Singapore!

Hello lovely readers.  Finally!  I have pictures for you from my most awesome trip to Singapore.  I flew out a month ago to meet my sweetie in the most awesome (excuse my redundance) country of Singapore.  Honestly, Singapore was never on my so to speak "bucket list", but it should have been!  I had the opportunity to meet Hubby during a port call and my most awesome friend Jaime agreed to watch the kidlets.  Because of that, Hubby and I enjoyed a true "second honeymoon." AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME!!  Did I say how awesome it was?

Singapore is about a 6 hour flight from Tokyo.  To be honest, I didn't realize how close it is to Australia.  For people coming from the States, Singapore is one long trip!  I sat next to a kid from Louisiana, he had already travelled 14 hours just to get to Tokyo.  He and his mother were so tired looking travellers.

I arrived in Singapore about midnightish.  Getting through immigration and customs was a breeze, and not scary like I thought it would be.  After all- Singapore has some strict laws.  I was scared to bring gum- for goodness sake!  A side note to my SOFA sponsored family members in Japan.  Be sure you have your military ID and a valid SOFA stamp in your passport (No-Fee OR Tourist passport) before you travel out of the country.  I know a few people who have had a hard time getting back to Japan because they didn't have their SOFA stamp.

I hopped in a taxi- and weee!!  I was cruising through Singapore to my hotel room.  I felt like such a grown-up, taking a taxi all by my lonesome in a foreign country to stay in a hotel room all by myself.  I arrived a day before my honey so I was on my own.  He laughed at me when I told him later how I felt like the big "world traveller".  I know there are people out there that have done more travelling before they hit 21, but just let me have my moment, ok?

Travel mistake number 1- booking a "cheap" hotel the first night because Hubby won't be there and it doesn't seem necessary to have a really nice room for the first night.  Wrong!  First of all- I was BY MYSELF.  Therefore staying in a nice hotel would be better just for the sake of feeling secure.  That hotel I stayed at had people walking up and down the hallways at all hours!  There was no shower stall- just a shower head mounted on the wall by the toilet.  Gross!  There was still water on the floor from who knows when, and sooner or later the ceiling will fall down as the giant ring of mold is surely going to win eventually.  The pillows smelled like cigarette smoke and cheap cologne.  I truly thought I was in one of those "hourly" hotels.  The next morning there were families in the lobby, however.  I felt a LITTLE better at that point.  Lesson learned- not only was it a bad experience- but I had to pay extra cab fare to get to the new hotel and spend the extra time checking out and then checking in to the new hotel.  Silly me!

The picture looks nicer than it is, what you don't see is the giant black circle of mold directly above. ewwwww!

Hubby and I stayed at The Swissotel Merchant Court, located on Clarke Quay (pronounced "key").  I LOVE The Swissotel!  It is right across the street from the MRT (train) station, so convenient.  And Clarke Quay is chock full of yummy restaurants and great night life.  We spent one evening at the Crazy Elephant and enjoyed the live house band.  Hubby saw them last year when he was in Singapore and was excited to see the band again with me.  I was so touched.

Swissotel Merchant Court- I HIGHLY recommend it!

The video is from the house band at the Crazy Elephant Bar.  Check out "Osh-Kosh" in the front.  He was the band's biggest fan- but he was the smallest guy.  With his striped polo shirt he looked like a kid wearing Osh Kosh B'Gosh.  He provided us with endless entertainment.
We visited Little India, Arab Street, Marina Bay, Universal Studios (Sentosa Island), and went to the Night Safari.  We actually hit the same restaurant in Little India twice.  They had the most delicious curry!  I am STILL full from all that food!    Universal Studios was a slight disappointment.  I think it is still fairly new and so not all of the rides were open yet.  I think the kids would have enjoyed it though.  If we take the kids to Singapore next year- we will most likely hit up Universal Studios again.

Universal Studios- the Shrek 3D movie was a hoot!

I love Arab Street- it is chock-full of fabric stores!  Plus hearing the call to prayer from the Mosque was mighty cool too.

Foot eating fish, or is it fish eating feet?  (Jaime?)  Whatever way you want to put it- I just call it TICKLISH!!  I was laughing so hard I had the girl who worked there asking me if I was ok.  This was at the Night Safari, by the way.

The hardest part of the trip was when Hubby had to go back.  I cried all the way on the train ride back to the hotel.  Lucky for me, I found a couple of other girls who's hubbies just left as well- in the hotel lounge where I went to get a glass of wine.  So we spent the night chatting and enjoying some cocktails.  We also met for breakfast and dinner the next day.

Singapore felt so different once the sailors were gone!  It was really quite lonely, to tell you the truth.  My last night I stayed near the airport in Changi.  I stayed at the Changi Village Hotel.  The name doesn't sound like much, but I HEART that hotel!  My room was awesome- totally fung shui.  The pool on top (8th floor)- was just gorgeous.  I enjoyed happy hour in the lobby while perusing Facebook on my iPhone using their Wi-Fi (I had to catch up you know.)  Also I was able to email my Hubby as he was back underway.  Happy Hour's special was 'buy one get one'.  So I had two lovely glasses of red wine on an empty stomach (I couldn't decide where I wanted to eat.)  I was quite buzzed and felt so silly!  I decided to go Italian and ate at the restuarant upstairs by the pool.  I sat outside and it was absolutely lovely.  After dinner I enjoyed another dip in the pool.  Did I mention how awesome the pool is?

My camera lens fogged up everytime I went outside- it was on the humid side.  Isn't it beautiful though?  Those are plumeria trees, or something close to it- so pretty and serene!  On a side note- all the jacuzzis in Singapore do not have hot water- same temp as the pool, only with bubbles.  Weird!

