Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Delaney's Deep Thoughts
Delaney made a friend at the pool today. She was probably not quite 3 yet (she still had a diaper on and was not as tall as Delaney). I asked Delaney if the little girl spoke English, and she said, "No, I don't think so, but she laughed the right way."
An Visitors View of Singapore
Hello everyone!
I am honored to be a guest blogger!!! We had such a great time in Singapore! Melissa is the perfect tour guide... she had everything planned so that we could see as much as possible without overwhelming ourselves, and she did an awesome time with the itinerary! I really felt like I got to see and do everything that I wanted to...
We arrived early Sunday morning, and Delaney got up at 2 am to welcome us!!! Sunday, we slept in a little and took our time getting ready, and then we took a bus downtown (the public transportation here is wonderful! they have cards that you can swipe at all entrances to the bus; they are air conditioned; very clean; very timely!) and went on a "duck tour"; the "duck" is a renovated military mobile, purchased many years ago from the US, that runs on land and water. The tour company has acquired these car-boats and now use them to show people around Singapore! We got some nice pictures from the water, and learned lots of new and interesting facts about the country. After the tour, we walked around the downtown area and had Thai for dinner; then we walked around Chinatown, which was a cute little area.
Monday, we went down to the pool at the apartment for a little bit and then Melissa's friend Tracy came over with her daughter and son for a few hours. Her daughter is the same age as Delaney, and they were cute together! For dinner, we went to a place called the Banana Leaf. It is an Indian restaurant, located in Little India. I really enjoyed my dinner there... they serve you on banana leaves, which are the size of large place mat, and you just eat your food right off of it! After dinner, we witnessed some of Delaney's "superstar-ness"... we ordered an extra cheese naan (bread) to go, for Delaney, and they gave it to her for free! Derek said that he was going to start taking her to car dealerships... After dinner, we walked around Little India a bit. We stopped in at this large shopping area, called Mustafa Centre, which is open 24 hours, and carries everything from shampoo to greeting cards to purses to electronics to watches (you name it, they have it!)... we were amazed at the number of people who were there on a random Monday night, and a large percentage of them seemed to be locals! it was around 9pm, and the place was packed!!!
Tuesday, Lissa and I took Delaney to the pool, and Paul was able to get in some golf on a local course. He was very pleased to be able to say that he has golfed in Asia! We had dinner in the food court, and again were able to witness Superstar Delaney - we ran into one of the helpers from the apartment complex, as she was walking home from the grocery store, and she insisted on giving Delaney a bag of potato chips from her groceries! After dinner, we went to Night Safari at the zoo. We went to a show, and then walked around... it was cool to see the animals at night, and we witness a lion roaring, which was amazing!!!
Wednesday, we met Melissa's friend Tracy, and her husband, Sam, at a Mexican restaurant on what is called Clarke Quay (key), a place with lots of restaurants, shops and bars. We had really good margaritas! Then, we went to The Clinic, a bar that serves drinks in IV bags... the clientele start a drip into their glasses! The seats are mini hospital beds. As a nurse, I was fascinated by this! It was full, though, so we went to another bar for a few beers. They had tables outside, and it was a nice and relaxing place to unwind and chat!
Thursday, Lissa, Delaney and I went to Orchard Road to see the stores... it's Singapore's Rodeo Drive/Magnificent Mile/etc... it was a fun place to walk around. I was amazed at how many malls and stores they had in one area!!! Thursday night, we went to the Hard Rock Cafe, Singapore, where we tried "chili crab" dip... chili crab is one of the dishes that is well known in Singapore. It was delicious! Delaney was a Super Trooper... she was fighting a fever all day, and was such a big girl about it! She was really a very good sport... we did so much walking around that day, and her little legs had to be exhausted! She is really too cute for words!
