2015 - Year in Review

It is New Year's Day 2016.  I've been reflecting on the events that transpired in 2015.  As always, there was a lot of travels but there were also a lot of things that happened close to home.

1. I lost two brothers in 2015, one in March, the other in November.  Both have been quite ill for a while and eventually, succumbed to their illnesses.  Out of a family of 7 siblings, there are only two of us left.  My sister and I.  Me being the youngest, it's hard to imagine that I am now the  oldest male and has the responsibility of providing leadership to the family. 
2. My first grandchild was born on August 1.  Esme was born in New York City, weighing 8 pounds 9 ounces.
3. I started the year with a ski trip to Telluride, Colorado from January 8-12.  It was 4 days of wonderful skiing at one of the most beautiful ski resorts in the country.  I am going again in 2016.
4. Next was a short 4-day trip to San Francisco with Candy.  We had to use up an expiring Southwest Airlines ticket that we previously scheduled.
5. I gathered the family for a "meet friends and relatives" trip to Singapore in February.  My son, Shawn, and daughter, Cynthia, brought their spouses to meet my close friends and family.  We had a nice lunch buffet at a local hotel.  They all had a great time enjoying the local foods and spending time with the cousins.  On this trip I was supposed to travel to Yunnan Province in China but with my brother's health deteriorating, I had to rethink my travel plans.
6. Following my brother's passing on early March, I took a short 5-day trip to Yangoon, Myanmar.  I had planned on going to Bagan and Mandalay but did not have enough time.
7. I stayed in Phoenix in April.  In May, I drove to Utah's Big 5 - Zion, Bryce, Capital Reef, Canyonlands, and Arches National Parks.  This was the first time I visited these beautiful parks, even though they are located just north of Arizona. 
8. After the Big 5 parks in southern Utah, I drove to Salt Lake City and met an old friend, Kurtis, and his family.  Kurtis was my client/friend for many years.  I spent two days in SLC.
9. My friend, Edward, and his family from Singapore, met me in Salt Lake City, and from there we drove to Yellowstone National Park.  Again, this was the first time I've been to Yellowstone, even though I've lived in the western part of the US for almost 40 years.  I took full advantage of my National Parks Service Senior Pass, which allows me and my guests to enter any US National Park for free.  It costs me only $10 and it's good for life.  Only US Permanent Residents and US citizens 62 and above are eligible for the pass.
10. In June, I took Candy on a two-week trip to Spain and Portugal.  We visited Barcelona, Granada, Sevilla, Madrid, Toledo, Porto and Lisbon.  
11. After returning from Spain and Portugal, I traveled in Alaska from June 23 to July 16.  I did not go on a cruise or tour.  It was all independent travel.  The highlights were traveling on the Alaska ferry through the Aleutian Islands to Dutch Harbor and spending 5 days in Denali National Park.
12. I had to suffer through the summer heat after returning to Phoenix in July.  But, it was for a good reason.  I was awaiting the birth of my grandchild.  She finally arrived on August 1st.
13. I joined Arizona Highways Photo Workshops (AHPW) in July and went on my first workshop (Black and White Photography) in Flagstaff, Arizona, in mid-August.
14. A few days after that, I visited Cynthia and Steven in Cincinnati.
15. We went to see the new addition to our family, Esme, in late August in New York City.
16. I was getting hot and restless in Phoenix so mid-September, I rented a car and drove to San Diego to cool off and get some fresh cool air for 4 days.  It was nice to be able to ride my bike and run along the beach and ate some excellent Asian food on Convoy Street.
17. I went on my second AHPW workshop, "Fall in Northern Arizona", from September 28th to October 2nd.  The trip covered Flagstaff and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona.
18. Another AHPW workshop, this time locally in Mesa, Arizona, called "Macro Photography", on October 10th and 11th.
19. AHPW had a Symposium on November 7th and 8th in Phoenix.  I helped out as a volunteer.
20. Two days before I was supposed to leave for Singapore on November 12th, I received word that my brother, Tiang Hwee, had just passed away.  I arrived in Singapore, after a 30-hour journey, the day before the funeral on Sunday, November 15th.  He was cremated and buried at sea at Changi Point in Singapore, following the funeral.
21. We took a break from the hectic funeral schedule so my sister-in-law Susan, her sister, Sally, and my niece, Teresa, traveled to Bangkok for a four-day shopping and eating trip from November 21st to 24th.
22. I also went on a weekend trip to Johor Bahru on December 5th and 6th with my nieces Jamie and Suzie and my sister.
23. I've never been to Bali so I took advantage of the fact that I was only about a 2-hour flight away, and went there alone from December 10th to 13th.  I will write about my Bali trip in the next post.
24. A few days before I was scheduled to return to the US, my sister-in-law Susan, her sister Sally and her husband Mike and I took a bus and went on a short trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  I have not been to KL for many years.  We just hung around the Chinatown area and mostly ate some of the local street food and shopped the outdoor market.  It was a nice change of scenery.
25. One of the reasons why I went to Singapore was to attend my good friend, Eric's son, Shaun's wedding.  That happened on December 19th.
26. I returned to Phoenix on December 21st and my son, Shawn, his wife, Ella, and baby Esme were  already here.  I was picked up by Cynthia and Steven.  It was a wonderful family reunion and a glorious way to end the year.