The Istana

Last week Singapore observed Hari Raya Puasa, the Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan. Brian and the girls were all off on Tuesday, and since we had no big plans for the day, Brian wisely suggested we tour the Istana, the residence of Singapore's president. The Istana is only open to the public during a few public holidays each year and we normally spot an extremely long line of Singaporeans waiting to enter the grounds on those days.

We walked from our condo and the girls rode their scooters down Orchard Road to the front gate. By 10am there was already a lengthy line for admittance but here's when being foreigners paid off. Singaporeans are admitted free of charge and wait in one line together (the really long one). Foreign passport holders must pay S$1 per person to enter but guess what? No line for us! Now, I know what you're thinking. Why don't the locals just pretend to be foreigners, pay the buck and get in much quicker? After all, we didn't show our passports to enter. Well, the people here will wait in crazy long lines for anything that is free. Ben and Jerry's gives away a free scoop of ice cream one day each year and people waited in line for over an hour at their stores for their free ice cream. They'd much rather wait than pay.

We spent the morning at Istana (which means "Palace" in Malay) and the entire family enjoyed the outing. The girls had their faces painted, rode their scooters all over the grounds, listened to concert bands perform and we toured the bottom floor of the palace. And having their faces painted only made the girls more popular with the local folks. The paparazzi was out in full force that day!

Kitty, Tiger and Butterfly

The Istana was originally built by the British in the late 1800s and was known as Government House. When Singapore became an independent nation, it became the official residence of the president and is now used for ceremonial and entertainment purposes. The house is perfectly lovely but what amazed us most were the grounds. Istana sits on prime real estate on Orchard Road. With 100 acres devoted to the space, it's an impressive oasis in the middle of the city. The president even has his own 9-hole golf course on the property.

I'd be happy to pay S$5 for our family to go back again and next time I would pack a picnic lunch just to enjoy the grounds even longer.