Week 3

So we're officially over the halfway mark of our trip - 3 weeks down, 3 weeks to go! Last Wednesday I went and checked out the Little India area of Singapore. Shannon and I weren't really that impressed and then later that night went to dinner with our group and some Aggie alumni here in Singapore. We then went to the Clark Quay area and walked around and got to see some of the nightlife. Wednesday nights are "Ladies' Nights" in Singapore, so that was nice because we didn't have to pay to get in anywhere - one place even had free champagne for ladies (don't worry Dad - it was half champagne, half sprite, but not too bad). Thursday, Lisa and I walked through the City Hall area and over to the Old Parliament / The Arts House. The building used to house the parliament and now has some rooms preserved to walk through and puts on shows. We also walked around and got some good pictures of the surrounding downtown area. Friday, I met up with friends after work and went to see the Thian Hock Keng temple. Unfortunately, we got there right when it closed so I only got to see the outside, but at least got a few good pictures. We then went to the Asian Civilizations Museum and walked through there.

Saturday was a busy day. We met up with some of the ILAPers and went to the East Coast Park Beach. We walked along the beach there and the boys in the group decided to rent some tandem bicycles and ride them around, so we traded off doing that. It's definitely harder than it looks. We ate a wonderful seafood lunch and went back into town where the girls did some shopping. Meredith and I saw some of the parade for the National Day Preview (a full dress rehearsal for the actual event that happens August 9th, Singapore's independence day). We then walked over and saw the practice fireworks show too and that was really neat, and then ended the day with some good ole' Swenson's ice cream.


Sunday I went to the Church of St. Mary of the Angels with Megan and Shannon. It was a little different than the Catholic masses I'm used to in the U.S. - mainly just different songs and a few things said or done differently throughout the mass, but I enjoyed it. We met up with the group later in the Little India area of town to go to the 24-hour shopping mall called Mustafa. Once again, we weren't really impressed - we'd heard all this stuff about how great and cheap the shopping was, but it wasn't what we were expecting. We went and got tea tarik and roti parata - a light pastry that is either filled with something like eggs or cheese or it's just plain and you dip it in curry sauce. I also got some homemade ice cream from a stand nearby and they hand it to you in rainbow bread! It was really tasty - I'll have to get some again and take pictures of it. We then went to the Istana grounds, where the president's house is, to walk around and take pictures. They're usually closed to the public but they were open that day in celebration of the upcoming National Day. It was absolutely beautiful - big trees, beautiful view of the city, and we even got to see the president from like 20 feet away. We toured the first floor of his house and unfortunately couldn't take pictures but it was gorgeous. Afterwards, we walked through the National Museum of Singapore since it was nearby and was free after 6 pm. It was pretty neat but we didn't stay too long because we were pretty exhausted from walking around all day.

Although I'm having a blast here in Singapore, I want it to be the weekend already b/c we're going to Bangkok and Pattaya, Thailand! I miss everyone back home, especially my family, and I'll be thinking of you this weekend in Possum Kingdom - wish I could be there but there'll always be next year!