things we did and didn’t do
First the did nots.
- *LINGER around Chinatown (it was the first day and the kids were tired so we stayed for a couple of hours and then headed back to the Nest for naps)
- *Night Safari (again, everyone is too tired at this stage for a late late night)
- *Prison Museum at Changi Village (we saw the prison, ate in the village and some paddled in the sea, but once again, tiredness prevented the museum stop)
- *Singapore Zoo (but we’ve seen lots of wildlife – lizards in the house and running over J14’s foot, massive insects, butterflies, monkeys, fish, frogs, crabs, eels, turtles)
- *Harbourfront (though we did get to the riverfront)
- *the snow centre….that’s just not the right thing to do here!!!!!!
- *Sentosa Island….time and money dictated either visiting Sentosa or Ubin…we chose the cheaper one! A very good choice on more counts than one – Sentosa will still be there in twenty years’ time, perhaps just bigger and better. Pulau Ubin may not. It’s exactly as it was 60 years ago, but we can imagine a Big Developer coming and turning it into another Sentosa. Plus, I think we all enjoyed zipping round on bikes more than we would have sitting in a cablecar.
They were some options that we had highlighted as possibilities (except for the snow). There just wasn’t time for them all. We are in no way disappointed though. Singapore has been a gentle introduction for the children to a different country/culture/people/way of life.
Things that have stood out (Oh Look! Moments):
- *scrawny cats, some tail-less, disappearing down sewers and sidling up to you at the street stalls
- *cyclists riding on the wrong side of the road
- *Grandma burping loudly and repeatedly after her bowl of noodles
- *skyscrapers, skyscrapers, skyscrapers
- *the smells
- *the local department store…..so different in every way to what we have in NZ (aisles only wide enough for one person and the shelves so high it felt like you were in a tunnel; cashiers dotted throughout the store instead of at the end; umbrella bags provided at the entrance; five stories high; NZ apples sold by the piece; all manner of items for sale – honestly, there is NOTHING you couldn’t buy in this shop – car parts, watering cans, rice, clothing, jewellery, vegetables, tissues, luggage, artificial flowers, shampoo, appliances, a whole aisle devoted just to toothpaste, watches…)
- *physics experiments on the MRT (inertia/momentum study!!)
- *the size of the knives lying round our residence
- *the ornate carvings on buildings and beautiful colours
- *the amount of development going on…it’s ubiquitous, and with it, the number of cranes
- *the greenery…everywhere….palms, huge trees overhanging avenues, trees on rooftops, potted plants, gardens……everywhere I tell ya!
- *24,000 taxis
- *paintings at the train station depicting the history of Singapore
- *people riding on the back of trucks
- *unidentified large brown gourd-like *things* hanging in the trees
- *beautiful artwork at the MRT stations
- *the SIZE of the MRT stations….they make our native Britomart look like legoland!
- *”Eminent Frog Porridge” restaurant 😉 (no, we didn’t eat there – we just saw it from a bus)
- *the whole science centre (at least I imagine that is going to be full of WOW moments – I’ve stayed home with the two little girls and everyone else is there right now…Lonely Planet calls the place “geeky” so it sounds just right for our lot!!!
- *temples, temples everywhere
And there are a few things that we have needed to get used to:
- *the heat….relentless, it envelopes you and will not let you escape! Even when a breeze blows it is not refreshing – more like standing at the back of a bus exhaust.
- *that sidewalks are for portable toilets, motorbikes, small business enterprises, food stalls and any other manner of things EXCEPT pedestrians walking on them…..
- *that motorists are sooooooo polite – puts kiwis to shame – everyone always gives way!!
- *feeling rude at not replying to insistent Indian merchants (the older kids are struggling with this one….”But they talked to me, I should stop and reply.” “No dear, it’s OK just to smile and keep walking. Whatever you do, don’t stop!”)
- *stares
- *the little ones being touched all the time
- *feeling less relaxed (than at home)Â when we are with the whole group – always counting to make sure noone is lost.
- *that shopkeepers raising their hands for a High Five are just inviting you in! Not sure how many High Fives some of our eldest ones dished out before we realised what they were up to and explained the protocol!!
- *that it will not cool down….no matter how late at night, it will be hot
- *telling our story
I’m sure that in time many of these things will become seecond-nature, but we wanted to capture the newness, the strangeness, the foreignness, before it escapes us.
Tags: postcard: Singapore
rayres
interesting post
so much to see and do
so much new to experience
praying for you all
Loving reading your stories Rachael. God bless you all.
oooh the heat – I remember the heat (that’s what lead to my famous but not well thought through statement “I would rather be too hot than too cold….”) one day I needed to escape and walked into what I thought was a normal shop – only to discover it was Gucci (or something similar) they were not impressed with our travellers clothing, and made it very clear we should leave – the air con for 5 seconds was worth it though!!
Loving the updates – thinking of you lots (like when I go to sleep, and I know that you are all getting up and exploring)
Leighxx
Prepare for it to warm up a bit, expect more cats, dogs, refude and clutter, and you’ll be ready to continue.
Singapore is “sterile” compared to what awaits.
Wowee…just checked in cos I thought you might have posted once since you left…but you have had so many adventures already. I am so looking forward to hearing about them all.
Much love
K
x
I enjoyed this summary of Singapore. The high 5s story is a hoot 🙂
God bless. I look fwd to reading your next instalment (and hearing how the science centre was!).
Have loved reading your updates. Thinking about you all heaps. Blake thinks ER’s haircut is really cute. Poor Grandpa falling through the bed!
Hi, I came across your blog by accident a few months back and I’ve been popping in and out occasionally since. Your adventures alone would be entertaining, but to make things even better, this blog is really well written. I’ll be sad when it stops. If you don’t know already, I think the trees with ‘gourd-like’ things hanging off them in Singapore were Cannonball Trees.
Hi. I think I may have typed the wrong email address when I wrote you about the cannonball trees in Singapore. Lest you think I’m up to no good, my email is windhover1997@gmail.com and my name is really Ai-Lin