"Shooting Singapore" - sweaty but fun!

Against our better judgement Christine and I decided to go 'photo hunting' in and around Singapore yesterday. It was an absolute stinker and before we even got down the road from our condo we were dripping in perspiration! Our first stop was Bugis to 'sus' out the scene at the famous Bugis Street Market. It took me a while to get the hang of it but eventually I was working like a pro, down on one knee, angling myself to get the right shot. Bugis was buzzing as always but I found that with my camera in hand I started to notice the smaller details instead of looking only at the handbags and clothes hanging in the stalls. 

It truly is a sensory extravaganza  and my favourite fresh watermelon juice stall made for some beautiful picture opportunities. I was a bit nervous about taking up close pictures of people face on as I wasn't sure whether folks would get a bit uptight about that....but as the day went on I got braver or perhaps just more sneaky! 

From Bugis we made our way towards Little India where we took refuge in the air conditioning and popped up in Chinatown! This was where I really started to 'get my shoot on' and I am very pleased with the way some of my pics came out! I'm just loving our new camera and the picture quality - it really does make a big difference when you are using a sophisticated camera versus a little 'point and shoot' number. I'm learning slowly but I'm determined to get the hang of it and learn to use all the functions and settings etc. 

Chinatown is possibly the most colourful district in Singapore and the restored shop house facades are my best! They are so pretty and the colours so bright that you can't help yourself taking the same picture every time you go down there. It was here that I started to get a bit braver and started taking pics of the people going about their daily tasks jobs and activities. 

After about 3 hours of photo shooting Chris and I were bushed and in much need of a rest. We settled for an ice cold Tiger and some delicious sweet and sour prawns and noodles for lunch! What a treat :) 

We did feel mildly guilty enjoying a beer at lunch time on a school day whilst both our husbands slaved away in the office allowing us to come up with and enjoy our desperate housewife excursions......The guilt didn't last that long however and we both agreed that if you're going to do something you should do it properly! 

I must have shot over 300 photos yesterday in those 3 hours but I'm probably only going to keep about 30. These are some of my favourites and ones that I'll definitely include in our 'Memoirs from Singapore' coffee table book that I'm hoping to compile once we are home. 

Such a fun day and I've decided that for the next 3 weeks my Sony camera is coming everywhere with me. I want to capture it all and take it back to JHB with me! 

Go check out the rest of my photos on facebook - 'Shooting Singapore'

xx

The beginning of the end

6 weeks left! I can't believe it. I have suddenly become aware of all the things I still want to do before we leave our first Asian home in just over a month and a half! I've been unstoppable. I'm booking tickets to shows, photo shooting everything for the second time round, eating as many Thai honey mangoes as possible and making endless lists of the goodies I want to buy before we head home! 

I'm savouring every Starbucks coffee en route to my Pilates classes and ordering local over western wherever we go! I'm really conscious of 'drinking in Singapore to the lees', knowing that soon I will be trading in my late morning rises and casual clothes for office winter wear and JHB traffic once again. Full of mixed feelings really. So excited about the idea of getting home and being re-united with all things familiar, from family and friends and my pooches to Woolies vegetables and my dishwasher. I remember clearly the lifestyle shock I experienced making the transition between full time student in Grahamstown to full time teacher at Greenside High all those years ago. My body took weeks to adjust to 6am wake-ups and constant brain stimulation. I'm hoping my transition back into JHB life isn't going to be quite as hectic.....

We've had Garth and Jax with us for the last couple of days which has been lovely! Perhaps the thing I've been most grateful to them for, other than the impeccably chosen sparkling wines they bought us, is their insistence on going to Singapore's Universal Studios. Not big fans of theme parks, we had turned up our noses at the idea after visiting the chaotic Sentosa island on 2 separate occasions and hadn't really revisited our decision. However, Garth and Jax's enthusiasm for the latest Transformers 4D simulation ride was not something we could easily ignore and so, on Easter Monday the four of us headed to Universal Studios Singapore for what can be described as one of the most fantastic days out ever! What a treat! 

You certainly have to find the inner child in you in order to fully enjoy the experience but this certainly was not difficult! Within half an hour we found ourselves queueing for rides a second time and marvelling at the sheer genius behind the movie themed concept stores and activities. What fun! It was a STINKER of a day and I finally resorted to wearing my 'Queen-of-Masinga' hat and hourly sunscreen application sessions. It truly was an excellent experience and one that I would recommend to anyone coming through Singapore. I can only imagine the credit card damage one might incur whilst visiting the park with kids in tow - the gifts and nik-naks are just mind boggling and  even Nick succumbed to purchasing some over priced t-shirts and coffee mugs! It was all just too good to resist! 

Jax and Garth's holiday plans have worked out perfectly with them planning a mid-week trip to Thailand whilst Nick is at work and I do my domestic chores! They are back tomorrow afternoon in time for the weekend and then fly out on the 2am flight on Sunday. Thankfully their trip to Thailand has not been impacted by the earthquake in Indonesia yesterday.....just too terrible for all those affected by it. 

Nick and I are off to see 'Cirque Mother Africa' tonight at the Esplanade Theatres. Very excited about that! I have also managed to get us tickets to see the Broadway Musical 'Wicked' on Sunday evening! All just too exciting. Nothing wrong with a couple extra 'date nights' before we head home. 

Gold Class Movie Cinema

We treated ourselves to Gold Class movie tickets the other night which is just the best thing ever! The deal is that you buy a completely overpriced movie ticket which entitles you to the Gold Glass lounge before and after the movie as well as movie viewing from a reclining padded velvet armchair with a waitress who serves you anything you like from an impressively comprehensive menu throughout the movie. It certainly is an experience and makes the ordinary movie watching pale in comparison. We saw 'Salmon Fishing in the Yemen' - exceptional movie! Ewan McGregor is just lovely in it and it certainly surpassed the expectations we had based on the, shall we say 'uncreative' title of the movie....

Our movie watching experience has not been limited to swanky indoor sophistication you'll be glad to know. We joined another several hundred people a couple weekends ago to watch Kung Fu Panda II on the lawn adjacent to Marina Bay! What a fabulous experience! I'm always astounded at the Singaporean people's ability to enjoy public facilities without there being any drama. Everyone was so well behaved and the organisers had gone to great lengths to provide everyone with a 'build-it-yourself' florescent light box that we all powered up in unison for earth hour at 8pm. It was a lovely evening out, aided by some biltong (courtesy of Mrs Bonnie Beckley) and an ice cold Savannah. Watching animated movies with a couple hundred kids is certainly medicine for the soul. 

Dr S welcoming kids into the library

Talking of kids, my weekly KidsREAD sessions at East Coast Primary have commenced and I'm thoroughly enjoying the experience. I was allocated the lead for the first week's session in which we decided to introduce ourselves to the kids and then talk to them about books and reading in the hope of inspiring them to get excited about them. They are all just too cute, mostly grade 1's and 2's. I spoke to them about how magical books are and how they allow you to visit worlds and places you could only imagine. I then went on to ask them about why books are so important and why the paper they are printed on is so precious. I was leading them towards the notion that paper comes from trees and that trees are precious therefore books are  precious. However, as I soon learned, that was far too boring an answer. Instead, one little guy stuck up his hand and told me that paper is precious because it's what pirates write their treasure maps on! Just too beautiful! I have my 3rd session with them today at 2pm - can't wait!

Beautiful sky after a massive storm 

Congratulations to Nick's cousin, Christina who  married on Monday in Cape Town. We know that it was a very special day and we really look forward to seeing some pics. Enjoy your honeymoon! 

Love you to all.

xx