Chingay Parade and Update

The Chinese New Year festivities are still going on here! I think they are coming to an end, but I'm beginning to think it might be a year round event, we even saw a lion dance again last night. Last weekend Jason and I decided to check out the "final" parade to celebrate Chinese New Year, The Chingay Parade.

Since we haven't blogged in awhile I'll give you some more of an update on what we have been doing here, even though we don't have the photos to match :). I have been working with a local photographer here in Singapore, Yu Hsin of TinyDot Photography, and he has been taking me along on all his wedding photoshoots, whew it is not easy photographing in the 90 degree sweltering heat and being creative! Luckily he does all the posing, I just get to take it all in and find other artistic angles. I also met a lot of nice Aussie women the past few weeks and I met a nice South African girl who is here with her husband who is Danish. Looks like we will have friends all over the world soon!

Jason is enjoying the job at Roche, even though he has an hour commute to the other side of the island and his bus leaves at 6:40am! He says it is like working for a totally different company since there are so many differences. He got his first Singapore haircut yesterday and I think its the best haircut he has ever had (except from Sara of course)! Although the guy sort of scared us in the beginning when he jokingly said they only give one haircut at the salon, so you want a buzz cut yes? Wouldn't that be the day that Jason gets a buzz cut! Oh and I almost forgot that he probably got the best head massage he has ever got either by an Asian man :)

We have both had challenges in the clothing department. I went to buy a pair of shorts and when I asked for the next size up they said I had reached the max, it was an XL! (Talk about a confidence booster). Jason's bunny suits (his white suit that he has to wear on the manufacturing floor) looks more like capri pants and a 3/4 sleeve shirt when he is all suited up. I guess we will have to play more tennis (which we have been doing, despite the heat) and eat less yummy food (which we can't seem to get enough of).

Ok more to come soon! Here are our Parade photos:

Probably the most dangerous thing we have seen here! Firecrackers 2 feet away from us with debris flying near our eyes and probably over 100 decibels in sound!!

I think this little guy was commenting on the fact that Jason had the same glasses as him :)

AND...whats a parade with out Storm Troopers right? So random...

The Singapore Flyer - a ferriswheel that moves super slow to show you all of Singapore. You can even rent it out for dinner or a wedding in the boxes! Want us to do that for our wedding?

Our Epic Trip to Malaysia

So 32 bug bites, 23 hours of traveling, 12 trips to the bathroom of squatting toilets, 4 painful sunburns, 2 seasick girls, 1 ordeal at customs, and a ferry captain that can't drive a ferry landed us on the beautiful island of Tioman in Malaysia.

Needless to say despite all of the above that now sounds like the 12 days of Christmas song we had a long but memorable journey to Malaysia! We thought it would be fun to book a trip over the Chinese New Year, since Jason had two extra days off, needless to say there was probably a reason this was the last trip that was available when booking, although we all decided we would probably go back but fly there instead, since that only takes 45mins from Singapore instead of 13 hours on a bus and ferry. And we might go back just to drink the 50 cent beers :) which are no where to be found in Singapore!

The island itself was beautiful but very different from the Singapore bubble we have grown accustomed to over the past couple of weeks. We took the trip with our new friends, Katie and Quinn. Quinn and Jason are working together and Katie and I are hanging out most days figuring out Singapore. The full day that we were there we went snorkeling in the South China Sea and ate some great fish at a local Chinese Seafood Restaurant. We saw a family of monkey's at our resort (resort should be used loosely) and quite a few HUGE lizards!

So our relaxing journey to the white sand beaches of Malaysia ended up being a rough trip. Next time we will know what to do during Chinese New Year - stay home and eat mandarins! (Oranges are given during Chinese New Year to symbolize wealth and good fortune in the coming year)

Some pictures with the point and shoot from Tioman Island (a land far far away):

Finally Here!!!

Setting off to find cheap beer :)

Berjaya Resort

Apparently helmets are not a law here...just another family outing on the scooter

Grouper "Fred" Fish

I was getting clever with my framing at the beach....

Quinn and Katie :)

A nice shade of red

Our Chinese Seafood Restaurant at night

We thought since the ferry only took an hour that the bus ride home would be a breeze...we arrived at the ferry station at 1:30 for a 2pm departure, the bus didn't leave until 6pm, we had some time to kill! And we were the only ones there...

Chinatown - Gearing up for Chinese New Year! Year of the Tiger!

Noodles, beer and dumplings were probably the only way we would have survived the crowds in Chinatown as they gear up for Chinese New Year! The amount of people that flocked to the tiny streets of Chinatown were incredible, it was like a Disneyland line that doesn't move.

This year it is the year of the Tiger, check out the predictions for the new year:

The Year of the Tiger begins on February 14th 2010. Drama, intensity, change and travel will be the keywords for 2010. Unfortunately, world conflicts and disasters tend to feature during Tiger years also, so it won’t be a dull 12 months for anyone. The Year of the Tiger will bring far reaching changes for everyone. New inventions and incredible technological advances have a good chance of occurring. For all of the Chinese horoscope signs, this year is one to be active – seizing opportunities and making the most of our personal and very individual talents. Everything happens quickly and dramatically in a Tiger year – blink and you could miss an important chance of a lifetime!

We agree with the last line and hope we saturate this experience of a lifetime we are having in Singapore!

Here's a video to give you a feel for the crowd ---> and this is Jason and Quinn's ad for Bio Socks, the first sock that claims to eliminate odor :)

Quinn in the crowd

They were selling Chia Pets - but apparently they are just lucky grass heads :)

We thought these would be good fruit treat - I think we all took one bite and spit them out, they were persimmons covered in flour - double trouble for your mouth drying up in the heat

Sausages!

Kirsty these are for you!!

Thought it would only be appropriate to take a break and drink some Tiger beer for Year of the Tiger

Our first picture together in Singapore!

Chopsticks galore~

They say if you see a line in Singapore to get in it - so we did and had amazing Chinese food!

Waiting in line...

The best Little Juicy Steamed Meat Dumplings!

Jason got this great shot of this little girl making popsicles - looks like a Coke ad

Looks like TRUE LOVE!!...with my new camera and lens!!