Istana Negara

We flew back to Singapore to visit our friends Jess and Brook from New Zealand. They moved to Singapore last month after Jess was offered a job there. It was so nice being in someone's home; unlimited body wash, face creams, hair masks, and makeup. We spent our first day exploring the huge Singapore aquarium; our favorite part was seeing the giant manta rays and hammerhead sharks. It was fun seeing Andreas and Brook together because it is always a nonstop stream of political and historical debates. That night we all went out for dinner and drinks. We attempted to go to karaoke, but it cost $300 to rent a room!!!

The next day we went on a 10km hike through a forest and across a swing bridge. Our old travel companions Alli and TJ happened to be in town so they joined us. The highlight was that after an hour of me carrying a banana on the walk, I looked up to see a monkey charging me. I tried to hide my banana in my shirt but the monkey kept coming. I tried to stuff it down Andreas' shirt but he wasn't too happy about that; this monkey was pretty aggressive. In the end we had to sacrifice the banana and run away. The monkey looked pretty pleased with himself as he munched on my banana.

That night we went swimming at Jess and Brook's pool and headed out to see NZ vs the Aussies in a rugby game. NZ dominated.

Our final day Andreas and Brook stayed in their underwear playing computer games while Jess and I headed to the mall to shop for jewelry for her wedding. It was so nice having a bit of normality and to hang out with our old friends.Read more