The Advance Guard Visits

We really enjoy having visitors and love having the opportunity to show them around Singapore. So we were very happy to learn that sister Kay's finance Pat was coming for a visit as part of a multi-country trip to Asia. May 1 is a public holiday so we had a 3-day weekend to do some exploring and some things we had not done before. And since Kay, Mom & my aunt are visiting in October, we teased Pat about being their "advance guard".

There are certain things that are de rigueur (and fun) to do when visiting Singapore. The Quays (Robertson, Clarke, and Boat) are a great walk and opportunity to people watch. Checking out Parkview Square (aka "Gotham City") is fun for people who like interesting buildings. We also like walking through the various ethic enclaves: Chinatown, Little India, and Arab Street.

What was new this time, was a side trip toward the Malay Heritage Center where we stumbled onto the Malay Arts Festival. The dance performers were going through a dress rehearsal, preparing for the opening ceremony. However, due to the H1N1 concerns, we all had our temperatures taken before we could enter the compound, and were given a bright green sticker to put on our clothing to let everyone know that we were "safe." Look at the photos below and the video to see some of the various costumes and part of the opening dance number rehearsal.

We also ventured out into the interior and walked the MacRitchie reservoir "tree top walk". It is a fairly long hike with some trail and stair climbing required to get up to the top of the rainforest canopy. But once you are there, the suspension bridge and view are spectacular. There are plenty of directional signs and the trail is paved and extremely well maintained.

Even with the excellent views, it was a little disappointing for Pat. There were all these signs about not feeding the monkey -- and we hadn't seen a single simian! But on the way back to car park, Pat's wish was fulfilled. We saw an entire family of monkeys playing in the trees across an access road. Better still, the papa decided to cross over to pick up some of the wild fruits that were dropping from the trees where we were walking.

No trip to Singapore is complete without trying some of the local seafood so we took Pat over the the East Coast Park. You are 'spoit for choice' among the many options. Pat opted for chili crab (even messier than the black pepper crab), served with both steamed and fried buns for dipping into the sauce. During his visit, Pat also got to try some Peranakan food, the local "nonya" cuisine that is a wonderful blend of Chinese and Malay cooking that's hard to find outside of this part of the world.

Who's next?