Singamore

It was hard to say goodbye to the Kim’s. They were determined to feed us the delights of Singapore, food and all. Chilli Crab would be worth the trip in itself. I had no idea what to expect. Picture a giant crab broken into chunks, stacked in the middle of a lake of red chilli crabby goodness. Maybe you’ll need to try it. Dipping fried bun into the spicy sauce, a masterstroke. Not to be outdone, the local street fare. Handmade pork dumplings, fried sweet bread dipped in warm bean curd, curry puffs and egg tarts, coconut and red bean drinks, shaved ice desserts with palm sugar and coconut milk. Tip of the Singapore culinary iceberg. A months worth of food, all in 6 days.

 Schooling has begun. Staying in a home schooling household proved to be crash course in distance ed. These guys have down to a fine art. Short sharp one on one lessons. I hope that’s where we are headed. We will have to learn on the run. Literally.
Singapore Zoo was definitely worth a whole day. The zoo has been cut into the tropical forest on the edge of the river. I don’t know how the animals feel but it is a great place to explore. There is even a water park where the animals can watch us frolicking inder the water jets. The kids had a ball. Other singapore adventures included a trip to the multistory play centre, botannical gardens, video gaming lounge, and wet markets. At one stage we had 9 in the 5 seater Honda. The adults even snuck out after bed time for dessert, a foot massage and a trip to china town. Never fear the kids were kept under surveillance.

I think our friends the Kim’s may have found a home for a good while. Singapore is definitely their home turf. It is a good fit. We might need to give them a year to recover from our visit before we crash their party again.

I am sitting, here in a quiet apartment on the western outskirts of Paris. We arrived this morning in varying states of fatigue. Kael has crashed. He and I will miss the afternoon excursion on the metro to see some street performers. Second prize is coffee and baguette, a book and a view of the windswept neighbourhood. Lissa’s aunty and uncle graciously rescued us at the airport and will play tour guides for a few touristy days. More exceptional hosts.Tomorrow is the Eiffel Tower and her friends. Even I am excited. It’s Paris time.

Singapore.

There is a lot to like about this place. Safe and clean with plenty to do. I’m sure there are bargains somewhere, but this city is more likely to lead to a credit limit increase. At least the pickpockets get a flogging. It makes them easy to identify with welts and a painful gait. If Kael gets through year 2 with first class honours, and later university, he may just end up in Singapore spending every penny as quickly as he earns it.

Our friends live on the 19^th floor within walking distance of the shopping paradise Orchard Rd. It’s Starbuck’s home turf. All my favourite labels are here: Gucci, Louis Vuitton and VB. Shopping sure works up a thirst.

We have at our disposal 2 pools, a tennis court and a gym. So far the pool has been used like Clearasil. Twice a day. Not so popular the exercise based facilities.

Kael spent some “hard earned” at the toy shop today. I sucessfully negotiated a single purchase of a small radio controlled car. His heart was with the tank and giant military aircraft. 

Naomi has rejoined her Samese twin Mia. It would take Victor Chang to separate them.

Eva has spent a lot of time in her undies. We would if we could.

Lissa has had at least 2 near misses with automatic doors. The MRT (underground train) waits for no one.

Tomorrow is the Zoo. Breakfast with the Orangutans, no less. Sounds like bananas may dominate the menu. Stay tuned.

We made it.

Weeks of steady packing culminated in a flurry of boxes packing tape. It was a back breaking game of tetris with all our worldly possessions. It could have been fun. 
Contrast this chaos with the finely tuned environment that is Singapore. We have been sweating and eating since we arrived.


Twelve years in the one spot has been great. It is one type of freedom to stay put. Now we will taste the other side. Moving is the new staying still.


We made it, or more accurately, it begins.