Life with Griffin: Travels & Tribulations in Asia

Well, we are back in the good ol' U S of A, after an eventful (to say the least) Schwartz Family reunion trip in Asia. It started with a generous offer from my father, Harvey (or Sam as they know him over there), to come for a visit.

If you are not aware, my dad has lived in Singapore for I'm guessing 15 years now. He has become quite an entrepreneur, with a gym in Singapore and a Hotel in Phuket, Thailand.

We arrived in Singapore after a 17 hour flight. Believe it or not, there is now a nonstop flight to Singapore from LA. Griffin was great on the flight, not one of those nightmare kids driving everyone on the plane to excess drinking!

Less then 15 hrs after landing we were off to Phuket Thailand. My Dad had many grand adventures planned for us, some we were not sure a toddler should attempt...

The first one was a speed boat trip to Phi Phi Island and other spots for snorkeling and swimming. Griffin loved the speed and the bumps!

Next adventure: Phang Nga Bay and Kayak Tour to James Bond Island. This was another boat ride. The boat was big and slow, but still lots of fun. The sea caves were amazing, and no sore muscles the next day because you don't have to paddle!!

We ditched the kids one night and had an "Adults Night Out" at Simon Cabaret It's an over the top costume and lip sync extravaganza with not a single woman born out of a womb.

Up till now, we had questions about some of the activities for Griff, but he handled them like a trooper. The one we knew he could not do was the White Water Rafting but there were some other activities on the tour which I though he would like.

Then fate stepped in. After the rafting portion, Jill had a terrible accident, falling and breaking her wrist. Off to the emergency room in Phuket, a bit unnerving, but it was a brand new hospital and unlike the US, you don't spend hours waiting to see a doctor. It didn't look too bad so, they gave Jill an official Thai souvenir...a cast. Unfortunately, when we got back to the US, she went to have it checked and found out the break was unstable and she needed to have 5 pins put in her wrist to keep the bones in place while they heal. Ouch!

After that adventure, we headed back to Singapore, but before we arrived, Griffin developed a nasty stomach virus. With 2 out of 3 of us on the disabled list, we had to pass on the second part of the adventure...Cambodia. We stayed in Singapore to recover, but the virus got me too!

At departure time we all hobbled onto the plan home.

Eliane & Nisha hanging in Singapore

One up and One down!

Sandcastle Master and Apprentice