Chinese New Year

Jamie and I kicked off our Chinese New Year by heading down to Chinatown for dinner and drinks with some friends. We thought with the long weekend it would either be really crowded, or really dead. It was crowded! When we finished dinner and walked over to the main area you could hardly walk up and down the streets. There were so many people and so many stalls set up it was almost overwhelming. Here are some of the photos we took while in Chinatown.


(Funny signs, the first is telling people to stay out.)


(Lights on side streets, Chinatown)


(Street we had dinner on, funny to see a building like this, and have modern high rises in the background)


Saturday we decided to head out to the Jurong Bird Park. We spent the afternoon out there and had a good time. They even had an area set up that you could go into and the birds were flying around freely. One of them almost flew into my leg! I almost fell trying to avoid it! The only disappointing part was that we thought the penguin exhibit would be a little more open. Instead you just got to look at them though glass. We were able to get lots of photos, here are a few of our favorites!



(First we got one of this little guy, then his friends decided they wanted to be part of the photo as well)


(those are flamingos behind Jamie)



Sunday was the day I had been waiting for!!! I had been waiting to hit TGI Fridays for over a week and couldn't hardly contain myself any longer! The ride up to JB (Johor Bahru , Malaysia) seemed to take FOR- EVER!! We took a taxi up there, and in all it took an hour and a half to get there! If should have been like a 20 minute drive, but there was lots of traffic. In the end, that hour and a half was all worth it when I looked out of the car and saw that little red and white sign!

When I told Jamie about this place he only asked me two questions.
1) Do they have a regular menu?
and
2) Do they have the nachos?


I told him yes, to both, but when we got there I discovered I was partially wrong about one. They did have nachos, but they were not like the ones in the US. They were chicken fajita nachos....which clearly are not the same thing! Jamie was aggravated and I thought "this is not a good way to start off the meal". To make matters worse, they were out of french onion soup as well. They told him that they could replace it with cream of mushroom, and I swear I almost saw a tear! (In Singapore everywhere you go has cream of mushroom, it's like they think that's the only soup westerners eat!) They did have the pasta dish that he usually orders, so all hope was not lost yet. After the food and drinks arrived things were much better. The food was AMAZING, and my ultimate mudslide was AWESOME!! Not to mention, after food, drinks, tax and tip, we ate there for only $27 USD!!! We couldn't believe it! None of the restaurants we eat at in Singapore are even close to that cheap, not to mention as good! We left full and happy, what more could you ask for?

When I was planning the trip up there everything I read talked about how bad the crime was. (Read this article) Other things talked about how "women should not walk through a group of men and disturb them" and "gangs of men hang out at shopping centers and harass foreign women and you should just keep walking and ignore them". It was really weird! Even though the atmosphere is a lot different than being in Singapore we didn't find it as bad as everything said it would be. After reading all of this we didn't think there would be too much to see and we missed a few things that may have been interesting. So, we are planning to go back another time to do some sight seeing. We were able to take a few photos, but after being scared that I was going to be robbed if I took my camera out I didn't take too many.

(Fountain near downtown area, main street, Hindu temple in downtown)






At the end of the day we took a bus back (the only way we could find to get back into Singapore since we didn't have our own car). It ended up being a pretty good ride, so I can't complain. Who would have guessed I would be able to knock 2 items off my "I've never" list! Never been to Malaysia - check, and never been on a public transportation bus - check! We even got another surprise when we got to the bus station! They have a Dunkin' Doughnuts!! Not as good as a Krispy Kreme, but it will do!

Singapore's Night Safari

I guess I will start this blog off by saying that the weather lately has been FANTASTIC!! I feel like it's spring break and I'm hanging out on Pensacola Beach. The temp has been perfect, high 80's, with a breeze that makes you feel like you're walking along the shore. As I lay by the pool I sometimes forget that I actually live here and that I'm not on some tropical vacation! It's really the most at home I've felt since we've been here!

Saturday Jamie and I decided to take advantage of the great weather and head out to the night safari. It is the only one in the world and we have been told that it is a "must see" while in Singapore. We arrived around 7pm, just in time to see the Bornean Tribal Performers do their set. Below is the amazing shot we got of them using my new camera!

From there we went to dinner at the Ulu Ulu restaurant. After looking online I expected it to be a really nice restaurant with lots of "international dishes" to choose from. When we got there we found that they were correct in stating that the selection was "international", but only on the Asian side! We ended up ordering the chili crab and some mee goreng with seafood (which is now my favorite "local" dish). The food was wonderful and the atmosphere was pretty cool as well. All of the seating was outside, so you could dine under the stars. So far the evening had started off great!

