So here is a few of the pictures with the first set of visitors.  We did lots of stuff everyday.  In fact I kept them so busy I can't even remember all the things we did.  I was completely exhausted by the time they left, but we had a great time with the visitors and we know they had a great time too.  So here we go.  This is a picture at night along the waterfront near downtown.



Pictured is Ronna with Koreena and Nicole.  Next is Nicole and I hiking through the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.
 


We saw some wildlife in this small piece of rainforest found within the city limits.  We saw monkeys, skinks, and monitor lizards to name a few.  I took the girls to Chinatown a few times and they did most of their shopping here.  This is a look at one of the streets with all the shops.

  

I also took them to a place called Chinese Garden which is well basically a big Chinese garden.  The park also housed a giant pagoda style building and a Japanese garden too.  Here is the pagoda.

  

Obviously that was a picture from far away.  We actually were able to go up the pagoda and we were treated to a nice aerial view of the surrounding area.  This is a picture of the Japanese garden.

  

Unfortunately the Japanese garden was closed, but you can see the storm clouds above so maybe it wasn't a bad thing as we barely made it back to the train before it started raining.  It actually rained just about everyday the girls were here, but fortunately it usually only rains for about an hour in the afternoon and then goes away.  So the rain didn't ruin any of our days.  On our last night we took the Hippo tour which is a river cruise through the city.  Here is a look at downtown again, but this time from the water.

  

This is a picture of Clarke Quay all lit up at night.  This is a touristy area filled with restaurants and bars.



The girls went out here a few times during the trip.  I know they had lots of fun because I heard the stories the next morning.  Thankfully my younger housemates were willing to take them out so I didn't have to go.  Plus I am sure they had more fun with the housemates than they would have had with me.  Like I said I heard the stories, but unfortunately for you what happens in Singapore stays in Singapore.  This next picture is of a Muslim mosque located in Little India.

 

I had never been inside a mosque before so it was very interesting.  We even got a private tour from one of the guys that works there.  He explained a lot about the mosque and about the Muslim religion.  I learned that Muslims actually have a lot in common with Christians.  With all the negative we hear in the news I would have never guessed that.  I really enjoyed the visit to the mosque as I learned a little bit about a religion and culture that I knew nothing about.  That is the whole point of traveling after all.  I also took the girls to Sentosa a few times.  Remember Sentosa is a small touristy island that belongs to Singapore.  We saw a few shows here, we went to the beach one day (and Nicole got stung by a jellyfish), and we saw the merlion (the mascot of Singapore.

  

The merlion is half lion, half fish.  There are a few around Singapore.  This one is the largest I believe.  The final thing I am going to show you is the SIngapore Flyer.  The flyer is like a giant ferris wheel, but slower.

  

You can't tell from the picture, but this thing is huge.  I believe it is the 2nd biggest observation wheel in the world (China recently built the largest).  While on the flyer we were treated to some truly breathtaking views of the city like this one.

  

We also took a long weekend to Malaysia, but I am going to blog about that separately.  So anyways, this was just a sample of the things we did.  Like I said we had a lot of fun and look forward to our next visitors in less than a week from now.

On a sad note I received news that the girls aunt died the day they got back.  She was still very young and left behind two kids.  Our hearts and prayers go out the their family and the kids.  We just wanted to offer our deepest condolences and convey how truly sorry we are for their loss.  RIP Gina and we know you are in a better place now.  :*(