Day 6 - August 6, 2011

Actually slept until 7:30 today.  Yippee.  Going on a tour today with someone from the Relocation company.  Elliott decided that he did not want to go so he can hang out with his friends.  I'm sure that he will miss something. 

Met Yvonne down in the lobby to start our adventure at 10.  A driver was waiting to take us around after we talked with Yvonne about what we wanted to see.  Headed down to China Town.  The driver dropped us off at the entrance to an open air market.  The entrance is the picture of the Shrine of which the picture is not very good.  I need a new camera.  The part of the market that we saw had all kinds of things to buy from silks to clothes to cameras to iphone 4 covers that looked like transparent colored flip-flops.( I only have an iphone 3 so I didn't get the cover. Anyone want one?)  At the end of this aisle was the huge open "wet market."  It has all the fruit, vegetables, spices and meats and fish that you could want.  Not sure what half of it was.  I'm sure that I wouldn't want to eat half of it either.  Notice the picture of the fish heads.  Yum !!!!  What a smell !!!

Luckily, we didn't stay in there very long. Out to the fresh air and a beautiful Buddhist Temple was in front of us.  We are allowed to go inside even during the service that they were holding.  Yvonne told us that if you do something wrong, you go straight to hell.  There are levels of hell.  If you kill, you go to the worst hell.  The firey furnace hell !! ( There are some pictures in the temple.  I need to learn how to insert the pictures where I am talking about them).  Yvonne told us that this is the 7th month of the Chinese Year.  It is "Ghost" month.  A long time ago, they believed that you could not swim because the ghosts could be waiting under the water and take over your body and you would die.  The believe that you should not sit on the front row, because that is where the ghosts are and they will take over your body.  I wonder what next month is.  I'll look it up and let you know. 

Next stop on our tour was Clarke Quay.  It is located on the Singapore river.  Quay is like a dock area.  It was used as a dock area when they first started using Singapore as a shipping community.  It's a little bigger than the small river that runs through San Antonio.  It's full of restaurants and bars where everyone (a lot of expats) go in the evening to eat and party.  It is very colorful.  All the buildings are original wearhouse buildings.  They have just been gutted on the inside to update for the restaurants.  There is even a Hooters there. Really???? !!!!  It was not busy because it was early during the day.

Next we went to another Quay.  Robertson Quay.  Much quieter and more family oriented.  And it does start earlier.  There is an Austalian place there that serves kangaroo meat.  I hope to try it before we leave. 

On to our next area.  We drove through Little India.  Glad we didn't stop there.  It's too crowded.  I hear that they have wonderful carpets there.  Maybe we'll get some shopping in there one day.

Driving on through town, we head to the Marina Bay area.  We'll hit that area as tourists soon, but not today.  I'm looking for a hair dryer that has some power to dry my hair.  We're dropped off at another mall that has the best store in the world. I've hit the WalMart of Singapore.  It's called Carre Four.  It was every thing.  We picked up some things that you are supposed to put in your closets to keep the moisture out.  I also picked up some stain remover for clothes.  I'm sure it's not like Oxy-Clean though.  Miss that stuff.  Traveling through the market part, we head up a flat escalator that you put your grocery cart on and head up to the second level.  I think I have been on one of these in a dream before or it's just deja vu.  Looking around as we run to the dryers, I see that cheap bras cost $40-80 !!  Now I know why they asked us to bring some from our Walmart for Expat clothing drive we are having in Oct.  I'll never pay that for underwear !!  We hit the hairdryers and I find that none of them are as powerful as the one I had at home.  After testing several, I end up with the most expensive.  $139.  Yes.  $139 for a hairdryer.  If everything costs this much, I'm going to need a bigger allowance. 

A delicious lunch in a restaurant mall with roasted pork, duck and bbq pork.  Side dishes were fried rice, noodles and vegetables.  Yum !!  I had seen these things before and I knew what they were. 

Driving on through the to the Woodlands, we saw many other things and places that I don't remember the names of.  I did see the embassy.  Good thing to know.  I just noticed from our side window, I can see the presidential palace or like our white house.  It's white and palatial looking.  Yvonne said the president does not live there though.  He likes living in his own home.  Must be nice.  She said the grounds are open 4 times a year.  Maybe I'll get to see it sometime. 

In the Woodlands, we found the so called "corner" market that I will be shopping in near our home. They say it's close enough to walk.  Maybe I'll ride my bike? 

On our way back to the apartment, we drive through two parks, both are on the coast where you can see Malaysia on the other side of the water.  One is in the Woodlands and it's new.  The other is called Sembawang Park.  It's larger and near several of the Black and White houses that they have here.  (That's a later story-I want to get pictures and more info first)

That's the end of our 6 hour tour.  What a day.  I'm exhausted and not feeling well for some reason.  Not sure if it's a bug from the Ice Maker in the frig what.  Took a 2 hour nap. 

Elliott went to Orchard Road to hang out with his friends and we went to a little place near here on just off the Orchard Road MRT to get some pastries.  I ate mushroom and chicken puffed pastries and Ernie ate chicken curry ones.  They were great.  Went back afterwards to wait up for Elliott.  He got in at 11.  Can you believe that we are letting our only child out in a foreign country alone?