Making Lemonade out of Lemons - Singapore Style

Friday night the girls had been invited to a disco themed birthday party in the city at a new friends' condo form 7-10 PM.  That same evening Fred and I were planning to attend a neighborhood party.  We all wanted to attend our parties so we needed to come up with some sort of plan that would work out for all of us.  We decided to get a hotel right across the street from where the birthday party was. The girls could walk over to the party and we'd be back by 10 to pick them up.  When we went to our hotel room we realized it was way too small for the 4 of us- the beds were just bigger than a twin but not quite a double.  We decided when we went back to our neighborhood party, we'd quickly grab our air mattress and use that too. Strike 1 for things not working out.  Fred and I were at our party and at 7PM we got a call- the girl's party had been moved to Saturday, but we hadn't gotten an email with the change (as I mentioned new friend- and not super close). Strike 2 for things not working out.  So now we had a hotel room that was too small that we didn't need and had to run back to the city to pick up the girls at a party that was the next night.  The drive into the city is 30-45 minutes each way.  We made our 3rd drive, got the girls, and figured we should enjoy the downtown evening since we were here!

Singapore goes all out with holiday decorations.  The main downtown drag is completely covered with lights.  They have brilliant lights over the street every 50 feet and then all along the streets are huge lit up ornaments hanging from the trees.  The photo above shows the main downtown mall (ION) with it's front all aglow.  The entire area is lit up in blue and white.  It was incredible to see and we were glad we made the most of our unnecessary overnight stay in the city. 

The next morning we wandered the streets in the daytime and took photos of the decorations that were not lit up.  We came across huge decorative angels and then in front of a department store, called Tangs, we saw a statue of a woman in a peacock dress with a peacock feather head dress that went all the way up to the ceiling covering it with feathers.   

Despite some curveballs thrown at us, we made the most of the evening and the next day.  We headed back home in the afternoon and then once again Saturday evening we were heading back to the city for the disco birthday party.  The girls were all dressed up and ready to dance the night away.

Strike three hit when Fred and I were enjoying dinner while the girls were at their party, and Jen called to tell us the party ends at 9PM instead of 10PM.  We wrapped up dinner quickly and drove over to get them.  For some reason we just couldn't get things straight with this party, but in the end the girls had a great time.  

Just an added bonus to our weekend of errors, we went out to dinner with Fred's boss on Sunday evening, but when we showed up at our favorite pizza place it was closed for renovations!  COME ON.  It was a tough weekend and we needed a break.  Thank goodness there was a burger place nearby and once again things worked out- we found another restaurant that was pretty good.

Monkeys and other Singaporean yard pets

Today I was driving through the neighborhood and a trash can was tipped over with monkey's around it.  One was hold a Capri Sun pouch with the straw in it's mouth.  I think it's time to do a blog about the monkeys.  I didn't want to just jump right in expressing my opinion about them without
giving it some time to watch them and have a more complete thought.

Monkeys are regular visitors in our neighborhood.  There a jungle area behind some houses where the monkeys live, but all our fruit trees and garbage allures them out to see what taste treats await.

I had seen monkeys walking around even passed them on the street with no real interaction.  However, one morning while returning from the gym a large pack of about 12 were walking towards me.  I know I am not supposed to look at them, but I had to watch because I was afraid, there were so many.  Sure enough, I guess I stared a little too long, and 2 jumped towards me baring their teeth and hissing.  I proceeded to side step as fast as I could away from them and then walked quickly home with my heart beating fast.  

My next interaction was while driving, a few monkeys were on the side of the road and one was sitting in the middle of the road.  I stopped and waited for it to move out of my way.  As I drove past  something was thrown at my car!

So at this point, I basically hated the monkeys and stayed away.

Then one day I was doing laundry in our cottage in our backyard; I saw 6 monkeys feasting on our mango tree and playing with each other.  From inside the confines of a wall looking through a window at them they were actually cute.  Then I spotted the little baby hanging on it's mom.  It was tiny and black, some of my hate for them melted away.  

I still try to stay away from them but I do enjoy looking at them from behind glass. The plentitude of fruit trees around us makes them risk coming out of the jungle to get a good meal.  And all our garbage readily available if your trash can is not bungie corded shut is a real appeal.  One day I saw a trash can on it's side and McDonalds wrappers all around it and of course a monkey was sitting there enjoying lunch.  If you ever saw the movie Over The Hedge you'll get the idea.  If you haven't seen it please do, it's SOOO funny.

The monkeys are the most entertaining and talked about creatures in our midst, but we do have an assortment of tropical birds that sing beautiful songs, squirrels run about, and occasionally you might get a glimpse of a monitor lizard roaming your yard.  I finally saw one in our yard and ran to get a photo so you all would believe me when I say I saw one.  

Holiday Shopping

Black Friday is my favorite shopping day.  SALE SALE SALE!  The infectious crowds putting things in their carts make me put stuff in mine too.  The holiday music ringing in my ears BUY, BUY, BUY.  It's electrifying to head out and get amazing deals!

