Philippines!

We packed light, compared to other airport travelers:


Walking off the plane in CEBU, airport security provided us with sunbrellas? for our long 30sec walk. But, Lori's prepared for the typhoon. The royal treatment.


Finally things are a little bit cheaper: a 1hr taxicab ride costs $3, 4hr bus ride $2.50. But, you get what you pay for… the bus was much rougher than the mass transit system of Signapore. Too bad we can’t post the video. The A/C is the open windows and doors. Vendors hop on and off at various bus stops to sell their homemade snacks of rice cakes and peanuts. The conductor, wearing an NBA basketball jersey, hangs out the open door of the bus finding more passengers along the way. The bus driver honks at everything (approx once every second) to clear himself a path, weaving in and out of traffic, all the while keeping the accelerator fully depressed. He doesn’t stop for potholes, and the bus runs as though he hadn’t ever slowed.



Finally arriving late in the evening in Maya, we, unfortunately, didn’t arrive in time to take the boat to the island of Malapascu. But a nice Filipino couple offered to let us stay in their cousin’s house in town. What a God-send and blessing for a random family to take in white strangers off the street without even wanting to accept any form of payment. They are true examples of Christians. Lori found a new friend or did the new friend find Lori?

Notice the national pastime being performed by the little girl in the bottom of the photo.

Reflections of Singapore

Apart from enjoying the spotless city itself, there is so much to explore in Singapore. While we are leaving with the feeling that we only have scratched the surface here, it has been so interesting spending a week here! Even after learning of all the various government regulations we only realized the extent of the government-induced OCD behavior while watching videos of small children freaking out in a panic over some spilled milk!
Similar to our Bali experience toilet tissue is not provided in most public restrooms, costs $.10 from the attendant or tissue dispenser- so you’d better remember before walking into the stall!

And after the cigarettes are taxed 100% (along with alcohol and cars), they must put in a photo of someone affected by a cigarette-induced disease:

Shoppaholics- have never seen such a frenzy of shopping, endless malls connected to more malls by mile long corridors of more underground malls! We found ourselves lost on more than one occasion!
And to sum it all up, Singapore is one HUGE, tasty, well-groomed treat! Just do as you’re told!!

Abnormal food, Normal Hosts

Our last night here and our great friends Stewart and Dianna (and cute kids-Lily and Charlie) invited us out for a special dinner! We had met the New Zealand natives a month back on our flight to Bali and hit it off. They took us down to the local “Hawkers Centre” and we got to try some great local delicacies. With so many options here, we opted for the flog legs. It was such a tasty treat and actually was very nice! Although, we probably won’t go seeking it out back at home, we were pleasantly surprised and cleaned our plates!

Riverwalk

We sure enjoyed our date night out on the beautiful riverwalk, such a fabulous place for a romantic stroll! After checking out all of the restaurants we decided on a nice little Italian restaurant to satisfy our craving for pizza and pasta(Thanks Arlene!). This is also the business district of town as you can see by the endless suits and ties. And in the words of our Kiwi friend, Stuart, it's the the “Switzerland of Asia”.

Rules, Rules, Rules

Oh, the many Singapore rules: no smoking, water wasting, chewing gum, urinating, littering, flower picking, bird feeding, or spitting. We’d better watch ourselves…$1000 fines!!



And maybe even a strangling?

Good to the last drop!

Mmmmmmm, What we could only describe as some of the most amazing desserts in the world! And everywhere too, you can find everything from fresh homemade gelato to chocolate truffles, cakes, and tortes to the traditional Chinese and Japanese desserts. There’s definitely something for everyone here. We had to stop in for some of the melt in our mouth donuts!


Lori thought it was especially tasty.


Anders thought the custard was especially tasty.


And then there was durian, told by locals that it can only be found in Singapore and very traditional here…so we thought we must try it, of course. But it must be an acquired taste…because we thought it was the most horrible thing we had ever put in our mouths! We were also told that it was outlawed from even taking on any form of public transport because of its extremely pungent smell! Good rule of thumb…if even the smell is outlawed, it really shouldn’t ever be in your mouth!
Here's more objective information.

Chinatown

We certainly enjoyed visiting the Chinatown market (see photos below). With endless “medicine” shops full of teas and dried lizards, fish and fruits of every kind, the town kept very true to its heritage. We even enjoyed watching the locals play Chinese Chess on the street.