Seven Links Blog Project

Guess what!

This is the TWO HUNDREDTH post on Crystal and Bryan in Singapore!! Hooray!!

For my two hundredth post, I thought it would be fun to revisit some of the blog's highlights over the past couple of years. My friend Flora nominated me to participate in something called the Seven Links Blog Project, in which you repost links to blog posts from seven different categories. So here are my contributions!

Our Most Beautiful Post: New Zealand Day Six: Milford Sound 

Gosh, this was a tough decision. Looking back over the past two and a half years since Bryan and I have moved to Singapore, my mind just reels thinking of all the astonishingly beautiful things we've seen. I went with Milford Sound because it was one of the most unusual and visually arresting things I've ever seen, and I think the blog post for it turned out pretty well.

A sight to remember

Our Most Popular Post: Pulau Ubin...Again!

I did this post after Bryan and I visited Pulau Ubin for the third time, so I guess I thought it would kind of be old news. But we ended up seeing some great wildlife that day, including wild boar and hornbills. We posted lots of pictures, and people really seemed to enjoy it. The post was linked to by several other nature sites, including Wild Singapore. Two people contacted me asking permission to turn Bryan's monkey silhoutte photo into a t-shirt and a birth announcement, so that was pretty neat!

This image turned out to be surprisingly popular

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Our Most Controversial Post: A Word on the Monkeys

I don't generally post on very contentious topics, but I suppose I have covered some controversial ideas, like shark fin soup. But I think my most controversial post was probably one I posted one day in anger after I got home from a trying day of doing research on the monkeys at Bukit Timah. One of the residents had scolded me for not keeping the monkeys inside the forest, as though I was some sort of monkey shepherd instead of just a research assistant. It was a post I typed out in frustration, but I stand by what I said: if you're not ready to put  up with monkey antics, don't move in next to a nature reserve.

Eleanor, one of my favorite Bukit Timah monkeys

Our Most Helpful Post: Sumatra Day Three: Mud, Blood, Sweat, and Orangutans

This post was about visiting Gunung Leuser National Park in Sumatra. Visiting the park requires a guide, and we booked a great guide through a small tour company called Sumatra Travel. There is very little information about Sumatra Travel on the internet, and after we did this post a lot of people contacted me to say thank you, because our information had convinced them that the company was legitimate, and they had gone on to book tours of their own. We liked our guide so much, and I'm glad to have been able to help out their small operation, especially because their livelihood took a serious hit after a devastating flood in 2003, which killed several members of our guide's family.

Sumatran orangutan that we saw on our hike

Post Whose Success Surprised Me: Weird Groceries

This one has a hands-down winner. When I posted about the funny Pringles flavors in Singapore, I had no idea so many people would be as entertained by it as I was. The post was even featured on Boing Boing, which was nerd dream come true for me.

It still makes me smile

Post That Didn't Get the Attention it Deserved: Neighborhood Temples

Hmm...this is kind of a strange question for me. I started this blog to keep friends and family updated on our lives, and I've been surprised and flattered that strangers are interested in what we have to say. So I don't ever think, "HEY! Why isn't this blog post getting attention?!" But I always really liked the post on the temples in our neighborhood, and it never generated much interest from blog readers. I guess I think it really clearly illustrates the cultural diversity of Singapore. I mean, we can see all of these places from our apartment windows. I think that's pretty amazing.

At the Buddhist temple across from our house

Post I'm Most Proud Of: Cambodia Day Three: The Temples of Angkor

The post itself is actually kind of rough. I posted it a long time ago, when I was still new to blogging. But I'm proud of it not because it's the most refined post I've ever done, but because of what it stands for. I've wanted to visit Angkor Wat since learning about it in a college religion class, but I never dreamed that I would have the opportunity to travel all the way to Cambodia. But somehow I came to be living in Southeast Asia with my best friend, and we went there together. And I blogged about it, so I'll always be able to remember all the awesome times we had. I'm proud of that, even if the post itself isn't perfect.

One of the temples of Angkor

To keep the Seven Links Project going, I'm supposed to nominate three other bloggers to participate. I'd love to see what the following bloggers have to say: 

Ivan at The Lazy Lizard's Tales

Lauren at Real Life of an Expat Wife

Hazel at 愛Makan

And thanks again to Flora for a fun idea, even though it took me a while to get around to it!