The blog continues tomorrow with Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Barring technical issues I should be blogging again tomorrow!

On the fifth day we rested

Its been five days since we arrived in Singapore and time has just flown by. The pace has been suprisingly hectic, so today has been a day of rest. Lionardo has spent alot of time with uncle P, playing lego stars wars on the PS2 and chatting about the night safari.I had my last shopping adventure - I got my red shoes!(se pictures under post " I love red shoes). Kim did a walkabout on Orchard.

I made a final trip to the food pusher for prathas with mutton curry, fried okra and spicy pickled vegetables. sigh. A little packing ... a little blogging and tomorrow, its time to move on to KL.

I leave the Singapore part of blog with Views From Orange Grove Road to Orchard Road (nb. post " observations while getting a late supper on monday night")

On Orange Grove Rd. looking down toward Orchard Rd.

Looking up the road towards Shangri-La

Where grove meets orchard

The sign that says it

The corner of Claymore and Orchard, the location of the infamous Orchard Tower and hang-out spot for the Girls

At Orchard Tower with 7 eleven on the ground floor and the Food Pushers in the basement. This is the 7-eleven from mypost " observations while getting a late supper on monday night"

And then there was lunch

Hanging at the hotel - chilling, when the urge to shop hits me. So gathering the troops, we walk down Orchard Road to Lucky Plaza. Underpasses are a piece of cake with a local guiding (that would be uncle P). To be fair Kim has a great sense of direction and we were there in no time. Miracle og miracles - Lionardo walked down with us.

Such bliss to shop.

And then there was lunch, which we bought at Lucky Plaza food court. Here come more foodie pictures:

There is always at least one stand with the chinese trinity of roasts - pork loin, pork belly and duck

Mixed rice, which is to say pick as many dishes as you like to go with your rice and pay accordingly

The mixed crowd

My personal favourite - Yong Tau foo, which is beancurd and vegetables stuffed with fish paste and served with a broth along with a hot sauce and a sweet sauce.

And what did we get:

This is lunch and here comes the break-down

Yong Tau foo in a curry broth enriched with coconut cream and prawn paste

Fine egg noodles with roast pork loin, roast pork belly and minced pork and shrimp dumplings

 Mixed rice with fried fish, sweet and sour pork and fried chinese greens

Mixed rice ala uncle P, which means no vegetables - sweet and sour pork, braised pork and braised beancurd

And finally Gado-Gado, an indonesian blanched vegetable salad with spicy peanut sauce. It tastes good but makes an ugly picture so no picture



Foodie pictures - my standard breakfast

Here are the pictures as proof of the calorie bomb I call breakfast:

1. Steamed rice cakes with prawn dressing & fried noodles (with chili sauce), 2. Muesli with the works, 3. French toast and maple syrup.

All washed down pink guava juice and tons of hot jasmine tea. Yum - can't wait for breakfast tomorrow. Actually I am on my way to the local food pusher to get lots of prathas and curry for dinner. Later :-)

I love red shoes

Hans Christian Andersen warns against red shoes; not me, l love red shoes. This pair is inspired by Orchard Tower ;-)

 

What to do on a tuesday?

Definately breakfast at the horizon club on the 24th floor. I do my usual calory bomb: pink guava juice and water followed by Dim sum (4 pcs.) and a taste of noodles , a pipping hot pot of jasmine tea, a nice bowl of muesli sweetened with honey topped with raspberries and blueberries and finally 2 slices for cinnamon french toast with maple syrup. Love a good breakfast :-)

Next, do some shopping - nice Lacoste sale, 50 % - I just love Tangs. Then some sun and fun at the pool before visiting Auntie W.L.

Relaxed after a gin&tonic and snacks - ipoh cookies, jam tarts and love letters - I watch the boys having fun at Auntie's pool. Followed by a little playtime for Lionardo and Auntie W.L's boys. Yummy dinner: homemade claypot rice.

Yikes - late and it is time to get back to the hotel. Lionardo and Kim to bed and me to blog. I love being on holiday.

Observations while getting a late supper on monday night

Lionardo and Kim were busy getting ready for bed while I was playing the hunter/gatherer, that ventured out into the wild night that is Singapores Orchard st. Seriously it was very warm and very safe.

