Jade Bennett

Please don’t kill me!! Please…..oh, thank God. I’m not dead. Yet. I thought for sure you guys were going to swarm all over me for not updating the blog. The truth is, I’ve been super busy. You’re probably like “Okay Jade, you use that excuse way too many times. It’s getting old”. But it’s the truth!! I’ve been doing amazing stuff that I can’t wait to tell you all about.

As you can probably tell from the title, this blog is about Singapore. Just off the bat, it’s an amazing place, you all should definitely visit one day. The first part of sailing to Singapore was very interesting. So interesting, that we were all up off the couch to watch – gasp.

The coast of Singapore is full to the brink of cargo ships. It was quite fun, in a dangerous way, to try and weave our way through all the massive boats. They can’t slow down fast, so it’s up to us to swerve out of the way if we are about to collide. As we’re turning away from a ship, my mom says “Just imagine the amount of plastic on that huge thing.” I could imagine it and it made me nervous to think how much plastic would be in the ocean if that thing tipped over.

Anyway, after near-fatal misses of crashing, we arrive at Raffles Marina. We spend the rest of the day getting settled in and swimming in the pool. The next two weeks are a blur of dumplings, sushi, mochi, Indian food, malls, shopping, and a beautifully clean city. Singapore has so many amazing things to do, including hawker centers (the night market in Crazy Rich Asians), the biggest observation wheel in the world, Chinatown, Little India, etc. We go on a food tour (we’re probably still working off those pounds) and a history tour. We explore the science of earthquakes and virtual reality in the science museum. We do so many amazing things….and you guys miss out!!! Ha ha! Suckers!

Hey Dafne followers! Glad you still keep up to date with this boring blog. The crew has been really busy with traveling all over Bali. We spent 2 days in Ubud, and 6 days in Canggu. I hope you find these places as interesting as I do. And I hope I can describe them well.

To get to Bali, you sail across a straight between Bali and Lombok. Indonesia has a ton of strong currents passing through the small island that come from the South Pacific across to the Indian Ocean. This straight is one of them. The sail was supposed to be a day long passage, but the current was so strong that we went through in 4 hours. We arrived in Serengan harbour at about noon and hooked a mooring near the shore. Us kids did some school while our parents went to get a Paulo. Paulo was a friend of our that we asked to crew with us until December. He had come now to watch the boat while we were traveling. We had dinner that night and got up early to drive to our first destination: Ubud.

Ubud is large town that is very touristy and popular if you want to see Bali but still have those Western pleasures. We settled into our bungalow (there are not many hotels) and went out to get a feel of the town. That day and the next were a rotation of breakfast, school, lunch, yoga, dinner, gelato, sleep. Pretty good, if you ask me. After the second day, we got back in a car and drove up to a school, the green school, for a visit. The green school is an amazing jungle school that is all about nature and the buildings are made of bamboo. We visited it to see if we wanted to maybe park the boat and enroll Cleo and me in school. Dafne would have to stop sailing, and thats not something I’m too keen about. After visiting the green school, we stop back at the boat to switch bags and drive up to Canggu.

Canggu is a little bit bigger than Ubud, and we stayed in a nice bungalow. We were mainly there for a 6 day surf lesson. Each day, we tried a different board and got some good waves. Our rotation was surf, breakfast, school, swim, yoga, dinner, gelato, sleep. Both places were great and I got an amazing taste of the culture of Bali. Everywhere we go, we see little offering of flowers, incense, and cookies laying on the stairs of shops or restaurants. It’s so cool how the Balinese people have a perfect blend of tourism and culture on their beautiful island.

So anyway, I know you guys probably hate me for not updating sooner but try to find some sympathy. I have been really busy these past few weeks, with Stella and Cleo arriving, starting school, doing our PADI Advanced Open Water Certification, and having friends visit us. We are in Lombok, an island that is right next to Bali. I started my online math class today and it was super fun!! We have been discussing our plans for the next few months and the past few days have been lots of slide shows on which way we are traveling next. Since I’m the only person in my family who is considerate enough to write this, hear me out.

We have about three options. The first is the one I’m not so passionate about, but I’ll let you have your own opinion about it without my bias. 1) We could stay in Southeast Asia for the next year and just do another circle around Sumatra and up the Malacca Strait (again). 2) We could cross the Indian Ocean starting in January, which is the ideal time according to most cruising guides, make our way to Sri Lanka, the Maldives, the Chagos, Seychelles, and then Madagascar, getting to our destination by August. 3) We could go up and go to Sri Lanka, up to the Red Sea, and arrive at the Mediterranean Sea in July. Out of all of these options, my favorite is number 2. I really want to cross my 2nd ocean, and I’d have already seen all of Southeast Asia by then, so why would I want to stay in the same place for the 2nd time round. We don’t have to decide right now, but certain countries, such as the Chagos, want paperwork early, so we have to know by November. The decision is really Stella and Cleo’s because Stella is going to have to choose between college or a gap year, and then she will have to choose her time wisely. Next year will be Cleo’s year to do all of her SAT tests, so we have to be near a place where we can fly out easily.

All in all, it’s been a really busy past month and I’m really sorry I haven’t been able to at least tell you about my birthday. It was super fun, as much as birthdays go: saw some whale sharks, played an epic game of capture the flag — my team won — and had a delicious cheesecake (courtesy of Stella). We all had a great time and I’m so thankful that I could be with my friends and family.