Forest Adventure

At the end of last year, I came across an advertisement for a place that looked really different and fun: Forest Adventure.

What is Forest Adventure?

"Singapore's first and only tree top course.  Forest Adventure is an aerial course through the trees comprising ladders, bridges, swings, nets, trapezes and slides where participants move unaccompanied from tree to tree 5 metres above ground.  Unique to Forest Adventure are 4 zip lines (flying foxes!)...

All zip lines are built over water and measure between 125m and 200m!..."

Doesn't it sound great?!!  I couldn't wait to take the kids!

Friday August 8th was the start of Singapore's National Day Holiday, which is a bit like our American Fourth of July.  Jim took the day off so we could do something fun with the boys, and I quickly looked into and booked Forest Adventure.

We were told to arrive 15 minutes ahead of our scheduled time slot and to allow for the 10  minute walk from the car to the base camp.  The kids were not excited.

That's right.  Their reactions ranged from, "what are we doing?" to "I don't want to walk this far...when are we going to get there?"  "I'm hot!"  "I'm thirsty!"

Ugh.

Can we just call it Forest Frustration because it definitely started out that way!

Also, let me just say, "forest" is a bit of a misnomer.  It is adjacent to a large reservoir and it does have some trees, but not at all within a heavily forested area or anything like I was picturing.

We finally arrive at base camp only to find out that it won't quite work as I hoped.  I planned to have Jim and the 2 older boys do the adult course while I stayed with John on the kids course- if allowed (or I'd watch him safely from terra firma).  The older boys wouldn't accept this.  They didn't want to do the adult course with Dad and a guide.

We had to form plan B:  the three boys would do the kids' course together and we would watch.

Here's a quick photo after they got hooked into the safety equipment and in line to climb up.  We could help but laugh at the height differences between our kids and the local kids in line ahead of them.

The smaller Asian children ahead of our kids were quick.  Soon John was up the ladder and on to the first challenge:

 Unfortunately this isn't a close up of his face.  The poor kid was so excited and his excitement quickly turned to abject terror at the height!  He soldiered on and didn't want to be called out by his brothers.  This perspective also give you a semi-good look at the height.  They were up there!

 As soon as they finished with all the challenges, they ran to get in line again and do it all over. John was no longer afraid and was yelling because he didn't get to go first again.  The ticket allowed for two times on the course.  It's too bad they didn't enjoy themselves at all!   The zip line at the end of the course was the highlight.  Our camera ran out of battery by that time with all the photos we took of the ear to ear smiles.

We've already decided to return when we can and leave John with a friend so Mom and Dad can join in on the fun.  If you ever get a chance to try something similar, I think the boys would highly recommend it. :)

Return to Spore.

So I've done it.  I've finally called Singapore by it's more familiar nickname, Spore.  I've tried to pass it off as Sing to myself and even managed to make Sing the nickname of choice among my friends, but let's call a spade and spade.  Spore just fits so much more appropriately.

We're back from summer home leave.  I still won't say "we're home".  It's not home.   It never will be.  I came to that more clearly over the summer after about 2 weeks away from here and I decided I didn't want to come back.

????

What the .........?  I really, really liked it here last spring.  I really, truly enjoyed our time here in March, April and May.  I wasn't even sure I wanted to go home on summer leave!  I was enjoying myself too much.  I sincerely wonder if I would have chosen to go home at all if the majority of folks didn't already clear out every summer like clock-work.   But I did.  And I came to be so happy at home again.  One big ball of comfort and ease again.  Parking lots instead of parking decks.  A huge yard with forest creatures instead of slate and chlorine and mosquitos.  Target.  Need I say more???

I cried.  I got it out.  I had to put on my resolute face that I have to at least finish this out for one more year.  Then I can re-evaluate the situation.  

And here we are!

And I'm happy again!  The sky is annoyingly cheerful with sun!  The flowers are blooming everywhere and the palm trees are still in my front "yard"!  The kids and I have eaten lunch at the club twice this week and saw friends that I was so excited to see again!  I missed this!

Return to Spore.  It's much easier than I thought.

