Come again in another place where we're not traveling and have only limited time to enjoy ourselves outdoors!"
On the morning of our first full day in Singapore, we slept in and opened the blinds to reveal an ominously cloudy sky. We opted to walk around Clarke Quay in search of a coffee shop or bakery, but as Clarke Quay is the nightlife center of Singapore, morning vittles are not exactly its raison d'etre. We did manage to get caught in the rain, but as luck would have it, much of Clarke Quay is covered by a canopy 10 or 15 metres (that's metric, y'all!) overhead. We settled for breakfast at the hotel.
By the time we returned to our room after breakfast, the shower we frolicked in just moments before (yes, Robin and Huey frolic, and we believe everyone should frolic, or at least scamper, as often as possible) was now a major downpour, which darkened the city and confined us to our hotel room. Huey seized the opportunity to catch up on e-mail, journal, and blog, while Robin opted to read, which, of course, leads to napping. The rain let up, and Robin awoke from her nap and took a walk around Clarke Quay while Huey continued to work. It wasn't long, though, before Robin rushed back to the room to advise Huey that there was something at the Royal Selangor shop that was "perfect" for the wedding and that he had to see. If you know Robin, you know how persuasive she can be; if you know Huey, you know he can't say no to Robin. Cutting to the chase, it's a CAKE serving set and it IS "perfect" (DUH!!! It's used to serve CAKE!!!), so we have purchased the first of many items for our wedding.
How many times has this happened to you? You're at a business function, conference, or boy band reunion, you make an acquaintance and exchange cards with someone from some far off place you just KNOW you'll never visit, and you vow to "keep in touch." Inevitably, one of you will utter that hackneyed cliche that usually goes something like this:
"Hey, the next time you're on Mars, give me a call. We'll get together and have blarg!"Both of you know you'll never visit the other, but you say it anyway. Exactly two years ago, at a conference in Toronto, a colleague of Huey's said "If you ever make it to Singapore, let me know. We'll show you around." Well, guess what...?
Robin and Huey met his trademark lawyer colleague Tasneem Haq, a native Singaporean, and her husband Daniel for dinner this evening at Satay King in Clarke Quay, had after dinner drinks at Cuba Libre in Clarke Quay, then had coffee and shortbread at their flat in the Western part of the island. We got a chance to see Singapore away from the tourist areas and the thriving nightlife and through the eyes of someone born and raised there. It is one of the highlights of the VacAsian to date. Thanks, Tasneem and Dan!
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