Busy Times in Singapore

Lately we are finding that our two days off just don't give us enough time to
do all the things we want to do. For a small Island Nation there is lots to do on Singapore.

One of the things that has caused us to realise this is that we have been sort of restricted to staying here because we have had to renew our passports. I had just over 6 months left on my passport, if I didn't renew it there are very few Asian countries that I would be able to visit during the next 6 months. So be warned people you pay for a 5 year passport but it is only good for 4.5 years and you don't get compensation for the extra 6 months. The new passports for New Zealand are very nice, a work of art really.

But are we paying such high fees for a pretty book that gets stamps and stickers plastered all over it?

The Singapore Arts Festival kicked off last weekend, so there will be lots of things happening all over the city for the next month. As a part of the launch ther was a free outdoor sculpture display done with fire. It took place on Saturday and Sunday Evening. 7:30 - 10:30 pm. For us that means we can go after work on Saturday. Usually we struggle to get home after Saturday at work let alone go out anywhere. But Bradley was keen to go so we decided to tag along. And we were glad we did. You can look at the slide show below and make your own decisions. It was good enough for us to return on Sunday, sadly it rained and was not the same experience. But we did enjoy spending Sunday Evening in the Asian Civilisations Museum.

When we are not travelling and we find ourselves in Singapore for our two off days we like to spend at least one of them getting out and doing things. On Monday we sorted out our green passes on our new passports. That was a trip to MOM and a short 5 minute wait while they got stamped and validated and the old ones got cancelled. Monday Evening we went to one of our favourite Restaurants The Barefoot Place in Little India and had a cooking lesson. Now we have a certificate that says we can Cook Chicken Masala for our friends. It was a fun experience.

Tuesday we decided to take Bradley to Chinese Garden, it is a great place to wander and enjoy some interesting displays. We always enjoy visiting this place. It might be because we have been to these palces a number of times but these days Ruth and I seem to be noticing different opportunities with our cameras. I found myself preoccupied with the gathering storm clouds as the daily rain rolled in. Then while we waited for 1.5 hours in the pagoda beside the lake I was fascinated with the patterns of rain on the water. The monsoon season gives us a number of great photographoc opportunities. If you are interested in clouds and moody skies you might enjoy the slideshow below. Ruth was caught up with reflections so you might enjoy checking out her blog and the shots with reflections.

Our life in Singapore continues to hold lots of lots of opportunities
for adventures time to reflect on how lucky we are.
And
Lately it has been great to have Bradley along to rediscover some of the places
that we both enjoy.

I hope that you all get the chance to enjoy them too!

More Wild Singapore

Another Tuesday and we were wondering what to do on our day off. Bradley hadn't been up to MacRitchie and he hadn't seen monkeys. So we decided it could be fun to head out to MacRitchie and take a stroll up to the Tree Top Walk.


It wasn't long and it was raining. Soft warm rain at first and then heavy warm rain. We turned back and got as far as the edge of the board walk when the rain eased off. We were already wet and it was only going to get hotter but was clearing so we headed off up the track up to continue on to the Tree top. Before we got up to the road the batteries on Bradley's camera ran flat. It was getting on, and we did have a date with an aircon man, so we turned right out on the road and wandered back down to Thompson Road.

We were treated to some interesting animals during our stroll.

A troupe of monkeys were feeding on wild fruit of some kind. They were actually peeling them and eating the flesh.
They didn't leave any for me so I couldn't tell you what the fruit tasted like.

The squirrels were very active on the ground and in the trees. It was like there was plenty for them eat. Maybe it was the moisture.

This guy didn't even seem concerned that we were up close watching him.

In amongst the leaf litter on the edge of the path we noticed lots and lots of lizards. There were a range of different skinks. They were out sunning themselves and feasting on the insects that were flying around.
The colours with the dead leaves make very interesting photos.

Check out the scales and patterns on this guy. And he let me get right up close.

With so much water lying on the track the butterflies came out to drink. We did see a number of different butterflies but they are never as easy to capture with the camera.

The dragonflies were stunning, my favourites of the day were the red ones. This one's wings looked like velvet but when I got up close I could see clearly the veins and the opaque tips.

I was right above this one at the edge of the reservoir. It really did look this colour and the water had a pink