Visitors from another continent.....lots of them

March was a wonderful albeit hectic month for Carrie and me. We had the pleasure of having a number of family visitors to Singapore and a couple of friends thrown in at the end just for a bonus.

The month started off with a superb and large group of visitors including my Grandpa, my mom, my Uncle Wally, Aunt Eve, Aunt Kathy and Uncle Stan.

Carrie and I fresh faced and geared up for the visit found our way to the cruise terminal where we met the travelers who looked blissful after a two week cruise from Australia through Indonesia. They had that blissful island glow to them that proved they were truly on vacation (despite the early morning 8am wakeup call).

The crew of 6 spent the entire weekend in Singapore being toured around by Carrie and Charles. We took them to Chinatown, Orchard Rd, Raffles, the Night Safari, the Merlion, the Botanical Gardens, and the Marina Bay Sands just to name a few places. It was a chaotic but exciting two days of showing off our home town of Singapore.

Aunt Eve, Grandpa, Mom, and Aunt Kathy all enjoying Singapore Slings!!!!

We were blessed to have everyone but it was only two days and by the next week, only Grandpa and my Mom remained. It was great to have them stick around as we went out for a nice dinner to celebrate Carrie's birthday and got to show them our ordinary and boring lives are in Singapore during the weeks. It was great to be able to get them around efficiently and let them see how Singaporean we have become. We were really happy that Grandpa after about 20 years could get back to Singapore and see how much it had changed, we were also glad that he was able to see how his Grandson and Granddaughter in law lived across the ocean, hopefully it was as exotic and exciting as we make it sound.

During the middle of that week my Father arrived and Grandpa left so we kept the headcount in our condo at 4 people (which is really about the maximum it should be), and we got to show my Dad around Singapore. He had not been in Singapore for a number of years as well and was amazed at all the development and just how well things continue to work here. He thought the chili crab and the food centres were even better than he remembers.

The weekend of March 11 (the earthquake in Japan struck that Friday), my Mom was stuck in Singapore due to her flight to SF through Japan was canceled so we luckily got her for one additional night where we were able to take her to the Cinema (now she knows the absolute joy of selecting seats at the theatre) and up to Dempsey Hill and to let her relax at our condo before the long flight home on Sunday. (Glad she was at our place and didn't get stuck in Japan).

We then had one week of cleaning the condo, washing sheets and towels, and catching our breath before my sister Emily arrived for a four day stay in Singapore. Emily visited during her spring break and it was a pleasure to be her conduit to her dream of reaching  all seven continents and also allowing her a place to truly get away from law school and that stress. It was fun to run her around to all the sites, restaurants, museums, and shops in four days, despite some hectic times at work during the week (Charles unfortunately had a long day trip to KL). I think she enjoyed the trip and can officially say she is the first grand kid to get all continents checked off the list.

Not Sure if she was counting the number of drinks or continents here

The sister and I enjoying the Merlion Hotel

Emily then departed on a Wednesday and the next day our friends Chris and Kallie arrived for a short visit in Singapore before exploring Cambodia and Thailand. Again, it was a whirlwind tour (we were experts by now) of different things in Singapore.

We also celebrated Carrie's birthday that weekend and can't thank Chris and Kallie enough for bringing us some food treats as well as an unexpected Pinata gift (not sure the airline had seen that as a carry on before). It was a really fun night with friends we had not seen in much too long.

Pinata in Transit

Chris and Kallie left in early in the week and that was the end of March, but not the end of the insanity. We joined up with them again about a week later in Bangkok for a weekend of touring, Thai food, and of course massages.



Although this is a long post I hope it encapsulates just how much fun and enjoyment we had with the visiting of family and friends. They are one of the things we really miss in Singapore and are always glad to reconnect in person. Can't wait for our next guests.

Tuk Tuk Ride

US and Bangkok Friends for authentic Thai Food

Enjoying a sunset in Bangkok