singapore 2014: pandas and puke
Gotta keep writing about our Singapore trip, otherwise it will just fall into a backlog of inertia and never get written. Posterity, people. Posterity.
Day 6 (Monday)
~ J went back to the office again today. Some holiday! At least he got to go out for a nice lunch with some of his mates from work. At home, the kids and I had a stay-in morning to just chill and play since the weekend had been quite packed. As lunchtime approached, we popped out to the nearby Bukit Timah Plaza, where I bought Bao a pair of Hello Kitty sneakers which light-up. They're so pink I want to gag, but the kid is willing to wear them so that's what counts.
~ From there we crossed over to Beauty World to meet some old family friends for lunch at the hawker centre. J and I and our families have always loved going here, even though the whole complex is quite old and there is nothing much to do apart from eat and buy groceries at the supermarket. We ate satay beehoon, guo tie, char kuay tiao, and lots of other food. Eating hawker food is best when you're in a big group because that way you get to have a bit of everything. The Bun had a huge coconut as well as an ice kachang, and that made his day.
~ Bao had her nap at home after lunch while The Bun played with his Leappad (his grandfather had bought him new games as a birthday gift) and I snoozed and surfed the web. In the evening we headed out to City Hall where we were due to meet J, my sister and G, and G's parents for dinner. We got to Raffles City early to shop and then crossed the road to the Carlton hotel for dinner at Wah Lok. I think this place is my new favourite Cantonese restaurant, with its good, attentive service and excellent food. Bao behaved impeccably at dinner (considering her meltdown the day before) and charmed G's parents, who will no doubt start putting pressure on my sister and G to er, deliver a grandchild for them soon. At the end of the night Bao even insisted on holding G's father's hand to walk to the carpark, which made him grin from ear to ear.
Day 7 (Tuesday)
~ Today we went out with J's father to JEM and Westgate for lunch and to shop. J's mother was working so she couldn't join us. Since it was a weekday and the school holidays were over, the malls were very empty, perfect for shopping. We had lunch at Din Tai Fung, then headed home again.
~ While Bao had her nap at home, I took The Bun for a short playdate at his old buddy JH's home. JH and The Bun used to go to the Little Gym when they were toddlers, and later on the same playgroup, and we used to hang out a lot together. The boys still remembered each other, but JH took quite a while to warm up before they started playing together. In the meantime, I caught up with Y - we get along great and I think it's important that we stay in touch and remain friends even if our boys don't really hang out anymore.
~ Going to JH's home also marked the only time I drove since returning to Singapore. It's worth noting because I was so nervous driving a right-hand drive car again, even though this was the exact same car that we used to own before we moved! I just couldn't get the 'feel' of the car and its dimensions and I was so worried I would stray from my lane or scratch the side of the car. Luckily traffic lanes are quite wide in Singapore, and also I was out at off-peak hours, so we got there and back in one piece, whew.
~ The kids and I had dinner at home while J went out for dinner with his friends. He must have had a jolly good time, because he came home very drunk and ended up puking all over my parents' bathroom. He then locked himself in and passed out refused to come out, which made me VERY VERY angry because this was going to be a huge mess in the morning and what if he knocked his head or choked on his own vomit or what? I barely slept that night because I was alternating between rage and worry; I also texted his best friend, who was totally sober, and who very kindly tried to calm me down and reassure me at 3 in the morning. Drama night.
Day 8 (Wednesday)
~ J woke up around 5.30am, before my parents were awake (they gave us the master bedroom and slept in the guest room instead) and started cleaning up the bathroom with the door still locked. Of course I was awake too, but I couldn't help him, not that I wanted to. Eventually the worst of the damage was cleaned up but we still had to tell my mother later on, who then attacked the bathroom with bleach and refused to let either J or I take over even though we insisted.
