Singapore Zoo

I was determined to get out this week and enjoy some of the sights that Singapore has to offer. So I had grand plans for our friday and saturday. We, or I should say I decided to go to the Singapore Zoo. (The kids really wanted to stay home and watch Ninja movies.) I decided on this mostly because I have been there before so I knew how to get there in a cab, what to expect and we have a year pass, so essentially it was free. I figured if I only went for a few hours and then met up with Patrick for the Night Safari I wouldn't want to strangle the kids. And I was right. They were absolute angels! Especially considering the cab ride is a good 20 minutes. But once we got there the weather quickly began to change. We saw a bunch of animals in the hour and a half before the rain clouds dumped buckets on us. Here, when it rains it really pours!

(Thanks to my friend Kristy for telling me about this super fabulous website that helps you build collages. It is too bad its shutting down because I'm in love! I feel like this little family blog has now hit the big time! I took a lot of pictures at the zoo that I didn't want to give up. This collage-y deal helps me get them all in without the post being super long and boring everyone within reading distance.)

Once it was pouring rain we called Patrick to cancel our night plans. He went straight home from work and I hurry and fed the kids on crap pizza and fizzy soda and headed home myself. Due to the time of day and the weather it actually took us 1 hour to get home and double the money. Here, once you are on the road during peak hours they charge you more. And of course I forgot about that part. So after only 2 hours of being at the zoo and almost 2 hours of being in a taxi there and back. Our huge, momentous trip to the zoo became a big expensive joke. And as Ronin pointed out, once we had eaten and hailed a cab, it had stopped raining. We should have stayed and experienced the Night Safari! Oh well, lesson learned. We will try again next time. That's the beauty of having a season pass I guess.

We had big plans for today (Saturday) as well. We wanted to spend the afternoon at the skate park and then get dinner at the hawker centre. But of course that derailed too. Weather and life combined to make us change course. And where did we end up, but Ikea. With all 4 children. Makes you want to pull your hair out just thinking of it right? They were pretty good for the first 2 hours. Mostly because the first hour the big boys were in the Smalland play area and the second hour started out with eating lunch. But it quickly went down hill and we had a lot of things to figure out so there was a lot of whining and crying and standing around for everyone involved. By the end of our 5 hour trip we were all tired and super cranky. We needed to take the Ikea trip because today we got a call from the hiring agency and are very close to hiring our domestic helper. She should start next week! We set out to fashion up her room with a bed and other things to help her feel at home. And to help disguise the fact that her room is the size of a closet. (Pictures coming soon). We think we have done a pretty good job, but we won't know for sure until it all gets delivered on Tuesday. Hopefully she won't see the place and run for the door.

We hope next week to spend a bit more time playing and less time in cabs and running around crazy. And hopefully we can introduce you to the new addition of the family by then too. So stay tuned.