From there we took a 45 minute tram ride and then went to the Creatures of the Night show. Before the show even started we got to see a random man get walked all over by a wild, flying squirrel! It flew over the crowd and landed beside him! It then decided to crawl up his back and all over his head before trying to fly away again. Everyone, including us, thought this was part of the show until some trainers came running out telling everyone to back away so the animal could escape on it's own. It was at that point when they let it go into the rain forest that I figured if it had been part of the show they would not have let it go on it's own.

Overall the show was a little "cheesy", but for the young kids it was pretty cool. Below is a photo of the stage area. It was lit up so bright that the colors made everything else around look grey. Jamie thought it made the sky look really cool and took a few photos of it (the second photo). Once the show started all of the audience lights went off, so it made it really hard to take photos.

After that was over we walked the three trails and looked at all the exhibits. We were surprised at how close they let you get to the animals considering it was night and not very well lit. At times on the tram there were no enclosures, so the animals could walk right up to you. For the bats and flying squirrels exhibit they had you walk into this fenced in, tent like thing and they were just out, flying freely all around you! After seeing what we did at the show, I walked as fast as I could through it..... so one didn't have time to land on me too!

We had a really good time! Unfortunately, because they were trying to keep it as close to the "real habitat" as possible they did not provide much lighting. Even the animal exhibits themselves have very dim spotlights, just enough for you to see them running around. For this reason we were not able to take as many photos as we would have liked. Actually, out of all the animal shots only 2 of them came out! I've posted one of them below.

For this weekend coming up we've got lots of plans! It's Chinese New Year so Jamie's got a 4 day weekend. Whoo Hoo! At first we decided to go on a trip for the long weekend. However, since I was unable to find anywhere suitable to put the girls we decided to hold off. Instead, we are going to Chinatown to hang out with some friends on Friday night, the Bird Park on Saturday, and up to Malaysia with some friends on Sunday for a day trip.

Although I am excited about all of the events we have planned I have to say that I am most excited about Malaysia! While making the plans, I found out they have a TGI Fridays!! Oh it will be like a little piece of heaven, right here in the Asian pacific! Lucky for me they have my favorite, the Sesame Jack Chicken Strips, and I can't wait!!! Jamie keeps telling me not to get my hopes up, and I should be prepared for it to be different than back home........But I have faith, and sad to say that I am really, really excited!

I can't wait for the weekend to come so I can get back on and tell you all about it!

As the Chinese say

(In Cantonese) Gung Hay Fat Choy! (May prosperity be with you)

and
(In Mandarin) Xin Nian Kuai Le! (Happy New Year)

Happy New Year!!

New Years Eve was full of fun for the McMillan's. We spent the day celebrating Budders 7th birthday and then got ready for a night at one of our favorite restaurants (Cuba Libre at Clarke Quay) with some of our friends Simone and Adrian. Here are some photos from our day.















We had a great New Years so hopefully that lasts all year long!

I'm not really big on New Years resolutions so usually I don't bother making one. My thought is that if it is really something you want to do, give up, improve, etc... then you should be able to do it with no reason at all. If it's not really something you will do at any other time of the year, calling it a "New Years Resolution" isn't going to make it any easier.

So I guess the McMillan New Years Resolution is to have a great experience in Singapore over the next year, see as much as we can while we are here, and continue to try to lead healthier lifestyles (ps mom McMillan....this does not include eating organic foods.....he made me write that!!).

For those of you who do make resolutions I hope you have the will power to honor them and have a great 2009!

Photos from Christmas and the Botanic Gardens

Here are some of the photos from the new camera. Jamie took these on the night of Christmas Eve after we opened our gifts. The girls had just got their gifts as well and we were playing around.

We took these on Christmas Day. After dinner we walked down to Orchard Rd. and took more photos of the lights. Christmas here is totally different than it is back home. Most of the stores and restaurants are still open. On Orchard Rd they block off the main area and have a block party of sorts. They have line dancing, a music stage, and stationary floats. There were so many people down there Jamie and I ended up leaving shortly after we arrived due to Jamie's "sidewalk rage".

And last but not least, here is a small sample of the photos we took at the Botanic Gardens.

Another Christmas gone

The week before Christmas was a hectic one. Punkin got really sick last weekend so I spent Sunday afternoon in the vet's office trying to figure out what was wrong with her. Turns out she got amoebic dysentery! She was on two different medications as well as Pepto when needed. Budder was also put back on her back medication because she started having really bad back spasms. Once on that medication she was eating and drinking everything in site! I just knew that with our luck one of them would end up at the vet's office again for Christmas, but lucky for us they are both doing much better.

Even though we had to spend Christmas away from family it was a good one. I got Jamie lots of fun gifts (some of which still have not arrived, but it's the thought...right?) and I think he really liked all of them. His big gift was a new Tag Heuer watch. Recently, he has mentioned getting a new one (Jamie likes watches like I like purses) but failed to point any out that he would like. I didn't want to ask for his opinion on any because I feared that he would know I was planning to get one. So I was on my own, and I was nervous about picking one out for him. The moment I found this one I knew it was the one I had to get.