~ J had a huge and well-deserved hangover and stayed home to sleep it off while the rest of us went to the River Safari. It was not crowded at all and we had a good time there, especially at the panda enclosure where we were lucky to see Kai Kai awake and climbing around. Bao spent most of her time running around trying to climb on all the animal statues and even the enclosure walls. Our favourite part was the Flooded Forest right at the end - so peaceful and calming, at least until Bao started up with her tricks and tantrums again. We had lunch at KFC, because there is no such thing as crispy fried chicken in Switzerland, and then went home to see J up and about and looking more human again.
~ While the kids rested at home, I popped across the road to meet JL for coffee and cake at Carpenter and Cook. JL and I have known each other since we were thirteen and even though we don't see each other so often, whenever we meet each other we simply just pick up where we left off, because we know each other so well. It was good to talk to her without the kids interrupting us, and after coffee she came home with me to see the family for a bit.
~ We had some time before dinner so we went to check out my sister and G's new flat which is under renovation. For J and I it brought back memories of our first flat - we didn't have much money then so we did minimal renovations and bought simple furniture. One decade later, we still live and decorate very simply.
~ Dinner was at Ban Leong, the zi char restaurant that is a family favourite. We had a ton of seafood, including clams and buttered crab. I'm not always so keen on zi char because a lot of it is just average, but Ban Leong is pretty good at what they do and we always order what we like. After that we stopped at the Biscuit King shop where I bought The Bun some of those circular wafers that I used to eat from my childhood. They taste like semi-sweet cardboard but biting into one just fills me with nostalgia. The kid's gotta learn more about Singapore culture, after all. He's already forgotten a lot of things, and it's important that he has a grasp of where his real home is, or else he'll be pretty lost when we eventually return.
~ Incidentally, I was still pretty annoyed with J after the whole puking incident the night before, but we had a long talk after going to bed, in fact, so long that we fell asleep in the middle of talking. I guess we managed to sort through some important issues and emotions that night that are too personal to write about here, and talking until we fell asleep reminded me of the way we used to be, way back when we first met in Vancouver and talked till 4am regularly. The silver lining amongst all that puke and angst is how we were jolted back into reconnecting with each other after being caught up with work and travel and children. A silver lining, at least.
Day 6 (Monday)
~ J went back to the office again today. Some holiday! At least he got to go out for a nice lunch with some of his mates from work. At home, the kids and I had a stay-in morning to just chill and play since the weekend had been quite packed. As lunchtime approached, we popped out to the nearby Bukit Timah Plaza, where I bought Bao a pair of Hello Kitty sneakers which light-up. They're so pink I want to gag, but the kid is willing to wear them so that's what counts.
~ From there we crossed over to Beauty World to meet some old family friends for lunch at the hawker centre. J and I and our families have always loved going here, even though the whole complex is quite old and there is nothing much to do apart from eat and buy groceries at the supermarket. We ate satay beehoon, guo tie, char kuay tiao, and lots of other food. Eating hawker food is best when you're in a big group because that way you get to have a bit of everything. The Bun had a huge coconut as well as an ice kachang, and that made his day.
~ Bao had her nap at home after lunch while The Bun played with his Leappad (his grandfather had bought him new games as a birthday gift) and I snoozed and surfed the web. In the evening we headed out to City Hall where we were due to meet J, my sister and G, and G's parents for dinner. We got to Raffles City early to shop and then crossed the road to the Carlton hotel for dinner at Wah Lok. I think this place is my new favourite Cantonese restaurant, with its good, attentive service and excellent food. Bao behaved impeccably at dinner (considering her meltdown the day before) and charmed G's parents, who will no doubt start putting pressure on my sister and G to er, deliver a grandchild for them soon. At the end of the night Bao even insisted on holding G's father's hand to walk to the carpark, which made him grin from ear to ear.
Day 7 (Tuesday)
~ Today we went out with J's father to JEM and Westgate for lunch and to shop. J's mother was working so she couldn't join us. Since it was a weekday and the school holidays were over, the malls were very empty, perfect for shopping. We had lunch at Din Tai Fung, then headed home again.