Our corner of Singapore

                                                           Front view of the house

As promised, pictures of our new home.  I guess technically I don't consider this "our home" since we are renting  and there's a pretty high chance that we'll have to move to another location in Singapore when this lease expires in 2 years, but here it is!  I backed up as far as I could to get the front into the shot.  If I backed up any further, I'd be beyond the gate blocking the neighbor across the street.  (See, our gate to the driveway is open!) We are on a corner, so there are no neighbors to the right of the picture.  The brown gate and fence wrap all the way around the house to the right and behind.   The neighbors to the left, Cara and Brian, are friends.  I wish I could have backed up a bit so you could see how close we all are.  Cara and Brian are just to the left...like the edge of the picture is the retaining walls and fences between our houses.  Also, I love the row of palm trees in the front.  There are 5  (you can't see 2) , one for each of us.  Behind those trees is the pool.

                                                          The hearse

 Here is a shot standing on the driveway, looking right.  The door up the few steps and beyond is our front door.  Here is a good shot of "the hearse" which is what we call my car, er, van.  It is a Honda Odyssey.  No comments on the color. We didn't really have a choice, okay?  I'm not trying to replicate my Peoria life here!!  (Turns out my neighbors Cara and Alain have the exact same Odyssey, color and all!)   I actually would have preferred the Toyota Picnic, but Jim thinks I'll be carting around kids and friends and therefore will need the extra space that the Odyssey offers.  So far that hasn't been the case, but we'll see.   I'm not bitter.  A car is a car.  Especially when it isn't permanent! (And he has been warned that the turning radius of the hearse is much worse than the shorter Picnic.  Future dings with the hearse are inevitable!)

  

This is the view from the front porch looking toward the driveway gate.  Maybe you can catch a glimpse of Cara's house....It's white and above the white retaining wall with the bushes.

                                                            Welcome to the Chaos!

This is our front door.  See how we take off our shoes and leave them outside like a good Chinese family?  This is all fine and good until it rains and the shoes get damp.  No fun going squish, squish, squish all day.

                                                             The pool

Here's the freezing cold pool.  You can't see part of the pool.  It is L shaped and wraps around the porch I'm standing on.  If you go way back to the front view of the house, you'll see a set of stairs on the left of the photo up the drive.  If you go up those steps, you are on the patio here with the pool.  The windows you see in this picture are the family room.  We are still shopping for pool loungers.

So that is part one of our house.  I have some pictures from the walk home from school coming soon.  It will give you a feel for the neighborhood.

'TIl next time,

Vicki :)

Grocery Glimpse #1

I am attempting to add pictures to the blog in the space I want them to go.  We'll see how this attempt goes before trying to post pictures of our house and area.  I did promise grocery photos so you could all be amazed at my powers of navigation through this gastric experience.  I guess it did not surprise me that the supermarkets would be so interesting, but some of these take the cake!  For example:

Would you like some prawn crackers?  Prawn is very big here.  There are prawns in almost every Chinese and Malay dish.  You can buy fresh prawns, frozen prawns, prawn paste.....Bubba Gump woulda loved it here!  

                                                                  Prawn Crackers

How about fish balls?  (not that kind, silly!)  I'm not really sure why you would want to buy fish that has been shaped into tiny balls, but what do I know?  I don't buy it formed into sticks and breaded either.   These are usually near the frozen duck and frozen chicken parts. ( Yes, parts.)

                                                                          Fish Balls

How about everyone's favorite snack: seaweed chips!  These make me think of my friends Suzie and Kara.

                                                                      Seaweed Chips

And now I truly admit that I am a big yellow-bellied chicken.  I just couldn't pull out the camera for a shot of beef lungs, fish heads, or pig's feet.  So sorry.  Maybe next time.

Until next time,

Vicki

Where's my glass slipper?

One month already flown by!  My "blogging" is not quite up to the caliber for which I was hoping.  Oh well.  It's supposed to be about our life and adventures in Singapore and any other travel spots we're hoping to hit.

Which will be later than we hoped.

As soon as we landed here in Sing, and even before we unpacked our 12 bags of clothes and shoes and most-needed worldly goods, people were telling us to "make plans".  Spring Break plans.  The American Expat custom seems to be that any 3 day weekend or more (such as Christmas and Spring Break) is the ideal time to leave town and vacation.  Shorter breaks mean Bintan, Phuket, maybe Bali.  Longer breaks: Australia, New Zealand, China, home.  Spring Break is clearly a longer break so most expats already learned that in order to leave town and go to an exotic locale of your choice, you must make your plan early and take action.

