Fred's Birthday Marina Bay Sands

Marina Bay Sands is a famous hotel in Singapore.  It is an amazing architectural structure.

There are 3 towers that curve in and then back out.  So if you stay on the upper floors you window bows from bottom to top so that you can lean against it looking straight down.  On top is a boat shaped structure that has an infinity pool that overlooks the city and has a number of restaurants.  

For Fred's birthday I booked us a room at the hotel and got an great embassy rate!  We spent most of the day and evening lounging around at the rooftop pool.  

This is the view overlooking the city from the rooftop pool.  The pool is on the 57th story so you have a great view of the city below.  The other direction is a garden area called Gardens by the Bay  and then the South China Sea where you can see all the ships out in the ocean.  

We of course had to get in the pool and take a selfie!  The water was freezing so just a couple quick photos and then back out to the lounge chairs.  

 I decided they keep the water cold so the pool doesn't get overcrowded and then you just go sit on the lounge chairs enjoying the view and buying their $18.00 drinks.  

 The birthday boy- Happy 46th.

We stayed on the deck until the sun set- it was great to sit back and watch from 57 stories high.  A day relaxing with beautiful views was a perfect day for a very busy person.  After a nice dinner we spent another hour lounging on the deck enjoying the night time sky.  It sure was a very memorable birthday that has made living in Singapore such a great experience.

Bintan or Bust

Bintan is an island that is part of Indonesia and located about an hour from Singapore via ferry.  While Fred's parents were visiting we thought it would be fun to bring them to another country and get another stamp in their passport.

We booked a couple nights at a resort, Bintan Lagoon Resort, that had it's own private ferry and immigration clearance right on the resort property to help make the trip simpler.  We opted for a villa thinking it would be fun to all stay together and have the common living room space to hang out in the evenings.  Below is a photo of the resort.

We arrived late- the ferry must have had some problem or the ocean was too rough- either way we had a bumpy 2 hour ride.  Upon arriving and checking into our villa we opened the door to a steaming hot 1980's decorated house.  THIS was not in the photos.  We cranked down the AC units and decided to just get some dinner.  We thought the resort buffet would be quick- we were all pretty hungry.  Unfortunately, it was quick but pretty bad, the best option was the steamed rice!

The crazy thing is this resort was beautiful.  The check in area was open and very Indonesian with wood everywhere.  How could the food be so bad and our villa be so ancient?

With full but unsatisfied bellies we headed back to our villa which was mostly cooled down except for the room Katie would be sleeping in.  Fred and I were discussing our disappointment with the room and what to do with Katie's hot room when the power went out!  That was the last straw.  Off to the lobby to discuss moving to a more appropriate room(s). At 11PM we did a room switch that brought us into the main building with 3 cool and modern hotel rooms.

After getting a good night sleep in a cool room, we were able to relax and enjoy the resort.  They had a beautiful pool that we spent the afternoon at.  The girls ran into 3 other 7th grade girls from their school at the pool and enjoyed playing and hanging out with one girl that is in 4 classes with Katie.  

Finally our vacation was turning around.

While at the pool, we saw a large monitor lizard wandering around.  This guy seemed really friendly but they are supposed to be fairly aggressive towards humans.  Just to be safe we stayed 10 feet away.

We headed down the the beach to check out the gorgeous clear water and white sandy beach.  We had heard rumors that sometimes this area can have oil in the water since so many tankers run through here on the way to Singapore.  Those rumors were correct and the resort proudly displayed their warning sign.  

Sure enough there were little droplets of oil/tar on the sand.  There were people in the water so I decided to at least put my feet in.  On the walk back my feet started feeling a little sticky and upon inspection they were black- tar had gotten on them.  Luckily nothing a good scrub with soap couldn't get rid of!

 

After a nice day at the beach and pool it was time to find a good restaurant.  Our resort had one right on the beach and we ended our first day with a fantastic meal that made us wishing we had gone there the first night.    Despite the rocky start the vacation was a great success.