~ While Bao had her nap at home, I took The Bun for a short playdate at his old buddy JH's home. JH and The Bun used to go to the Little Gym when they were toddlers, and later on the same playgroup, and we used to hang out a lot together. The boys still remembered each other, but JH took quite a while to warm up before they started playing together. In the meantime, I caught up with Y - we get along great and I think it's important that we stay in touch and remain friends even if our boys don't really hang out anymore.
~ Going to JH's home also marked the only time I drove since returning to Singapore. It's worth noting because I was so nervous driving a right-hand drive car again, even though this was the exact same car that we used to own before we moved! I just couldn't get the 'feel' of the car and its dimensions and I was so worried I would stray from my lane or scratch the side of the car. Luckily traffic lanes are quite wide in Singapore, and also I was out at off-peak hours, so we got there and back in one piece, whew.
~ The kids and I had dinner at home while J went out for dinner with his friends. He must have had a jolly good time, because he came home very drunk and ended up puking all over my parents' bathroom. He then locked himself in and passed out refused to come out, which made me VERY VERY angry because this was going to be a huge mess in the morning and what if he knocked his head or choked on his own vomit or what? I barely slept that night because I was alternating between rage and worry; I also texted his best friend, who was totally sober, and who very kindly tried to calm me down and reassure me at 3 in the morning. Drama night.
Day 8 (Wednesday)
~ J woke up around 5.30am, before my parents were awake (they gave us the master bedroom and slept in the guest room instead) and started cleaning up the bathroom with the door still locked. Of course I was awake too, but I couldn't help him, not that I wanted to. Eventually the worst of the damage was cleaned up but we still had to tell my mother later on, who then attacked the bathroom with bleach and refused to let either J or I take over even though we insisted.
~ J had a huge and well-deserved hangover and stayed home to sleep it off while the rest of us went to the River Safari. It was not crowded at all and we had a good time there, especially at the panda enclosure where we were lucky to see Kai Kai awake and climbing around. Bao spent most of her time running around trying to climb on all the animal statues and even the enclosure walls. Our favourite part was the Flooded Forest right at the end - so peaceful and calming, at least until Bao started up with her tricks and tantrums again. We had lunch at KFC, because there is no such thing as crispy fried chicken in Switzerland, and then went home to see J up and about and looking more human again.
~ While the kids rested at home, I popped across the road to meet JL for coffee and cake at Carpenter and Cook. JL and I have known each other since we were thirteen and even though we don't see each other so often, whenever we meet each other we simply just pick up where we left off, because we know each other so well. It was good to talk to her without the kids interrupting us, and after coffee she came home with me to see the family for a bit.
~ We had some time before dinner so we went to check out my sister and G's new flat which is under renovation. For J and I it brought back memories of our first flat - we didn't have much money then so we did minimal renovations and bought simple furniture. One decade later, we still live and decorate very simply.
~ Dinner was at Ban Leong, the zi char restaurant that is a family favourite. We had a ton of seafood, including clams and buttered crab. I'm not always so keen on zi char because a lot of it is just average, but Ban Leong is pretty good at what they do and we always order what we like. After that we stopped at the Biscuit King shop where I bought The Bun some of those circular wafers that I used to eat from my childhood. They taste like semi-sweet cardboard but biting into one just fills me with nostalgia. The kid's gotta learn more about Singapore culture, after all. He's already forgotten a lot of things, and it's important that he has a grasp of where his real home is, or else he'll be pretty lost when we eventually return.
~ Incidentally, I was still pretty annoyed with J after the whole puking incident the night before, but we had a long talk after going to bed, in fact, so long that we fell asleep in the middle of talking. I guess we managed to sort through some important issues and emotions that night that are too personal to write about here, and talking until we fell asleep reminded me of the way we used to be, way back when we first met in Vancouver and talked till 4am regularly. The silver lining amongst all that puke and angst is how we were jolted back into reconnecting with each other after being caught up with work and travel and children. A silver lining, at least.