Singapore

Well, I've been putting off blogging because there's so much to write about!  My first impression of Singapore is how CLEAN and organized it was!  My Aunt and cousins were waiting at the airport to pick us up in taxis and take us back to their house.  There was a neat, organized taxi line and attendants told us which one to go in.  We drove through the city to get to their apartment and there were skyscrapers and tropical plants everywhere.  We got to their adorable apartment and spent some time catching up with Uncle Dan, Aunt Jeanne, Lara & Michelle before my parents and brother headed to their rented room at the YMCA and we all went to sleep.  The next day we laid out at the pool (which was difficult because it was cloudy), went shopping on Orchard Road, and went to MacRitchie nature preserve to see some wild monkeys.  Most people in Singapore don't have cars.  In order to keep pollution low, they charge over 100% tax as well as other fees.  So we took the bus to Orchard Rd, which is evidently the equivalent to 5th Avenue in NYC.  Our first stop was for some bubble tea, a Singaporean drink with little balls of soy at the bottom.  The kind I got tasted like a cross between a strawberry smoothie and slushy.  The little balls didn't really taste like much- you sucked them up with your straw and they kind of had the texture of gummy bears, but no taste.  It was really good!  We walked through the mall but didn't really buy anything because it was all too expensive.  I did make some excellent purchases at a bookstore- a Japanese picture book that reads from right to left and Where the Wild Things Are in Japanese.  We also discovered a book titled 501 Places You Must Visit.  Heather and I bought a copy and so did Lara & Michelle. We spent the afternoon perusing it.  When the adults & James got back from their visit to the botanical gardens, we went to MacRitchie because Michelle promised us she always sees monkeys there.  Aunt Jeanne stayed home because she said if you're looking for monkeys you won't see them.  After walking several miles and looking for awhile we determined Aunt Jeanne was right!

The next day was zoo day and let me just say that the Singapore Zoo is AMAZING!  They have animals out in the open, not even in cages!  We got to see kangaroos up close, tons of baboons, and the feeding of the white tigers!  There is a rainforest exhibit where you walk into this large enclosed area and all of the animals are running free- lemurs, fruit bats, butterflies, reptiles, and these other monkeys.  It was sooo cool!  We spent the whole day at the zoo and came home to pack up for Bali and eat dinner at Clarke Quay.  We went to a Japanese restaurant with the whole family, then Heather, Lara, Michelle and I headed to an Arabic restaurant for drinks and hooka.  Heather and I both ordered Singapore Slings.  It was fun to enjoy a (legal) drink and relax with my family.

The next day we went to Bali, which I will post about later.  When we got back a week later we were tired and just ordered in Pizza Hut.

The next day was Sunday, so we went to church.  After Uncle Dan really wanted us to go to Chinatown, but the general consensus was that if you've seen one Chinatown, you've seen them all.  So instead, we went to Arab street.  We had a good time shopping and looking in mosques.  Afterwards, we went to see Hancock, which is an AMAZING movie and I would highly recommend it.  

On Monday, we planned to go to Sentosa Beach, but Heather was really sick, so we decided to go on Tuesday.  We ended up staying in all day.  Michelle finished Harry Potter and I read Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner.  I'm going to read more of her books!  That evening we went to Brewerks, a restaurant that specializes in beer.  Heather ordered for us and we had fun reminiscing and playing either or.  When we were almost finished, I dropped a glass and broke it (no, I was not drunk- just clumsy) and they gave us a sampler of beer free!  So I can now say I've tried some kinds that I don't hate, but I'm still not really a beer girl.

We spent Tuesday morning relaxing again, then went to East Coast Beach to ride bikes.  We decided to get tandem bikes, which are a lot harder than they look, but once you get started, it gets much easier.  It was a lot of fun to ride around by the beach.  It was hot and humid, as usual for Singapore, and when we got off the bikes to switch places, my cousin's khaki shorts were totally wet from sweat on her butt!  We spent the rest of the afternoon making fun of her for peeing her pants.  When we got back to the apartment we had enough time to finish packing and enjoy Aunt Jeanne's homemade pizza before heading to the airport to fly back home.  I was sooo sad to leave!  I'm glad we got a chance to see them and hopefully they'll be coming to the States next summer, so we'll see them in a year.  All in all some excellent family time.  I'll miss them!