Georgias Birthday at Singapore airport

China town, Singapore

Singapore to Jakarta

I just don’t know where to start…..

WE ARE IN JAKARTA, WOW…..

Let’s start at the beginning

Our last night in Singapore was fantastic, we went to China town. There is a huge festival on at the moment and the street displays were amazing. This was definitely the place for souvenir bargains.
We walked up and down little streets filled with market stalls. We ate like locals in a closed off street filled with stalls selling all kinds of hot food. It was delicious.
We toured the Sri Marianamman temple, a Hindu temple. It was magnificent, the ornate patterns, figures and carving were so beautiful. This temple was so full of life and vibrancy where as old cathedrals have that quiet awe inspiring grandeur. It is fascinating to see how other cultures worship.
The main street was filled with a lights and figurines display, it must of extended for at least a kilometer.

We had an early start on Thursday morning; we were picked up at 7.30 am to go to the airport.
Changi airport at Singapore is delightful. It is SOOOOO organised. There was a lovely orchid display in the centre of the terminal, with a fish pond filled with huge carp.
As usual, Singapore airlines were wonderful. The flight attendants’ made such a fuss of Georgia when they found out it was her Birthday. Georgie got a bag filled with all the different toys that they give out to children and a tray of special desserts for the family as well as a card from the Captain and all the attendants’.

We arrived at Jakarta and got in the first of many queues. We got in line to pay for a visa, and then got in line to receive the visa. We then got in line for immigrations, then got in line for baggage, then got in line for customs. It seemed a very serious place.
I can’t wait to tell all….as you can tell we have finally managed to get internet access.

Blogger has only let me add a few photos, I will keep trying, check back later….

Singapore, 4th October 2006

I am going to cheat a little and cut and paste sections of my emails to family; I am lazy and tired and don't have time to do a separate post...LOL
We are off to Jakarta tomorrow, Georgias birthday, 5th October.
We have all loved Singapore, I could definitely live here!
It is going to be so interesting to see the difference between Singapore and Jakarta.
We went to the Night Safari on Monday night. It was amazing, you can see why it keeps winning awards. We had a great dinner there and then saw 2 shows before getting on the tram tour. The tour was in the dark and toured through all the exhibits with no visible fences. There were 2 stops where you could get off and walk around. We stood 1 meter from a family of tigers with a little piece of glass between us. There was a few place where you could pay to have a snake draped over you and take photos...WHY? I have all the snakes I need in my garage!
We only saw about a half of what was on offer; but at 10.45pm, Ben had had enough. There was no flash photography allowed at the night zoo.
Last night we were invited to join GJ's work dinner. We went to Mezza9 at the Grand Hyatt.
It was great, it was like a buffet. There was 9 different sections serving their countries specialties. I had Turkish, Thai, Indian and Japanese. The Kids were in Heaven-Indian Butter Chicken- this is their absolute favouite!
GJ is on conference with all the mover and shakers from the AustralAsia region. There were people from Thailand, Japan, India, China, Indonesia, Singapore, Timor and a few other counties.
Everyone was so nice and welcoming and made a huge fuss of the kids.
I was in two minds last night; The girls looked so cute and were loving their new shoes and bracelets and were enjoying the attention. BUT they are still little girls, where did they learn to act so "old" and are they sending out the wrong message? I think that this concern will continue for us, as parents for many years to come.



Dear
The girls have spent their Singapore money. On our very first day, in the very first shop we entered they found these charms, and fell in love. The shop wouldn't let me take photos. The stand was covered in glittery charms of every imaginable shape and design. If you chose 5 or more you got a free bracelet. They haven't seen anything else all week, so we went back today and they chose their bracelets. Georgia chose a blue rhinestone theme and Chelsea chose things that she thought were cute. They cost $29.90 each. They are so excited with them.
Now don't get too shocked, I bought a handbag.....Dark brown leather look, and a cute red purse for traveling. I have bought my good purse, but it is too big for traveling. I haven't seen any fakes yet, I am looking for a Louis Viton mini brief case for Tan. The front desk ladies told me that Jakarta is the place for fakes.…
We took some photos of the handbag section for Tan Tan, these photos only show such a small section of the handbags, I have never seen so many beautiful bags.
Ben got some books (a cute little Richard scary Book, which he had to carry and read all through our shopping trip!) and a plastic Bob the Builder cup.
The girls are trying to scam the rest of Ben's money on a joint gift.......
I have been updating the blog daily.
They are all asleep at the moment. We are going on a night safari tonight after GJ finishes conference.
Speak soon
Love Jen Jen