A few years ago my sister-in-law, Shannon, and I headed out for the midnight sales.  We raided Abercrombie and Fitch with the best of them, EVERYTHING was 50% off.  Buy, buy, buy- I rang up $500 of clothes for my kids, nieces, and nephews that instantaneously became $250.  Was there anything else they needed - the deals were amazing!

Last year my second outing in the  afternoon was with Fred and the girls when we went to Walmart- which was relatively calm since the morning storm had passed.  We were in awe of the multitude of bins filled with DVDs.  We had heard that video streaming services might not work in Singapore, so DVDs were what we needed and at $2, $3, or even $5 they were just falling into our cart.  We loaded up on TV shows so we could have something to watch regularly without US stations.  I spotted a $12 DVD/Blue Ray player - why not, the one we have might break! We ended up buying so many DVDs a year later there are still some unopened.

So this year, I'm in Singapore.  They don't celebrate Thanksgiving, thus there is no Black Friday, except at our Naval Exchange.  Some friends joked about lining up, spending the night even since it's the only Black Friday shopping in town.  Doors opened at 7AM- and YES there was a line (I heard).  I actually woke up at 7:20- wanted to go back to sleep, but then remembered all the Embassy people could come and raid our sales.  I jumped up and headed out the door- arriving at 7:45. The place was packed.  Purses were on sale and women were all gathered around picking the one they liked the best.  Purses are not my thing- I love shoes- so off to the shoe section where a new pair of sneakers jumped in my cart!  Now was there anything to buy for the rest of the family??!!  Going through our small store (think the size of a CVS) didn't take long, but I filled the cart.  It's Black Friday, so I couldn't pass up the deals!  An hour later it was over with no second outing except to run back and pick up the milk I forgot.

Happy Shopping- Thank goodness for Amazon and a FPO address!

Missing Fall

I love fall.  There are always lots of fun things to do and it's a great time of year weather-wise in the Mid Atlantic. Singapore has been a bit different.  A few weeks ago a friend posted a photo of her and a few other women getting ready for a morning run.  They were bundled up and looked happy but the thing that caught my attention were the leaves all over the road.  I felt wistful for the smell of leaves.  You know that fall smell- when you go out in the evening during the fall (maybe to a high school football game) the air is clean, the sky is clear, but there is a dry fall smell (maybe it's a fireplace off in the distance).  I'm not sure how to really describe it but I know it and it's not here in Singapore.  I think Yankee Candle needs to make this sent!  I love this photo of the girls with the Kiyokawa kids last fall enjoying a huge leaf pile.

My in-laws have asked me if I miss raking the leaves- NO- I don't really like that about fall, especially since we had 20+ trees in our backyard in Vienna.  However, on a perfect 63 degree day with the sun shinning and nothing else to do- an afternoon of leaf raking was ok.  We unfortunately, do have a tree here that drops leaves so I do still have to rake under one tree.  When it's 90 degrees and humid that definitely is not enjoyable.

I also saw a facebook photo of some of Katie and Jen's friends all wearing jeans and boots- fall clothes look so great!  We are all still wearing shorts and short sleeve shirts.  I feel funny in my pastel shorts and bright shirt.  I often now wear my 1 pair of black shorts, that dark color kinda helps set the fall mood.  It's hard to think about Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas in tropical wear.  I know plenty of places throughout the U.S. and the world have warm falls, but I've always lived somewhere that the fall was always cooler than the summer.  Maybe in CA or SC the fall was warmer than the Mid Atlantic region, but there was a temperature shift.  In Singapore the temperature is basically the same all year round.  On the bright side, one good thing is you will never need a coat to cover up your costume on Halloween.  Here's a couple photos from the holiday here.

This Thanksgiving we are hosting 24 people in our home and I have my fall decoration up despite the fact that most people are already decorated for Christmas.  I had forgotten that only Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, and almost daily see reminders that we are the odd ones waiting until the day after Thanksgiving to move onto decorating for the next holiday.

Trip to Phuket Thailand

The girls school has a week off for fall break so I thought it would be a good opportunity to head somewhere.  With Singapore being a small island anywhere you go is an international flight even if it's just like flying from Virginia to Florida.  I have not done a lot of international trips and Singapore has so many rules about what's allowed to be brought in, I have become nervous about crossing the boarder.  Will I get checked, will they find that pack of gum.  Gum is illegal but for personal consumption so my personal pack is ok, but I still get concerned.  I decided taking a nearby family trip and having Fred with us would be the right first step in venturing outside of Singapore.

After some research, talking with other people's favorite spots, and checking prices I settled on Phuket.  It's a 11/2 hr flight and the beaches are supposed to be beautiful.  We got a great deal at the Marriott Vacation Club- 2 bedroom condo with a private plunge pool.

The resort pool wasn't too shabby either.

The beach area was completely desolate even though we saw lots of families from the girls school on the airplane and at our resort.  The pools seemed to spot to hang out for most families.

