We’ve actually had quite a bit going on in Singapore the last month or so with Mark switching roles at work, two visitors, fun friend hangouts, and some new activities!
At the end of April/beginning of May we had Mark’s brother, Todd, in town for a little less than two weeks. As Mark was in the midst of a transition to a new role at Shell, he was working longer hours than usual but still got to spend some quality time with Todd in the evenings doing dinners and even the Slingshot ride in Clarke Quay. The three of us also took a weekend trip to Bali, Indonesia (see next blog for more details)! During the day, Todd and I spent most of our time trying some of the many varieties of food that Singapore has to offer. A few of Todd’s favorites being Indian food and Vietnamese Pho. Aside from eating, we also did a little sightseeing in Chinatown, The Quays, Little India, and The Botanical Gardens and relaxed while reading by the pool.
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| Mark and Todd riding on the G Max Sling Shot, I sat this one out |
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| 3,2,1... |
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| Lift Off! | | |
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| Todd and I shared vegetarian sides at Banana Leaf Apollo |
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| Yummy food picture |
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| Todd enjoying the pho at Pho 99 |
Our second visitor was our friend from Houston, Brian, who came to Singapore in mid-May. He came to Singapore for work but we were happy to do drinks and meals with him a couple times – it’s always great to see a familiar face! Brian may even be visiting Singapore again for work while we're living here - if so, we look forward to his next visit!
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| Mark and Brian having some drinks at Crazy Elephant Bar |
In between visitors we spent time with our Singapore friends trying some new things and enjoying some old favorites. On the new front, a group of 13 of us got to together on a Saturday and rented out a wave simulator for an hour and tried surfing and body boarding at The Wavehouse in Sentosa. It was tons of fun while we we’re doing it but a lot of us were pretty sore the next day. Even so, I would do it again! As far as old favorites, we’ve had a bowling outing and got together for a friendly(ish) game of dice : )
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| Mark and I pre-waveriding |
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| Some of the girls (L to R: Sarah, Niki, Grace) |
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| The group minus Grace (taking picture) getting ready to take to the water! |
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| Doing some body boarding. I wasn't as bad as I thought I'd be! |
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| Mark surfing |
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| Sarah and Christian bowling |
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| Ryan and Ashley |
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| I have no bowling skills... |
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| Mark and Christian getting ready for the bowl off |
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| Mark showing off his moves, he's got quite the spin |
Although we’ve had a lot of fun with friends the last month, it’s not all been happy news. Sadly, Hayley and Ben, some of the first friends Mark and I made in Singapore, are moving to start a new adventure in South Korea :( While we’re excited for them, we are still sad that they’re leaving. But, in the meantime while they are still here, there has been lots of celebrating and get-togethers to commemorate their time in Singapore. We started the celebrating this past week with a wine night at a favorite local spot, Verre.
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| Enjoying some wine at Verre (L to R: Niki, Hayley, Zoe, Sarah) |
To change the topic (I’m still in denial about their move), Mark has fully transitioned over to his new role on the Mo-Gas team. And he is starting out “full-throttle”! His counterpart is currently on vacation so he is doing the blending and scheduling. To be honest, this is about the extent of my knowledge on what he does. But, he seems to have everything under control and since he is officially settled in role, he has had time outside of work to investigate ice hockey opportunities in Singapore.
A new ice rink, J Cube, finished being built in Singapore at the end of January/beginning of February but Mark really didn’t have much time to get involved before now. After talking to the Singapore Ice Hockey Association, he realized he had missed try-outs and therefore wouldn’t be able to play on a team until August. But, he has been able to get some ice time. On Friday, June 1st, we went to J Cube for the Singapore Blizzard ice time which mainly consisted of various skating drills. Mark was happy to do these since he hadn’t been on the ice in over a year. And there was also a short scrimmage at the end! All-in-all, it was a good experience for him and something he’ll likely take advantage of most Fridays until August so he can get his “ice-legs” back.
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| Mark skating for his first time in over a year! |
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| Skating drills |
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| Playing in the scrimmage |
As for myself on the fitness front, I’ve been enjoying some walks and hikes both solo and with friends. Most recently, a couple girls and I did an approximately 5 mile walk of the Southern Ridges in Singapore (
Southern Ridges Information) which was really nice. I especially enjoyed seeing the Henderson Waves Bridge. For my solo walks, I really like walking the loop from our condo through Marina Bay Sands and back around. It’s about 5.5 miles and has some really pretty views. Plus, it’s always nice to window shop through Marina Bay Sands and enjoy the A/C! For those of you with smartphones, I highly recommend the Endomondo app which can track your exercise time, distance, route, and calories burned, etc.
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| Sarah, Niki, and Grace on the Henderson Waves bridge on the Southern Ridge walk |
And since no Singapore blog is complete without a Colt update…Lately, he has been enjoying his usual routine of daily walks, doggy playtime two times per week, the occasional fountain play, and his favorite pastime - naps! But, in exciting Colt news, Mark and I have found an almost fully fenced in grassy spot that’s only a short walk from our condo where Colt now gets to enjoy some off-leash romps! Almost immediately after being unleashed, he takes off in a full speed sprint of sorts and then is completely tired out. So, what’s a tired dog to do? Roll around in the grass and mud of course! Another favorite off-leash activity is chasing his fish after you throw it. I actually have a really cute video of this but I am currently unable to upload it.
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| The girls and the pooches at the dog meet up (Ladies L to R: Grace, Ashley, Niki, Julie, Sarah, Zoe, Aylin, and Hayley. Dogs L to R: Buddy, Kate, Colt, Max, Phoebe, Meg, Vida, and Calvin) |
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| Colt cooling down in the fountain |
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| Colt is FREEEEEEEE!!! |
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| Playing with his favorite fish toy |
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| Picture Mark snapped of Colt and Niki taking a nap |
Lastly, I have a couple random pictures from the month that I really liked and wanted to share.
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| Woke up to a beautiful rainbow one morning! |
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| Having a romantic date night...And then there's Colt lurking :) |
