weekend in sg

had friends in singers for the weekend en route to shanghai and jumped at the chance to join them. any excuse, really, and it was a whirlwind couple of days balancing facetime with the fambam and playing happy hostess to 20. most had never been to singers before and i sort of cringed at the white person colonial slant to things that these trips inevitably take. i mean, raffles for all its charm isn't exactly where i'd want them hanging out in lillywhites... what i like most about singers is how it's a country that can be enjoyed at various levels, and how there's something suited to every budget. for their first meal, did a deal with the two chefs laoban and booked a table for 12. minimal queue for dinner on friday night? sign me up! you should've seen their faces light up as plate after plate of local goodness landed with absolutely no fanfare on the table. it's no secret that i enjoy my food, and enjoy the company of like-minded folk. they were intrigued, and really, all the better to start singers on the right note before they were completely spoilt rotten by the consummate professionals at waku ghin the next night ;) but that's what i mean! dinner for the whole group at two chefs costs less than half what one person would pay at WG. without launching into social commentary and the widening gap between the have and have nots, this is sg's strength and weakness.

had lunch with gran and extended fam on saturday while friends braved china town. was incredibly proud that a splinter group made their way to maxwell for tian tian chicken rice. how wonderfully authentic an experience is that - while i was in a/c comfort slurping more local delights minus the oppressive humidity. 

was a little cheeky and checked into a massive room at the fullerton for the flying visit home. for some reason, the current tenants next door (we've lived there 20 years now!) are capable of superhuman sound. never ever have we had such noisy screaming children, and rowing parents, ALL IN CHINESE. so the last thing i want on a jetlagged morning is to be woken by yelling at 7am. thankful for mates' rates and parents who don't insist i remain under their roof. something i hadn't realised i'd be free from post-marriage. yay for independence :) three years in, it's still a new and novel concept. sleeping at the fullerton was also an exercise in schadenfreude because i got to wake to this view of the CBD, and wave at my friends who're still lawyers in those vertical prisons. jokes. wasn't that mean, and it was convenient for the legal eagles because C was in the office on saturday afternoon and swung by to catch up over drinks. and V came round for breakfast on monday before briefing her boss who was headed to court.

what would also turn out to be a strange twist of fate was how i had friends who just so happened to get married at the fullerton while i was staying there. singers is too small! managed to wish the happy couple, and even have a quick chat with an old friend who was a groomsman. sobering to realise it's been ten years since we were all in jc together, and how everyone has grown up and moved on with their lives. was told that i'm the same, and felt in some ways we change but in many others the fundamentals remain. wish i had been kinder back then but thankful for time and space to have sorted things out.

the last time the crew was in dubai, the ever-gracious host had chartered chauffered humvees. alas, no such extravagance in singers but this coach with karaoke had them entertained and in stitches for the short ride to sentosa. they'd so much fun singing along that they didn't want to alight at the golf club where we'd more local food on the terrace before heading to sea.

couldn't have asked for better weather. as always, was afraid our grand plans might be thwarted by a tropical storm but it was all blue skies and calm seas. singers is so pretty and i love watching visitors marvel her twinkling skyline from the water. the offshore islands aren't pristine, the water isn't azure, but for a busy commercial port it's pretty darn clean. used to be dismissive of the beaches but as i get older, i'm more cognisant of how much work goes into keeping the environs pristine.

had given everyone strict instructions to go crazy at dutyfree so we'd alcohol aplenty. some of the boys brought hard liquour. tequila and whiskey, clowns. but the bubbles went down easily enough. it was a sight spying V at customs and realising we'd all (J and i were on the same flight, yay for delightful girly company for 14h long haul) bought bottles of veuve rose. we're seasoned enough to know the boys can't be relied upon to bring what we'd like to drink, and as fiercely independent women (haha) it was almost like those parties i used to go to in stockholm where you bring a bottle and nurse said personal bottle through the night. thankfully we were a little less mercenary and the bubbles were pooled eventually.

and that's J looking like she belongs on the boat

all in all a whirlwind weekend in sg, they tend to be and i'm increasingly apologetic to friends who i don't get to see when i'm in town. it's family first, hosting duties second. am the first to admit to being a terribly correspondent and never organised enough to get round to catching up.