 Old Airport road hawker center According to Singaporeans, one of the best places to grab lunch is the hawker center on Old Airport Road. Paige introduced us to this little gem. I knew it was an authentic Singaporean hangout because we were the only foreigners there.
A hawker center is similar to a food court, but far more basic and the food is cheaper. They are basically outdoor stalls with a roof overhead and fans instead of air conditioning.
We selected the fried kway teow stand, which was very popular. In fact, the line never died down at the stall. People waited at least 20 minutes to grab some grub. You know the food is good when people are willing to stand in line at this type of establishment, especially because there were many other choices in the hawker center.
 $3 fried kway teow So, what is fried kway teow? To be honest, I'm not really sure. I know there were flat rice noodles in the dish, but other than that, everything else was a mystery. We didn't ask any questions - the mystery meat inside was tasty, as was the entire dish. And best of all, this lunch was only US$3-4 (depending on what size plate you chose). What a steal!
I've continually added photos to the photos tab of this blog. If you click on "photos" you'll see that the main page is dedicated to photos of Singapore. If you hover over "photos" you'll see that I've created drop down menus for the other countries we've visited. Be sure to check these pages out!
 At Ku De Ta Joe and I got our first taste of Singapore nightlife this past weekend. Paige took us to Ku De Ta, a club at the top of the Marina Bay Sands hotel. The club is on the 55th floor of the hotel, right next to the pool deck. The Marina Bay Sands is known for, among other things, its infinity pool. It is apparently the largest outdoor swimming pool in the world at its height (650 feet above ground). From afar, the pool deck looks like a large boat that was placed on top of the three towers that make up the hotel. You can see photos of the pool and hotel here. The view of Singapore from the club was great. Since photos don't do it justice, enjoy the video below!
As we enter our fourth week in Singapore (can't believe we've been here almost a month!), I thought it would be fun to share cultural differences that I've observed. This will be an ongoing topic, as we encounter new things every day.
Today's topic is... napkins. Ha ha, yes, napkins are an important topic for me to bring up. Although the food courts here are fantastic - good, cheap food - they don't provide napkins. So, people here always carry little tissue packets around. I always make sure to have them in my purse!
Another use for tissues? Seat savers. Food courts are typically jam-packed and it can be difficult to find seats. So, people lay out tissues, tissue packets (or really any other pieces of paper or random trinkets that they have) to save seats while they are up at the food stalls collecting their grub.
If you're ever in Singapore, remember this seat saving rule. I read in a guide book that the writer's western friends mistakenly thought tissue packets were complimentary napkins, and took the seat of a not-so-happy Singaporean!
Last night, when we got home from the gym, I noticed a flutter out of the corner of my eye. I thought a moth was flying around the ceiling. That's when Joe exclaimed, "There's a lizard in our room!"
A cute, little, yellow lizard had somehow gotten into our apartment... which is strange because there are not a lot of vermin in the city (they fog all the pests here). Although the lizard was cute, we had to get rid of the unwelcome house guest. Easier said than done... the lizard was quick! It scurried all around the room, until we finally trapped it under our bed headboard.
Joe used his cat-like reflexes the trap the lizard... it was quite exciting as you'll hear from my commentary in the video below. The hotel staff then took the lizard outside and set him free :)
 My Singapore ID Apparently our ID cards look like the Singaporean national cards, because the other day, someone asked me if I was Singaporean.
I think people are sometimes surprised to hear an American accent when I start talking. Maybe I should try out a few different accents while I'm here :)
 The monkey that chased me Yes, I was chased by a monkey yesterday and it was quite a frightening experience! We'll get to this part of my story in a bit...
Yesterday was National Day here in Singapore - the country's independence day (Singapore celebrated its 47th birthday). Joe had the day off, so we went on a hike with our friend Paige, who also works for BASF. Paige is from the U.S. and has been here on assignment for five months. She also lived here as a child/teenager when her dad did a three-year delegation for BASF. Needless to say, she's been a great resource for us!
 The entrance of MacRitchie Paige took us to the MacRitchie Reservoir Park, about 20 minutes away from where we live. The park was a nice escape from the hustle and bustle of Orchard. MacRitchie is known for its TreeTop Walk, which is a free-standing suspension bridge about 25 meters above ground that allows you to walk among the tree tops.
