Singapore

I met my future roommate in Singapore.

Zabeena is from Houston, Texas and is graduating with me from UTSW in two weeks. She and her twin sister just happened to take a vacation to Malaysia. We met up in Singapore and had a wonderful two days traveling around together. Here is a synopsis of our journey.

Day 1:

Zabeena and her sister, Mehveen, wanted to see some of the natural side of Singapore, so we struck out to find the Bukit Timah Nature Preserve, where we hiked  up summit hill to the highest point in Singapore. We were surrounded by rainforest so we could not see the city. Apparently, we were standing where tigers used to roam.

The climb was steep, basically straight up. Zabeena and Mehveen here on the way down.

We made it to the top! It was not as rewarding of a view as I was hoping for, more trees. But needless to say, we had a workout in for the wonderful hawker food that was awaiting us down at the bottom.

We also, were side tracked and found a second park on the way to this nature preserve, where we had fun with our cameras and found some wildlife. 

We stopped for a rest in the shade of a park bench. Zabeena is sitting with me and Mehveen is behind us.

A very candid shot of us trying to shoot a jumping picture in front of the quarry.

Here is a great picture of the three of us. Notice I am flanked by my bodyguards. This is how we traveled around, one on each side of me.

We came upon this little bird digging around in the underbrush. I have not been able to identify it, anyone know?

And, these Monitor lizards come out of no where and have scared me multiple times on my trip. This one was a safe distance away digging for lunch. It has a long tongue with a split end like a snake.


Day 2:

First we went shopping at the biggest "Walmart" I have ever seen. It was a full 4 floors and was as big as the supercenters in the U.S.  It had 2 story grocery store included. It was located in little India, so we wondered through there, and I did lots of people watching.

Then we went to see the Merlion to get the ultimate roommate picture. 

The Merlion is the most Singaporian landmark we could think of.....so we now have proof that we were here.

After the Merlion, we wondered through the Botanical Gardens where we stumbled upon a Mother's day concert, and the surprise visit of the President of the Republic of Singapore.

Our final stop was Orchard Road, the famous shopping district.

And our final stop was for some of the Singapore's best gelato!! YUM!

And this is where my roommate bonding ended. Zabeena and Mehveen left for the U.S. that night.
Thank you both for a wonderful weekend in Singapore. Who knew we would get to know each other on the opposite side of the world? I hope to have many more trips with her to come at JPS.