Bua Tong Sticky Waterfalls

Today was a national holiday in Thailand, so I had the day off from work. We took advantage of the long weekend and took a short trip to a local favorite--Bua Tong Sticky Waterfalls! These waterfalls are one-of-a-kind because you can climb right up the rocks. These rocks aren't slippery (hence the name "sticky") due to a mineral deposit that interacts with the limestone and gives them a slightly rough feel.

There are three levels you can climb, with stairs going down along the side for those who weren't as adventurous. We chose to take the stairs down and the waterfalls up! The kids had a great time, especially E. She couldn't get enough of climbing up the waterfalls. She went up each one with Scott before coming down and allowing me to do one without holding the baby. B was less enthusiastic, but he did finally climb the last one with me and E. Two of our sweet friends, Madeline and Jen, came with us and helped us wrangle all the children.

By the time everyone had climbed to the top once, we were tired and hungry! We ate a picnic lunch at the very top under a shade tree. E really wanted to climb the waterfalls again, this time going all the way up without stopping. Scott and I went with her while Madeline and Jen entertained the boys. I think we'll all be a little sore tomorrow!

It was a very fun day at Bua Tong Waterfalls! The weather was perfect and the company was sweet. Couldn't have asked for a better time!

KL and Singapore

At the end of September our family went on our first visa run. Due to our visa type, we have to leave the country every 90 days and re-apply for visas. For our first run we went to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Singapore. It was a really great trip!

Flying to KL is really easy and cheap, and the city is very fun! Some of the activities we did there include: touring the Petronas Towers, exploring the Batu Caves, visiting Chinatown, and seeing the KL Bird Park. The main reason we were there, though, was to apply for new visas. I was extremely nervous about this because approval of visas is up to the discretion of the approver. There are certainly guidelines you should follow when applying for a visa, but ultimately it is up to the person who is working that day. A lot of prayer and preparation went into our application, to make sure we had all our documents in order and had the best chance at getting new visas. Thankfully, our applications were approved without any problem!

Waiting in line for our Thai visas

Petronas Towers at night

Inside Batu Caves

Chinatown

KL Bird Park

Our kids loved KL! Even though all the attractions we visited were amazing, I think E liked the Petronas Towers the best. B definitely preferred the Bird Park, since he’s been obsessed with birds for the last couple of years. They truly enjoyed their first hostel stay, too, because we all got to sleep in bunk beds! We highly recommend BackHome Hostel if your family ever visits KL!

Skywalk of Petronas Towers

Feeding the birds

Once we had our new visas we could really relax! We took a short flight over to Singapore and had a few days to just relax and have a true vacation. You might already know that Singapore is one of the cleanest cities in the world. It’s also a lot less crowded than KL, which made it easier for us to explore.

We did a lot of amazing stuff in Singapore: rode the Singapore Flyer, visited the River Safari, went to Little India, spent a day on Sentosa Island, and toured Gardens by the Bay. E has been dying to go to the beach, so our day at Sentosa Island was especially fun for her. She’s also a little obsessed with India, so getting to spend some time in Little India eating real Indian food and getting a henna tattoo was exciting! B loved the River Safari, keeping with his love for all things animal-related. X loves everything, so it’s hard to tell which was his favorite. He was happy just to be with his momma all day every day (usually on my back in the Tula).

Singapore Flyer

B at the River Safari

Little India

Burying Daddy in the sand

Gardens by the Bay

X's favorite way to travel

Some days it’s hard to believe that we’ve been in Thailand for 90 days already, and other days it feels like we’ve been here for much longer. We truly enjoyed our time away as a family and are so thankful to have our visas reinstated. We highly recommend both KL and Singapore as tourist destinations!!