I walked down to the usual food pusher for some Hong Kong fried noodles, crispy fried squid salad and fried Kai Lan with oyster sauce. All sooooo delicious. I was supposed to be focused and get the drinks while the food was being prepared but...watching the cooks I stood amazed; these men (one thin and one stout) were so good even acrobatic with woks, knives and ladles, swinging and twirling. The cap of a bottle of dark vinegar was neatly shaved off in a move so smooth you would have thought it was a bottle of champagne. Dark shirt clad security types having supper at one table. A modest looking woman with a stack of fifty dollar notes needing change. What?!  oh yes reality check this is a normal nocturnal activity for this part of Orchard rd.

Got my food and went up to the 7-eleven passing girls hard at work. Apparently mandays are not slow. Many sweaty steps later and in the cold of the room Kim and I enjoy our cool tiger beer and great take-away.

Mummy - we need to do the night safari too

At four in the afternoon - enjoying our Ben & Jerry's - we were exhausted. Lionardo still wanted to do the Night safari but he accepted that the "old ones" needed a rest.

Back at the hotel - an hour later I got my second wind. Lionardo had a quick dinner and at six we were on our way to the Night safari (sans uncle Patrick). After the "mandatory" picture at the entrance we were queing up to get in with Lionardo engaged in his PSP. Then another queue for the "Creatures of the night" show, which amazing as usual - wolf, spotted hyena, civet cat, binturong.

This is the only place I know of that gives you the opportunity to observe all sorts of nocturnal animal behaivour. Ranging from the himalays to marsh lands and jungles. We saw mountain goats, deer, tigers, wolves, tapirs, rhinos, wild water buffalo......


So One show and 2 longs tram-trips and we were DONE.

pictures: 1. Us and a snake, 2. The amphiteatre for the show, 3. The civet cat, 4. The host showing recycling - otter style, 5. The aluminium otter

The Singapore Zoo - we love it

So Lionardo has been looking forward to this part of the trip for a very long time. Going to Singapore Zoo with Uncle P was a huge success 2 years ago. So it was early to bed sunday evening.

The day started grey and dull - rain, rain go away. Fortunately after breakfast the rain stopped and we ( the usual suspects and uncle P) were off to the zoo. By 11 am we were at the zoo queing up for tickets behind a russian-speaking guy that kept flicking his fingers at his son's head in spite of the internationally recognized "auu";hmm...family interaction!? I digress (not uncommon)

11.30 we were booked on our private "behind the scenes" guided tour of the rainforest and reptiles. WOW - we held snakes, heard a rattler, touched a leopard gecko and last but not least fed archer fish. Those fish can shoot. 16.00 - a boat trip, tram trip and a white tiger feeding later - we out of the zoo. WOW

A few shots:

pictures: 1. on our behind the scenes tour, 2. White tiger feeding, 3. Front row seats for the feeding, 4. A less dramatic feeding - pygmy hippo, 5. A young batchelor proboscis

Father forgive me - it has been 48 hrs. since my last blog

Yesterday was totally La Vida Loca - we did both the Singapore zoo and Singapore night safari, which was wicked mad. So I'm going to follow this public service message up with 2 separate post for the zoo and safari. Read on and beware

Pool du jour

Pictures: 1. Inspecting the pool at Uncle P's complex; 2. Enjoying the pool with Uncle P & daddy; 3. Acclimatizing to the pool area @ Shangri-La; 4. Ninjago warriors ready to try the Shang pool

Foodie pictures - hawker food at Orchard Tower

pictures: 1. Patrick ordering grilled sting-ray; 2. View of the customers; 3. Selection of Indian Muslim food; 4. Chinese goodies; 5. The duck and the pork - yum

Why can't you just walk down Orchard road

After an exhausting day by the pool and my waxing session (almost fell asleep during the full leg waxing with some wicked Adele remixes blasting my earbuds) I had to do some shopping. Orchard Road seemed ripe for plunder - so here we come. I gathered the family and off in a taxi we went. A quick trip to the Lego shop (and 4 sets later) the boys were done. Off they went on a taxi back to the hotel while La vida loca dictated that I after my shopping should walk back down Orchard Rd to the Hotel (approx. 15 mins according to my brother).

