Thursday, January 26, 2012

Singapore

So it is T minus 6 weeks until Ed and I will actually be in Singapore for vacation with my mom, dad, 2 brothers, and sister in law! Actually as I'm writing this, in exactly 6 weeks, is when we will actually be waking up for our first morning in Singapore!!! I am beyond excited to go. I still can't believe that it has been 10.5 years since I have been there last! This will also be our first family vacation with my parents and brothers and me in 10.5 years (just another reason to be super excited, as if I needed another one)!!

It's hard to believe that we lived there for 6 years. As we've been getting ready for the trip I have been doing a lot of researching about what to see/eat/do. For those of you who don't know, Singapore is a very modern city/country in Southeast Asia just off the tip of Malaysia. It is hot and humid (like almost hard to breath sticky humid) every day of the year. And it is ALWAYS changing. Some of the things i am most excited to see are things that were not even there when we lived there. The only negative part of the trip will be the 24 hour's of travel to get there....Minneapolis to Chicago (please oh please don't let Minneapolis weather delay our flight and us miss the flight from chicago) to Narita Japan to Singapore. Hopefully tall hubby's knees/legs can handle all the flying!! 


Some of the things I am hoping to see/do are
1. A zipline over trees that lands on a beach on an island off Singapore (wasn't there when we were)
Sentosa Island where we will lay on the beach and hit the Zipline

2. Go to the Singapore zoo, it is HUGE and they also have a really cool night safari where you can see the animals and how they act at night
3. Visit the Bird Park. Pretty much another zoo but entirely dedicated to birds! I remember walking in and seeing the Flamingos all over the entrance, super cool. Also you walk through a rainforest and birds are flying free and they also have the world's largest man made waterfall
Jurong Bird Park


4. Enjoy a lot of dinners and drinks with my family everywhere from East Coast Parkway to the Hibachi place in the Pagoda to drinks at Clark and Boat Quays

5. SHOP....and lots of it! Singapore is a shopping gold mine, one particular road (Orchard Road) is just mall next to mall next to mall next to mall next to....(ok well you get the point). And they are all tall...5+ stories each!  They have brands and labels from all over the world. I'm excited to go in Top Shop a brand from London, super cute clothes!! If you're not into spending a lot of money you can go to Far East Plaza and various side streets that you can bargain for the price. I'm hoping to leave with a few knock off Coach purses (or CoUch)...keep your fingers crossed for me!
A small portion of Orchard Road


Inside one of many insanely large malls....mall of america has nothing on singapore malls

6. Take Ed to Leonie Condotel (where we used to live) and maybe hit up the old high school!
Our old home, Leonie Condotel


7. Gamble at the casino (these didn't exist there when we lived there, I'm pretty sure it was taboo then. The new casino is actually in one of the hotels we are staying in and it looks AMAZING) Check it out: http://www.marinabaysands.com/  We are staying at this hotel the last two nights, mainly because the only way to get to the most amazing pool ever is to be a hotel guest.

View from the Marina Bay Sands

Our 2nd hotel of the trip....yea my jaw dropped to when I saw it. The very top deck is where the infinity pool is
Another view of the Marina Bay Sands
See?! The view is AMAZING!!! The hotel is amazing! It has an ice skating rink, MALL, casino, restaurants, and more inside it. Not to mention the pool!!! Now you're looking at your schedule to see when you can visit too, aren't you?!?! There is still lots to plan and lots to pack....(and lots to shop for) to get ready for the trip but I can't wait. Here are a few more pics of one of the most beautiful places ever!

Hawker stalls...very cheap...very delicious food....Singapore's version of a food court

The Merlion

Singapore money, its so colorful and pretty!

The Parliament House

The Singapore Flyer...wasn't there when we lived there

Singapore at night, beautiful city

Sir Raffles statue and financial district in the back  
I'm sure you can see why I am so excited! Forgive me if half my blogs until then are about Singapore :) 6 weeks and counting!!!

2 comments:

  1. So envious you know how to do a blog like this, and you do it so well. I really enjoyed reading this and we can't wait for the 7th to get here!

    ReplyDelete