We're Moving: The Mahans' European Vacation Adventure

"Clark, you're on the wrong side of the road."
"Yes I know, honey, I'm also on the wrong side of the car."
The Griswolds - National Lampoon's European Vacation

Ryan and I received the official word this last week that we are moving to Aberdeen, Scotland! Ryan was offered a promotion to Area Manager of Europe and Southern Africa (he is currently Country Manager of Singapore). Though we will miss Singapore, we are looking forward to our new adventure in the United Kingdom.

Aberdeen is in the NE part of Scotland

I have always wanted to travel Europe and what better way than to live there! The weather will be the biggest adjustment. Living on the equator in Singapore where the average high is 88*F all year round, compared to Aberdeen where the average high is 65*F for the summer months and ranges from 40-50*F the rest of the year! Even though you don't get many warm days the lows only average around 34*F in the winter months. That obviously doesn't take into account for the wind and the rain which is a huge factor as Aberdeen gets about 2 inches of rain per month. Luckily, we are making a trip to the US for Thanksgiving and will be able to stock up on rain gear and thermals.

Ryan on a work trip to Aberdeen in 2007.

You'll rarely never go without long sleeves and pants. I've been told there is one day of summer that it will reach 72*F in which we'll probably have to pull out our shorts and tank tops. Ha!

Scotland is a great place for outdoor adventures. We (especially Ryan because of limited activities in Singapore) are looking forward to fishing, golfing, hiking, and stalking deer. As you might remember, we took a trip to New Zealand earlier this for Ryan to hunt Red Stag and Fallow which originally came from Scotland. 

Since Aberdeen is only about a 9 hour flight from Texas, we are hoping to have more visitors than we have had in Singapore. Scotland has lots of history, beautiful countryside and castles to explore; so those of you needing a vacation, the Mahan Manor is now taking reservations.

 

Above photos courtesy of Ryan, circa 2007

We are looking forward to embarking on our new adventure and sharing our experience. We will be changing the name of our blog since we'll no longer be in the Far East but of course we'll let everyone know the new blog address. Hopefully, Ryan will be able to come up with another clever name. Our official move date has not been set but we are projecting we'll be there by the first of January. So, stay tuned for updates on our newest adventure.

"Oh, it's good Scottish weather, madam. The rain is falling straight down. Well, slightly to the side like."  - William Wallace, Braveheart

Toby and Becky in Singapore

Here are few pictures from Toby and Becky's 4 days in Singapore. Unfortunately, I don't have all of their outings on my computer so the pictures are limited.

Here is what they did...
Tuesday: rest day after a fun weekend in Thailand (see last post)
Wednesday: Hippo and Duck tour around Singapore(Hippo Tour is a bus tour around the city, Duck tour is a boat ride along the Singapore River). I was able to go on half of this with them before I went to work.
Thursday: Zoo and Night Safari-Becky and Toby did the zoo on their own while Ryan and I were at work. Becky has all the pictures on her camera but you can see some of the animals here. We all did the Night Safari however, no pictures allowed!
Friday: Botanical and Orchid Gardens (Becky has all the beautiful pics of the flowers on her camera)

Pictures from the Hippo/Duck Tour

Beautiful Raffles Hotel(very Colonial!)

St. Andrews Cathedral

Colorful Clarke Quay

Clarke Quay is full of restaurants and night life

The Singapore Flyer, world's largest Giant Observation Wheel-Becky and Toby ended the tour with a ride on this!
A nice cruise along the Singapore RiverMarina Bay Sands Hotel and Casino

Skyline of the Central Business District

Singapore's Mascot, The Merlion

The famous Fullerton Hotel. It was built as the post office before WWII but became a hospital during the war and is now a 6 star hotel!

National Orchid Gardens-sorry no pictures of the beautiful orchids. However, you can see some of them here.

The Mahans Go To Thailand

Ryan's parents landed in Singapore around midnight on the 2nd. We had a short night's rest before we were up the next morning and headed to Phuket, Thailand. Since this may be Toby and Becky's only trip to SE Asia we wanted to make sure they saw as much of it as possible. And since Singapore is 'Asia Lite', we wanted to give them a true Asian experience. Our 3 days in Thailand were filled with lots of sun, relaxation, snorkeling, shopping and quality family time. The pictures are a bit out of order (not sure what's up with blogger loading them in random order) but ENJOY! Ryan and I love Thailand and are already talking out next Thailand destination.

Beautiful Maya Bay where 'The Beach' with Leonardo DiCaprio was filmed

Becky and I making a wish on our lantern before letting it go.

Beach side seafood dinner

Phi Phi Islands

This is the life....

We had a wonderful time and I am so glad Toby and Becky made the long trek across the globe to come see us. I will try to get pictures up from their days in Singapore soon.

3 days!

Ryan's parents will be here in just 3 short days. We are very excited about them coming. We have a trip to Phuket, Thailand planned the first weekend they are here and then Singapore site-seeing for the rest of the week. It will be nice to have a part of 'home' come to Singapore. Can't wait to post pictures from their week in Singapore!

Terracotta Warriors

Sunday, Ryan and I headed over to the Asian Civilization Museum to check out the "Terracotta Warriors: The First Emperor and his Legacy" exhibit. The full terracotta army is located in Xi'an is about 1000km SW of Beijing. These warriors were buried with the first emperor, Qin. They are a collection of sculptures depicting the armies of the Qin Dynasty. The figures, dating from 3rd BC, were only discovered in 1974, by local farmers. Less than 40 years ago!


From Asian Civilization Museum Website:
"The terracotta army buried near the tomb of the First Emperor of China is perhaps the most important archaeological discovery of our time. Unearthed in 1974 outside Xi’an, the thousands of pottery soldiers and horses are striking works of art that tell us a great deal about early China."

(my pictures aren't the greatest, no flash allowed and it was dim)

The detail is amazing.

Terracotta Warriors and Horse Production
This model shows the division of labor required to create the terracotta figures.

One of the workers being punished.

It would be amazing to see all of the warriors in Xi'an. If we stay in SE Asia long enough, we might just get the chance to go back to China and see them!

This is what the full army in Xi'an looks like...

Absolutely incredible!

Jurong Lake Run 5K

Sunday, Ryan and I ran in a 5K at Jurong Lake that sets in the middle of the beautiful Chinese and Japanese Gardens. This was Ryan's first ever 5K and he did awesome! I am very proud of him!

Waiting for the race to start!

Look at him go!

Post race...just a little red in the face!

Black and White

(This should have been posted a long time ago....oops)

Back in May, my friend Alaina and I went on a tour of the Black and White colonial homes in Singapore. (I went on this tour with my mom and her friend Susan when they were visiting last year but never got around to making a post.)

The Black and White homes were built between 1898-1941 when Singapore was a British colony. They have since torn down many and only about 300 remain. They are all owned by the Singapore government.

What a great family room.

This house chose to use a little color in the theme. Each room was painted a different color.

This veranda was my favorite part of the house. It wraps around the entire upstairs.

Love the exposed beams.

This was the new house on the tour. It was huge and followed a black and white theme throughout.

Look at this cute little guy. I love a cute pup and this one didn't mind 20 people invading his space!

They used the bed to divide this huge bedroom.

This house is called a long house. It reminds me a little of the ranch style homes in Texas.