The sightseeing began right away Sunday when Tonia and I made a quick trip to the wet market before walking around Chinatown for a couple hours taking in the sights and looking for the best "3 for $10" deals. I was impressed that Tonia stayed awake all day and didn't crash until after dinner that night.
Monday morning we did the "Time of the Empire" walking tour that took us to St. Andrew's Cathedral, the Armenian Church, Chijmes - a former convent and orphanage, and concluded at the Raffles Hotel. Ann and I had done the same tour and it gives a nice overview of Singapore's history. We appreciated that the tour ended at the Long Bar where we could enjoy a Singapore Sling. Hosting out-of-town guests provides a great excuse for me to drink that beautiful pink cocktail!
We made it home in time to lounge by the pool for a couple hours before meeting the school bus and it felt good to rest our tired feet. That evening we met Brian for dinner at Brasserie Wolf, the Parisian bistro we can see from our condo. Following dinner we treated Tonia to some foot reflexology and she loved it. Every time I go there I wish I would just schedule weekly foot rubs because it feels so wonderful. What's not to like about having someone rub your feet and calves for 40 minutes?
By Tuesday it felt unnatural that Tonia and I had been together for a couple days without visiting a mall so I introduced her to the maze known as Orchard Road shopping. We visited Ion, one of the newest malls in Singapore and she was amazed at the sheer number of storefronts (How many Louis Vuitton and Cartier stores does one need?!) and how we spent so much time below ground in our shopping pursuits. We didn't purchase much but had fun browsing at purses at the Longchamp and Furla boutiques and trying on some cute and impractical shoes.
For lunch we explored the Food Opera at Ion which is basically an upscale hawker stand. Just imagine a food court -- Asian style. We dined on a few different dishes and I experimented at the "Fried Dough Fritter" stand. One might expect something resembling donuts, but I knew better. We ended up with a salty bun that tasted like nothing at all and a fascinating "peanut sesame ball" that was stretchy sesame-covered bread with a little nugget of peanut paste suspended in the middle. Tonia found the food opera to be bizarre enough so I never actually felt the need to take her to an authentic hawker.
On Wednesday we went to Emily's gym class and after lunch we discussed the possibility of riding the Singapore Flyer that afternoon but the sunny weather gave us a better idea. We spent the afternoon drinking pina coladas while sunbathing at the pool. Pure decadence for the ladies! That evening we ate pizza at our little Italian place by the river and introduced Tonia to our musician friend Jai at the Bungy Bar. I was impressed that we managed to keep her awake past 11pm!
During Tonia's visit, we finally did the math and determined that our friendship has spanned 25 years. Of course, we also realized that if we told people we had been friends for this many years, it's going to make us sound old. So, we figured we would "revise" our story to say that we met in preschool instead of 6th grade :) We tested our new tale with Jai and he bought it, but our laughter and subsequent confession ruined the effort...
Thursday morning Tonia and I took the 1-hour ferry ride to Bintan, Indonesia, with the intention of giving both of us some fun in the sun and sand for a couple days. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate with us much as we seldom saw blue skies during our stay. Either way, I personally enjoyed some time away from home where I could relax, read The Lost Symbol and have girl time with Tonia. My friend Karen was staying at the same hotel with her sister so we ran into them numerous times during our stay and Tonia quickly realized why I have so much fun with her.
We decided to check out the spa menu at our hotel and the conversation was amusing as Tonia looked at the treatments and prices and exclaimed, "This is a great deal!" She could do a 60-minute massage and 60-minute facial for about half the price as usual at home. I looked through the options and said, "These are expensive. I could get a massage for half that price in Singapore." I'm pretty sure Tonia didn't like me much at that particular moment! In the end, she treated herself to the massage and facial and I booked a facial. It was a great way to end our Thursday evening.
Friday morning the skies were overcast but since it wasn't raining, we joined Karen and Kristine for a 1-hour snorkel excursion at a nearby reef. Our friendly boat captain took the four of us out to the reef, gave us some brief instruction and when I jumped in the water, I couldn't believe how many fish were swarming around in front of me. I had never seen such friendly fish before in my life! We swam with the marine life around the reef for about 30 minutes before Mother Nature interrupted with rain. We weren't going to let a little rain spoil our fun but we had a change of heart when we heard thunder. After a soaking boat ride back to the hotel, we shared lunch and Bintang beers with Karen and Kristine before our ferry ride back to Singapore.
Friday evening was low-key as we walked down to Brewerkz and munched on appetizers while sampling the microbrews. We made no crazy plans for that night because we had a FULL day planned for Tonia's final hours here.
We were greeted with more rain Saturday morning but thankfully it ended by lunchtime and we were still able to make it to the zoo with Emily and Elizabeth while Brian and Megan attended a birthday party. On the way I was explaining to Tonia why I love the zoo. The habitats are natural and the animals are never behind a visible fence and it's just cool to walk through a jungle during the visit. As we approached the gate to enter the zoo, an employee told us that we would have to wait because there was an "emergency situation" and they weren't allowing more guests to enter. Tonia wondered if maybe the habitats were a little TOO natural and perhaps they should have those big fences after all! After waiting about 10 minutes, they let us in and we never did find out what had happened. We had a couple new experiences this time around. We watched the trainers feed the lions some chicken and mutton. Elizabeth fed carrots to one of the giraffes and then all four of us rode an elephant. We enjoyed the outing and after returning home, Tonia and I set out for her last sightseeing stop - the Singapore Flyer.
It wasn't the clearest day to be on the Flyer but Tonia could still appreciate how crowded our little island truly is when viewing it from 150 meters in the sky. The Formula 1 Race is next weekend so we were able to catch the bustling activity around the pit building and some of the lights and fencing that are still being assembled this week. After the 30-minute ride, we walked home along the river so she could take a few pictures of the skyline. Thank goodness the weather cooperated because I would have felt like an inadequate host if she had not seen those sights while she visited.
Tonia departed late Saturday night and I asked Brian to drive us to the airport because I knew I would be teary-eyed on the drive home. I miss her company already, as I always do when we've been together for a few days, but at the same time, I'm incredibly thankful that she made the trip over here to spend time with me and see what life is like here. Tonia took pictures of everday life and she's the first guest who has photographed our food when we went out to eat :) She wanted to absorb and remember everything about the experience, which didn't surprise me one bit.
Tonia also witnessed some of the local flair that we have learned to laugh about here. She experienced the Chinatown vendors' sales pitches and the way the locals are so unaware of their surroundings that they will stand right in front of an escalator talking to their friend, totally oblivious to the fact that they're blocking everyone's path. My personal favorite is when we were waiting for our ferry to Bintan and the older Asian woman seated next to us started clipping her fingernails. Thank goodness we had some "This is Asia" gems for her to remember from her trip.
I relished the opportunity to spend a week with Tonia. It's always fun for me to hear what folks from home think about Singapore and with her visit, I was thrilled to be able to just relax and reconnect with my dear friend. Who would have thought that 25 years after sharing a music stand in woodwind class that we would be exploring Southeast Asia together? Thanks for coming to Singapore, Tonia!
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