We have arrived!

And boy, was that the way to travel! Long, but very comfortable flight, and we probably got about 7 hours of sleep total. The food was ridiculously gourmet and we ate way too much. Everything was served on china and with real silverware – including knives (surprising on a plane these days, no?). The champagne was lovely, as was the cheese course that we were served twice! Service was top notch, and we were constantly addressed by name. I could certainly get used to business class with no problem.

All of our luggage made it with us, and managed to fit in one taxi with a tiny trunk. We’re staying at the Grand Park City Hall in Singapore for the first week, and we’ll figure out in the next couple of days if we want to stay here longer or switch hotels. Our apartment lease in KL starts on December 1st, but the big question is how long it will take to get Grant’s Professional Visitor Pass. We’ll be hanging out in Singapore until then, since he can’t enter Malaysia while the application is pending. We’re expecting to be here for 3-4 weeks, and Grant will be working from the office here starting on November 14th.

That doesn’t leave him with much time to adjust to the 13 hour time difference, so the first order of business was to do everything possible to get over our jet lag! We figured our best bet was to get outside and stay active, so we headed off to the Botanic Gardens looking forward to a sunny walk and beautiful surroundings. Singapore is also known as the Garden City, and there is lush vegetation all over leaving no doubt that we’re in a tropical location. Well, the heat and humidity keep reminding me of that too.

The Gardens were gorgeous, and I think we only visited about a third of it. It covers over 150 acres, and we started off strong, with Swan Lake, the Ginger Garden, and the National Orchid Garden. I couldn’t resist taking lots of close up shots, especially of the orchids.

I could have stayed there for hours, but the rumbling that got louder and louder was two things: my stomach and thunder. It was lunchtime, and we made our way back to the gift shop at the entrance to the Orchid Gardens just as it began pouring. I’ll admit to this: at the hotel, Grant had asked if we could bring the umbrella, and I didn’t feel like being weighed down with it so I said no. Browsed the gift shop for a lot longer than I really wanted to, and finally we gave in and bought emergency ponchos and took off. Luckily, we timed it pretty well, and the rain got lighter, and gave us a few dry minutes to walk over towards Orchard Road.

I’d heard Orchard Road was the fanciest shopping street in Singapore, and in my head I’d been thinking of it as a version of Newbury Street. I was just a little off – more like a cross between Times Square and the Champs Elysées. Malls are huge here, both in terms of size and importance. Shopping and eating are the two national pastimes, and we’re diving right in! My new shopping quest is for the perfect umbrella, and I think it will get a lot of use. I think of a new food quest every time I pass anyone eating anything. The malls have good food courts, very different from home, more like sanitized street food vendors.

We managed to stay awake until 8 pm on our first day, although we were really dragging for the last four hours or so, and ended up having dinner at the nearest mall since we were too tired to go further afield. I think it was important to push ourselves though, and we were up bright and early this morning and feeling great. All in all, this was a great start for us and I’m excited to be here!