I want more Singapore

Ok, Singapore was one of the coolest places I’ve ever been.  What a shocker city. I felt like I was in a movie of the future.  We were only there for 4 days as a Navy morale booster after working so hard in Cambodia, and our LDSC group took advantage of every day.

To start with, Singapore is so much like the States in richness level, but it has its own Asian influence.  The city is all A: Hotel Skyscrapers, B: HUGE MONSTER malls, or C: Apartments.  Each building is incredibly unique.  Either its shape is super different and weird, or the decorations on the building are super cool, or they add lights to it and give your eyes a lot to look at. Everywhere you look is a postcard picture. Every street has huge rows of green towering trees and greenery filling in any space. The city is super lush and tropical. It is so beautiful. 

Alright DAY 1: RAINFOREST ADVENTURE

            We took the MRT (monorail public transportation) to a section of town and got out and walked about 10 mins and found the start of our trail. It’s a park right in the city, but this was no central park.  It is a JUNGLE in the city. Once you enter, you only hear sounds of monkeys, or bugs, or just beautiful silence (which is non-existant on the ship) and you are surrounded by green everywhere. We walked and walked like pioneer children for about 2 hours and came across our goal- the canopy bridge!!!  They had a suspension bridge that crossed the canopy so we could look out and see the miles of forest we were surrounded in.  We had to face the guardian of the bridge before we could cross- an angry monkey. He decided to let us cross after showing his teeth.  The view was incredible.  We walked another hour and came out of the park and then BAM you’re right back in the city and buildings come out of nowhere.  Like a popup book. So then we went to a “Hawker Center” to get food. Its just an outdoor food court where the stores line up in a ring and you eat at tables in the center.  All the food was wacky asian food.  I could have gotten fried chicken feet, but then a beautiful thing happened. Me, Georgia, and Amy found a little jem.  We found an Indian food stall and ordered from there the best meal I’ve had probably this whole year.  Murtabak+prata+ Roji John+ spicy rice+ some curry sauce= heaven. Pure deliciousness in my mouth. We spent the entire meal talking about how much we loved it.  Seriously. Nothing else was spoken but praise for Indian food.

Ok moving on.

Day 2: Chinatown and Little india

            This day was really really cool too.  I found some great local art, bought a fun church dress, and walked around in a huge poncho.  It downpoured so I looked awesome with my backpack under a poncho that said “London Tours”, and walking around 5 feet wide.  Indian people laughed at me. But that’s ok because I was as touristy looking as it gets.  Me, Karen, and Lizzie walked into a random Indian food court, ordered something we had no idea what it was and tried it out.  We were the only white people in sight and totally out of our element. And that’s what made my day.  I am loving this cultural immersion and all my experiences trying so many new things.  My mind is being opened as I am learning about other cultures.  It fascinates me and teaches me something different each time I get off the boat.  I can’t really express all the feelings I have about this Mercy trip.  But I am realizing how much I love travel and change, cultures, and trying new things.  This experience is definitely changing my outlook and my life.

Day 3: Sentosa Island

            Beach day.  We also got a “family package” deal and bought tickets for a LUGE! We went on a short ski lift to the top of a hill, and raced down in little go carts/luges. No accidents or casualties.  Just pure fun. We explored the little island off of Singapore and then came back to the actual Island and had yes- more Indian Food. Glorious Indian food. Once again we were the only white people there in a bustling food court of mixed cultures. So cool.  Something that made the trip even better is that I was surrounded by people I love who were appreciating the same small and large joys and fun things as I was. 

Day 4: CHURCH THE BEST DAY EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

            Ok, I haven’t been in a church building in almost 2 months and I finally got to go to one!!! We took the MRT to the church building and its huge! 4 floors! And so beautiful! We definitely stood out because LDSC says that we have to just wear our uniforms so we went in our great little blue polos and khakis. Oh how I love our outfits. Oh well, it doesn’t matter. So we enjoyed a wonderful Church block/service/ whatnot and after, we talked to a way cool lady. Her name is Kris. She was born and raised in Singapore, Joined the church at 21, served a mission a year later (in Singapore), and then 5 years later, married one of her converts!! How cool is that? Maybe I should try that out…just kidding. Totally kidding. Anyway, She is so bright and happy and strong.  She invited me and Georgia and our group over to her apartment but all 35 of us probably would have made the apartment feel like a closet so me and Georgia got a smaller group together and agreed on a time to meet for dinner at her place.  Meanwhile… about 7 of us in the LDSC group had small world encounters with the members at church. Here’s mine:  I walked out of church because we were getting ready to go and I saw Elders coming and one looked familiar so I just stared at him.  I thought this kid was serving in Switzerland but no, he’s not. This guy was in my freshman ward at BYU and we ran into each other in Singapore!! How crazy is that!??  It was really cool to run into him since I obviously haven’t seen him in 2 years.  And one Elder I met is from my Roommate’s hometown and knows her.  Wow.  Ok back to the other great part of the amazing day.  So then we went to the Botanical Gardens of Singapore and it was free (woop woop! nothing in Singapore is free!)  and after seeing a wide variety of botanical things, we went to dinner at Kris’s.  I gotta wrap things up.  Suffice it to say…the food was SO SO good. The company was SO SO good. And it was the perfect ending to our Sabbath. It meant so much to our group (we brought 8) to be able to keep the Sabbath day holy and relax and have fun. What a trip man.