We finally made it to Singapore after our long journey! I'm gonna catch everyone up on the last two weeks since I am kind of behind on our blog, sorry!!! We are just so busy!! We first went to Hawaii with Ben's family for 8 days which was so much fun and a much needed vacation! We got to ride in first class on our way there with champagne service and seats that laid completely flat! It was the easiest 8.5 hour plane ride I've ever been on! We stayed on Oahu in Kailua (the same place Obama spent his Christmas vacation, we actually shared a beach with him). Ben's mom rented a very nice house right on the beach! We did so many things while we were there including boogie boarding, snorkeling, a luau, golfing, hula dancing, surfing, the list goes on! We spent new years there and we felt like we were in the middle of a war zone because of all of the "bomb like" fireworks going off all around us from 7pm till about 2 am! All in all, it was a great family trip before we headed to Singapore. We left on the 4th of January for Manila where we spent the night during our 14 hour layover. We stayed at the Astoria Plaza Hotel which was decent. The bed was as hard as a rock so we didn't really get much sleep. We were kind of disappointed in Manila. It was very dirty and crowded (reminded me of Bangkok). The people were very nice though! Then we left for Singapore on the 6th (only a 3.5 hour flight from Manila but an 18 hour time difference from Hawaii time!!!). When we arrived to Singapore we couldn't keep our jaws from dropping from the beauty of this tiny island! It is so tropical here, and lush! Everything is so clean and modern, just my kind of country! The hospitality here is unmatched! They are so welcoming to the abundant expats who share their country for short periods of time. Our serviced apartment (Orchard Parksuites) is wonderful! It is right in the center of downtown Singapore, but it isn't as chaotic as you would expect with 4.5 million people here! We only get to stay here for 30 days though and then we have to find our own place, preferably somewhere near downtown. Our first day/evening was fun! We walked across the street from our hotel to Wisma Atria, a mall among many malls, with a food court called Food Republic. It has all kinds of Japanese, Chinese, Indian, and Thai stalls. We ate a late lunch there at two different places. I have eaten at this Japanese stall every day since we have been here! The sushi is amazing and cheap!! Then we came back to the room after shopping around and tried calling our families on Skype but didn't have any luck. The 14 hour time difference doesn't help. But I got to talk to Kristie on ichat which was so awesome! We eventually reached our family the next day! I am so thankful for video chat, I think it will really help us not get so homesick while we are here. Yesterday we spent all day "working". We got our employment passes, Ben's Jurong Island Pass (so he can get to work which is on another island), and set up our phone service. We got free 3G iPhones, since we signed a two year agreement with Singtel, which was awesome!! And then we ate dinner with our friends, Jacquie and David, who are expats over here as well. David works with Ben and Jacquie works for Shell over here. It was good to hang out with them and talk to Americans who have been here for a couple of months already. The taxis are fairly cheap (about S$5-10) and the MRT is super easy to ride and figure out. I don't know about driving on the other side of the road though....might leave that one to Ben...
Well, thats it for today. Make sure to check out our "Project 365" album. We are going to try to take a picture a day for 365 days which should be fun. My friend did it on her blog and I thought it was a cute idea. Stay tuned for more about our adventures!!! We can't wait till family and friends come visit us!!! We love you all and miss you very much!!
God Bless,
The Jackmans
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