Chinatown

Just about every major city has a Chinatown and Singapore is no different.  It is so cool.  We spent all Sunday afternoon there and are going back on Wednesday evening.  We have to go back to pick up some pants that Greg is having made and to shop some more.  I love the kind of shopping where you can haggle and find bargains.  In Singapore a bargain is hard to find.  As far as I can see everything is more expensive than in the US except in Chinatown.

Singapore Zoo

We went to the Singapore Zoo this weekend.  I had heard that it was one of the best zoos in the world and I thought it was amazing.  The reason I liked it so much was that the animals are so close to you.  I don't think I have ever been to a zoo where I could almost touch some of the animals. 

We saw a white tiger. 

There were so many different kinds of monkeys!

The orangutans were so cool.  I loved the baby. 

There is a beautiful river in the zoo.  This is one of the things that makes the zoo so amazing.  The landscaping and the attention to details.  Most of the zoo is green and natural looking.  Not much concrete like other zoos I have been to in the past. 

Can you see the resemblance??

So to sum it up, it was another great week in Singapore.  I did not post on the blog during the week because I did not think anyone would be interested in how many hours I worked!  We have found a routine for the week days that consists of working and then venturing out to find new places to eat at night.  We spend a lot of time trying to beat the system to get some American TV but not much time watching anything.  It has become a real challenge for Greg so sooner or later he is going to find a way to make it work consistently.  I have read a lot of books and have enjoyed getting that back into my life.  A special note to Sharon, I read the book you suggested...very thought provoking!  Thanks.

Bintan Island

We traveled to Bintan Island, Indonesia this weekend for Greg's company Christmas party weekend.  Epi-Use had about 43 people for the event.  We arrived at the resort on Friday night and were greeted by Indonesian dancers.  We are treated like VIPs the entire weekend.  Both Friday and Saturday night we had dinner served on the beach with full bars and incredible food. 

This a picture of the resort from the beach side.

This is one of the pools with the ocean in the background.

Here is a picture of the house we stayed in, and to make things more interesting we shared it with the CEO of Epi-Use and his family. 

The backyard of each house has it's own pool.

Greg and I both had massages on the beach.  How much more relaxing can it get??

Since it is monsoon season the waves were really large.  As you can see the beach is just about deserted so it was very nice to walk along.  I did get in but not on purpose, I fell in while climbing on some rocks and ruined the post card I had just bought.(Sorry Dad)  I am entertaining company not necessarily with my witty conversation!  

We rented 4 wheelers and explored the property.  It was rough through some areas so my ribs are hurting again but Greg had a blast.  This was obviously his favorite event of the weekend!

Once again I was amazed and impressed with my new experience in Asia.  I guess when I decided to take this trip I had a preconceived idea of what I would see and what it would be like.  I have to say I was very off base.  It is far nicer and much more western than I expected.  I think this has made it easier than I thought and more comfortable to travel.  I guess it is a better way to travel with no expectations so I am excited by each thing.  I wonder what I will see next????

Botanical Gardens

I spent the afternoon with Madeline, my dead grandmother, at the Botanical Gardens.  It was so beautiful and i kept thinking about her and how much she would have loved the flowers.  It is one of my favorite places.  I told Greg that if I die here to have me cremated and spread my ashes there.  I went around 3 and had a couple of hours before it rained.  Luckily the rain only lasted 30 minutes so I really got to enjoy the park. Anyone who comes to visit will be getting a tour because I will be looking for any excuse to go back.

Wakeboarding

Here are some pictues of the wakeboarding park.  If you look at the second picture you can see the top of our aparment building in the background.  We usually ride our bikes over on Friday nights and Sunday mornings.  The 3rd and 4th pictures are of Greg and the last one is of a guy who was there and was really good.  Greg went to the doctor and had an MRI of his shoulder and found out that he has a small tear in a tendon and has to stop wakeboarding for 2 weeks.  Hopefully it will heal quickly.

How about this for a view?  This is a restaurant that we had lunch at after wakeboarding with friends.

Here are our friends Cyril and Pascale.  Greg works with Pascale and we spend a lot of time with them and their kids.  It is nice to have friends who live close to us. 

A hawker centre or food centre is the name given to open-air complexes in Singapore housing many stalls that sell a variety of inexpensive food. They are typically found near public housing estates or transport hubs (such as bus interchanges or train stations).  Here is the hawker center that is close to our apartment.  We eat there at least once a week.  At first I had a difficult time with the smell, as I do not like fish, but amazingly I do not really notice it anymore!  What I love about it is that Greg and I can eat for about $8 together but if you go to a restaurant it is $100.  We have eaten some great food but it is hardly worth $100.00 for a simple dinner that would cost $40.00 in the US. 

Here are some random pictures that I thought were funny and cool.  The first is the "maid's" bathroom, I am including this for anyone who wants to come and stay for a long time we will put you in the maid's quarters.  This will keep guests from staying too long!  The ship on top of the buildings is a casino here that Greg and his friend Cyril went one night.  I have included the picture of them at the casino.  I thought the sand castles were so cool I wanted to share them.  There is a place on the beach that people come to build castles.  It is neat because the beach is like a campground so people camp out and then there are activities.  I am going to start showing some of the food because I know Sharon will be interested in the cuisine here.  It is very different but I have had some really good meals.  I have discovered Indian food and love it!

Wakeboarding proved to be much more difficult than it looked when watching 20 year olds doing it.  I got up on my 4th try but was never able to get all the way around the course.  It is a cool concept, it is a pond (for lack of a better word) filled with sea water that has a cable pully system suspended above it to pull the wakeboarders around.  There are obstacles and ramps.  I was able to get 3/4 of the way around but could not master the 3rd turn.  It really jerks the rope and I could not hold on.  I also fell so hard that I think I bruised my ribs.  It was fun but painful.  Anyway I have uploaded some pictures of the scenery on my walk to Starbucks.  Each time I walk it still amazes me how pretty it is with all of the flowers.  I have also included some pictures of the storm drains since it is monsoon season and my mom was worried about the drainage. 

My Apartment

Here is our apartment and the views that we have.  It is really quite nice.  It has three bedrooms so we are ready for visitors at any time.  As you can see it is beautiful and very tropical.  I will say that the only thing that surprised me was the beach.  It is not clean and I would not swim in it.  Apparently Singapore does not charge ships to anchor off of it's shore so hundreds of ships are anchored out there and that causes the water to be dirty.  The ships dump trash and there are men who do nothing but clean the beach all day.  It is not really full of trash but it does not look clean.  It also ruins the view of Indonesia. 

I am walking a lot and trying to find my way around.  I have found Starbucks but they do not open until 7:30 in the morning!  I am definitely not in Kansas anymore.  I am getting really good at riding the MRT but Greg said I am not a pro until I can ride without holding onto the rail.  Give me another week. 

I am going to go to the wakeboarding park tonight and try to wakeboard.  I will have Greg take pictures so you all can enjoy my humiliation.  It would not be fun unless people were laughing...right?