A Few Days in Singapore

View from our room at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Singapore

In a shopping mall in Singapore

Singapore. Hmmm. How do I describe it? A cross between New York and Los Angeles with a world class skyline. I feel a bit guilty classifying it like that, as it’s certainly an over-simplification, but really that’s what it felt like. Christmas is celebrated wholeheartedly there. I thought we had escaped the American machine of the holiday season, but oh no, I was wrong.  Christmas music was piped in to every public sound system and there is literally no escaping it. Songs like Jingle Bell Rock, and Oh Holy Night playing incessantly in every mall, restaurant, hotel lobby, elevator, and taxi. It was even playing at the zoo!  I found myself humming along, and then began to wonder if I was the only one who knew the words; and then wondered further if I was the only one who understood the meaning behind the words. The bombardment of holiday cheer didn’t stop with the music; Christmas trees and holiday decorations were seemingly everywhere. The hotel we stayed in had gotten a bit confused and there were a few scarecrows (fall decorations) mixed in with the Santa and snowmen decorations, definitely bringing me back to the fact that I was in a Southeast Asian city-state. The fall decor though was a bit of humor to dot our trip, and to break up the holiday  decorations.

 
We crammed a lot into our four days Singapore. Here are a few highlights. Breakfast with the Orang-Utans (as they are referred to there). Amazing! Just inches away; we weren’t allowed to touch, but I wanted to! The babies were so active and interesting to watch. We then tried a cable car ride. Nozar’s very first, and surprisingly he was a bit nervous.  Next was shopping, first for electronics., then on to Bugis market. I like to just say it over and over. Booogeess, booogeess, booogeess. It’s a Chinese market, packed with people who are shopping for, what else? ….Christmas. For an afternoon snack, I got some rambutan and mangosteen, while Nozar chose durian. We sat on little plastic seats right next to the vendor to eat them. It was one of the best experiences in Singapore. For dinner one night Nozar tried some Negra Paella (squid ink made it black). He loved it and insisted I take a picture of his black tongue!

Overall, Singapore was fantastic. The best parts, I would say, were the skyline, the big city feel along with the conglomeration of people, the unbelievable harbor, and certainly the taxi drivers, who were always willing to talk politics. Loved it!  

 
As a side note, during our trip from Houston to Singapore, Felix and I got to fly in a Boeing 787 - our first time. Felix wanted to show off one of the wings because that is a part of the plane Nozar contributed to while he was working for Boeing a few years back. The wing itself is an engineering wonder, but that we got to fly on it was even more wonderful. Experiences abound!

We hope you all had the most beautiful, warm, and loving holiday ever!

Attempting Life

Nozar, Tamara, and Felix