Short story long, the flights to just about anywhere are booked, and if a flight happens to be available, the resorts are full.  This works out okay for me.  I'm a whiz at planning Disney vacations back home, but trying to book a trip to Thailand is way out of my league.  I can't even pronounce half the names of the cities and areas of Thailand let alone know if  xxxxxx, Thailand is a safe, hip, vacation spot for a family with 3 active boys.  We decide to let this opportunity pass us and use it as a "learning the island of Singapore" week with the kids.  We'll hopefully hit some highlights such as Sentosa Island, the Aquarium, Wild Wild Wet water park, the science museum, and the zoo again.  We have a phenomenal zoo.

We also are way ahead of everyone for the next significant school break: Oct. 1 - 5, 2008.  Bali here we come!

But I've totally digressed.  This blog is supposed to be about me, erm, about the adventure we had last night at our first big social outing:  the George Washington Ball.   

We are invited to the ball by my husband's company and are expected to go and mingle and meet the other Company Folks, having dinner, drinks, and dessert at the Shangri La Hotel.  My first reaction to the ball was, "What!!!"  You see, I enjoy fancy social gatherings as much as the next gal, but I failed to count any formal wear as a most-needed worldy item and hence, like Cinderella, I can't go to the ball.  My fancy duds are somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.  Nice.  I have to go shopping first.   My Fairy Godmother, friend Jenni, offers to go shopping with me and find something appropriate.  Plus, she needs to find a silver purse and her Mother-in-Law is in town for a month.  The girl needs a break!  

Without too much fuss or going into too many details, I find a lovely gown at Takashimaya department store.  No one told me I was "too fat, lah"* so I claim success.  Jim rents a tux.  Apparently he didn't count his tuxedo as a most-needed worldly item either, which after seeing him in one, I cannot understand why.  He cleans up so well.  See Above.  (And yes, I curled up my hair for a "fancy 'do" and sprayed the bejesus out of it.  It held up well.)

The ball was smashing.  I felt like a little kid.  Honestly.  I've been to 3 black tie affairs in my life and this one had them all beat, hands down.  I wanted to stand against a wall and watch the parade of beautiful people in beautiful clothes.   Truly gorgeous gowns of all hues.  Academy Awards are nothing!  (A couple of men in kilts.  You know, I love a man in a kilt.)  I felt really fortunate last night to be in Singapore, attending a formal event and having fun. We even attempted to listen to the American Ambassador to Singapore make her remarks.  I say attempted because the sound system and where we were seated made it very difficult to understand.

 We enjoyed our dinner and met all kinds of people and when the clock struck midnight, like Cinderella, we headed home.

Until next time,

Vicki :)

* My friend Jenni  tells me that on one of her first shopping outings in Sing, she went into a store and the lady tells her, "No, no, no.  You want Plus size."  She's not a plus size, folks.  It's just the way things are here in Sing.  And I knew I was going to like Jenni's husband, Rick, when she related  his reaction to that: "I guess you don't want to go out for ice cream then, huh?"

Supermarket Sweep

First post.  First Blog.  First adventure to report on.  I took the car out for a spin to the local mall for groceries.  Yes, I said local mall.  Here in Sing they have consolidated their shopping into several storeys of small shops with below-ground parking and in each "mall" is usually a grocery or two.  Ours just happens to house a Cold Storage, which if you're a relatively new American in Singapore, this is your place to shop.

Things here are different.  The adventure begins with driving to the mall.  I don't allow myself to think too much about driving on the wrong side of the road or I'll scare myself into staying home and I can't afford that: we've run out of toilet paper.  I start the car, make sure I've adjusted the mirrors and I'm off!  I decide to make a big circle of our road a few times just to get a feel for it.  I'm constantly reminding myself "to the left, to the left, to the left," which would be fine if I never had to make any turns or stop lights.  Eventually I head out of the comfort of my street and make it the 1 mile or so to the mall.  I think it was 30% skill and 70% dumb luck that got me there safely and backed into a proper parking spot.  Everyone backs into parking here.  The cars are all equipped with the "beep--beep--beep" reminder that you're about to hit a wall so if you get to beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeep, you'd better stop.

I go inside Causeway Point and make my way to Cold Storage.  I'm digging into my change purse for the one dollar coin and I can't find one.  Drat!  I found out the hard way last week that in order to have a cart, you must release the cart with a one dollar coin.  Then I remember a tip that my friend Jenni shared with me yesterday: the cart releaser also takes the $0.20 coins.  Bonus!  I feel slightly guilty as I cheat the cart people, but I'm desperate. Cart released!