You know you enjoyed happy hour a little too much when...  I loved that room though...

I was happy to go home, I missed my kiddos.  They missed me too!  I think maybe Brownie, our dog, may have missed me the most.  She was so darn cute!

A month later and it all seems like a dream.  Hubby says the same.  We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  No schedule, we did what we wanted, stayed out late and slept in every morning.  ( We missed breakfast every single day because we slept in.)  This was his 4th time in Singapore- he was just happy to show me where he had been before.  I can't wait to go back.  I can't wait to see him again even more.  I miss my honey!!

Before I sign off- here are some more pics for ya...

view from the Swissotel

The first Youth Olympics were being held while we were in Singapore.  Here I am with the mascots- Leo and Merly!

Cheers!

-Nancy

Crossing the border

I was thinking today how big of a deal it has been for us to go "off-base".  I mean, it is a totally different scene once you walk through the security gate.  Before I walk through, I double check to make sure I have my ID- my assurance that I can come back across.  It occured to me that going "off-base" is kind of like crossing the border.  Our base is a little self-contained city.  yes, we are on foreign soil, but everything has been done to make this feel more like "back home"- we even have McDonalds.  Most everyone here speaks English, and all of the signs are in English.
Once you pass through the gate- it is a different story.  Funny how much difference a few feet can make huh?  It feels like you just went from one country to the next.  Some people will spend their whole time on base- only to venture off base when absolutely necessary.  I admit I was hesitant to venture out at first.  But I do think if we had a better sponsor to show us around- it would not have been so scary.  I can't imagine NEVER wanting to go out however.  What is the point of even coming here?  I know if I don't go do and see as much as possible here, I will have huge regrets down the line.
I see the term "crossing the border" as a sort of analogy for stepping out of one's comfort zone and experiencing new things. 

I have to sign off now- the kids and I are going to go "cross the border"- Brother wants to use the camera I just gave him.  Maybe we will hit up the 100 Yen store too, see what flavor of Kit Kats they have today.

And still no passport...

I have been calling the State Department every day about my passport. Finally yesterday I got more than "no new updates" or " they are still working on it." Yesterday they told me that they are sending me a new letter and my application is STILL in suspense. They want an affidavit of some sort from my mother and a hospital record to evidence that I was born there. Hmm, what part of - the hospital no longer exists- do they NOT understand?? My mom, bless her pea pickin' heart- is on the hunt for me now. She has spent the day doing detective work on ancestry.com (org?) and calling the health department, county records- who ever she can think of. What she found out is that they (the hospital I was born in) just closed, nothing else is known. So she found my newborn picture taken at the hospital- let's see if that helps.
I spoke with the lady on base that handles the no-fee passport I am trying to get. It turns out it is only good for our flight out there and when we actually MOVE back home. No trips to see family, or even emergencies. This is the first I have heard of this. I ordered new copies of my birth certificate since I do not have my other one back yet. As soon as I receive them, the kids and I are going to apply for our tourist passports. A different department handles those- lets see if they are more intelligent. Did I mention how rudely I have been treated through out this ordeal? Yesterday when I got off the phone I had to immediately go outside- lest I throw a hug "bitch fit" right there in the middle of the office. I spent rest of the intermittently in tears. This is all getting to be too much. We only have about 3 months to go!!
I will be having a huge party when my passport finally arrives. I will get it, right?

Well the kids have their passports...

I still do not have mine, however. I have been calling everyday. I just get told that they are working on it. What the heck are they "working on"??- Working on driving me mad??! Still the kids passport pictures are adorable and they think its pretty cool to have their own passports. Hopefully mine will be straightened out soon. The sad part is, these are "no-fee" passports, which means that they are only issued in conjunction to being a military family member stationed overseas. In other words, it is only good for Japan- where Hubby is stationed. Sooo, we need to apply for a regular passport as well. We want to be able to travel to Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand, maybe even Australia. There are shopping trips where they fly you over to Korea for the day, and then you fly back. That sounds like a blast. Lord knows I love my retail therapy!

On a sadder note, I think brother is having a hard time with his dad being gone. He had a bad dream that we were married to different people. Maybe that is because he feels we are no longer a couple since we are physically separated? Today he had a couple of bad encounters with his friends and classmates. He got in trouble at Boys and Girls Club- where he goes after school. He walked away from a staff member and that earned him a time-out. Of course getting into trouble set him off even more. He was spitting mad and just plain upset when I picked him up. He was at the point of being violent, wanting to hurt someone or break something. I felt so helpless- I couldn't console him. Soon I too was in tears. All I could do was hug him and ask what I could do. He hds a baseball game afterwards. I was worried he wouldn't be able to shake his mood. But the team did really well tonight, winning yet another game. He was pumped by the time the game was over. I love watching him get excited like that. In fact, all of the boys were pumped- it was heart warming to see their huge smiles!

Now he is looking sad again. I hope I can find a way to help him, this is breaking my heart...

Passport troubles

I guess I have taken my US citizenship for granted, I never thought I would have to prove that I am a US citizen. Apparently the State Dept. finds it necessary! Because there is no hospital name listed on my birth certificate, the passport people have suspended my application due to suspicion of fraud. My parents were born here, my grandparents, my great-grandparents- but yet they find it necessary to prove that I was born here too! Hubby made fun of me for keeping all of my report cards from when I was a kid- but I am hoping they come in handy now! I have sent off report cards and immunization records, as well as my old original birth certificate. I hope it works. Of course the website where I can check on the status is "temporarily unavailable" and has been all week.
This is a major stress point for me right now, I will feel so much better when this is cleared up! I am refusing to believe this will interfere with my move!