Welcome to Singapore

With a very new passport in hand, I headed to Singapore for the very first time.  I was pleasantly surprised by so many things...
"Yarn" and I got a super great deal on our flights and hotel.  Sadly it required us getting in at like midnight on Friday night, leaving us with nothing more than to check into our hotel and pig out with a late night snack.

Saturday morning we met up with KWD who was also staying at our hotel, ate breakfast, and then headed out to meet the others for lunch.  Asia vacations are nonstop eating.  We were meeting up with some of the wedding folk at a hawker center, to get a taste of real deal local eats.  The wedding rehearsal had been canceled, so we opted for a super casual lunch.

Places like these are overwhelming to me.  Too many options, and not enough room in the belly.  I usually prefer someone to order for me so I can try something outside of my usual picks. 

This was also my first taste of Kickapoo soda, original USA recipe!  Why haven't I ever seen this before?  Why have I been without joy juice my whole life?

I don't really know what I ate.  I just ate it.  And it was good.

After a very leisurely lunch, we all parted ways to run errands and take care of last minute things before wedding day.  It was my first time meeting Joblio's sis and dad, a super great fam.

As a very last minute gag, we had these t-shirts made.  But it wasn't until the next day that I realized we should have made the groom one that said Ting's Bitch.

While we were waiting for the shirts to finish printing, we wandered around and got ourselves into all kinds of trouble.  First stop was a sex shop.  If we had some big $$$ we could have picked up all kinds of madness.

And then we found this...

Also found in that shop was the first picture of this post, E.T. with some special accessories.  I know there's a lot going on in that picture, but be sure to take note of what he has in his hand.  Only in Singapore?

We then split up further for dinner.  Me and the best man headed to Chijmes for more food.

One thing that really sets Singapore apart from the rest is the cohabitation of old and new.  This is something that Hong Kong has completely failed at.  Click on that link for more info on Chijmes.  It was once a Catholic convent school and now houses many restaurants, bars, and shops.  Also, an extra point for being an outdoor venue (with indoor space as well.  This is S.E. Asia.  It rains like crazy)  Use of outdoor space, another fail for HK.

I was joking the whole time that we should return to Singapore and eat everything EXCEPT local fare.  On t his particular Saturday night, we indulged in Tapas.

I luuuuv outdoor dining.  Get with the program HK.

Then we met up with Team Henderson near Clark Quay for one last evening of drinks before the wedding.

Did I mention I love outdoor spaces?

Drinks were at Brewerks and it was nice meeting up with the gang before the wedding.  Ok, here's Singapore's first big strike, drinks were hella expensive!  And I'm talking all over...  posh hotels, average bars, even convenience stores...  how's a girl supposed to get her drink on??  I'm talking like double the price of HK, which even here can be steep to drink, but you can also find a reasonable drink too.  What. the. hey.

But nothing was going to get in the way of our weekend of wonderment.

Joeblio's mom is the bomb.  The first time I met her over a year ago, we were doing shots of vodka.  For this very special occasion she suggested Irish car bombs...  oh hells yeah.  But when they arrived, we weren't exactly sure they got it right.  In such a small glass, how are you supposed to drink this anyway?  And instead of Bailey's, they had given us a shot of whiskey.  It took a minute to sort everything out, but we finally got a delicious beverage...

Chug chug chugging away like troopers!

And then our naughty gift was revealed...

A his and hers set of edible undies!  They're low carb!

Everyone wanted a closer look.  They were a big hit.

I was even able to meet up with other friends.  My homegirl from HK is going to school at INSEAD.

 

Since we all had a major day ahead of us, we ended the night not too late.  But not before a little beautification before bedtime.  This was my first use of a mask of this caliber, and I liked it.  Except we look like burn victims!