Dear
Here we are just before dinner at the Hyatt with GJ's work. The kids lapped up the attention. They were stroked and petted and admired all night. You should of seen them tittering across the hotel foyer, their hips were swaying, they were flicking their hair and posing like cat walk models!!!!
They loved their high heels and new bracelets......
We were so pleased they were all on the best behaviorr all night. It was another late night and up early today. We went on the hotels city shuttle circuit, but didn't get off this morning. Big rest after lunch today and tonight we are going to China town for the markets and dinner. GJ finishes his conference at about 5 pm
We are being collected tomorrow at 7.30 am for the flight to Jakarta.
Georgia doesn't believe that she will have no presents tomorrow...not even a card. I have explained that everything is at home and her birthday will be on Sunday 15th with Ben.
Speak soon
Love Jen Jen

Singapore, Sunday 1st October

Sunday 1.10.2006, Singapore

Pinch and a punch for the first day of the month…..LOL
The girls can never remember in time to get me first, no matter how much they try.
Party month has started!!!!!

GJ has started his conference this afternoon, well I think 5-10 min of talking and 5-6 hours of drinks and formal dinner….The poor thing is not in the mood, he is still getting over the flu and is now limping with gout…..

The kids are all exhausted so they are having a quite day. As they are missing a week of school they have to complete a journal of their adventure and present it to the class. So today is journaling, postcard writing and cable TV… I am doubly please that we don’t have cable at home; all 4 of them love it and would sit in front of it all day if I let them!

I escaped early and had a great time wandering along Orchard road by myself and a million other people. I am having a delightful mix of Japanese and Thai cuisine tonight, and for a change the kids are having…Pizza. The irony is that GJ will be having a magnificent feast tonight and still doesn’t feel like eating much…..GJ doesn’t drink either and I am sure that there will be lots of nice champagne on ice…..

After GJ left this afternoon I put all the kids in bed for afternoon nap. All 3 were asleep in less than 2 minutes. They were so cute asleep in our HUGE bed I couldn’t resist taking a photo. I snuck out to the hotels gym for a quick 40 minute work out (Georgia knew I where I was). I had the place to myself until 2 young children arrived unsupervised………Now that I have been, I have realised I was missing it, shopping is not the same as an elliptical trainer! I wonder when all the gym work will make 10kg (22lb) disappear?

I have decided to book the kids and I on an organised bus tour tomorrow. I think it will be easier than choosing venues and relying on taxis by my self with 3 kids!

I have found a great dinner venue for a return visit to Singapore. The cable cars over to Sentosa Island have a dinner option. There is a set menu and your just criss cross the harbor while you have dinner! I hope it is as fun as it sounds.

Only 4 more days until Jakarta……

Saturday 30th Sept; Singapore

Singapore 30.09.2006

The girls and I had our first taste of extreme crowds!!!!!
The girls didn’t need an afternoon rest so they decided to accompany me on my afternoon trek to get dinner and groceries. This was on a Saturday afternoon in sociable Singapore……Georgie totally freaked out; too much of everything. Unfortunately she got cranky and stroppy. We have both decided that she will stay at home next time. Chelsea and I had a ball. I have found a place that makes fresh pizza’s that you can take home and cook yourself. The kids have requested this 3 nights in a row. The queue at the taxi rank was huge; it took about 30 minutes in a line to get a taxi. There is no pushing or shoving though, everyone waits patiently.
I am so impressed with the friendliness and politeness of all the people I have encountered in Singapore.