Friday, Derek took the day off work, and we went to Sentosa. It is the Southern Most Point of the Asia Continent, and it has a nice beach area, some restaurants and lots of attractions. We went on a street luge (Lissa won twice!!!), to a 4-D Pirate movie, to the underground aquarium, and to a Butterfly world. We had delicious pizza for lunch at a restaurant on the beach. We also went to a dolphin show, and got to touch a pink dolphin!!! I got sun blisters, and Derek said that after the skin graft, I should be fine...
Friday night, we went back to Clarke Quay and had super yummy burgers! I guess it was our American food day... although, my burger was the Mexican burger, with guacamole and salsa!
Saturday, we walked around the Arab district, and then had Chicken Rice for dinner... chicken rice is what Derek eats for lunch every day, and it is also a dish that Singapore is well-known for... it was very, very good! It's just chicken and sticky rice, but then they give you a thick soy sauce, a hot sauce, and a ginger sauce to dip it in. Delicious! Also on Saturday, we had something that was not so delicious... Durian! You can watch us try it on the You Tube clips... it smells AWFUL, and tastes even worse!!! I have no idea how it is such a popular fruit! They make ice cream that is Durian flavored... I have no words to describe how yucky this smells and tastes. The only thing that I can tell you to possibly relay a small idea of the "stinkiness" is that the Durian is not allowed to be carried onto public transportation.
Saturday night, we packed up our things, and Lissa made me hot chocolate with a Cadbury cocoa mix that she found... super good, and I am sad that I haven't found it here in the States!
Sunday was the end of our trip, and on the way to the airport, I already missed being there!!! It was so nice... so relaxing, so much fun to have friends with you, so warm!
Singapore is definitely worth the 26 hour trip!!!!! I highly recommend it! :)
I am honored to be a guest blogger!!! We had such a great time in Singapore! Melissa is the perfect tour guide... she had everything planned so that we could see as much as possible without overwhelming ourselves, and she did an awesome time with the itinerary! I really felt like I got to see and do everything that I wanted to...
We arrived early Sunday morning, and Delaney got up at 2 am to welcome us!!! Sunday, we slept in a little and took our time getting ready, and then we took a bus downtown (the public transportation here is wonderful! they have cards that you can swipe at all entrances to the bus; they are air conditioned; very clean; very timely!) and went on a "duck tour"; the "duck" is a renovated military mobile, purchased many years ago from the US, that runs on land and water. The tour company has acquired these car-boats and now use them to show people around Singapore! We got some nice pictures from the water, and learned lots of new and interesting facts about the country. After the tour, we walked around the downtown area and had Thai for dinner; then we walked around Chinatown, which was a cute little area.
Monday, we went down to the pool at the apartment for a little bit and then Melissa's friend Tracy came over with her daughter and son for a few hours. Her daughter is the same age as Delaney, and they were cute together! For dinner, we went to a place called the Banana Leaf. It is an Indian restaurant, located in Little India. I really enjoyed my dinner there... they serve you on banana leaves, which are the size of large place mat, and you just eat your food right off of it! After dinner, we witnessed some of Delaney's "superstar-ness"... we ordered an extra cheese naan (bread) to go, for Delaney, and they gave it to her for free! Derek said that he was going to start taking her to car dealerships... After dinner, we walked around Little India a bit. We stopped in at this large shopping area, called Mustafa Centre, which is open 24 hours, and carries everything from shampoo to greeting cards to purses to electronics to watches (you name it, they have it!)... we were amazed at the number of people who were there on a random Monday night, and a large percentage of them seemed to be locals! it was around 9pm, and the place was packed!!!
Tuesday, Lissa and I took Delaney to the pool, and Paul was able to get in some golf on a local course. He was very pleased to be able to say that he has golfed in Asia! We had dinner in the food court, and again were able to witness Superstar Delaney - we ran into one of the helpers from the apartment complex, as she was walking home from the grocery store, and she insisted on giving Delaney a bag of potato chips from her groceries! After dinner, we went to Night Safari at the zoo. We went to a show, and then walked around... it was cool to see the animals at night, and we witness a lion roaring, which was amazing!!!
