Welcome to Singapore!

Mom made it all the way to Singapore! Thanks to Corey for picking her up at the airport and getting her to our current apartment.  He is a champ! 

Mom travels so well.  She came in about 1:00am and she and Corey made it back to the apartment after 2:00am.  Although I did wake up enough to give her a big hug, I had a crazy work day coming up so back to bed I went.  When they got to the apartment, Corey took Mom to the roof so she could get a view of Singapore at night.  Our rooftop pool area is an amazing place.  As you can see from the pic to the left we can view the Singapore Flyer and much of the downtown financial district from our current building.  Later the day Mom arrived,  I made it home for lunch and Mom was already up and ready to start exploring Singapore!  Corey flew back to Thailand and Mom hung out at the pool and walked around the general area.

Over the first weekend I showed Mom how to use an MRT pass.  Singapore has an amazing public transport system that includes trains, buses and cabs.  It is actually very easy to get around, and if you aren't afraid to walk a little you can see a lot of Singapore on foot (locally we call that using Bus 11).  Saturday Mom and I took a walking tour in Little India.  It was so much fun!  Our tour guide was a local guy named Bernard.  His laugh was contagious!  He was full of information, from the history of Singapore to current day politics and more.  We learned a lot about his home town/country of Singapore and especially the Indian community since that was the focus of the tour.  The pictures below are mostly from our Little India Walking Tour.

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This lovely building is Raffles Hotel, named after the British founder of the colony in 1819.  Up until that time the area had been under the rule of India, Thailand, the Portuguese, Dutch, Malaysia, and more.  Singapore gained it's independence in 1965.  Much of the city was destroyed during WW2 bombing raids by the Japanese but some very wonderful little neighborhoods remain.  I have been lucky enough to find a small apartment in what is called the "Arab Quarter."  Mom will help me move this coming weekend.  It is an area of mostly renovated shophouses that are clustered around the oldest Mosque in Singapore.   Just down the street is a lovely old Catholic church and both Buddhist and Hindu Temples are just a few blocks further.  Singapore is a wonderful melting pot of cultures.   Mom and I took a Hop on- Hop Off Bus Tour around the city this past Saturday.  It was a great way to get your bearings and see the city from an open topped bus!  Here are some pics of our adventure.
We saw many of the main landmarks of Singapore and spent some time in Chinatown walking around as well.  

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Our last stop on Saturday night was down at Marina Bay.  We had taken the train to watch the light show, which is well worth the effort, and happened upon the Singapore Jazz Festival.  The main stage was right in front of the Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands.  We were standing, elbows over the fence that was keeping the non-paying observers out, and a nice guy asked, "would you want some free tickets to the concert?"  Well, anyone that knows me, knows how fast I said, "YES!"   He handed us two passes and pointed us in the direction of the entrance.  I asked, "Why us?"  He answered with a smile and a twinkle in his eye, "Why not?"  

What a treat!  We relinquished our tickets for RFID bracelets, very Singapore, and were able to catch 3 acts.  The first was an amazing singer named Allen Stone.  He was from the US and his band was excellent.  Mom and I both loved him, his music, and even more so... his vibe.  We then were lucky enough to hear James Morrison and his band.  He could play about any horn available as well as other instruments.  The closing act was none other than than the amazing India Arie!  Some of her songs literally brought tears to our eyes as she is one of the most soulful singers I have heard in a long time.  What a night!  

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