I felt like a bit of a bumpkin in some things though;

I was waiting for the paper to sign my amex receipt and the lady kept tapping the control pad….a paperless system here.
I jumped a mile when a public toilet flushed itself……it got me thinking, do the sensors every get it wrong and spray an unsuspecting bare behind?
I managed not to look surprised when the tap came on when my hands approached.
The toilets are very good so far, I have not needed to get panic attacks as yet (see here about my public toilet phobias). I am concerned at the lack of soap in the bathrooms though……..

On a much fresher note… Singapore tap water tastes great, no chlorine or metallic after taste at all. I am sure I read somewhere that Singapore does recycle a portion of their drinking water.

Little girls glamour shoes

Little girls glamour shoes
Originally uploaded by jenjenqld.


I have finally been able to upload photos for the past few days, and of course they are all over the place.
I will fix them later....

Little India

Little India

We had a cultural adventure this morning. We went to Serangoon Street, known as Little India. Everywhere we had been so far was very westernized, here we felt like we were in another country. The sounds and smells were all very different. There was “Bollywood “style music blasting on every corner and all the stall holders had incense burning. The colour was amazing, everything was so vivid. Georgia was a bit overwhelmed by the assaults on all her senses.
One of the first things we did was get a henna tattoo on our hands. Even Ben got one, once the gloop dried, we have the brown pattern which should last 7-10 days.
We then found a shoe stall that sold little girls glamour shoes, I couldn’t resist; the girls are in raptures with their first glittery heels. The heels are clear Perspex and filled, Georgia’s with a red flower and Chelsea’s with coloured balls. They worked out at about $10 a pair. I know that they are only little girls, but sometimes you have to let a girl have flashy shoes…..
We went to the fresh food market next. Upstairs was the clothes section; filled to the brim with the most magnificent, vibrant saris. They were covered in sequins and jewels and in every colour imaginable. I got 3 long sleeve caftan style tops for Jakarta for about $8 each. Jakarta is a predominantly Muslim city, where it is considered correct to keep shoulders and armpits covered and hems low. While I don’t wear short length things, just about all my summer tops are sleeveless.
The girls found many bejeweled formal saris, but I felt it would be a waste as we rarely go to formal places.
In order to get to the taxi rank we had to walk through the fresh food market. WOW, fish and chicken were being butchered right in front of us. The sight and sounds were amazing. Next to this section were the fruit and vegetables stalls. It was a very busy and crowed place.
We went to the Temple of the 1000 lights in Race course road. There is a festival on at the moment (we think it is Indian New Year). The temple was packed with people, all offering tributes to the most beautiful statues. A procession of worshippers soon left with musical accompaniment and people holding platters of flowers and fruit. We all had to take our shoes off to enter, any I wasn’t sure if I could take photos so I didn’t.
By lunch time it has started to pour with rain so we decided to save China town for another day.
I am going to put all the little darlings to bed for an afternoon nap and head down to the food market for dinner supplies.

Singapore Zoo

We headed off to the Zoo today. It was really, really good. I always thought that Taronga Zoo in Sydney was the best in the world, followed by San Diego. But I would have to give Singapore Zoo equal first place. As is everything in Singapore, the entire zoo was spotless. The landscaping was amazing, so tropical and lush. We hired a little wagon to pull the kids around in, they loved it. GJ is still feeling sick so we strolled around slowly. It was very hot and humid, but no more so than Brisbane in summer. The snake exhibits were gruesome, just as bad as our garage at home! LOL
The kids loved the elephants; we paid extra so they could feed them and then we went for a ride.(NB a dress and slip on shoes are not really practical for riding on the backs of elephants.)
I dropped the four tired things off back at the apartment and went into town to get supplies-essential things like wine and gelato and vegemite. There is no Breakfast at the apartments on weekends so I have stocked up.
We have bought tickets for the night safari zoo tour, which we will do next week.
I am still having trouble loading photos, and when I paste the text in from word I am getting a few add ons, I will keep on trying.