oh the places you'll go...

...by day four in Singapore - there have been MANY! We've slept incredibly well because our days have been packed. It's mind-blowing how much we've done and it's only DAY FOUR.

Here is a rundown of some major sites and unique places we've visited since our arrival. (Be warned: very long post ahead!) Without further ado:

sites seen & venues visited
1. Hawker Centers.
every day
As previously mentioned, these food courts dot the landscape, primarily in the more residential areas (such as Bedok, where we are currently staying). In fact, the closest hawker center is right around the corner, in the middle of our flat complex - perfect for quick meals and desserts. You can grab anything from blackcurrant soda to mango milkshakes, mei-fun noodles to roti prata... all extremely low-priced and absolutely delicious.

2. MRT stations.
every day
Besides our weary legs, MRTs are the mode of transportation here in Singapore. Comparable to subway stations, except clean. Future posts when we're less busy and/or tired may explain the process of ticket-tapping and refund deposits - brilliant system, wonderfully convenient, too complex for this post, wish they had these in the USA.

+ read on!3. Technology City, Bugis*, Singapore.
day 2, june 20
(*Not sure of the correct terminology for these regions. I'm quoting the names of our MRT stops. Suffice it to say they are kind of like small counties.) I don't recall if it was called Technology City, but a walk inside this six-story building certainly merits such a title. Our good friend from Pittsburgh many years ago and Vice-Dean of NUS, Ho Yew Kee -- that's Yew Kee, first name, and Ho, last name, for all you Americans -- helped us navigate this nerd paradise. Aside from being able to check another sight off our seeing list, Nathan capitalized on this trip to buy a replacement set of headphones. (In case we forgot to mention: he fried those, too.) We were assailed by floor after floor of computer parts, video games, and cutting-edge technology. It was pretty awesome.

4. National University of Singapore (& alumni swimming pool)
day 2, june 20
After Tech City and lunch in an underground hawker center, Vice-Dean Ho's wife ('Auntie' Huey Huey) drove the nine of us in a little seven-seater to NUS, where they work. Their house is an annex of his office on campus, and is a mansion compared to apartment complexes like ours - one small perk of vice-deanship here! We took a bus across campus to the pool, where we spent the rest of the afternoon/evening. The "stranger danger" incident occurred in this facility. Dinner was a magnificent affair back at the Ho's, where we checked homemade Chili Crab off our must-eat-foods list.

5. Orchard Road
day 3, june 21
My Mom's dad, Mom's really good childhood friend - and high-ranking police officer - Lee Chee Chiew (no relation), and Chee Chiew's wife met us off the MRT on Singapore's downtown shopping street, the famous Orchard Road. Lined with gorgeous palms and the occasional sculpture, there was little time to admire the scenery as we were swept up in the human stream of the trendy and the tourists. We passed Gucci's and Dior's and tons of hip local shops as we headed for our next stop: the PARAGON.

5. The PARAGON
day 3, june 21
This was a mall, one of the countless shopping venues we would later set foot in. We were searching for lunch in the PARAGON, striving to attain the near-impossible balance of Chinese and inexpensive. This because the wealthier, more tourist-centric environment of the PARAGON assumed a more "exotic" taste of its customers, interspersing Thai, Japanese, Italian ["Spagheddie's," anyone?], and tons and tons and TONS of "Western" restaurants between designer stores like Calvin Klein and Bvlgari. We finally found one.

6. "My Mum's Cuisine" (no, seriously, that was the name of the place)
day 3, june 21
The food in this more traditional restaurant was quite excellent (albeit somewhat pricey), and helped us knock Hainanese Chicken Rice and Roti Prata off our must-eat list. We got seriously full. We took tons of brilliant photos here, too. Afterward, we explored the PARAGON some more whilst waiting for...come to think of it, I don't recall why we were waiting, but we spent a good hour or so chilling in various department stores or eating Italian ice cream, otherwise known as GELATO. (Gelato is good.) Then my mom and Wai Ping (Chee Chiew's wife) decided we had eaten too much and so subjected us to...

7. Walking
day 3-4
"Let's go see the Merlion," said Mom. Little did we know that this would take what felt like forever in badly-padded sandals and flip-flops. We also threaded mysteriously through at least three different malls - shortcuts, perhaps? Still, we couldn't complain. We needed the exercise. And Singapore is a walking sort of place, anyhow - it was good to get the sore feet feeling early. As well as the "force your pained stomach to ignore the heavenly smells in the mall" feeling. Along the way, we stopped by my mom's old church, where her dad used to pastor when she was a little girl. Many old friends commented on how much we had grown, and she had to count us kids out every single time (as in "number 1, 2, 3, and 4, oh, and this is our friend from America").

8. The Merlion
day 3, june 21
It's like Singapore's Statue of Liberty, except it's a fountain and it's not as large, and instead of a green woman with a spiky crown, you have a white stone lion-head on a curled fish-body (hence Merlion). There is a really cool story behind it that I am not familiar with. It stood majestically on the waterfront, spewing glorious streams of water from its mouth...a photo may do it more justice*. Quoth Davina: "That was worth the walk."
After this, we walked through another shopping mall and hit the MRT (we did not question the fact that the subway was practically in the mall) and came home and SLEPT very well.

9. New Creation Church, Suntec City Mall
day 4, june 22
Which brings us to today. Yes, laundromats and subways are not the only somewhat surprising finds in Singapore malls. Add this to the 16,000+ members that attend this charismatic megachurch's 4 services, and you get an idea of the overwhelmingness. We hit the 2:30 service - arrived early and STILL only managed to grab corner cushions. By which I mean, we literally sat on cushions, on the floor, in the corner of the packed auditorium. We still had a nice view, though. There were overflow rooms upstairs, too, that watched video feeds of the service. Pastor Joseph Prince preached a message on faith and anointing with oil, and at the close of the service, about eight people responded to the altar call. Quite an experience!

10. Lau Pa Sat, Downtown Singapore
day 4, june 22
We totally neglected lunch, a fact our stomachs reminded us of following the church service. Fortunately, we were held over by the most amazing snack ever created.
Mom and Dad decided to hit Lau Pa Sat - which ended up being sort of like a mega-hawker center, with its elegant old-timey architecture and numerous "streets" within its expanse. It was also the only one in the nation, apparently, that serves satay (another must-eat we can call must-eaten) - skewered meat barbecued in the open over crackling fire-grills under Coca-cola umbrellas, served hot off the iron with peanut sauce. It was beyond delicious, and I am getting hungry again just thinking about it. Afterwards, Nathan and Andrew played pick up sticks with the skewers.

That about wraps up in a nutshell the major stuff we've done so far. 11 PM here and I am wiped. Everyone else has abandoned me for their beds and I am inclined to return to mine... God bless and stay cool, folks (the rain over here has been helping us with this)!

cheers,
- Dan

*Photos are proving to be a challenge! If you recall Andrew's earlier post, one of my memory cards took a trip to the Great Photo Kiosk in the Sky, along with a boatload of photos from day one; day two pictures are currently on Nathan's laptop. The rest are sort of hovering at the moment between computers and cards. Please bear with our lack of imagery - we will try to get a more photographic post up, probably tomorrow, as we hear we might have some downtime!