Wednesday, we met Melissa's friend Tracy, and her husband, Sam, at a Mexican restaurant on what is called Clarke Quay (key), a place with lots of restaurants, shops and bars. We had really good margaritas! Then, we went to The Clinic, a bar that serves drinks in IV bags... the clientele start a drip into their glasses! The seats are mini hospital beds. As a nurse, I was fascinated by this! It was full, though, so we went to another bar for a few beers. They had tables outside, and it was a nice and relaxing place to unwind and chat!
Thursday, Lissa, Delaney and I went to Orchard Road to see the stores... it's Singapore's Rodeo Drive/Magnificent Mile/etc... it was a fun place to walk around. I was amazed at how many malls and stores they had in one area!!! Thursday night, we went to the Hard Rock Cafe, Singapore, where we tried "chili crab" dip... chili crab is one of the dishes that is well known in Singapore. It was delicious! Delaney was a Super Trooper... she was fighting a fever all day, and was such a big girl about it! She was really a very good sport... we did so much walking around that day, and her little legs had to be exhausted! She is really too cute for words!
Friday, Derek took the day off work, and we went to Sentosa. It is the Southern Most Point of the Asia Continent, and it has a nice beach area, some restaurants and lots of attractions. We went on a street luge (Lissa won twice!!!), to a 4-D Pirate movie, to the underground aquarium, and to a Butterfly world. We had delicious pizza for lunch at a restaurant on the beach. We also went to a dolphin show, and got to touch a pink dolphin!!! I got sun blisters, and Derek said that after the skin graft, I should be fine...
Friday night, we went back to Clarke Quay and had super yummy burgers! I guess it was our American food day... although, my burger was the Mexican burger, with guacamole and salsa!
Saturday, we walked around the Arab district, and then had Chicken Rice for dinner... chicken rice is what Derek eats for lunch every day, and it is also a dish that Singapore is well-known for... it was very, very good! It's just chicken and sticky rice, but then they give you a thick soy sauce, a hot sauce, and a ginger sauce to dip it in. Delicious! Also on Saturday, we had something that was not so delicious... Durian! You can watch us try it on the You Tube clips... it smells AWFUL, and tastes even worse!!! I have no idea how it is such a popular fruit! They make ice cream that is Durian flavored... I have no words to describe how yucky this smells and tastes. The only thing that I can tell you to possibly relay a small idea of the "stinkiness" is that the Durian is not allowed to be carried onto public transportation.
Saturday night, we packed up our things, and Lissa made me hot chocolate with a Cadbury cocoa mix that she found... super good, and I am sad that I haven't found it here in the States!
Sunday was the end of our trip, and on the way to the airport, I already missed being there!!! It was so nice... so relaxing, so much fun to have friends with you, so warm!
Singapore is definitely worth the 26 hour trip!!!!! I highly recommend it! :)
Monday, April 23, 2007
Stacie and Paul's visit
The week went by way too fast. They arrived early Sunday morning (2 am) after enduring a 26 hour flight. We tried to keep them busy with all of Singapore's famous sites. (BTW, for those of you who don't know, Stacie is my best friend from Salem. We've know each other over 20 years! Paul is her fiancee.) Here's my rundown of the week (you can read Stacie's in the post above):
Sunday: We took them on the famous Duck Tour. They saw the huge ferris wheel that's being built to beat London's, the Merlion, the Esplanade, the Raffles Hotel and more. After the Tour, we went to Thai Express for a late lunch/early dinner. Delaney had McDonald's...does that really surprise anyone? We then headed to Chinatown to do some exploring. After Chinatown we headed to the Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel, which supposedly is the place to say that you've had a Singapore Sling (only because that's where they were created). Delaney had fun there, tossing the peanut shells on the floor (it's the only place in Singapore where you can litter without being fined!) She also enjoyed her virgin sling.
