Singapore, Part Four

Here we are again! This year there was a new attraction, Rainforest Lumina, which Big A said was a clever ruse. making us walk the zoo at night with nothing to see but simulated light shows, but to me was an excellent additional revenue stream for an otherwise dead space (after 7pm). 

We always get a Parkhopper ticket, which allows for one entrance per park (Singapore Zoo, Night Safari, River Safari, Rainforest Lumina and Jurong Bird Park) within a reasonable amount of time. We've never visited the Bird Park as it's located on another part of the island, but a new space is being built next to the zoo to relocate it by next year or so.

Another day was spent on Sentosa, at the SEA Aquarium and Universal Studios. This year there was no time for the ArtScience Museum, but neither was there a good exhibit on, so we skipped that in favour of his favourite music store, located in the shopping mall just down the road from our apartment. This time next month will be the annual Halloween Children's Concert, another event to look forward to. See you again next year, Singapore! 

Present Perfect

In the Philippines, there is a travel tradition called pasalubong, which involves bringing back small presents for loved ones at home. It is a thoughful gesture that lets one's nearest and dearest know you were thinking of them on yout travels and wanted them to have a small token from that city.

These days, with budget airfares and improved road systems making travel much more accessible, the pasalubong tradition may not be so frequently practiced.

Among childhood friends though, it is very much alive.

As teens, my best friend N and I were lucky to have spent every other summer in Europe. I was at boarding school in the UK, so my parents and legal guardian invested in a London flat where various family members could stay during their trips over. This included my second family that is N's. When her parents and brothers went to America instead, she would still come to London with my mum, dad and sisters.

In later years, it would be just my sister, N and myself. We would spend a few weeks in London and a few days somewhere "on the Continent". Rome, Florence, Venice, and Vienna were some of the cities we explored when we weren't pounding the pavements of London. Those memories are priceless, and to this day we have small items that remind us of certain trips.

When we graduated from university, started working, and then married and had kids, the threesome trips stopped, but the travels didn't. Instead of visiting new places together, we would see them with our own families, and always bring back something for each other no matter where in the world we might find ourselves.

N's family have been bitten by the cruise bug, so she has been trying to convince me and Big A to try one with them. We look forward to the day we will travel together again, whether it be on a solo girls' trip (the big 4-0 is coming up) or with our husbands and kids on a large ship. Until that day, each time we travel, no matter how near or far, we will come back bearing presents for the other.