My First Post

I did it!!  I finally managed to set up my adventure blog.  Its been a month since I've moved to Singapore and it has probably been one of the busiest months ever.  A special thanks to Mom who was out here helping me get settled and helping decorate my apartment.

Yes that WAS my apartment.  Clearly we had our work cut out for us.  We spent 2 weeks closeted up in our rooms to avoid the dust storm that was my apartment.  It was through much frustration and irritation that we survived those weeks from hell and the contractor from hell, but if it weren't for my mom my apartment would still be apocalypto.
During my days working, Deb was busy shopping for everything essential for an apartment with the help of a great family friend, Ellen and my amazing realtor Anke.

Well they didn't buy the toilet but the landlord went out of her way to get this "amazing" toilet that looked like a "Versace" (the need to say "Quote end Quote" is necessary) toilet hahaha.  There was a clear lack of style and judgment used for the apartment decor, from the olive green Arabic tiled kitchen walls, to the brand new wood vinyl cabinets and flooring, that compelled my mom to take the situation into her own hands.  Her philosophy "you get more bees with honey" is without a doubt the reason anything was accomplished by workers.   I'm finding that my philosophy of "get it done and get it done efficiently and correctly" is something you can only expect if you're living here as a ex-pat, as opposed to a "local"(trust me there is a huge difference).  With what I would deem entirely too much effort, she managed to communicate in the most gracious manner (said is my words not hers) "get this f#$%ing done or there will be hell to pay." With some miracle, the worst was over about 2.5 weeks into her stay, giving her not much time to enjoy the apartment as much as deserved once it was "complete."

But alas, despite the "apartment" trials, we still managed to take in as much as Singapore could offer in such a short period of time.  The flyer took us to see the heights of Singapore and the beautiful skyline.

But despite being on an island, this was one of the rare/best sunset we/I have seen thus far in Singapore.    There is no comparison to the LIS boat (the Kitty) or Naples sunsets but I'm hoping that there will be a day where the sun triumphs over the clouds at sunset.  Once the sun had set the city revealed its unbelievable beauty.  Lights.  Think of the city of lights, think of the NYC skyline.  I am having troubles getting my iphone picture uploaded onto the blog, so you'll have to suffice with the pictures below.  The City at night is incredibly beautiful and a picture can barely describe the beauty.

Nights turn into day and fortunately work was able to give me 2 days off while my mom was still in town and we managed to escape my apartment and experience the Jungles of Singapore, via the 138 ang ki mo bus stop (and the monkey's on the street) and the Night Safari.

 The night Safari has been by far one of the coolest experiences/touristy things done in Singapore.  The night started out with a simple but delicious dinner followed by none other then a Singapore sling.

Then there was an amazing fire show, geez I don't know how they do it, its like they're ingesting gasoline.

There aren't any pictures of us actually being in Zoo because you can't take pictures with flashes, but let me tell you, it was an amazing experience.  They have two open air aviary cages, one for flying squirrels and one for bats!  I had a giant Fox bat swoop down on me, several times...talk about an adrenaline rush.  Thank god blood isn't the diet for these particular bats.  (this may be why I'm rereading twilight again...for the 5th time)  The flying squirrel cage was amazing as well. They were jumping from tree right over our heads.  The cats (lions/tigers/leopards) were unbelievably active as well.  My experiences in the past have always been the lions lying down and doing nothing for the whole day, seeing them at night was a whole different experience.

And "don't worry!" to all of my future visitors, the Zoo and night safari is something I'll definitely do again...and again.

The Jurong Bird was just as amazing as the night Safari, minus the fire :-)  Singapore is home to the largest bird park in the world and for all of those who know my mom, this would be her equivalent of Heaven.  From Penguins, to Flamingo's to Macaw's, they really did have it all.

During the 3 weeks my mom was here we got in quite a bit of tourist attractions and did quite a bit of shopping.  I think we might have spent several days in Ikea buying all of the essentials.  The most memorable Ikea moment was after spending a significant amount of money, I needed an extra plastic bag and the check-out lady asked for 10 cents per bag (this was after already purchasing several of the large blue bags).  Needless to say that was my last trip to Ikea.

 Thanks to the help of Ellen we managed to find what is known as the Walmart of India -"Mustafa's"which I frequently refer to as Mufassa's (The Lion King is just a classic).  This store is far more massive and intense then any walmart I have ever seen.  The store is 5 floors vertical and 2 floors subterranean and spans the equivalent of 5th and 6th avenue.  They have everything from blenders to shoes to electronics to books to home decor.  They also, fortunately, have the cheapest prices in Singapore.  For those who aren't aware Singapore IS NOT CHEAP!  I'm finding that out the hard way; visitors be prepared.  I am also finding that shopping on a public holiday is the worst decision one can make.  I went shopping at Mustafa on the Deepavali public Holiday...poor life decision.  Little India on an Indian holiday meant the masses would be out shopping and they'd all be in the same place.  Picture me walking through .75m wide aisle carrying a large pillow, and two shopping baskets loaded well past capacity.  >:(

Arab Street is also a shopping destination that my mom and I were able to explore together and shop at.  The food has been probably been some of the best I've had so far.

To be continued