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Singapur July 2016
  • Ale Leon

Singapur July 2016

A 26-day adventure by Ale Read more
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  • Trip start
    July 3, 2016
    Ale LeonSingapur July 2016Ale Leon

    First days in Singapore

    July 4, 2016 in Singapore ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    We finally made it!
    After a 10 hour trip from Abu Dhabi to Doha to Chingy airport, we arrived two days ago to our new home. So far it has been amazing. The difference in weather compared to Dubai and Alain is crazy! We basically went from being in a dry extremely hot sauna to a steam room.

    We are staying in an apartment complex called Heritage view. It is very nice and luxurious with multiple swimming pools, basketball court, gym, sauna, steam room and game room. Because of its proximity to INSEAD, we are looking to lease a place in the same complex. We've been busy contacting realtors about properties but it's been hard getting landlords to be ok with a short term lease. Hopefully we will find something that isn't too expensive soon.

    Since we've arrived we've been walking a lot, getting to know the surroundings, we've eaten at a few different hawker centers (mercados). The food is amazing and the prices are really decent. So far we've gone to Holland drive and Holland village.

    The one thing that so far has been exceptionally hard is getting used to the time difference. After 9 days in the middle east where life usually happens at night and going to bed after 2 am is the norm, sleeping in Singapore which is 4 hours ahead of Dubai has been crazy. This has been even worse for Alex who has been having trouble adjusting to the new surroundings and schedule. We hope he'll get used to it soon so the three of us can get some sleep.

    Tomorrow is our last day before Sammy starts his Spanish class. Hopefully we'll get more apartment leads and finish planning our trip to Thailand, Cambodia and Bali for the end of the month before school starts.    Read more

  • Ale LeonSingapur July 2016Ale Leon
    1

    Chinatown

    July 16, 2016 in Singapore ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Awesome day out with Sammy and Alex. Ended up in kreta Ayer square watching a large crowd line dancing to everything from country music to backstreet boys to traditional Chinese music. It was a nice stop after buying Alex a traditional Chinese outfit in the flea market. Our expedition couldn't be complete without the endless search for elevators to take the stroller from place to place. Tonight we are off to watch a free cuban jazz concertRead more

  • Ale LeonSingapur July 2016Ale Leon
    11

    Singapore on a Sunday afternoon

    July 17, 2016 in Singapore ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    This "morning" we meet up with an old friend from my time in Belgium, Sophia Tan, My first Singaporean friend with whom I went to Ireland in 2008.
    After a yummy brunch of soupy dumplings and more strange desserts, Alex and I headed to the imaginarium exhibition while Sammy went to INSEAD too study Spanish. The art museum of Singapore also known as SAM, has a special at exhibition for children with an under the sea theme. We got to see crocheted corals, made origami sea creatures, watched artistic short films, played with a giant balloon and walked through an ocean of trash. Alex had a blast. After the excitement he fell asleep and I walked to little Arabia to Scott the place out to return with Sammy. There's a beautiful mosque and a bunch of Turkish restaurants and fabric shops. We got stuck in the rain so are now at a nice Turkish/Bosnian? Restaurant called nasrin until the rain stops.Read more

  • Ale LeonSingapur July 2016Ale Leon

    rainy day & a stroll through Bot.gardens

    July 18, 2016 in Singapore ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Today we woke up to rainy weather...again. Cynthia, our new helper was supposed to come by but wasn't able to make it so, being we were already ready to go, we ventured through the rain to INSEAD so that Alex could run around in the family room they have there. Sammy met us for lunch and soon after it was time for Alex's nap. So, not knowing what to do, I head out to the mrt station where I got a delicious chocolate lava bread and headed to the botanical gardens. This place is amazing! It's so peaceful and beautiful is amazing. We strolled through the evolution garden, took a quick glance at the breaking garden and headed back. Will definitely come back, I think do far this is my favorite place in Singapore.Read more

  • Ale LeonSingapur July 2016Ale Leon

    exploring orchard rd

    July 21, 2016 in Singapore ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Today we got up early to go to the Thai embassy to get my visa. It was pretty crazy and extremely packed but it only took 20 minutes and I will pick many passport up tomorrow. Talk about efficiency!!!
    From the embassy we walked along orchard road which made me a bit homesick for Mexico as it reminded me a lot of massarik st with a lot of fancy shops and very high end shopping malls.
    We had a great hot pot lunch at Somerset 313 food republic and Alex discovered that he loves little stringy mushrooms which he can slurp up like pasta but are actually better for him. After Alex's nap, we'll go hang out at the pool in dover Parkview with some other instead moms and Kids    Read more

  • Ale LeonSingapur July 2016Ale Leon

    nice weekend with Lutron friends

    July 24, 2016 in Singapore ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Sammy finally had his Spanish exam last Friday.It was an intense three week course but I'm so proud of him. I can honestly say that he understands most of what I say and if he keeps up I have no doubt he'll be fluent.
    I got my passport with my Thai visa on it and met Sammy and his class who were celebrating after the exam. We ended up having a late dinner at timbre; a hipster trendy food market with makeshift food trucks. We got burgers and beers and listened to a funky live band before heading home.
    Saturday we took advantage that it was raining and hung out at home before heading out on an mrt adventure. We randomly decided to get off at a station called dhoby gaut and were just walking around.
    I love seeing how multicultural Singapore is and how tolerant people here are of other religions and cultures. We stumbled across a catholic church that rang the bells to announce mss, five minutes later, next door, a Hindu temple rang the bells and a block away a Chinese temple was also welcoming people.

    We wandered into Robertson quay and after walking along the river for a while, started walking towards little India where we met my dear friend and mentor minna mars logemann from Lutron and her daughter Maria. The food was spectacular. Highly recommend this little place called Usman. From there we walked to Clarke quay where we had drinks.
    On Sunday we meet Sammy's old friend from Lutron also named Mina who is working in sales for the Singapore team. We had a lovely late lunch at a great ramen place in Holland village and then a two hour chat at hagendaz. From there we meet up with some INSEADers at a wine bar again in Robertson quay. Overall a very active weekend    Read more

  • Ale LeonSingapur July 2016Ale Leon

    vacation week in Singapore

    July 28, 2016 in Singapore ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    So it's Thursday night and we've had a pretty full week. We've taken advantage that Sammy want going to school and got to relax indoor when it was raining and out and at the pool when it was nice. We went to gardens by the bay and saw the annual garden festival, flower some and cloud forest, went to Arab st and hung out at vivo city. Now is time to say goodbye to our home for the last month and get ready for our Asia adventure trip. We we'll be leaving to Thailand tomorrow and are quite excited.Read more

    Trip end
    July 28, 2016
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