Bali!!!

I am sorry that is been so long since my last post. Things have gotten very hectic over here. The semester is wrapping up this week, and I had lots of grading to do and a test to make. I really cannot believe how quickly the time has flown by here. It certainly does not feel like I have been gone for almost six weeks. 

My friend Paul came to visit last week, and we took a quick weekend trip to Bali. We went with some friends from the Singapore program, my friend Stephanie, and some friends we've met here in Singapore. Bali is really very close to Singapore - about a two hour flight. On a side note, the non-US airlines are really nice. We flew Qatar and even though it was only a two hour flight, they served a full meal, free drinks, and unlimited movies and TV shows on your own TV screen. 

We left on Friday and came back super late (around 2am) on Sunday - so we got two full days in Bali. We stayed at an all inclusive resort that was very beautiful. Although Bali has a lot of temples and things to do, I mainly (read - entirely) just relaxed by the pool and the beach. The hotel had a swim up bar, so there is no way for that to go wrong!


Here are some pictures: 

 

I love Mango

Singapore has a giant sale during the months of May - June...it is literally called the Giant Singapore Sale. Obviously, being the shopper that I am- I love it!! Janet (another UB faculty member here) and I went shopping yesterday for at least 6 hours. The malls here are everywhere and crazy. We went to Vivo - it had a really great food court where we got really good local food. The top floor also has a wading pool and views of Sentosa (where I went my first weekend). I also ran into a store called Mango, which we don't have in the US. They were having the craziest sale. I am pretty sure everything in the store was 1/2 off (needless to say- I bought a lot of great stuff). Loved it. Anyhow, as usual, here are some pictures, mostly from the roof of the mall.

Pulau Ubin

So I went to visit an island of the coast of Singapore called Pulau Ubin. It is a very short ferry ride from Singapore to the island (you can see it from the shore). When you get there you rent bikes and ride around looking at the wildlife. It is really nice. I heard monkeys but did not see any. They must be hiding from me (I also missed them on Sentosa). Anyhow, I did see wild pigs, so I guess that makes up for it. Here are some pictures.

This is actually coming back from the island. It was sunset.

So there was an intense storm coming. We could hear the thunder and everything, but somehow it never rained on us. These are the clouds we saw though...

The island was right under the flight path for the airport. This was the airline/plane I flew in on...it was very nice.

Piglets!!

Orchard Road

Singapore has Orchard Road, which is basically a zillion malls with all sorts of stores (Louis Vuitton, Prada, Channel, etc). Anyhow, Mary Ann and I went there Friday night. It is so busy - there are tons of people. I fell in love with a store called Mango that we don't have in the U.S. It was nice. Anyhow, below are some pictures of Orchard Road. 

 So this is Emerald Hill. It is a nice place with bars and restaurants right off Orchard Road. So you can shop and then get a nice, cool Kilkenny.

 

My finds from shopping :-)

Carebear Power

Well, I can't believe that my semester here is halfway over. The time is really flying by. There are such great people over here with us and that I have met so far that it makes being away from home much easier. Outside of the program, I have a friend from high school that moved here a couple of weeks before I got here. It really is a small world. Though, I do thank goodness for Skype!! I am not sure what I would have done before the internet. 

The semester is in full swing. I am super busy prepping my class, grading, and what not. I also got some good news on the journal front and am working on a revise and resubmit and another submission. I still haven't seen some of the sights here in Singapore. I am looking forward to going to the Botanical Gardens this weekend for a concert in the park. That should be really fun. 

So, I saw this truck just driving around in Singapore. I have no idea what it is all about, but it is pretty funny.