. John and Pat are from Canada and were in Phuket visiting their son who lives there. They were great tour guides sharing their favorite public beach and local restaurant and of course Raye ended up treating Pat (who needs a clinic when there's a perfectly good beach available!!). Raye and Alison ended up spending a large part of the trip with John and Pat. What a small world and what a fun time!

It was very difficult to leave this paradise but hey, heading back to Singapore just meant more fun!! Once they got back there were only three days left to take in as much as Singapore as possible. Raye and Alison were up to the challenge! Alison is a foodie so eating many different and interesting kinds of food was a must. Stingray at a nearby Hawker Center was fun and of course chili crab along the Singapore River. The mango shaved ice in Chinatown was an especially yummy treat!

No trip to SE Asia for this food lover would be complete without time spent in a cooking school. The Coriander Leaf at Clark Quay was perfect. Alison learned to make all sorts of Singapore dishes and with spices picked up at the wet market in Little India she was all set to delight the palates of friends and relatives! Of course they had to take in the famous Singapore Night Safari complete with flying squirrels and bats. So much to see and do, so little time! The three days flew by.

On Friday Jan 29th Alison set off for more adventures in Vietnam and the next day Raye left for the US. Such world travelers!