We survived our first 4th of July as an expat. While I’m sure this is a surreal experience under normal circumstances, in the covid world, it’s even stranger… But I think we made the best of our weekend. We are getting to be a pretty great little tribe of 5!
Since socially distanced sports are allowed again, we’ve embraced them wholeheartedly. We’ve also been very grateful for our American Club membership! All 5 of us are playing tennis and Liam and Avery are swimming at TAC. We can walk there from our home and it was wonderful this weekend to see the American flag and be wished “happy 4th of July!” While normally they would have held big celebrations, this year, these small things made all the difference!
Lu Pa Sat
Inside Lu Pa Sat
Satay… yum
SOS
Friday night Ryan and I escaped the kids for a night out. I’ve been wanting to check out the satay at Lu Pa Sat hawker, so Ryan humored me. Lu Pa Sat (or Telok Ayer market) is one of the oldest Victorian structures in Asia. It was originally a fish market, but was moved and restored and turned into a popular hawker center in the CBD. The building is impressive and very pretty. When we first arrived we were taken aback at how aggressive the hawkers were to get you to sit in their area and order from them. Once we figured out how it worked (thank you to the very nice and slightly less aggressive man that helped us) we loved it. A pitcher of tiger beer and grilled meat is always a winner. I thought the prawns were the best, but crazy messy. The peanut sauce is really the Star and the satay is just the vehicle to consume that… we also learned that the clock tower at Lu Pa Sat really works and is loud! All in all it was a really fun dinner and we can’t wait to go back! After dinner we walked down to marina bay to a bar owned by an American called SOS. Ryan knew about it from a co-worker in for US. Fun to see the flag again!
Taking a double decker bus to practice
The Arena
Avery working on her freestyle
So much water needed…
Saturday during the day we had more swimming, and Liam and Avery started soccer at JSSL. They both liked soccer despite it being soooo hooottt. Avery’s in a group with older girls. I thought she would be upset about it, but she was fine, so I guess we’ll keep on with it!
Waiting for our grab at home
Beers!
So good…
Happy face 1
Happy face 2
Happy face 3
Saturday night to celebrate the 4th we went to a restaurant called “American Taproom”. We were a little nervous when our grab driver dropped us off at a strange, decrepit looking building. But being Singapore, restaurants are tucked in the strangest places… we weaved our way through the building and found it. Delicious burgers, fries and pizza. And 32 beers on tap! Happy 4th of July to us!
So happy to see you!
Sentosa, here we come!
Checking out all the ships
Beautiful day!
Sunday we were tourists! No Ella as she was off with a friend celebrating a birthday. First stop was the newly reopened cable cars. The only way to travel!
Families that mask together…
Socially distanced fish viewing
Crazy to live in a country that actively talks about climate change in a constructive way.
Sharks!
In the tube!
HUGE manta rays swimming overhead
Our destination, SEA aquarium! This aquarium has the largest volume of water in tanks in the world. It is truly an immersive (pun intended) experience! Tourist attractions are open at 25% capacity and all tickets must be pre-booked. No touch tanks or feedings, but we did see a bunch of divers feeding the fish and being there with so few people, it was great! Now we need to go back and take Ella!
Pre wrapped cutlery.
Yogurt eating.
Riding the Sentosa line, there are 2 lines here!
On the MRT home
Finished off the trip with a one and done lunch at Hard Rock Cafe, frozen yogurt at Llaollao, another cable car ride and the MRT home. Fun to be out in the world again!
Nutmeggers in Singapore 