We started our hike and noticed that there are wild monkeys along the trail. At first glance, the monkeys were really cute and it was funny to see wild monkeys running around because we don't have this in the U.S. Of course, being the tourists that we are, we had to get pictures of the monkeys and got as close as we could to them. As you can see from Joe's photo below, the monkeys aren't scared of humans. In fact, I think they hoped we had food for them. However, there are signs around the park instructing visitors not to feed the monkeys because it makes them aggressive, and boy did I see this firsthand.
 Joe gets close to a monkey After Joe got close to a monkey for his photo op, I wanted a picture as well. There was a cute little baby monkey carrying a bottle around (see the photo above) and I thought, I'll get close to that one! BAD IDEA. The monkey sat still as I moved towards it, giving me the false impression that it would pose with me. As I crouched down to the grass, the monkey popped up, threw its bottle and ran right towards me. I yelped and ran away (trying to get behind Joe so he would save me), giving a crowd of spectators a good laugh. I certainly learned my lesson and avoided monkeys the rest of our hike!
The treetop trail hike was amazing (minus the fact that I was paranoid a monkey was going to jump out of the trees and land on me). The trees along the path had grown into an arch shape, creating an "overhang" above the path which shaded us from the hot, tropical sun.
 TreeTop Walk bridge The view from the TreeTop Walk bridge was spectacular. On our right, we could see the edge of the country and the ocean. On our left, we could see the high rise buildings of central Singapore. And, of course, we could see the forest floor below us through grates of the bridge floor. The trek on the bridge was a little scary because I'm not the biggest fan of heights and the bridge was shaky, but it was a fun experience. Joe and I definitely plan to visit MacRitchie Reservoir park again for another hike. Check out the photos section of this blog for more pictures of the park.
Tonight, we head to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and I can't wait! We have a jam-packed itinerary of exploration and I'll have a lot to update you on when we get back!
 Our pool... I love this paradise... Our pool... I love this paradise.
 Chicken Rice stand in food court I'm a little embarrassed to admit it, but it took us five days to branch out and try a Singaporean meal (we've been flocking to dishes that we know). Last night we tried chicken rice for dinner at the Takashimaya department store food court.
Chicken rice is as basic as it sounds - it's chicken on top of rice. The chicken is cooked in several different ways - roasted, fried, steamed - you get to pick which one you want. I believe the rice is cooked in chicken broth and an aromatic oil that I couldn't quite identify. Overall the dish was good but I wasn't blown away like the guide books said I would be.
 Chicken rice The one thing that was a little unnerving about the chicken rice stand is that they display the dead, roasted chickens in the windows, with heads and all. Seeing the sad eyes of the chickens made it a little difficult for me to eat the dish. However, displaying entire dead animals in food establishment windows seems to be common practice here in Singapore (I've seen ducks and pigs as well), so I'll continue to keep an open mind.
 Today was an exciting day... our Singapore visas are official! Joe and I visited the Ministry of Manpower (or as I say, in a British accent, the Ministry of Magic) to get our documentation finalized (unfortunately we didn't run into Harry P). The process was surprisingly quick and efficient, although I should have expected no less from Singapore!
With our magical papers all stamped and signed, we had permission from the government to sign up for cell phone service. It feels good to be connected to the world again, although it's kind of weird to have a Singapore phone number. Joe and I are most excited about having our beloved maps app back to help us navigate the city. Oh how the iPhone has spoiled us!
On a more random note, I discovered a new love: fuji apple soda. Yum!
 8 on Claymore We're finally unpacked and our little apartment in the 8 on Claymore high rise is starting to feel more like home. Check out the photos tab on this site to see photos of our place!
Yesterday we explored a few different food courts and then attended a house warming party for Joe's boss, Friedrich. Friedrich just moved to an area called Holland Village which is a popular place for Singapore expats. I've heard there's a good American sports bar in that neighborhood where we can catch an American football game or two in the fall if we're feeling homesick. Unfortunately, I forgot to take photos while we were in Holland Village... but it's an area we'll definitely explore again so I'll have to remember to use my camera next time!
At Friedrich's party, I had the chance to meet a few of Joe's colleagues. His colleagues Sally and Biyon are Singaporean, so it was nice to pick their brains about what to see, where to go, etc. Sally told us that 20 years ago, you could purchase a plot of land in Holland Village for less than $10,000. Today, these plots of land cost more than $1 million! You can tell that most of the folks in the area are wealthy because they own cars. Cars are certainly a luxury in Singapore... a Toyota Camry will cost you about $178,000 - no joke! Needless to say, most people don't own cars! It's a good thing the public transportation system is so convenient and affordable.
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