My entire trip was around 90 days, so I’m almost half way through. Today’s post will be fairly short since I spent a good part of the day planning the next month of the trip and when I’d be flying home. I bought my ticket for the future caving expedition, a flight back to Singapore from Cebu, another flight from Singapore to Hanoi, and the biggest of them all, my flight back home from Singapore to Korea to San Francisco. I remember being stressed while booking my flight back home. I was buying a flight departing from Singapore when I didn’t have a date I’d be back to make that flight. I would be in Hanoi on March 7th, and my flight back home was for April 9th. Where was I going to be during that last month? Shrug.

Earlier during my travels, I mentioned that Singapore was the best hub to fly in and out of for other countries in the surrounding area. I made sure to take advantage of Singapore and the fact that Chris and Ahnah were there. I flew back and saw them another couple times before heading home eventually. It was nice to leave some stuff there to lighten my backpack. As my travels went on, I realized I had actually overpacked. If I could do it again, I would definitely pack less.

In the afternoon, I bought some soap and toothpaste, shaved, watched Ahnah be super mom, had dinner at home with my hosts, then jumped in a cab to head to the airport at 11pm. I was on a redeye to Manila landing at 6am the next day.

Michigan Monday! Today, I got to see Diana and Eugene, friends of mine from college. Diana moved to Singapore for a church plant and Eugene just happened to be in Singapore for work. Lucky for Diana, Ahnah, their babies, and me was that Eugene works for Facebook. We got to visit the Singapore office to grab some food and take some fun pictures. I think I enjoyed the pictures more than the kids.

The Facebook visit was during the evening. Before all that, I actually had met up with Dino earlier for breakfast, ate at Putien, scheduled the next couple weeks of my trip, and applied for an apartment in LA. My brother was gracious enough to figure out my housing situation for me, so that was great.

My big touristy event of this day was to go to Gardens by the Bay. It’s pretty much a giant man made attraction with several different “gardens.” It’s actually really large and impressive. My favorite by far was the Cloud Forest. I’d give it an explanation, but the website already does that, so below’s a quote.

“Explore the tropical highlands amidst orchids, pitcher plants and ferns from the cool-moist Tropical Montane region. Be amazed as you encounter the world’s tallest indoor waterfall at 30 metres and descend through the surreal mist-filled Cloud Walk and Treetop Walk.”

The indoor waterfall is very cool but take that with a grain of salt. I really love waterfalls. And a side note, I believe that Singapore will be the first country to be entirely under a dome. That’s right, the entire country will be under a dome like in the picture below. It’ll be all air conditioned. It’s the future of the world as climate change comes upon us. Get a citizenship there if you can!

Creative titles are hard to come up with. Also, always having entertaining content is rough. If I were writing this blog to try to get readers, I would be in a lot of trouble. Good thing I only write for myself. I can’t forget that as time goes on.

I actually remember this day very well because it started off with lunch at Pepper Lunch Express. It’s freaking delicious. I believe it is a chain in Asia. I wish they would come to the states. On second thought, naw, cause it wouldn’t taste as good. This is one of Ahnah’s favorite spots to eat, and I can taste why. I’d eat here on every Singapore visit.

I also remember this day very well because it’s the first time I ever went to a baby convention. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it’s just a convention with tons of baby supplies or … other baby stuff. I have no idea. What I do remember though, was that there was a stage surrounded by a stage, presumably for some show. We found some empty seats and just sat to rest the legs. Senah having the energy of a Duracell refused to sit still very long and took off somewhere with Ahnah following close behind. Livin’ La Vida Loca blared on the speakers.

At some point, Chris went somewhere to go do something. Nothing secretive, I just can’t remember. The most important part is that I was now sitting alone with a stroller and other baby stuff in the second row facing a stage. Children started to come onto the stage signaling the beginnings of the show. I was just minding my own business when I realized people were looking my way and giving strange looks. After a few minutes, someone came up to me and asked me what I was doing there. I panicked thinking they must think I’m some predator. I let them know I was with a family who happened to be no where in sight. This seemed to satisfy the lady for a few minutes, but then eventually came to me again asking if my kid was going to perform. I said no, and she left. I think at this point, I should have just gotten up and left the area, but where would I go? And what if Chris and Ahnah came back looking for me? Well, Chris eventually did come back, and he told me the front rows were reserved for parents who’s children were performing. I was a bit embarrassed, even though I shouldn’t have been. It’s not like there were signs or the seats were roped off. Either way, I got up and grabbed all the things that were around me. I noticed I had taken up 3 seats by myself. Maybe that’s why people kept giving me strange looks- I was that rude person taking up extra seats, I guess?

I’m reading the last paragraph again, and I don’t really like it. I’m actually not great at telling stories. I either make it sound more exciting than it actually was, or just ruin the climax somehow. I think the above was one of my poor stories. But whatever.

Onto the next journey, which sends us to the Night Safari! This was actually a pretty cool tour. This zoo gave tours at night to showcase their nocturnal animals. Very cool. The coolest part was when we got to see a pack of wolves and they all howled at the moon. I wish I howled with them and got a picture. But they didn’t come out very well. So here’s a picture of Senah chewing on her own hand.

My calendar says we got home around 10:30 at night. Senah was a trooper being able to stay out so late! Or she may have thrown a fit, I’m not quite sure. Either way, good day.

Having the HanFam in Singapore was a huge blessing for me. It allowed me to have some much needed rest from “traveling.” I slept in, caught up with Chris and Ahnah, had hot showers everyday twice a day, and got to play with Senah everyday! The best thing though, was that they had a washer AND dryer! I think Ahnah wanted to throw me in there before I stepped into the apartment, but I didn’t quite fit. Also, I’m not sure if I already mentioned all this in a previous post, so I’m sorry for the repetition. My brother gets so annoyed cause I’ll ask the same questions or tell him something multiple times. In fact, I think at one point, my friends may have called me a broken record. No one calls me that anymore though, so it must not be true.

It seems like most of the time we spent was walking from one eatery to the next, which I think is a great way to pass the time. We ate at Lau Pa Sat, The Bank, Khansama, and Nunsongyee. We went swimming, walked through Little India, and witnessed the madness that is Mustafa Center. That place is nuts but kind of cool. Tons of stuff to buy there, but be warned, the place is packed.

One thing Singapore taught me was the true value of air conditioning. I love air conditioning and I am forever grateful for the person(s) who created it. Thank you.