YOU CANNOT WALK STRAIGHT DOWN ORCHARD RD! They have underpasses and soon I was like a mole sticking my head out every underpass entrance - sniffing "is this the right exit?"

All this left me hot, tired and too much in a hurry to check out the action in front of Orchard Rd. Although I did notice that the girls had some serious shoe bling.

OK boys and girls enough La vida Loca - speaking of which Shang's Oreo cheesecake slice is not half bad. Sorry on pics - ate it all. Perhaps I would have to buy a new slice - just to take a picture. hmmmm.
Seriously next entry - pictures for today.

Autism log: Nye ting og gamle kendinger; new things and old acquintances

Gosh its late. I will do the danish translation tomorrow - her is the english revision

Our journey so far has been a mix of new things and old acquintances. The lesson we have learnt is that old acquintances make adapting to new things easier for Lionardo. Although some things are still not open for discussion- The milk will apparently never taste the same as the one particular brand of organic milk in Denmark. Bread must not have any grains og "bits". No presents og gifts from strangers (read airline/hotel staff).

Travelling made easier with old acquintance: 1. security check is no longer a nightmare of "NOOOOO!!!"; 2. interaction with security staff  - "mummy always beeps going through the metal detector".  3. Lionardo eats pot-noodles at the lounge (he tried instant noodles for the first time two days previously). 4. Waiting at the gate only brings normal irritation - no melt-downs! 5. Transit in Frankfurt was a dream - had to pinch ourselves several times

Eating made easier: 1. Going to uncle Patricks without the standard survival kit of leverpate and rye bread - survived. 2. Lionardo tried some different leverwurst and darker rye bread, some complaints but no meltdown. 3. Had dinner at uncle Patricks! The norm is eating where we stay - in this case at the hotel. 4. Ate the meatballs I made for dinner even though they did not taste the same as at home!

Swimming: 1. Lionardo getting in the pool with very little hesitation (2 yrs since his last dip in a pool) 2. Lionardo telling uncle patrick all about going swimming lessons at school when he gets back. And best of all 3. Lionardo not having a meltdown because his face got wet!

På vejen til Singapore/ On the way to Singapore

Pictures: 1. Frankfurt, 2. vores sæder/our seats, 3. vores første glimt af Singapore/ the first glimpse of Singapore

 

Pictures from the journey

Jeps - no problems uploading pictures. Still haven't quite figured out the problem with video upload.
Ups - messed up date. Going to change that now.
Time to do bilingual titles. Now does this babel fish go in the ear???

Lionardo at Frankfurt airport - kids lounge

WT...its a quarter past ten in the am

Lionardo introduced me to a new form of dreaming. Last night the boy was in bed, giggling and laughing. His reply to my stern "its time to sleep" - " You know I'm asleep. Mummy- I'm just having a happy dream"
So we finally fall asleep and WT...its 10.15 am and the breakfast buffet closes in 15 min. La Vida Loca we had lunch at eleven.

Hausfrau won

Yes - rest of wednesday and most of thursday was devoted to my inner hausfrau. Yes i did use dust covers. Then it was off to the airport. Now approximately 27 hours later - the inner crazy is definately winning. More to come on La vida loca.

La vida loca comes at a cost

My bold declaration on FB - La vida loca is my theme for this holiday. The cost....before living the crazy life is that my inner Hausfrau has full reign. Packing, cleaning and putting things away. Even considering covering things with dust covers. As soon as that is done - LA VIDA LOCA!

Place your bets ladies and gents will the "crazy" conquer the Hausfrau

Lets get this show on the road

Goddag kære venner -  I overmorgen starter turen til østen og "tails for the walking whale" starter officielt :-) Men en lille soft start skader ikke. Vores første blog - spændende - vær forberedt på en masse mislykker og halv færdige billeder. Bloggen er et forsøg på at involvere Lionardo i en alternativ kommunikationskanal til skolen og venner. Bloggen suppleres med en ugentlig video samtale med skolen. Jeps - spændende. Nu vil jeg forsøge at oploade en lille klip af Lionardo og "mormor" (som er farmor :-))