Weekend Roundup

Happy Monday y'all! (Monday night from our side). 

We had a fun, casual and enjoyable weekend. A few pics and a quick recap. 

Friday, I had a meeting near Michael's office, so after I was done I took a little stroll to meet him. I swear I have walked in this area 10 times and just noticed the plants were in the shape of the world. In my defense the Asia side is much less noticeable :)

We walked all the way home - stopped for a happy hour drink - and made it home before the rains (story of our life). 

Still waiting for our things from NY. Empty fratio :( 

Saturday a.m. we woke up bright and early. Michael headed out to his flag football game (yes, he plays on a flag football team here) and I went for a nice little jog in the scorching equatorial heat. At least there are fun things to look at. 

Saturday night we went to dinner and out with a fun couple we have gotten to know. It was a super fun time. We started the night out at a local Mexican restaurant and followed up with a few cocktails at the Singapore Cricket Club - way cool. Unfortunately no pics...

On a less fun note, Sunday we went for a long run (hello 1/2 marathon training) at MacRitchie Reservoir. It was a combination of the Amazing Race, Survivorman and the M. Night Shyamalan movie, The Village. Look how much fun we had! 

^^^yes, we have matching camelbaks. to keep from evaporating.  

Side note: we saw a huge pack of wild monkeys(!) devouring a discarded bag of Indian food. It was the most amazing/disgusting thing I have ever. seen. 

...and finally we had brunch with our good friend Ted! He was here from NY on a business trip. It was great to catch up and see a familiar face :)  

Hi, Ted! 

Have a great week everyone. Go Chiefs! 

C

Read More »

Pulau Ubin

At the suggestion of one of Michael's co-workers, on Saturday we took a little day trip to a small island called Pulau Ubin. 

The small island lies northeast of the Singapore main island near Malaysia. It is described as one of the last original rural areas of Singapore and is inhabited by only a small handful of people - aka a legit jungle(!) Today, Pulau Ubin caters to nature lovers, outdoor enthusiasts, families and tourists looking for anything from a leisurely stroll to off-road biking. We fell somewhere in between :)       

The adventure started out with a 15-20min taxi ride from our apartment to the ferry terminal - easy peazy. From there we hopped on a 'bumboat' to ferry across to the island. The bumboat situation was very interesting. First off, it only cost S$2.50 (USD 2.00) each way. As a rule, I am a little suspect of anything that costs $2.00 nowadays - is that just me? Secondly, the boats only leave when full - 12 people - no set schedules whatsoever. Hmm... Luckily, we were the 11th and 12th people both on the way there and back so we did not have to wait at all. I also read that you can 'charter' a boat yourself for $30 if there are not enough other people. The bumboat chugged along with all its might and we made it across safely in about 10min (but you bes-believe I was mentally calculating if I could swim the distance the entire way there).  

Upon arrival there is a small dock and a main a drag of bike rentals, cold drinks and one or two places to eat. Mostly just bike rentals. 

We picked out a couple bikes and we were off! (next time we are totally getting a tandem bike. Michael said, only in a foreign country, where he doesn't know anyone, can we ever ride a tandem bike. that's love) 

Wild boar crossing. 

A winding tour of the Mangroves. Which to my surprise was NOT a grove of mangos. 

Hiked to the top of a lookout tower. What a view! 

And a blue lagoon. 

After 3 hours of walking, biking and hiking, a cold drink and lunch was well earned.

Here comes our bumboat for pickup. 

Until next time, Ubin! 

Read More »

Friday Colors

While we don't have the pleasure of enjoying the changing leaves of fall, we do have plenty of things to enjoy. I love how methodical the use of color is - especially in our neighborhood.

Have a happy and colorful weekend ya'll!

^^^ shout out to our building! 

Read More »

The Camera Debut

Just a few pics (from our new camera!) and random ramblings from the last few days as we continue to explore the city.

A couple views from our apartment. As we are entering(?) into 'monsoon season' its fun to get a picture of the city centre on a clear night. {If any of you guys love a good thunderstorm, I suggest moving here. As two Midwesterner's we thought we had seen it all - until now. Think of those house rattling summer storms that roll through - now multiply that by about 100 and imagine being cloud level with the storm. The buildings are higher and clouds hang much lower.}  

A classic Singaporean hawker center (food court).

 

A typical mall. Michael has been a really good sport about helping me shop for some home essentials. Hurry up and get here shipping container.

Tuesday was a holiday - Deepavali - so Michael had the day off work. After a run and breakfast we took a trip to his office to check out the view.

(...and over there you can see Indonesia)

A great view of the Mariana Bay Sands hotel and casino. Although it only just opened in 2011, it's already a Singapore skyline icon. If you look up Singapore, chances are you will run into pictures of the infinity pool overlooking the city. This is located here at the top of the Sands.

What's a holiday without a stop at the Raffles Hotel for a classic Singapore Sling - the birthplace of the cocktail. Woo!

And a quick bite to eat to round out the day. Note: Michael really enjoys just walking through and 'checking out' the hawker centers - we don't always stop to eat :)  

PS shout out to the most amazing dumplings of all time, Din Tai Fung.

 Later this week on the blog, a break from the food and an update on how shockingly athletic we are attempting to be being!

Xo.

C

Read More »