Singapore Update + Father's Day

Hmmm. . .

How can I catch up with my Singapore posts?

My best bet is more pictures and less words.

After all, a picture is worth a 1000 words.

So here are approximately 25,000 words to process, though they will do little justice to the incredible experiences I have been having over here.

While Don and Purni were in Japan, Grandma and I kept an eye on Kris and Sam; however they are probably the most mature and capable 12 and 14-year old boys I have ever been acquainted with. Baby-sitting these two was a breeze. Here is Kris at his wake-boarding competition. Funny-- there are no wakes. Maybe it should just be called water-boarding. Sounds more intense.

Kris and Sam took us to this fancy seafood place down by the east coast. They ordered everything for us, including one of Singapore's signature meals-- CHILI CRAB. All I have to say was that it was AWESOME. One of the best and messiest meals I have had in a long time. Good thing they gave me that bib.

Grandma and I have been going on a million tours. One I particularly enjoyed was the Chinatown walk. Probably because they gave us free samples at a traditional Chinese pastry shop and herbal tea at a store for Chinese herbs and medicine. The tea was called "8 treasures" and was so lovely. We purchased a package of it to take home.

These pictures are from a Chinese temple that we visited. I think the oldest one in Singapore.

This is where people pray to Confucius so that their children will do good on their exams-- and I would too since I have heard that the school system in Singapore is no cakewalk.

Confucius say. . . blah, blah, blah, blah....

There was a little bat hanging from the temple ceiling.

For the Chinese this is a very auspicious omen.

Who knew?!

A man worshipping at the Shrine. I believe this shrine was dedicated to the patron goddess of the temple-- the goddess of Mercy. ( I think)

The door guards.

Red Lanterns everywhere.

These are Peranakan tiles. So vibrant and sweet. These colors and designs are seen in all kinds of Peranakan crafts, especially the china. Love it.

The market stalls of Chinatown.

This spiky fruit, the durian, is not only fordidding in appearance, but smell. Still, the singaporeans seem to love it. They say it tastes like heaven and smells like... well you can guess. I've tries tried many new exotic fruits here, but I've yet to sample this one.

Grandma and I ate at a Chinese Restaurant famous for its noodles. They make them right in front of you, juggling and tossing them around like some circus act. It was very impressive. Plus, the noodles were to DIE for.

This photo is from the battle box. For my Londoner-friends, it was very very similar to the war cabinets. These wax figures and rooms represent the British headquarters in Singapore during WWII.

While Don and Purni were gone, I spent a lot of just hanging around the condo complex. It kind of reminds me of a luxury hotel-- awesome pool, tropical vegetation, fitness center, sauna, poolside cafe, even room service! Good thing I know how to relax.

All right, here is one of my favorite things about Singapore at the moment. The JUICE! Everywhere you go there are these juice stands. You simply tell them what fruit you want, and they simply throw it in a blender and press "liquefy." No yogurt, milk, or sherbet. Just straight-up juice. My favorite to order by the pool is watermelon juice. Also, I saw that they sold an Avocado milk shake. Sounds unusual, right? Well, it's awesome. Everyone should try it. I think you'd be pleasantly surprised at how wonderful it is. Here is Sam holding up my two favorites.

The lotus-covered tank of love and peace at the National Museum.

I think it looks like a life-size Barbie tank.

This is Bugis Shopping Village. It is crazy in here. Very cramped. Overwhelming. Claustrophobia-inducing. Still, I found some pretty neat stuff here, including a small boutique filled with jewelry from Nepal. So simple and beautiful. I was Gushing over every necklace. The stores here were also very cheap, and guess what??? The exchange rate is 1.44! The U.S. dollar stretches much further here.

Chinatown at Night.

This is the street where the street vendors make and sell magnificent food.

Speaking of Magnificent food, Don and Purni took us to this really fun Dim Sung Restaurant. Basically you and your party sits down for a meal, and carts of delicious food whirl around you, It kind of reminded me of "Be our Guest" on Beauty and the Beast. Really, it was very tasty, We had jasmine tea, which worked as a kind of palette cleanser between each of these tasty dumplings and finger foods. The dessert was also lovely. Two words-- Mango Pudding.

I wanted a true Chinese experience, and so I took a chance with chicken feet.

I repeat, chicken feet.

You know, it really wasn't terrible. A very interesting and chewy texture. . .

One was enough.

For being as particular as he is about food, I was surprised when Sam was game for chicken feet.

All right. This is a day late, but here is a shout-out to my dad for Father's day. If I were home I would make you dinosaur-shaped pancakes like you used to make for me!

Love you, Dad!

The Bananasaurus Rex Pancake.