We're here!

Hey everyone! Andrew and I are in Singapore! Today is day 2, and we've had a good past 2 days. Yesterday we did a bit of exploring. We decided to walk to Andrew's new work to see his new boss and workmates. Its only about a 10min walk, but we got lost in Chinatown! lol. But we're glad we did, Chinatown looks awesome. A lot of the shops are decked out in cherry blossoms and bunnies for the Chinese New Year. And the smell......aaah! We were drooling as soon as we walked past the first shop. Can't wait to go back and explore further. We saw the beautiful Hindu Sri Mariamman Temple, also in Chinatown.

Sri Mariamman Temple

We eventually found our way to the Singapore Land Tower and met his workmates. They were all very nice and seem like a decent bunch of blokes. After that, we went to a local food court to have lunch. That was an experience. Think of the busiest shopping centre food court you've ever been to, then multiply it by 4. There were people everywhere! And so many cuisines! I'm probably going to be talking about food a lot in my blog, just because its everywhere. Andrew found us a table, which was almost impossible to find. I got us both Japanese BBQ sets and Diet Cokes, and we only spent about SP$14, roughly AU$11. BTW, soft drink is really cheap here. A can of coke at a hawker market costs about SP$1.20, and a 1.5lt at a supermarket costs about SP$2-2.50, so I'm in heaven! lol. Here is a photo Andrew took of lunch:

All this for only $5.50!

After lunch we strolled back to our hotel. Even though it was only about 28deg, the humidity had us sweating hard. Andrew and I had a look at the pool and courtyard, and just chilled out for the rest of the afternoon.

Pool and courtyard at hotel

We met up with Andrew's new boss Adrian, and he took us to the Lau Pa Sat Festival Market to have dinner. Its one of the oldest hawker markets, about 120 years old, and its essentially a giant rotunda with corridors running from the centre out, looking like big spokes. We had some really nice Indian food, and again, it was really cheap. After dinner, Adrian took us down to the quay. If you like seafood, you'll drool at some of the restaurants on the waterfront. I saw prawns at about 20cm long and about an inch thick! Its all cooked fresh, and it looks like dining at an aquarium, lol! Needless to say, I will be dragging my husband back along there soon.

View of the Singapore Flyer, the Lotus Flower and the new Casino

Night sky view of the city

Today was pretty good as well. Andrew went off to work, and I stayed at the hotel doing the housewifely chore of setting up house and unpacking suitcases. I walked across the road to the Peoples Park Centre and got some  very nice gyoza. Went back to the hotel and tried to keep cool, today was about 32deg. Went out this afternoon and found a bookshop opposite Andrew's work (didn't take me long!), which is really handy. Between the hotel and the shops, I got caught in a huge downpour and had to stand under a building's awning for about 20min. That'll teach me for going out without an umbrella lol. Tried to get sim cards for our phones, but got really confused and left it for Andrew to figure out. I went back to the hotel and waited for my husband to come home. I took him to Peoples Park for dinner, and we had some awesome chicken rice and chicken noodles. After dinner we went for a stroll, and found the local McD's and KFC! And Macca's delivers! Weird......lol. Checked out the mall, saw a lot of shoe shops, and fresh fish foot massage booth. Fresh fish? Don't worry, its not a tuna being rubbed against your tootsies. The fish actually nibble the dead skin cells off your feet, leaving them rejuvenated. Andrew got really excited, and I think he wants to go back another day. We came back to the hotel, and I began writing this blog. Hope you enjoyed hearing about our first days here! I'll try and write as often as I can.

Lotsa Luv,

Mandi