I was a little nervous about it after the fact, because he has stated numerous times that he does not particularly care for Tag Heuer watches. His reason is because he thinks they look too "sporty", but I thought that this one was very classic and decided to take a chance. In the end, he loved it for the same reason I did (the brown dial) so it worked out well. His other gifts included a motorized tie rack, gym ball, some books, a few shirts, and the other stuff I can't mention yet.

My gifts were awesome as well. I got this years M&M dispenser, two other M&M collectables, a beautiful inlaid wood photo album from Sorrento, some gift cards, a wallet, a necklace, and the best gift of all....... a new camera!!

Oh, I also got two purses about a month ago that were for Christmas as well but lets get back to my camera!

It's great! It takes the most amazing shots, like you are looking right at it! Jamie took some really good photos while I was playing with the girls and their new gifts and they came out so good. We also went back down to Orchard Rd Christmas night and re-shot some of the lights.

Saturday we went to the Botanic Gardens and tried the camera out there. It's unbelievable how much better the photos are with this camera. I can't wait to "really" learn how to use it. Right now we are "accidentally" taking good photos!

We have been talking about getting a really good camera for a while but I was not expecting to get one this soon. It was the best gift!

I've got lots of photos to post, but our computer has decided to be a piece of crap and not install the disk. We ordered a new one this weekend so by the time it gets here I'll have a whole album for you to see!

Most of you realize that tomorrow is New Years Eve, but it is also Budders 7th birthday. After lots of searching I was able to find someone who does dog birthday cakes so I can't wait to see what it looks like. I'm sure I'll have lots of photos from that as well.

We have plans to meet some friends at Clarke Quay for dinner and drinks to ring in the New Year. I'm sure I'll have lots to post this weekend!

We hope everyone had a great Christmas and was able to spend lots of time with friends and family.

Have a safe and happy New Year, and we'll post again in 2009!!

Merry Christmas!!

I should have posted this before, but this will give you an idea of what I got to listen to while shopping, or riding in a taxi. They usually play the songs in English, but sometimes you will hear the popular songs in different dialects of Chinese as well. Hope you enjoy it! Christmas was good here, I'll post more later.

Merry Christmas from THE MCMILLAN'S (Jamie, Erica, Punkin & Budder)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkcPF8xW8Ow

Are You Serious??

Since Jamie and I are lucky enough to spend Christmas in Singapore by ourselves this year the mail route between Singapore and the US has been busy. We mailed out a big package, Jamie's parents mailed out a big package as well as a few small ones for me, and my mom mailed a big package as well. About three weeks have went by and only 1 package has managed to make it to it's destination. No one seems to know anything, and oh, in case you didn't know, scanning a package at each check point is optional for the post office. So even though they offer track and confirm they decide if you actually get to use it!

I sent out my package first and it arrived in the US (San Francisco to be exact) at 7:37 am on Dec 9th. Somehow, it still has not made it to customs for clearance. It's status reads "Inbound into Customs". So, yesterday I called the post office in the US. I was told that customs can hold my package for as long as they like. Why you ask, because they are customs and they got it like that, but I should receive a letter in 30-45 days IF there is a problem with it. Then I was hung up on, TWICE! Simply because I tried to ask a question. No, Really! Jamie was right beside me and will back me up that I did not get an attitude, not once!

The second person I spoke with gave me the info, and when I tried to ask if there was a number for customs that I could call I got out "Is there a " and he started in again. "Ma'am, I've already told you once, but I will paraphrase it for you again" and went on. When I tried to ask my question a second time he hung up on me. After I decided that was going nowhere I decide to call customs. I was then told by the customs agent that a status of "Inbound" means that it has not arrived at customs yet, and that it can take 3-5 days for the post office to transfer a package to them. They received it on the 9th, it is now the 18th, and they are at the same location. He then said "well, it's Christmas, I guess there's a lot of mail".

No, Really?!

So what I got out of all this is that the post office says that customs has my package, customs says that the post office never dropped it off, and all I really know for sure is that none of my families gifts or Christmas cards are going to get there on time. Great!

Next dilemma, Jamie's mom sent 2 packages out on the same date. One arrived yesterday (Thank god cause it was Jamie's big gift from me!!!), and the other was never scanned out of the post office it was dropped off at. 13 days later no one knows where my package is because it was not scanned, because scanning is optional!

I'm trying to look on the bright side, but it's hard to do when it's monsoon season, Budders' back has been bothering her, and I lost another strand of lights on my Christmas tree. So now I'm down to one, and, it's the row at the bottom of the tree that you can hardly see.

Merry Christmas Everyone! Hope your holidays are as fun filled as mine!