Uniquely Singapore

For some reason our internet hasn't been working well lately....hence the lack of blogging. Hopefully the problem has been solved and I can catch everyone up.

Two weeks ago, the place we are staying hosted an evening called "Uniquely Singapore". It's a once a year tradition where they share crafts, games, and food unique to Singapore with its residence. Mark and I decided to get a babysitter for the evening, since the festivities didn't start until 7pm.

Singapore is home to 4.5 million people, the majority being Chinese. However, Indian and Malay also have a significant presence. The evening celebrated a bit of each of the cultures. Staff members dressed in traditional bridal attire as well as other traditional outfits.

We tried our luck at several of the games (some a bit more challenging than others), but we each walked away with several prizes for Paige. I got a henna tattoo, which I was told would last three days, but ended up lasting a week.

We sampled local cuisine, again influenced by the three main cultures. Satay, boiled chicken and rice, fried carrot cake (not as good as it sounds) and curry just to name a few. We ate dragon fruit and attempted to try durian ice-cream, but couldn't get past the horrific smell.

The evening ended around 10. Both Mark and I had a good time, just wished Paige could have joined us.

Singapore Zoo

After talking to several people that I've met, I was told that the Singapore Zoo was a must. We decided to check it out last weekend with the Long family. It is by far the best zoo I have been to.

We arrived early (8:30 am) in hopes to beat the heat. Plus, we knew that Paige would only last until mid-day before she would run out of steam. The zoo was unlike most I've been to. Many of the animals roamed free within their environment and weren't confined behind glass or fences. The monkeys swung from trees above us and the kangaroos hopped along the walking path.

After lunch and completing 2/3 of the zoo, we decided to call it a day. We are hoping to make it back to the zoo one last time before we leave. However, next time we want to go on the night safari.

Singapore Sale

One of the so called benefits of being in Singapore during the month of July is The Great Singapore Sale. As I have previously mentioned, shopping is one of the nations past times......malls galore. So it's no surprise that most people here get super excited for this event. Being the shopper that I am (and now that Paige is camp), I have had a little extra free time to check out this so called event.

Being that we live right off of Orchard Road (the Michigan Ave. of Singapore), I thought it was a convenient place to begin. I meandered through several stores, some familiar and some not searching for a bargain. Unfortunately, what I consider a bargain and what Singaporeans consider a bargain are two different things. When a store advertises BIG SALE, I expect to see some great deals....after all it is The Great Singapore Sale. Imagine my disappointment when the items are marked down only 10%-20%. This is nothing considering that the original price is already significantly more than what I can get it for in the states.

I don't understand all the hype surrounding this event. I still haven't figured out if this is the only month that sales occur, or if the "sale prices" will remain the same minus the sale signs (which seems like a common occurrence in some US stores). I guess I will find out in Aug.

Needless to say, I think my shopping days are over in Singapore. Between the crazy prices and the fact that all I fit into is XL, I'm putting shopping on hold until I return home.

Summer Camp

This week Paige has started summer camp at the American Club! I don't know who is more excited her or I ;) She goes MWF from 9:30-11:30. Since Paige and I have spent very little time apart over here, I figured it would be best for both of us to have a little separation from one other.

I wasn't sure how she would be about going, so I hung around for the first 1/2 hour to make sure she was comfortable before I left. At 10:00 I told I was leaving, but that I would be back in a little bit. She looked at me and waved good-bye. I guess that was a good sign. Everything went smoothly, so I signed her up for next week as well. I am now on a mission to find something similar in Chicago.

4th of July.....Indonesian Style

We spent our 4th of July weekend in Bintan, Indonesia with the Long family (friends and co-worker from Chicago). They have a girl who is 9 months older than Paige and an 8 month old little boy. We figured since Binton is a 50 minute ferry ride from Singapore that it would be a good introduction to traveling Asia (with kids that is :) We left Singapore at 5pm and arrived in Bintan around the same time (Indonesia is an hour behind Singapore). As we disembarked the ferry, we proceeded to the line at immigration. When approached by an immigration officer asking us if we were going to pay for our visitor visa inUSD or Singapore dollars our response was whichever would get us through the line the quickest (mistake on our part). We then proceeded to the front of the line, where Mark began his currency calculations. Turns out, we paid 20% more for this expedited service. Oh well, looks like the immigration officers took home a little extra that night, thanks to the Americans :)

From the ferry terminal, we took a bus to Nirwana Gardens, the resort where we were staying. We stayed in a 3 bedroom villa in a section of the resort called Banyu Biru Villas. The villa was a bit more rustic than we had anticipated, but it was fine for two nights. Paige and Kaya shared a room which worked out well, once everyone was asleep.

Despite being right on the beach, we spent most of Saturday by the pool. There was a jelly fish warning posted by the shore, plus we had seen several people being treated for stings. We did stick our feet in the ocean just to say that we had been in the South China Sea, but other than that we opted for the chlorine.

Before catching the ferry back on Sunday, we wandered around the resort. We saw large lizards roaming the grounds (which made me a bit nervous), caged crocodiles and Paige's favorite an elephant. Paige and Mark had the opportunity to sit on the elephants knee, which she really enjoyed despite what the picture shows. Besides hanging out with Kaya all weekend, I think that was the highlight of her trip.

Overall we had a nice weekend. It was good to get away and experience a new place.

Pet Peeve

Okay, today I'm going to vent a little. I think that I had mentioned in an earlier post that they have an abundance of malls here. It is almost impossible not to visit one on a daily basis, as this is where the banks, grocery stores, post offices, restaurants and everything else we need to survive is located. The problem with these malls is that they have these annoying kiddie rides everywhere. When we first arrived here, I thought it was cute when Paige would call out to her favorite cartoon character and hop on the mechanical ride. I would put $1 in the machine and her face would light up. Eventually it started to add up so she would just go and sit on the ride, which she was fine with. The problem I am running into now is that every time I have a quick errand to run, it turns out to be a big whine fest. My sweet little girl turns into a whiny two year old when she can't stop and visit the germ infested, money eating, kid riding machines.

Today we went to her gym class, which of course is located in a mall. As the taxi prceedes to drop us off, I try to prepare myself for what is to come. Unfortunately there is a horse, bus and helicopter that greet us at the mall enterance. I struggle to get by these machines every Tuesday morning. Today was no different. After gym, we headed downstairs to have lunch. While I was ordering our lunch, Paige took off running to visit Big Bird who just happend to be right outside of the food stall. When I went to get her, I now become the mother with the screaming child. Once these things are out of site, my sweet little girl returns. When we finished lunch we proceeded to the taxi stand, screaming good-bye to Big Bird, the horse, bus and helicopter. Ugh... my life would be so much easier if these things would just disappear.