Malaysian Meanderings

Waiting on the Singapore side of the Causeway for my uncle.


The little tykes I call my cousins. I have 15 of them, most of whom are aged between three and twelve. Yes, I'm the oldest grandchild.


My grandmother (on my father's side) and my mom, making handmade noodles from scratch. Or should I say my grandmother's making them with my mom as the handy assistant.

Today, we will be making our way into Malaysia where we will be visiting and staying with my father's side of the family for the Chinese New Year...

Jurong Bird Park

Believe it or not, it was the first time I had ever been there in my entire life. It was one of the longest trips I've made in Singapore, taking about an hour and a half to travel from the east to the west of the country.

Sentosa

A trip to Singapore is never complete without a visit to the resort island of Sentosa. Pity it now looks like an island trying to relive and recreate its glory days.

We wanted to take the bus to Mount Faber to catch a cable car to Sentosa. It wasn't only after more than five minutes of waiting that we realised the buses don't run till six in the evening.






It wasn't only after we were in the cable car on the way to Sentosa that Anca tells me she's a nervous flyer. It made for a rather interesting trip, especially since we bought a return ticket.


Pink dolphins!




We stepped into Underwater World and saw this guy feeding the fish inside a cylindrical aquarium. I thought it was rather amusing.




Seadragons, the closest I would ever get to my favourite creatures in the world.


I found Nemo!

City Experiences

After four days in Singapore, it was high time to actually visit the city proper and get a feel of what it is like to actually live and work in this country. And one thing I found out? There's actually quite a lot to do on this sunny island! (as well as statues to pose with)

First stop - lunch at Annalakshmi Indian Vegetarian Restaurant, one of my favourite restaurants in Singapore where the food is delicious and you get to choose however much you want to pay. The best part? All proceeds go to charity.


The Central Business District of Singapore (where I used to work), fronted by the Singapore River and Boat Quay. It was a relief to be back in the area without actually having to participate in the rat race.




Singapore's very own version of St Paul's Cathedral (actually it's the Supreme Court).




Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of modern Singapore. Without him, we would probably still be a fishing village.














The Merlion, Singapore's mythical creature.


Bumboats, the traditional (touristy) way to travel along the Singapore River.

Animal Encounters - Singapore Zoo and Night Safari...

as well as a mosquito feeding session. I'm an insect repellent. For my friends.

The toilet at the Zoo was simply too nicely done up
not to take a picture in it.
You even get to hear strange roaring sounds occassionally,
jarring you from your throne.


We spent like 10 minutes watching this little baby baboon
and his family at play.


Anca also found a good friend at the baboon enclosure.


A mongoose - I love how the word sounds and
they were one of my favourite creatures at the zoo




One of the things I want to do is to see wild penguins.
If I don't freeze to death first.


How big is this dude?


The highlight of my trip was going into a butterfly enclosure and finding lemurs.
They came up to me, lured by my ring and licked at it. One even kept biting it.
I thought it was completely charming. Anca on the other hand was terrified by the creatures and thought it was completely disgusting.


We knew it was going to be expensive and planned to buy packed dinners,
but we forgot. Ended up paying $12.50 for a vegie burger
at Bongo Burgers at the Night Safari. It was nice, but it still felt like a complete rip-off.

And unfortunately, there are no shots of animals at the Night Safari because of the prohibition of flash photography. I did take a few photos of otters, my favourite animals there, but it would be an amazing credit to you if you could actually see them.

Little India

One of my favourite places to go when I'm in Singapore is Little India, where I can get extremely beautiful material made for sarees at really low prices. I never really know what to do with the fabric, but am always unable to resist buying them.

It's a beautiful place filled with so much colour, character and cheap stuff!

Anca having her hand painted with henna

Managed to visit an Indian temple

A rather...flexible Indian god

She took what felt like two hours to choose this sari.
At least it was worth it.