Singapore!

Well we have been home from our Singapore holiday for a few days now and I have been busy packing and visiting so I am just getting to writing this entry. When Dennis told me a long time ago that we were going to Korea my first thought was "I can visit Laurel and Sam in Singapore!" Laurel and Sam are my friends from camp and they have been living and teaching in Singapore for the last 3 years. I hadn't seen them in about 5 years and had only kept in touch through Facebook but once you make friends at camp they are friends for life!

So we made the long journey to Singapore from Korea. We had a quick stop in Beijing and landed in Singapore at 9pm on April 15th. Of course one of our bags didn't make the long journey and was stuck in Beijing. The bag that did make it only had pickles and shoes in it (long story) so we were a little concerned that this was going to Spain all over again. They assured us that the bag would arrive in the morning so we took off in a taxi to Laurel and Sam's apartment. We had a lovely reunion and catch up over a couple bottles of wine and then decided to get some sleep for the busy few days ahead of us.

In the morning we took advantage of the pool at the apartment and relaxed.

After the pool we headed to little India for a walk and lunch. We had a great time looking at all the shops there, especially Mustafa's department store. We also toured a hindi temple.

For lunch we went to a local Indian restaurant called "Banana Leaf". Here you are served rice and different curries on a banana leaf. It was so delicious especially since I don't like curry, but the food was so good so now I am hooked!
After lunch we tried to find Dennis a belt but none of the stores had anything for him so we headed to Orchard road to do some shopping. Singapore has roughly 150 malls so there is no lack of shopping anywhere you go but Orchard road is a whole new experience. So many high end retailers and neat stores to look at. We found everything we were looking for and had a coffee too. We then headed back to the apartment to relax before the ball we were going to that night.

Dennis and I booked dinner at the restaurant Graze. The restaurant was in a bungalow in Rochester park. They have a great patio area where you can watch old movies while you sip martinis
After dinner we headed to Clarke Quay where we were to meet Laurel and Sam. After walking around for a while and realizing we were in the wrong place we headed to the hotel where the ball was. Laurel and Sam were at the Canadian Ball, where the Canadian ex-pats got together to have a great dinner and raise money for the Make a Wish foundation. We had lots of drinks and did some dancing and then had to head home as we were really tired!

The next morning Dennis and I went for a walk (we are early risers) prior to Laurel and Sam waking up. We all ate breakfast together and then Dennis and I took off to go on the Singapore Flyer. The Flyer is a huge ferris wheel that you can get a great view of the city. The ride takes about 35 minutes, which is about 25 minutes too long...

After the flyer we met Laurel and Sam for high tea at the Ritz Carlton. It was a lot of fun eating little miniature food and yummy cakes, plus as much tea as you could handle!
Next we walked down to see the Merlion, the mascot of Singapore. Unfortunately or fortunately the Merlion was part of a art instalment and they had built a hotel room around the head of the Merlion. We got to take a tour, which was really neat
We took a river boat to the Clarke Quay to look around there a bit more, here is a great shot of our lovely hosts Laurel and Sam
For dinner we went to Laurel and Sam's favorite place for Rotti Padak. It is a flat bread similar to naan but thinner and with a whole lot more oil! You dip the bread into a delicious sauce with chicken. It was very yummy! That night Dennis and I went to the night safari at the Singapore zoo. The safari showcases all the animals who are nocturnal so they are awake and moving around at night. It was a great experience! We enjoyed taking the tram around the park as well as walking on the trails to see the animals. The highlight was going into the bat cage, where they had huge bats eating fruit and little ones flying around. It was a little scary but really neat to see up close.

The next morning we packed up our things and moved to our new location at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel
We decided to book a room here so that we could use their famous infinity pool on the 57th floor, but more on that later. Our friend Shirley who we met in Korea met us at the hotel. Shirley and her family moved to Singapore in January so we had missed them. Shirley first took us to the Maxwell Hawker centre. Hawker centres are all over Singapore and they are essentially food courts, that actually have good food. Singapore is a multicultural city so there is food from all over the world! We had heard that when you are in Singapore you need to have Chicken Rice and Carrot cake. The chicken rice looks very bland but for boiled chicken and white rice it has a very strong flavour. The carrot cake is not like carrot cake you get back home, it is essentially is an omelet with radish, it is very delicious.

Next we went to the Buddha Tooth Relic temple. This is a famous site in Singapore and is a very impressive temple. It was very different from the Korean temples that we have seen so we enjoyed walking around there.

We then walked around China town and Orchard road to do some shopping. Shirley's kids Levi and Destiny met us and we headed to the hotel to check out the pool.
The pool is on the 57th floor and it looks like it just spills over the edge. It is quite the site to see. We enjoyed a delicious cocktail by the pool and then Shirley took off just as Laurel and Sam arrived. They hadn't been to the pool so we all got into a suits and played in the pool.

For dinner we went to another hawker centre for rotti padak, sting ray, noodles and pork belly, needless to say it was delicious!
The next morning we met Shirley to do the tree top walk through the jungle. It was of course a hot day so we were really really sweaty! The walk was beautiful and we saw a lot of monkey's, which Dennis was very happy about.

We returned to the hotel so we could have a quick shower and then headed out to Orchard road to do more shopping. While out Laurel called and said we were going to the Altitude bar that night and there is a dress code. At this point I had no clean clothes let alone nice ones so I went and bought a new outfit. Then we went to the Raffles hotel for Singapore Slings, where they were invented.
After drinks we changed into a fancy clothes and headed to the bar. I didn't have the right shoes on, they called them slippers, so we couldn't go to the bar. Laurel came up with an excellent replacement and we raced the sunset to get to the next bar. We went to the bar at the Swissotel, which is on the 70th floor and caught what was left of the sunset. After a drink we went to the Lau Pa Sat hawker centre for dinner. We were eating at hawker centres a lot because the food is so delicious, you always try something new, and the food is affordable. The food and drink is very pricy in Singapore so this is an amazing way to eat great and save your dough. There were a lot of laughs at dinner and sad goodbye at the end of it, but thankfully we will see Laurel and Sam in Canada this summer!!!

We headed back to the hotel to go the airport. Dennis and I took sleeping pills to get through the six hour flight to Beijing, which worked like a dream, we woke up as we were landing. The end of this trip signified to me the end of my year in Asia. I will be heading back to Canada this week, which is a little bitter sweet. I am so excited to get home to my friends and family but I am going to miss it here too. We have done some amazing things and it feels strange that we don't have a trip booked in the next couple of months!

Well I have to get back to packing as the movers come tomorrow. Wish me luck!

J