Playing Like Tourists

While the events of the last week have been somewhat clouded by Tanner's passing, we did see some new sights over our long weekend. Singapore is experiencing a downturn in tourism these days so they're offering good deals on local attractions. We're happy to take advantage of the savings!

On Saturday we went on a duck tour of Singapore, which is basically a land/sea excursion. Megan was intrigued by the unusual vehicles and wanted to check one out so we learned some new information about the island on the tour. I have been shocked by the number of shopping malls and restaurants on this small island. It seems that everywhere I look, there's another mall with plenty of eateries inside. Our tour guide informed us that there are 200 malls in Singapore, so it's doubtful I'll make it to all of them during our 18 months here. Apparently the locals love to shop and eat - this could explain why I like living here!

We also learned just how precious the trees are in this country. Singapore grows all their trees in Malaysia for 20 years before planting them on the island because they don't want to use their limited space for growing them. Once planted in Singapore, each tree has an identification number and if you harm one, you'll be charged $5,000 by the government. So, given the choice of colliding with another car or a tree, they suggest that we hit the other car because it will cost less.

Saturday night we tried a local Mexican restaurant, Margarita's, with our Texas friends Karen & Jason. The food was actually decent and we enjoyed a couple pitchers of margaritas. It was our first trip to Dempsey Hill and I'd like to return to shop at the furniture stores in the area. Following dinner, we ended up at a Ben & Jerry's store that had more night life than any ice cream shop I've ever seen! It was a fun evening.

Megan had Monday and Tuesday off from school for parent/teacher conferences so Brian stayed home Monday to spend the day with us. We took Megan and Elizabeth to Chinatown and visited the wet market and the surrounding shopping area. We ate lunch at a hawker stand across from the Buddhist Temple and enjoyed the unique atmosphere. While walking around the streets of Chinatown, we passed a few medicine halls. I would like to visit one the next time I have some sort of ailment. They have jar after jar of all kinds of herbs and who knows what to offer customers. I also spotted a few stores that make custom suits and dresses. I am determined to have a dress made while I'm here -- after a few more months of Pilates classes.

I drove up to SAS Tuesday for the conference with Miss Scott, Megan's teacher. As expected, she had a great report. Megan aced the highest reading test they allow for kindergarten and scored high in math as well, so her teacher is focused on keeping her challenged through the end of the school year. I'm proud of her and thankful that she's doing well at her new school. We thought she handled the move well and her school report confirmed that.

After a depressing weekend, it was therapeutic to head out Tuesday night to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. We walked down to the Penny Black Pub at Boat Quay after the girls went to bed and met up with Rachel, Matt, Karen & Jason for a few beers. I can't remember the last time Brian and I celebrated St. Patty's Day that way and it was really fun.

Wednesday I drove over to the Thomson Road Flower Market with Rachel, Karen and Leanne since they had never been there. I stayed long enough to buy some beautiful cut orchids and a few vases for future floral purchases. I can't get enough of the orchids here - they're everywhere and the colors are amazing. This week I'm enjoying a vase full of a deep purple and white variety. It will be tempting to head back there soon for more :)

This evening Brian and I are recovering from a private Pilates/Yoga session with my new instructor. She came to our place for an hour tonight after the kids went to bed and gave us a thorough workout. She thought Brian was pretty flexible for a man so I'm sure he's feeling good about that! Until tomorrow morning anyway...

We're heading to Bintan, Indonesia, Sunday afternoon for a few days of beach time during Megan's Spring Break so if I don't post anything before we leave, I'll report on our first trip to Indonesia when we get back later next week!