Sam's Birthday

I (Sam) celebrated a milestone birthday this year and it really didn't turn out anything like I expected ! Let's just say that all I was expecting for my birthday, was a quiet trip to Bali with David. What I got in the end was a lot more !

A few months ago, David asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I told him that I wanted to go to Bali. I left it at that and didn't give it another thought. David however had much more in mind. I learned later (after the surprise was revealed) that back in June, David had sent out an e-mail to our family and friends, telling them that my birthday was coming up and that he wanted some input for a surprise multimedia birthday card and presentation he was going to put together for me. He also mentioned that he was taking me to Bali and that anyone was welcome to join us. I honestly don't think David expected the wonderful response that he got.

Meanwhile, our good friend Elaine contacted us in August to say that she would be going to Perth to visit some friends and was thinking of making a stop-over in Singapore from the 7th to the 11th September. I told her this would be fine as we were going to Bali on the 11th. Elaine arrived on the 7th and it was good to spend time with her and show her around Singapore. On the evening of the 10th, David suggested that we take Elaine out for dinner, as she would be leaving for Perth the following day. We decided that we would take her to one of the restaurants at The Fairmont Singapore, but David suggested that before dinner we should take her to the bar on the 70th floor of the Swissotel to see the stunning views of the city.

That evening we met David in the lobby of the Swissotel and took the elevator up to the 70th floor. I didn't suspect anything when we got off on the 69th floor, but I did start getting nervous when David blindfolded me. He then led me forward a few steps and after a minute or so he removed the blindfolds. In was in that moment that I got the surprise of my life ! We were in a function room and standing in front of me were my closest friends - Jenny and our god daughter Sabrina from Seattle, Yolanda and her husband Rico from Hong Kong, Mandy from Calgary, and Veronica and Cathy from Vancouver. The rest of Jenny, Cathy and Mandy's family from South Africa were also present (their mom Mrs. Lai Kan, their brother Derek, his wife Emilia and their son Damian). I learned later that it was Mrs. Lai Kan's 70th birthday and that her family had planned a surprise birthday and reunion for her the previous week in Hong Kong. I was very glad they were able to plan it so that they could celebrate both our birthdays in this part of the world.

I was overwhelmed, teary-eyed and touched that they came all this way to Singapore to celebrate my birthday. What truly wonderful friends we have ! The surprise got even better when I learnt that they were all going to Bali with David and I (including Elaine, who really just made up the part about going to Perth). I was totally stunned as I didn't suspect a thing.

After a delicious dinner, we cut the birthday cake and then David showed the presentation that he had been working on for months (now I have an explanation for all those late nights at the office!). David has a great way of telling stories using photos and in many ways this was a pictorial story of my life, from the time I was born until now. It was very emotional for me watching this presentation, not because it was sad, but because it reminded me of how truly blessed and fortunate I am. I was touched by the birthday messages and greetings from friends and family at the end of the presentation, and I really appreciated the sentiments.

I was spoilt by family and friends with some lovely gifts that included cash (some of which I have used to purchase a ticket to attend a talk that Deepak Chopra is giving here in Singapore), a birthday dinner in Bali, a book, photo frames, a spa certificate for 8 treatments (I am looking forward to being pampered for 6 hours!), a lovely Cole Haan purse, flowers and two beautiful wooden candle holders from South Africa.

This birthday will definitely be a memorable occasion and one that will remain very special to me. I am so grateful to everyone who came, participated and contributed in one way or another ! I am especially grateful to David for planning and pulling off the biggest surprise, for being the most kind, thoughtful and generous husband and for the wonderful life that we have together !

The Menu for the evening
Kudos to the chef and staff at the Swissotel for a wonderful birthday dinner ! Special thanks to David for designing a very special and personalized menu card !

Birthday Cake
A cake to celebrate two occasions - my birthday and Mrs. Lai Kan's birthday !

