Sentosa

Mark and Niki at the National Geographic store outside of Sentosa

Since the "No Name" entry I have been informed by Mark that the restaurant name is actually "No Signboard Seafood", not "No Name Seafood".  I told Mark that I was going to leave the name of it as "No Name Seafood" because the title worked better for my blog ; )  The past week since the last blog have been pretty eventful.

The week was filled with some ups and downs which I guess is to be expected when you move to a new place.  Now, looking back a few days removed from the downs, they seem pretty trivial (at best) but I'll recap them anyways.  The week began with my first solo ride on the MRT (Mass Rapid Transportation, like a subway).  Up until that point I had only been taking taxis or riding the MRT with Mark.  So I'm not going to lie, I was a little nervous.  I kept thinking what if I get lost?  I mean, just ask my Mom...or Mark...or really anyone who has ever met me, my sense of direction is pretty well nonexistent.  But, I am happy to tell you the that initial solo ride was successful and there have been many solo rides since-I'm pretty much an MRT pro now! Okay, I got a little carried away there. But, the point is that it was much easier than I thought.

Mid week I was excited to spend a day laying out by the pool, reading, and window shopping.  Let's just say the day didn't turn out quite like I'd hoped.  First thing that morning I managed to blow an adapter, our only converter, and my very expensive (to me at least, I'm a bit of a cheapskate) CHI straightener.  Which might not seem like that big of a deal to some people but, keep in mind, that you have not seen me in the humidity without hair products! I, in all seriousness, look worse than Monica on the episode of Friends where they go to the Bahamas-it's not pretty : (  Following the hair debacle and some rainy window shopping I thought my day was starting to look up.  The clouds and rain had passed and it turned into a beautiful day for some laying out by the pool...That was until a feel asleep by the pool for several hours and came inside looking like a lobster from the front and Casper the Friendly Ghost from the back. Yes, I'm being a little dramatic but I had no idea you could even burn when you were wearing SPF 50! Yes, that's right SPF 50! Don't act like your not a little surprised too.

My current hair twin

Following the extremely, horrible, no good, very bad day- the week shaped up really nicely.  Mark has working what have become his regular hours, 10 to 8 or 9pm.  He does have more stress here than in the U.S. but seems to be coping really well. He is learning the new systems and enjoying his new coworkers.  He went out for drinks one night this week with everyone and had a good time!  On the home front, I've been trying to impress Mark with my cooking by trying some new recipes, it's been hit or miss.  I made pecan crusted snapper which actually turned out really good (yes, I'm tooting my own horn).  But then I made banana bread which wasn't terrible but definitely not something you would serve to someone you liked.  In my defense, I had already bought the ingredients when I remembered that we don't have an oven right now. So, I had to look up how to make it in the microwave and microwaves don't make for the most moist banana bread. Tonight I'm making pesto and lemon zest salmon with snow peas and carrots, result TBA.  Mark said he wanted to eat more fish so I'm banking on the whole "it's the thought that counts" saying even if tonight's dish is an epic fail.

Mark and I had a busy but fun weekend filled with workouts, visiting Colt, a trip to Sentosa, and what is now our Sunday night date of appetizers and drinks.  Oh, I also got a cell phone, the white iPhone 4 which Mark and I have both had a lot of fun playing around with!  I think I pretty much covered our Colt trips in the Colt Update blog but there is a lot to share about Sentosa!

View of Sentosa entrance sign from the MRT

Sentosa is an island directly south of Singapore that has many things to do, everything from beaches (body of water is the South China Sea), bars, restaurants, a Luge, indoor skydiving, Butterfly Park, spas, Universal Studios, an Underwater world which has many activities of it's own, zip lines, etc.  Pretty much, you couldn't do everything Sentosa has to offer in one day even if you wanted to.  Before we went Mark and I had already decided that we would just sight-see for the day and save things like Universal Studios and Underwater World (I REALLY want to swim with the pink dolphins) for a later time when we could devote full days to each of them. 

Safety first while getting ready for the Luge

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

View from the chair lift of the South China Sea

But, we still had a lot of fun seeing all the attractions and even went on the Luge which is a downhill track where you race on a one person, sled-like, non-motorized carts.  Mark beat me but I'll take him next time!  After the Luge, we had to ride a chairlift back up which was not the highlight of my day but I think Mark enjoyed it and the views were awesome (above picture does not do it justice).  While at Sentosa we also did many of the Photo ops: gardens, snakes, birds, etc.  A few of our favorite things were the National Geographic Store (actually right outside of Sentosa) and seeing the Merlion which is Singapore's mascot that represents Singapore being a "sea town".  The Merlion is a special place for Singaporeans and a major tourist attraction. If you Wikipedia Merlion, there is a lot of interesting information on it. 

Niki with Albino Python at Sentosa

Mark and Niki with exotic bird at Sentosa, Mark likes this picture because it reminds him of one he took with his brother as a child in Hawaii (sorry for poor photo quality, it is a picture of a picture)

Mark in front of the iconic Merlion

After Sentosa we were pretty worn down from a lot of walking all day so we decided to have dinner along the Singapore River at Clarke Quay, specifically at a Mexican restaurant called Cafe Iguana then come home to watch a movie.

Ready for some pre-dinner drinks along the Singapore River

Water taxis at Clarke Quay

This week were looking forward to the public holiday on Tuesday which means Mark has the day off! We tentatively plan on spending it poolside.  We are also excited about the prospect of our new place and hopefully moving in on Saturday 5/21.  My main personal goal is to start studying to get my Singapore drivers' license...And you all thought stories about my cooking were scary ; )