Singaporean Patriotism

Another week has flown by and I haven't even finished telling you about the exploring we did during our holiday weekend.  Besides taking in the Deepavali sights, we got to check out the Istana, the official residence of the Singaporean president.  Istana means "palace" in Malay.  It's normally closed to the public, but on certain public holidays, it's open for viewing.  It's free for Singaporeans to enter, but for foreigners, you have to pay a whopping S$1 to get in.  

Upon entering, we were greeted by these funny trees with little fruits (?) growing out of the trunk.  

We mostly walked up on the driveway - which is on the right of the picture, but I wanted to step off and take a picture of the Istana golf course.  It's a 9 hole golf course...imagining waking up Saturday morning, stepping out your door and playing 9 holes.  Pretty nice.

Some serious looking guards marching down the path.

The view of the main lawn and fountain area.  Off in the distance you can see part of the Singapore skyline - and the Marina Bay Sands.

Some of the beautifully manicured gardens on the grounds.

Is that a monkey? nope just me being silly. 

The main building of the Istana.  We got to tour the ground floor, see the ballroom, dining room, and some cool artifacts that were gifts from different countries.

And of course, with all this walking around, there must be some food involved!  We had lunch at a Turkish restaurant on Orchard Rd.

Gotta love how Andy always waits patiently in the background while I document our food choices.  Calamansi lime drink for me and Pepsi for him.  I got a Doner Pancake - which was basically a wrap and Andy got Iskender, which was a huge beef plate with pita bread.

Here they serve up fries with not just ketchup, but with chili.  Pretty much everything is served with a side of chili sauce.   Andy and I are working hard at building up our tolerance. 

Well, enough posting for now.  The next few days will be a little bit busy for me because.....our sea container has arrived!  That means  I will soon be reunited with my furniture, clothes, and most importantly, sewing machines!  Everything is set to be delivered Monday, but I've got to do a little cleaning in the apartment before the delivery comes.  Not only am I looking forward to getting my stuff, but also getting out of the stone ages.  I've been sans cell phone for about a month now....and it proves to be a little interesting when trying to meet up with people.  It's also funny when you're trying to fill out applications for things such as bank accounts and don't have a phone number to list....  

Oh, and on a completely different note.  Yesterday was a monumental day for me - I went shopping and found the fabric/craft store!!!!  The store is called Spotlight and it's the Australian version of Jo-Anns, but more like Jo-Anns on crack!  It's huge and it not only sells fabrics and crafting goods, but also home goods.  I've already applied with their rewards program since that's where a good chunk of Andy's salary is going to be going...hehe :)