Gift from David
If the surprise birthday dinner with friends and going to Bali wasn't enough, my wonderful hubby had one more surprise for me........
Back in April when we were in Vancouver for a visit, we were invited to our good friends Anjila and Pradeep's home for dinner. At their home, on the fireplace mantel was a stunning Inukshuk sculpture. We both admired this piece and thought it was beautiful. We later found out from Anjila that she had purchased it from a gallery in Whistler and it was by a Canadian sculptor named Allan Waidman. Anjila put us in touch with the gallery, but unfortunately they didn't have many pieces by Allan and we didn't like any of the ones they had left. After we returned to Singapore, I put the idea of buying an Inukshuk out of my mind (after all there was no way we were going to find an iconic Canadian symbol in this part of the world), but David had another idea in mind. As a surprise for me, David contacted Allan shortly after we returned to Singapore and commissioned him to work on an Inukshuk for me (us). David started collaborating with Allan from the start by selecting the type of stone and then the particular design. The end result - a beautiful Inukshuk sculpture made from BC Chlorite stone, standing 14 inches tall and 16 inches wide, and weighing approximately 30 pounds.
Fortunately, getting it from Alberta (where Allan lives) to Singapore was made easy by Mandy, who brought it with her and checked it in as hand luggage. We are very grateful to Mandy, as it must have been challenging (not to mention a pain) lugging the heavy wooden crate all the way to Singapore (with a one week stop-over in Hong Kong before coming to Singapore).
I had no idea what was in the crate when David gave it to me, so it was a lovely surprise when the crate was opened. We are both really thrilled with our Inukshuk. It is a beautiful piece and we have since found a special place for it in our home.

Bali, Indonesia

Part of the birthday surprise that David planned for me (Sam), was that our friends who came to Singapore to celebrate my birthday, were also going to go to Bali with us. In total we were a group of twelve adults and two kids that went to Bali and it was so much fun. The adage "The more the merrier" certainly holds true here.

Bali is a wonderful island with something for everyone. Bali is known for its splendid beaches, world class resorts and restaurants, and lively nightlife. However, the countryside is equally as charming with the lush green beauty of the rice paddies and the surrounding small villages. The Balinese people are deeply religious and spiritual people, and it was so interesting to see many small shrines and offerings to the gods, all over the island and in some cases in the most unusual places. We found the Balinese people to be kind, gentle, warm and friendly, and Bali is definitely a place that we would want to return to one day.

Seminyak
We stayed in Seminyak which is situated on the the south west tip of Bali. Seminyak is known for its lovely beach, exclusive shops and wide array of restaurants. We stayed at a lovely villa resort, which offered private swimming pools and just a wonderfully relaxing atmosphere. Each morning the villa's staff would come and prepare a full breakfast for us, so we were really spoilt. Although we were not that close to the beach and did not have the typical Bali beach holiday, we all really enjoyed the amenities that the villa resort had to offer. Many of us took advantage of the affordable spa treatments and massages, and we all enjoyed having our own private swimming pools right outside our villas.

The Beach at Seminyak
Early one morning, a group of us took a walk to the beach at Seminyak (about a twenty minute walk from our villas). There were hardly any people swimming that morning as the undercurrents were very strong. I was completed swept off my feet by one of the undercurrents and fell backwards into the water. Fortunately David came to the rescue! Needless to say, I was the only one that got completely drenched that morning.

Ubud
Ubud is situated in the centre of the Island and is the main arts and cultural district of Bali. We hired two drivers and two mini-vans for the day to take us to Ubud and Jimbaran. It took us roughly an hour to get from Seminyak to Ubud. One of the main reasons for going to Ubud, was to meet a man named Ketut Liyer. Ketut Liyer is a 9th generation Balinese medicine man, who is mentioned in the bestselling book "Eat, Pray, Love". Ketut Liyer plays a key role in helping the author, Elizabeth Gilbert in her quest to find balance in her life. Although I didn't love the book (for reasons I won't get into here), the author's encounter and experience with this healer piqued my interest. When we arrived in Ubud, our first mission was to find Ketut Liyer. From my research on the internet, it appeared that this would not be hard to do, as he is a well-known healer in Ubud. The first person that we asked was our driver, but he didn't know who Ketut Liyer was. Next stop was the tourist bureau of Ubud and when I mentioned Ketut Liyer's name, the officer immediately said that he knew of him and wrote down his address on a piece of paper and gave us directions on how to get to his house. Jenny decided to walk around Ubud with her mom and Sabrina, but the rest of us wanted to see Ketut Liyer. At first we decided to try and walk to the village where he lives (it didn't look far on the map that the officer had drawn), but after walking for about half and hour, David suggested that we take a taxi there (he was afraid we might run out of time as we had to leave Ubud by 4:30pm to get to Jimbaran before sunset). The first taxi driver that we approached knew where Ketut Liyer lived and so we got into two taxis and made our way to his house. Fortunately when we arrived, there we no other people waiting and he could see us immediately.

