Our first visitor!

On Wednesday evening (August 10^th) Colt was finally home from boarding!  Colt has been minding really well since being home from boarding so I joke with Mark that we need to send him to boarding at least once a month.  Aside from behaving better than usual, he’s been back his normal self – just a little more sleepy than usual.  I snapped this picture of him mid-week sleeping on the couch with his head upside down.  I thought it was cute because it looks like he is smiling and having sweet dreams : ) Aww!

Colt with his "sweet dreams" smile

Just another shot of that precious mug

Since returning from The States and getting Colt back, we spent the remaining part of the week trying to get everything in order and get back to our routine before our first Singapore visitor arrived on Saturday, August 13.  That visitor was our friend Scott, who works with Mark, for Shell in Houston, TX.  Scott is currently living in Chennai, India for a year which he will complete in March 2012.  He arrived in Singapore early Saturday morning and wanted to “hit the ground running”.  So first on the agenda was a tour of our condo, then a tour of the surrounding area which included a walk for Colt.

View of the walkway below our condo that runs along the river

View 2 of walkway and river

Colt and I in the parking garage, headed out for our morning walk

This was also in the parking garage.  We see more Lambo's and Ferrari's here than I've ever seen in my life!

View 1 from our condo balcony

View 2 from our condo balcony

View 3 from our condo balcony

Mid-day, Mark and Scott went sightseeing around the city where Mark showed Scott the Singapore Shell office building, some cityscapes, and Chinatown.  They also had Singapore Slings at the Long Bar at Raffles Hotel.  The Long Bar at Raffles Hotel is the place where the original Singapore Sling Cocktail was developed sometime before 1915 by Mr. Ngiam, a bartender at the time.  Having a Singapore Sling at the original Long Bar has become a favorite tourist activity in Singapore. But, at $24 a drink it’s something people living here don’t do often (but I made Mark promise to go just one more time since I haven’t been yet).  

Entrance to Mark's Office

Long Bar at Raffle Hotel

Informative Long Bar sign

The famous Singapore Sling

Close up of the vintage glass

After their drinks, I met Mark and Scott for lunch at Brewerkz, a microbrewery and restaurant.  We choose Brewerkz so Scott could get a good burger since beef is pretty hard to come by in Chennai.  When we got back from lunch the boys turned in for some afternoon napping with Colt before we went out Saturday night.  

Picture of the river during my walk to meet Mark and Scott for lunch

River Taxis outside of Brewerkz

Clarke Quay during our walk home from lunch

Saturday night our first stop was a bar Mark had been to before with his coworkers, it’s called 1-Altitude.  1-Altitude is a pretty swanky place boasting some of the best views of the city and I have to say that I agree with that assessment.  Following a few drinks and photo-ops we took a river walk through the area of Boat Quay and made our way to Clarke Quay where we took Scott to a few of the more “touristy” bars.  The bar I was most interested in going to was called The Clinic.  It’s pretty close to our condo so we’ve seen it frequently but have never stopped in.  The entire concept of The Clinic is a medical clinic.  All the waitresses wear nurse’s outfits while the waiters and male bartenders dress as doctors.  The seating is comprised of wheelchairs and hospitals beds while the drinks are served from plastic syringes and/or IV bags.  It’s another one of the many places that I don’t foresee ever running into in the U.S. So, while it’s not likely to become our regular hangout spot, we had to try it once!

Black and white view of a Singapore street from 1-Altitude

Nighttime view of Marina Bay Sands, Singapore Flyer, and Artscience Museum

Another picture from the rooftop bar, 1-Altitude

Mark and Niki at 1-Altitude

Mark, Niki, and Scott on rooftop at 1-Altitude

By the river in Boat Quay

Mark and Scott by the river in Boat Quay

View of Clarke Quay at night

The Clinic, the medical clinic inspired bar

Mark and the IV drink (I practically had to force him to try it)

Niki with the IV

Scott enjoying the IV

A toast to Scott and his first Singapore adventure!

Sunday we took Scott for some local fare at a restaurant called Red House.  There we dined on local favorites: chili crab, cereal prawns, garlic grilled asparagus, and seafood fried rice.  Later in the day Mark and Scott went to Marina Bay to see the Merlion and try their luck at the casino.  Unfortunately, both were losers but not too bad though.  Sunday night before turning in early, we toasted to Scott’s first visit to Singapore as we sipped wine along the river. 

A local favorite, cereal prawns (also our favorite)

Chili crab at Red House, very spicy!

Mark in front of part of the Singapore Skyline at Marina Bay before going to the casino

Monday morning as Mark headed for work, Scott and I made our plans for the day.  We decided to meet Mark for a sushi lunch (another things Scott doesn’t get in India) and then visit the ArtScience Museum.  There are three exhibits currently at the museum, we choose to see all three.  The first exhibit we walked through was called: Dali, Mind of a Genius.  In this exhibit there were 10 galleries and more than 250 pieces of artwork with the focus being on what fascinated and inspired Salvador Dali.  This was my favorite exhibit of the three and the one we got the most pictures of.  There we so many pieces of the artwork that when trying to narrow down my pictures for the blog I had a hard time choosing my favorite pieces to share but I did try.  After the Dali exhibit Scott and I headed to Van Gogh Alive the exhibition.  There was no photography allowed in this exhibit as it was presented with a mix of audio-visual technology spanning over 28 minutes.  In my opinion, this was an exhibit worth seeing once but not something I enjoyed enough to see again.  Lastly, we headed to the exhibit titled: Shipwrecked Tang Treasures and Monsoon Winds.  It showcases shipwreck artifacts found near Indonesia in 1998 that were untouched on the seafloor for over 1,000 years.  The exhibit also covers a lot on the topic of trade between China and West Asia.  What I found most interesting was that the shipwreck contained the first known pieces of the Chinese blue and white ceramics.  It was also amazing that they were in such good condition after being underwater for so long.

Scott entering The Mind of a Genius (The Salvador Dali exhibit)

My very favorite piece titled "The Art of Love"

Title Woman Aflame

Another favorite but cannot remember the title

Scott in "The Garden of Eden"

Niki being silly in "The Garden of Eden"

Niki's favorite picture of Salvador Dali

Some of the mass produced bowls found on the shipwreck

Intricate detailing of ceramic pot intact after over 1,000 years underwater

Gold plate and dishes were also found with the wreckage

Niki's favorite dish found in the wreckage.  The earliest example of the Chinese blue-and-white ceramics

After our tour of the ArtScience Museum, we headed back to the condo so Scott could pack for his return to India.  All-in-all, it was a fun weekend with a great friend and new experiences!