Monday:
Stacie and I wandered around the Hougang area (where we live) so she could see the "local flavor" before picking up Delaney from school. She met Delaney's teacher, Miss Chen. We spent part of the afternoon at the pool. My friend Tracey came over with her two kids, Lauren and Sami. This made Delaney's day! After they left we headed to Little India and had dinner at a famous Indian restaurant, Banana Leaf Apollo. The food was really served on banana leaves and not plates. We saw people eating with their hands, but luckily silverware was provided. I think everyone enjoyed their food. We headed to Mustafa's after dinner, which is a huge store selling everything from clothing to electronics to deodorant. Basically, if you can't find it at Mustafa's, it's not sold in Singapore. Mustafa's was very crowded, especially for a Monday night. I guess it's horrible on the weekends...I found it pretty horrible that night!
Tuesday:
While Paul had the experience of golfing in Asia, Stacie enjoyed about 5 hours at the pool, without sun protection! Delaney and I joined her at around noon. This was a great day for me because Delaney fell asleep at the pool and ended up sleeping for quite a long time...3 1/2 hours to be exact. So I got to enjoy my quiet pool time! We went to the Night Safari that night (which is why I let Delaney sleep so long in the afternoon). Before the Safari, we had dinner downstairs, which I've boycotted, but had to have Stacie and Paul experience what my life was like for the 2 months before I boycotted! The Night Safari was cool, of course. Paul really enjoyed it. We heard a male lion roar, which we thought was being piped in. After heading there, we actually saw him (and heard him) for ourselves. He was slightly upset because he had been denied (if you know what I mean) by another male lion.
Wednesday:
Stacie and I spent the morning at the pool before picking up Delaney. After lunch all of the girls headed downstairs for a mani/pedi treat. Stacie and I had both, and Delaney was soo good, we let her get a Little Princess pedi. She's so proud of her toes (sparkling pink)! After getting our nails done, we both realized that it wouldn't be a smart idea to wash our own hair (we were hitting the town that night) so we stopped at a salon to have our hair washed and blown dry. That night, Jannett (a helper of one of my friends) baby-sat Delaney and the adults headed out. We met our friends Tracey and Sam at Cafe Iguana for dinner and half priced margaritas. After dinner, we ended up at some Cuban bar that didn't want to give us tap water to drink, even though we each had about 2 drinks. They eventually gave in, thank goodness! A fantastic time was had by all.
Thursday:
Delaney must have been worn down, because she had a fever this day. It was pretty consistent, around 102, but, as usual, she was acting fine. Stacie, Delaney, and I headed to Orchard Road (the major shopping district) for some shopping. We had lunch at Pizza Hut, and walked around. Stacie bought some pewter pieced to bring home, and Delaney said she was chilly. We bought her a sweatshirt to warm up. We then got smoothies at Orange Julius and headed to another mall. At this point, Delaney was not doing well, so we headed home. She took a brief nap and when she woke up, her fever was 104! After a dose of Advil and about 1 hour, she was fine. We headed to the Hard Rock for dinner. We all had good food, took good photos and got some souvenirs.
Friday: Derek took the day off and we headed to Sentosa Island. We did the luge, of course. Derek had Delaney talking trash, saying how they were going to dominate. But, I was the one who dominated! We did it 2 times, and I won both! We had pizza at Trapizza (aptly named, as it's right near the trapeze). We saw the dolphin show. Stacie and Paul pet the pink dolphin named Pet after the show, which of course made Delaney want to do it too, so we did it. We got a really great pic from the photographer. We did the southernmost tip of Asia. Dinner that night was at the American bar Brewerkz. We all had burgers and headed over to G-Max Reverse Bungee. We all did it and had a blast. We have DVDs of our ride.
Saturday: Delaney was on TV! It was a show called No Problem...she was at the very beginning saying "I love Yugo". Of course we have no means of recording it. We emailed the station today to get a copy, but they're going to charge some astronomical price for it - 120 dollars! I could have gotten a VCR cheaper. If any of you would like to contribute to this cause, please let us know!!! At any rate, it was really cool to see her on TV. In the afternoon, we went to Bugis Street, which is a street market. Stacie and Paul tried durian (see other post for funny video). We went to a place famous for its chicken rice for dinner.
