Singapore Slingin'!

Yes- i have used that phrase on facebook, instagram, and now my blog, so
I promise its the last time!

Being in Sinagapore with my mom was AWESOME!! We had such a blast! I was
so anxious to get off and see her yesterday morning so I snuck off in a
group way before mine was supposed to go... oops. The customs and
security here in Singapore have been by far the most strict. Mommy was
ready and waiting at the end of customs and I was so happy to see her!
We literally talked straight for the whole time!(except when we were
catching up on wifi and our emails then we were both silent and glued to
it- but only very briefly because we were so excited to be with each
other and didnt want to be wasting our time!)

First thing we got in a cab and headed to the giant ferris wheel over
the city. Singapore has the most futuristic architecture- there are
buildings that look like space ships, tall needles, flower pedals,
snakes, spheres, etc- it is really cool! Seeing all of that from above
in the tallest ferris wheel was really pretty and good to get our
bearings. After the ferris wheel we went to "gardens by the bay" - I
will post pictures because it is really hard to describe- huge gardens
centered around these huge fake trees with bridges across them that you
could walk around on.

After this we took the metro to our hotel- upon first impression
Singapore is very clean, people are kind and helpful, and everything is
in English!! Singapore is incredibly safe and has some weird rules: no
spitting, huge fines for littering, no chewing gum, and in some cases
the death penalty for using drugs!

After dropping our bags we went to Maxwell Food Hawkers Market- these
"hawker markets" are very popular in Singapore. Instead of having street
food which was found to be unsanitary, the governement created these
markets which are outdoors but covered and have 2-3 rows of stalls where
you can order food at the counter and eat your food at the tables in the
middle. The food was incredible! We went to a few different stalls: one
for pad thai, one for shark meat, rice, veggies, one for mango, and one
for a coconut to drink! It was really fun and cool to walk around- some
of the best food too and great people watching!

Then we walked around the shopping streets back to our hotel. The
Raffles is one of the coolest hotels I have ever stayed at. It is
extremely historic and they have a hall with picutres of people who have
stayed there and it is extensive: many US presidents, will and kate,
movie stars, international business and govt people, etc! The hotel has
many restartaunts, bars, shops, etc. People come just to walk around and
see it, but if you are staying there you can go into the incredible
lobby, more bars, swimming pool, etc. The service is also incredible- we
were greeted with a "love letter" from the hotel manager welcoming us to
the hotel- haha! We must have gotten an upgrade from the nice
receptionist because our room was hugeeee! There was an entrance hall
then through curtains into the bed room with 2 huge beds, then into
another room with huge old desk and tables and couch then walking
further out onto the deck. The hotel has all these open walking
promenades and courtyards and places to sit around fountains and the
architecture is clean and crisp yet old and historic and all of the
ceilings are so high. I will try to post some pictures!

We hung out at the gorgeous infinity pool for about an hour that was
very quiet and peaceful. Then we showered in the awesome old fashioned
looking bathroom (everything worked like it was brand new though!) then
went to the Long Bar for the original Singapore Slings! Bridget, Morgan,
and Ginger met us! The key ingredients of these famous drinks are gin
and grenadine- 2 of my least favorite things! But as luck would have it,
they have summer, fall, autum, winter, tropic, and 1887 Singapore Sling
Varieties with different mix ins and alcohols! I think I ended up
getting the summer- which was aweomse and mom got the original and we
all tried each others! The Bar was really cool and not what I expected-
it has these cool fans and on all the tables were peanuts like at
baseball games and you throw the shells on the ground so when you walk
around the floor crackles under you- it was the most casual bar in the
fanciest of places!

After drinks we all went to dinner at candle nut- recommended by travel
and leisure and also our hotel! It was traditional cuisine and very
tasty- a few of the dishes were so spicy-there was one curry where I
have never had anything as spicy in my entire life- Bridget was dying!!

After dinner the girls headed off to Marina Bay Sands for raging but I
snuggled in with mommy in our awesome hotel and went to bed!

The next morning we slept in a bit and ended up having the most
extensive beautiful brunch out by the pool! Then we soaked in some rays
until about 3 then sadly had to check out. We grabbed a cab back to the
ship so mom could take a tour of it! We had about 2 hours so I showed
her around then we hung out on the 7th deck and she met more of my
friends. She said she thought it was nicer than she had imagined!

It was sad to say bye but ok since I will see her again in 3 days!! It
was such an incredible 2 days that flew by but really loved Singapore
and can see myself going back in the future especially since it is such
a business and finance hub.

Right now we are pulling out of the harbor- it is very warm and I am on
a lawn chair surrounded by friends looking out on the skyline of the
gorgeous lights of Singapore. There is a gondola from one end to the
other about a mile long and each gondola is lit up too-and every weird
building is lit up too- its really quite the sight!

Sad these days went by too fast but we have class tomorrow, then a study
day, then one more day of class then Burma! We get to the port at 1pm
which is late (usually 8am) but I am definitely going to sneak off as
early as I can again to see my mom AND dad:) Ill post some pictures from
Singapore soon!