Say it ain’t so! Our time spent 2 degrees north of the equator is quickly coming to a close. We are continuing to take every opportunity we can to learn new things, spend time with new friends and enjoy our Asian adventure. Will Maggie Lou & Jack remember this? We certainly hope so, and although it’s inevitable, we’ll get a little sad when we’re back home and a band-aid will no longer be  a “plaster,” and a shrimp will no longer be a “prawn.” Soon catching the MRT will be a memory and we will go months instead of minutes without visiting a mall.

No more bunk beds … lots of boxes. Sniff, sniff.

The packing has commenced, and the furniture we purchased was easily sold on the Craigslist of Singapore. The reality of a long plane ride is rearing it’s ugly head, and as we prepare we cannot help but reflect. We can’t say enough good about this city. The blogosphere and travel writers who paint this place as sterile and “lacking,” we feel, are using a very narrow lens (one, maybe lacking in forming relationships with Singaporeans) in which to view this modern marvel. It’s not perfect (is anyplace?), but we were certainly glad to call it home, albeit temporarily.

Highlights from the last two weeks:

We went to a landmark restaurant in Little India, the Apollo Banana Leaf, with Michael’s colleagues. Maggie Lou tried her hand at eating with her hand, Jack made friends by making sure everyone had a  matchbox card and Mama and Daddy devoured their food! Mama is still dreaming of the fish head curry.

The children and Mama adventured to the Science Center, yet again. We were all excited to see the Human Body exhibit. Unfortunately, the kiddos got spooked and decided they were too frightened to go in, much to Mama’s chagrin. We carried on though – and saw parts of the center we had yet to see during previous visits. They must not be my children as they declared “the maths” room was their favorite!

      

  

A popular food center VERY close to our building has been under construction – the opening kept getting pushed back and we were worried we would miss it completely, but at last it opened. Lau Pa Sat is now a favorite dinner spot – we met up with friends recently and ended the night with a Tropical Fruit 101 lesson!  The small round smooth fruits are longans (dragon’s eyes), the red, coarse fruit are lychees and the, spiky, red fruits in the botton photo are rambutans.

 

Mama and Daddy had one last date night in Little India – biryani at Tekka Market and shopping at Mustafa (a 24 hours complex that houses EVERYTHING you would need under the sun). People had encouraged us to check it out – although we didn’t buy anything it was an experience we won’t soon forget – very crowded, very stocked and a bit claustrophobic. Mama was good after 20 minutes.

 

The children spent their afternoons this past week at the Canadian International School’s summer camp: Science, Art & Soccer series. They finished with a trip to the ArtScience Museum.

We finally scooted around East Coast Park. We watched the simulated water ski park, attempted to play in the sand (it was very polluted) and indulged in our last chili & black pepper crab. We have decided eating crab in Singapore is so messy that eating lobster back home is going to seem super clean and easy.

Some of the things we will certainly miss:

 

Just lounging in the pool!

The past two weeks links revealed:

Miss from NH: the sandbox, swings, the Birch Hill pigs, cheaper alcohol, cheaper bacon, having pets, lots of picture books, the grill

Miss from Singapore: scooting inside the mall, elevators, escalators, clean subways, sliced fish porridge, laksa, real dim sum, Andrew & Family, Nick & Rachael, the East Coast