At last it’s here: the exciting conclusion to Naoki’s big adventure in Singapore!

Will Naoki have fond memories of his brief time in South East Asia? Has Shi-chan fallen for her long lost Japanese buddy? Will we ever go back to Tokyo?

Tune in and find out!

So long Singapore!

In this next chapter of Naoki’s great adventure to Singapore, we visit the Esplanade for an outdoor market dinner by the water, as well as the Singapore Flyer: “The World’s Largest Giant Observation Wheel”!

It seems these wheel dealies are popping up everywhere nowadays. London made it fashionable, but now it’s an international race to make bigger and fancier ones. For now Singapore’s got the title, but it’s destined to be eclipsed by Beijing within a year.

Still, Naoki’s able to say he’s been on the biggest at the time – which is impressive for a 1 year old!

Enjoy the ride.

In this dramatic second part to Naoki’s Adventure to Singapore, he finally makes it there! Hooray!

First stop in Singapore: the island of Sentosa.

Sentosa’s claim to fame is that it is “Singapore’s Island Resort” – featuring numerous man-made beaches, restaurants & bars, hotels, an aquarium and soon – even a theme park. It is safe to say this is the place to go and enjoy the tropical aspect of this city.

So why not tag along?

Join us for day one of our stay in Singapore …

… and be sure not to miss part one!

Those of you out of the loop may not realize that a couple weeks ago we had a little getaway to Singapore!

It was a very quick trip lasting a total of just 5 days including travel time. Surprisingly, with all my travels around Asia I haven’t spent much time in Singapore. The city itself I had only visited once prior and it was just for a day, so in my book that doesn’t count. On the other hand, Singapore airport I have frequented too many times to count! I guess that can be attributed to my love of Singapore Airlines stewardesses. In any case I was well overdue to be able to say “I have been to Singapore” and mean it. I really wanted to see this very Westernised city in the middle of Asia.

… and Western it was!

It was hard to keep reminding yourself that you’re still in Asia. Singapore feels a lot like parts of Australia: very touristy and lots of everybody from every corner of the globe just hanging out. I liked Singapore – and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. It’s a very comfortable place to be when you’re a non-Asian living in Asia.

So what did our 50% more Asian son Naoki think of Singapore? Join us and find out in this first part of his adventure to Singapore:

Spoiler: He doesn’t make it there until part 2!

With an unusually long string of holidays this week – collectively now known as Silver Week – I was able to spend a few days up in Niigata to bring Naoki and Makiko home after their two week long stay. Silver Week is awesome – almost as awesome as Golden Week. Alas, it is but a rarity coming only once every 6+ years… so I’m glad we were here to enjoy it this year!

In Niigata mid-September marks the beginning of rice harvesting. During my five day stay nearly all the fields had been reaped – quite a feat considering just how many fields there are in the prefecture. Makiko’s family has a few fields of their own: growing rice, eggplants, edamame and Japanese pumpkins amongst other things. Her sister’s family even has some farm animals! It’s quite a stark contrast to our big city life.

So – what better chance to get Naoki familiar with where all his supermarket stuff comes from, then from his own family?

Niigata Farm Life

I’m sure he won’t remember it for very long – but the pictures and videos will last a lifetime.

Until next time, Niigata!