First area is fruits and veggies right after you pass the Chinese New Year stuff.  This is comprised of pots of tiny and very cute bamboo plants that I'm tempted to grab.  There are also pots of tiny mandarin orange bushes/trees and some tacky looking  red and gold decorations.  I go through quickly because I'm on a mission.  I actually have a list of desperate items.  I must leave with toilet paper, paper towels, razors*, dishwasher soap, thirsty hippos*, and coffee filters.  The rest is gravy.

I love the fruit and veggie section.  Here I find things as comforting as Fuji apples (from China, not Washington!) and baby carrots (same brand as home!) and as exotic as papayas, pamilos, and veggies I can't pronounce.  I stare at the veggies I can't pronounce and desperately wish I knew what they are and what to do with them.  Then I realize I don't always know what to do with baby carrots so I move on.  I buy a pamilo and I'll give a report on that fruit later.  We had it last night with dinner. (homemade dinner!! by my new friend Jenni) 

After the produce comes the challenge of the meat section.  I didn't realize prior to talking with Jenni that the meat section would be a challenge so I'm already ahead, right?  The problem for we silly Americans is we expect things to be like home so when we see "minced beef weight watchers," which translates to "ground sirloin," you think no problem!  

Wrong, you silly person!  

The meat, fresh from Australia (mental note to check if Mad Cow is or ever has been in Australia), has already been frozen for its trip to Singapore and has now been thawed for your convenience.  Do not freeze.   Ugh.  I'm scanning the meat section for a while and every package has this on it.  What is it!?  Do these people shop every day for that day's meals or what?! D'oh!

Ahead of me I see long mousy brown hair in a butterfly clip standing at a butcher section.  I can't help but stop and ask for advice.  Turns out this is Susan F. and she lives across the street from me and just happens to be the president of the SAS PTA.  Small world.  Hadn't met her yet.  She definitely carries a vibe of confidence.  This is all old hat for her.  She gives me good advice and the most important tidbit I take away is 500g is roughly one pound.  Whew!

I come away from the scary meat section not with chicken feet, beef lungs, or Fish heads, but with 500 g minced beef weight watchers that I can freeze, 500g pork tenderloin that I can freeze, and deli turkey meat like at home.  I also manage to find Johnsonville bratwurst.  Not too bad!  I'll have to post a photo of scary meat section in the future so you all can appreciate my success more fully.

I manage the rest of the market pretty easily albeit slowly.  I'm trying to carefully scan each aisle so I don't miss something good.  I hit the jackpot when I found Goldfish Crackers.  J.E. has been without for a long time now!  I'll be labeled the Goodest Mom in the Whole World, a label I've previously held for letting him snuggle in our bed. 

 

About 3/4 of the way through I come to the grim realization that I have a pretty full cart.  Back home this wouldn't be a problem but here in Sing, they don't take credit cards.  Cash only.  Drat!  No turning back now!  I throw my Thirsty Hippos in the cart and decide that I'll remove expendable items at the check out if needed.  I'm also fighting the urge to be mortified because I'm the only person in the whole store with a cart, and a full one to boot.

I pick a nice-looking Indian girl to check me out and explain my situation.  She rings me up and lets me know where I am with my total along the way.  When we get to $250, I take a look at the cart and realize I didn't plan this well at all.  Nice-looking Indian girl asks me if I have bank card and I explain that I do.  She asks if I have money in my account.  Hmmmm.  I must look more desperate than I thought.  She teaches me another valuable tip: it works like a debit card here at the store.  Wow!  No reason to feel like lost Ang Mo with no money!  We total up the rest of the cart and I'm off for home with my Thirsty Hippos and $20 dishwasher soap and all.

*razors--In my 5 day packing frenzy, I somehow neglected to pack my Lavender Gillette Disposable Razors.  I've been borrowing husband's real razor for my pits.  My leg hairs are so long you can braid them!

*Thirsty Hippos--I'd read about these little things in my pre-move-internet-access-about- Singapore education.  They are some kind of little device that you can purchase at the store to put in your cabinets, room, or closet to absorb the humidity in the air.  I need these for my kitchen cabinets.  No Air Con.

P.S. I made it home easily with the car, which is now parked in our drive facing out.

LYMI, Vicki