They left early Sunday morning...at 4! We really miss them. The apartment feels so lonely without them!
Sunday: We took them on the famous Duck Tour. They saw the huge ferris wheel that's being built to beat London's, the Merlion, the Esplanade, the Raffles Hotel and more. After the Tour, we went to Thai Express for a late lunch/early dinner. Delaney had McDonald's...does that really surprise anyone? We then headed to Chinatown to do some exploring. After Chinatown we headed to the Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel, which supposedly is the place to say that you've had a Singapore Sling (only because that's where they were created). Delaney had fun there, tossing the peanut shells on the floor (it's the only place in Singapore where you can litter without being fined!) She also enjoyed her virgin sling.
Monday:
Stacie and I wandered around the Hougang area (where we live) so she could see the "local flavor" before picking up Delaney from school. She met Delaney's teacher, Miss Chen. We spent part of the afternoon at the pool. My friend Tracey came over with her two kids, Lauren and Sami. This made Delaney's day! After they left we headed to Little India and had dinner at a famous Indian restaurant, Banana Leaf Apollo. The food was really served on banana leaves and not plates. We saw people eating with their hands, but luckily silverware was provided. I think everyone enjoyed their food. We headed to Mustafa's after dinner, which is a huge store selling everything from clothing to electronics to deodorant. Basically, if you can't find it at Mustafa's, it's not sold in Singapore. Mustafa's was very crowded, especially for a Monday night. I guess it's horrible on the weekends...I found it pretty horrible that night!
Tuesday:
While Paul had the experience of golfing in Asia, Stacie enjoyed about 5 hours at the pool, without sun protection! Delaney and I joined her at around noon. This was a great day for me because Delaney fell asleep at the pool and ended up sleeping for quite a long time...3 1/2 hours to be exact. So I got to enjoy my quiet pool time! We went to the Night Safari that night (which is why I let Delaney sleep so long in the afternoon). Before the Safari, we had dinner downstairs, which I've boycotted, but had to have Stacie and Paul experience what my life was like for the 2 months before I boycotted! The Night Safari was cool, of course. Paul really enjoyed it. We heard a male lion roar, which we thought was being piped in. After heading there, we actually saw him (and heard him) for ourselves. He was slightly upset because he had been denied (if you know what I mean) by another male lion.
Wednesday:
Stacie and I spent the morning at the pool before picking up Delaney. After lunch all of the girls headed downstairs for a mani/pedi treat. Stacie and I had both, and Delaney was soo good, we let her get a Little Princess pedi. She's so proud of her toes (sparkling pink)! After getting our nails done, we both realized that it wouldn't be a smart idea to wash our own hair (we were hitting the town that night) so we stopped at a salon to have our hair washed and blown dry. That night, Jannett (a helper of one of my friends) baby-sat Delaney and the adults headed out. We met our friends Tracey and Sam at Cafe Iguana for dinner and half priced margaritas. After dinner, we ended up at some Cuban bar that didn't want to give us tap water to drink, even though we each had about 2 drinks. They eventually gave in, thank goodness! A fantastic time was had by all.
Thursday:
Delaney must have been worn down, because she had a fever this day. It was pretty consistent, around 102, but, as usual, she was acting fine. Stacie, Delaney, and I headed to Orchard Road (the major shopping district) for some shopping. We had lunch at Pizza Hut, and walked around. Stacie bought some pewter pieced to bring home, and Delaney said she was chilly. We bought her a sweatshirt to warm up. We then got smoothies at Orange Julius and headed to another mall. At this point, Delaney was not doing well, so we headed home. She took a brief nap and when she woke up, her fever was 104! After a dose of Advil and about 1 hour, she was fine. We headed to the Hard Rock for dinner. We all had good food, took good photos and got some souvenirs.
