Saturday, October 12, 2013

Singapore Staycation

The kids had 2 days off for teacher inservice a few weeks ago.  We decided to do a little "staycation" on the Singaporean island of Sentosa, which is just a stones throw from the mainland.  Even though Sentosa is just a 15 minute cab ride from our condo, we thought it would be fun to stay the night at the super kid-friendly Shangri-La Resort right on the beach.

They call Sentosa "Asia's Favourite Playground" as it boasts a ton of kid friendly venues and activities--Universal Studios Singapore, waterparks, an aquarium, butterfly park, cable car rides, a monorail, luge and zip line activities, along with several beaches and nice resorts.  Since this was our first time there, we just hung at the beach and pool, which was fun enough for us!

The beaches on Sentosa are decent, man made, but you have the view of the huge ports and cargo ships at about every turn.  Singapore is one of the largest ports in the world and I think it's actually pretty cool to see all of the ginormous freighters in the harbor.  

It's so fun to have the beach in our backyard!!  We will definitely enjoy having this luxury for the next few years, as we will probably never have it again!!







Kids having fun in the sand


Waiting for pizza's at the beach




3 kid-sized water slides, provided hours of fun!



Enjoying some great food and a western breakfast, quite a treat!



Friday, October 11, 2013

Hari Raya Haji

October 15th is Hari Raya Haji, a public holiday celebrated here in Singapore.  If you are like me, I had never heard of this before!
Hari Raya Haji is known as the "Festival of Sacrifice" and is celebrated by Muslims all over the world.  It marks the end of the annual holy pilgrimage to Mecca.  It is a time for prayer and sacrifice, where wealthier Muslims sacrifice animals (cows, sheep, goats), for donation to poorer Muslim families.

Singapore has only a 15% Muslim population, but the Sing government in its effort to honor the cultural and religious diversity of the country, recognize Hari Raya Haji as a public holiday for all Singaporeans, regardless of ethnicity/religion.  They encourage all citizens to use this day to observe the practices of the Muslim community here and also to serve as a reminder to share one's wealth with the less fortunate.

Singapore has 11 public holidays, celebrating the various ethic groups which make up the country.  2 Chinese/Buddhist holidays, 2 Muslim holidays, 1 Hindu holiday, 2 Christian (Good Friday & Christmas) and 4 Singaporean holidays.  Pretty interesting!

The kids have been learning a lot about Hari Raya Haji at school this week, which I think is great.  Fall break officially started tonight, so the holiday falls while the kids are off of school next week.

We will celebrate the Haji by taking our own journey up to Thailand to enjoy some R&R while the kids are out of school!  This is our first big trip since we've moved here, so wish us luck!  Only a 2 hour flight to Phuket and splitting our 7 nights between two different locations, Phuket island and the southern mainland.  Both beachy and should be fairly easy, but with a 3 year old and a 5 year old, you just never know!  Should be an adventure!

Sultan Mosque Singapore


Moving Day!

Sorry I have been off the map!  We FINALLY received our sea container last Thursday, so it's been a busy week!  Move out day for the rental furniture was Wednesday, so stayed at a hotel that night and our stuff arrived early that morning.  Seriously, Christmas in October!!!  Everything went seamlessly and I can't believe it, but nothing was broken or damaged.
I have been combing through boxes and getting things in order, it feels so great to have this place finally looking like home.  We had not slept in our own beds in 2 months, so as you can imagine, it feels GREAT!!  
I will post more pics once I get everything in order!

 See ya later rental furniture



 Recognize this place?  Yes, that's us at Chili's :)  Celebrating our American furniture coming at an American restaurant.  A few burgers, a few margs, yes please!  Never tasted so good :)

Chillin' at the Shangri-La, wish I could just live there :)

Sam found the "kids sink" at the hotel.  Oops, um, this is used for washing other things, Buddy ;)

Moving in!!!