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! :)