Meeting Ketut Liyer
Ketut Liyer was exactly as Elizabeth Gilbert described him. He was very warm and friendly when we met him and had a really good aura. Most of us had a palm reading with Ketut Liyer on the porch of his home. We all had individual readings, but when I had mine, he insisted that David come and sit next to me (some of the things that he mentioned were relevant to us as a couple). Not only did he examine each of our palms, but he also checked our pulses, examined the back of our necks and looked at our knees. It was an interesting experience for all of us and I think we all went away happy that we met him. After the readings, we headed back to the centre of Ubud and did some quick browsing. Ubud is a very interesting place with many craft shops, galleries and restaurants. I think most of us were very disappointed that we didn't have enough time to explore more of Ubud.

Dinner at Jimbaran Bay
After spending a few hours in Ubud, we asked the drivers to drive us to Jimbaran Bay. Jimbaran Bay is situated in the southern part of the island and is known for its many seafood restaurants on the beach. We had a dinner reservation at one of these restaurants and the plan was to have dinner and watch the sun set. When we got to Jimbaran Bay at around 6:00 pm, the sun was just starting to go down and it was a very pretty sight. Fortunately we still had good light to take some nice photos and take in the scenic view. Unfortunately when the sun did eventually set, it was hidden by some clouds, but it was still a spectacular view. For dinner, of course we had to have seafood ! We could either select our own fresh seafood (displayed in tanks and on ice, and charged by the weight) or we could select a set menu that came with a nice variety of seafood. We all decided on the set menu, as it offered us the opportunity to try different fish. All the seafood was prepared the same way (except the calamari) - soaked in garlic and lime marinade, doused with chilli and oil, then grilled. It was a delicious meal !

Day Tour to Northern Bali
Some of us joined a tour on one of the days to see the Bali countryside. The tour that we chose took us 80 kms north to Lovina Beach, stopping along the way at different places of interest. It was great traveling through the countryside, passing by little villages, seeing many small shrines, coffee plantations, tobacco plantations and the spectacular rice fields. The tour itself was a little disappointing, in that our tour guide just drove us to the different places of interest without giving us much information or history on what we were seeing. Our guide also didn't keep us on a tight schedule, so we missed seeing one of the major sights at the end (Pura Tanah Lot). Nevertheless it was still worth taking the trip up north to see more of Bali and what the rest of the island is all about.

Ulun Danu Temple
The first stop on our tour was at the Ulun Danu Temple. The Ulun Danu Temple is a famous and beautiful Balinese Hindu temple that is situated along the Beratan lake in the northwestern part of Bali. This temple is dedicated to Dewi Danu, the goddess of the waters.

Lakes
The next stop on our tour was to see the twin lakes of Buyan and Tamblingan.

Gitgit Waterfall
After visiting the twin lakes, our guide took us to Gitgit Waterfall, the tallest waterfall in Bali. Gitgit waterfall is situated in the northern part of the island, in the middle of a rain forest. To get to the waterfall, we had to walk about one kilometre along a paved path and some steep descending stairs (the waterfall is located at the bottom of a valley). On the way we passed a rice field, some local vendors and some local homes.

Lunch at Lovina Beach
We stopped for a late lunch at a small local restaurant opposite the beach. Lovina Beach is situated on the northern tip of Bali. We had a nice local meal that consisted of fish, rice, satay and vegetables.

Rice Paddies in the village of Pupuan
After lunch we headed in a south-westerly direction to Tanah Lot. Along the way we passed the village of Pupuan and the beautiful terraced rice paddies that this region is known for. These terraced rice fields were very impressive.

Tanah Lot
We were hoping to get to Tanah Lot in time to watch the sun set, but unfortunately we got there just after dark. We were all very disappointed, as we really wanted to see the famous Pura Tanah Lot temple which is situated on a large rock jutting out of the Indian ocean. Pura Tanah Lot is one of seven sea temples that is situated along the Balinese coastline. Unfortunately all we got to see was the outline of the temple.

Our last night in Bali
Our last night in Bali was spent at Cafe Bali, where we had good food, good conversations and an enjoyable time.