The highlight of our trip was a boat ride down to Phi Phi Island.  Phi Phi island has 6 islands one area is where a James Bond movie was filmed and then The Beach with Leonardo Dicaprio was filmed at another.  The below shots are from where "The Beach" was filmed.  Almost every sightseeing boat stops here for their tourists to see this beach.  The sand is amazingly soft, the water perfectly clear, and limestone formations make an beautiful backdrop.  Nowadays, if you visit, you will be there with 1000 of your closest friends!

Phi Phi Island is actually pronounced PP so as you can imagine on a boat trip there is a little joking around about that name.  The real laughs came however when our tour guide pointed out this is #2 pp island.  So juvenile - you'd think I had sons.  

Our boat excursion included snorkeling opportunities.  The girls and I had never done this so we were super excited to try it out.  We jumped off the front of the boat into clear water to look at beautiful coral and colorful fish.  The guide brought bananas because the fish love them and will swim up to you while you hold one in the water.  Having fish swarm all around you was a little unnerving to me, so I quickly passed my banana to someone else for a try.

 

Our trip was a complete success, now that we gave it a try and it worked out we can start looking into where to head for our next adventure.  

Wish you were here!!!!

Deepavali in Singapore

Singapore has a significant Indian population, about 9-10% of the residents are of Indian decent.  There is a historic area called Little India full of Indian specialty shops and food.  Most Hindu Indians, and many others just to take part in the festivities, celebrate Deepavali this time of the year.  Deepavali is known as the "festival of lights".  The spiritual meaning behind the celebration is the awareness of inner light.

Being a long term tourist, I had to get to Little India during this celebration to check out the decoration and vendors with their stores jam packed with items to sell to "tourists" like me.  A group of ladies in my neighborhood headed out to check it out.

Little India is just a 45 minute subway train ride away.  In no time we were in a market buying inexpensive shirts and sundresses-- 2 for $10.  There were also some amazingly beautiful dresses that I may need to check out for next year's Navy Ball.

 Now I know where the bargains are!  After a quick lunch at an outside eatery (Hawker stands)- I chose Pad Thai for $3.50 we headed into the heart of Little India and got our cameras out.  

Apparently Welcome doesn't need an "E" on the end.

 Hanging decorations were everywhere and all for sale!

 Hindu figures welcoming you to the tent full of items for sale.

The main drag down Little India was decorated with festival of light symbols that would be illuminated in different colors at nighttime.

Happy Deepavali

Sentosa Island

Sentosa Island is small island located off of Singapore (actually also an island).  It is a resort play space for Singaporeans.  They have carved out 3 beaches to enjoy since Singapore has no natural beachfront.  Singapore is mostly industrial with ports or rocks all around the island.  They imported sand (more like dirt) and have 3 man made beaches that are coved off from the South China Sea.  The water is more a bay than ocean front.  It's totally tropical looking- just wish the sand was soft and the water was crystal clear.

They have built a really cool look out tower so you can get views to Indonesia and some sights back towards the island.  

The South China Sea is also a busy sea transit area and Singapore is a major hub for shipping.  So the view into the ocean is not like anything you've ever seen before.   There are a multitude of container ships out there and then off in the distance is Indonesia with all those towers spewing smoke.  

Sentosa has about 15 different hotels and we've already tried out 2!  We visited the Shangri-La for the girls birthday.  This hotel was beach front with a beautiful pool.

For my birthday we went to Sentosa Resort and Spa.   The was a more quite resort where you could almost forget you had wifi available.

While on this trip we got to see a beautiful peacock with it's feathers displayed.

Sentosa has lots of great restaurants and other fun things to do like zip lines and a street luge.  We did the street luge on a day trip once.  Here's a couple quick photos of that.

Not us- just a stock photo so you could get the idea.  

Riding the chair lift up the hillside.

Hope you enjoyed a little bit of Sentosa being brought to life for you.

Singapore Botanical Gardens

Last weekend we had some free time to do something as a family.  Before the girls and I arrived here, Fred had gone on a jog through the Botanical  Gardens and he really wanted us to see it.  Jen and I were game for it, Katie took a little convincing.  Finally, we persuaded her that missing out on a fun family adventure and a delicious meal out would cause her to feel left out and she'd regret it.  Nothing like planting a few negative thoughts in your child's mind to make them do what you want.

Katie begrudgingly smiled for the camera.

The Botanical Gardens were really pretty and luckily it wasn't too hot of a day (or are we just getting used to the heat and humidity).  There is a paid area to wander through the orchids, which was absolutely worth it.  They had some of the most beautiful orchids here- with the most unique color combinations.

 Jen really enjoyed taking photos of the different shapes and color orchids.  She has been enjoying her art class at school and is looking forward to the photography unit.

 The girls are getting taller each day- I seem to regularly need to order new shorts and shoes for them as they've grown out of most stuff we arrived with.

 This was a neat photo spot with the moss covered cement stools.

Singapore has some amazing beauty, it's just a matter of being willing to sweat it out on your explorations and know there is a shower waiting for you when you arrive home.

Oh yea, the meal we got was pretty good.  Katie got a pesto cream pasta dish, Pam got mussels and linguini, Jen got pancakes (this place was famous for them- good but probably not worth a "famous" description).  Fred got a slider variety- beef, pork, & chicken.  Are you hungry now????