Visitors: Hawker Stand on East Coast

Singapore is known for "hawker stands". They are ALL OVER Singapore! Outdoor vendors are set up and offer breakfast, lunch, and dinner, which include a variety of food (Chinese, Muslim, Indian, Malay). The prices are reasonable (you can eat a meal for as little as $2.50 Sing~~ $1 US) and the food is ready immediately. The girls and Daddy love the food, especially Baby Girl! You can see in the picture she is eating and eating and eating! We were all finished and she just kept eating~she tried food from everyone's plate!! The only thing I will eat at a hawker stand is Singapore's signature dish: Chicken Rice. Eating at a hawker stand is a unique experience in Singapore~it's not the most sanitary experience and napkins are not given with your food order, you have to buy them! There are always lots of Singaporeans eating at hawker stands so sometimes you have to wait for a table. I did learn not sit where I saw a balled up kleenex, because that is how Singaporeans "save a seat"!!

We took ChiChi and TaTi to the hawker stand on the East Coast, at the beach near our house and they enjoyed the food and the experience.

We had such a great time with our visitors and they promised to come back to Singapore again!!

Pottery Jungle

I went with a group of friends to a shopper's paradise!!! We visited the Pottery Jungle, where they have a dragon kiln that they fire up a few times a week! The kiln is ~~years old. It is so large that you can WALK INSIDE of it! We were told that the custom before firing the kiln is to light candles and incense and pray. It was a wonderful day looking at all of the gorgeous Asian pottery for sale!! I even bought a bowl to go on our dining room table!

Walking Tour: Arab Street

I participated in a 3 hour walking tour of the Arab Street area and learned so much information about Singapore! The streets were lined with colorful shophouses (a store on the bottom level and apartments up above) that sold exotic perfumes, prayer rugs, jewelry, and food; all that catered to the Malayan and Islamic communities. I visited the grounds of the old Royal Palace and toured the Sultan Mosque (the building with the big golden ball shape). In order to go inside the mosque, men and women had to be covered from neck to below the knee~~(little skin could be shown)! Muslims are required to wash their bodies 5 times a day, each time before they pray! Individual prayer rugs are incorporated into the carpet design inside the mosque, which allow every person to have their own space and thousands can be in the mosque at once! The Sultan Mosque sits on the street facing Mecca, therefore it is not aligned with the buildings on either side of it. Did you know that when Muslims are buried, their head faces toward Mecca?

PE: School and Ballet

PE began taking ballet classes in September and she LOVES it! She will participate in a class performance in November so I hope to post pictures of that!

PE's school celebrated Children's Day with lots of stations set up for the students to play various games. They tossed rings, balanced an egg on a spoon while walking on a balance beam, got tattoos, and ate lots of snacks! I volunteered that day and had a great time being involved and getting to know some of the children in PE's class!

Bugs, Bugs, and MORE Bugs!

Daddy brought bugs and all kinds of "dried creatures" home from Thailand for us to sample (they really do eat all kinds of creatures in Thailand!!). Of course PE and I would not DARE to taste, even after Daddy cooked them!! One person in the family did try them and she seemed to enjoy tasting them~~(YUCK!!) Baby Girl enjoyed the bugs and she loved getting all of the attention from the family as she continued to sample different ones!!