Friday: Derek took the day off and we headed to Sentosa Island. We did the luge, of course. Derek had Delaney talking trash, saying how they were going to dominate. But, I was the one who dominated! We did it 2 times, and I won both! We had pizza at Trapizza (aptly named, as it's right near the trapeze). We saw the dolphin show. Stacie and Paul pet the pink dolphin named Pet after the show, which of course made Delaney want to do it too, so we did it. We got a really great pic from the photographer. We did the southernmost tip of Asia. Dinner that night was at the American bar Brewerkz. We all had burgers and headed over to G-Max Reverse Bungee. We all did it and had a blast. We have DVDs of our ride.
Saturday: Delaney was on TV! It was a show called No Problem...she was at the very beginning saying "I love Yugo". Of course we have no means of recording it. We emailed the station today to get a copy, but they're going to charge some astronomical price for it - 120 dollars! I could have gotten a VCR cheaper. If any of you would like to contribute to this cause, please let us know!!! At any rate, it was really cool to see her on TV. In the afternoon, we went to Bugis Street, which is a street market. Stacie and Paul tried durian (see other post for funny video). We went to a place famous for its chicken rice for dinner.
They left early Sunday morning...at 4! We really miss them. The apartment feels so lonely without them!
Pictures from the visit
Follow the link below to access pictures from Stacie and Paul's visit:
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0QcNGLly0asXNQ
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0QcNGLly0asXNQ
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Durian videos
Stacie and Paul each tried the local delicacy...durian. It is described as follows in one of the guide books we have: "This huge, spiky fruit, when opened, reveals a creamy-yellow, soft, slimy interior and smells phenomenally bad. However, if you can get used to the aroma, the taste is not unpleasant. Not for the fainthearted!" The videos below show their reaction when they tried it. By the way, "ang mo" means white person in Chinese.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0R1FBGOxTHQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2A3XT0EtQ0
Enjoy...hopefully as much as they enjoyed the durian!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0R1FBGOxTHQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2A3XT0EtQ0
Enjoy...hopefully as much as they enjoyed the durian!
The Calm after the Storm...
Well our one and one guests have left us....Paul and Stacie are now in route back to the States. We had a great time this past week entertaining our guests. The time really went by FAST! It seems like just yesterday that I was meeting them at the airport. I would assume that Melissa will write more about the visitors in the coming days and their is even a rumor circulating that we will have Stacie as a "Guest Blogger" to document her trip from a visitors perspective. Some key take aways from the week:
1. I laughed the hardest I have in years on Saturday when Paul and Stacie tried Durian...I was laughing so hard my eyes were filling with tears.
2. Stacie decided to go for the express tan look at the pool and came away after the first day looking like a burn victim. The sun might be a little more intense this close to the equator..hint
3. As outlined in earlier posts, Delaney did indeed make the final cut and appeared in the kids TV show she was filmed for a couple of weeks ago.
4. Stacie and I are determined that we could make the pool if we dove from our window...Paul thinks we are crazy and isn't as supportive.
5. Paul is not a big fan of mass transit...he is more of a Taxi-man.
To all our friends and family....time is running out for visiting us so I would suggest you book your trips soon....you don't want to pass up free lodging and a free tour guide (Mel and Del Tours) in Singapore.
1. I laughed the hardest I have in years on Saturday when Paul and Stacie tried Durian...I was laughing so hard my eyes were filling with tears.
2. Stacie decided to go for the express tan look at the pool and came away after the first day looking like a burn victim. The sun might be a little more intense this close to the equator..hint
3. As outlined in earlier posts, Delaney did indeed make the final cut and appeared in the kids TV show she was filmed for a couple of weeks ago.
4. Stacie and I are determined that we could make the pool if we dove from our window...Paul thinks we are crazy and isn't as supportive.
5. Paul is not a big fan of mass transit...he is more of a Taxi-man.
To all our friends and family....time is running out for visiting us so I would suggest you book your trips soon....you don't want to pass up free lodging and a free tour guide (Mel and Del Tours) in Singapore.
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