Darin's birthday weekend - posted by Maggie

Today, Monday July 31st is Darin's 40th birthday. So the entire weekend was a celebration, packed full of new adventures.
Cultural Training - Singapore 101The weekend started off with a local Singaporean named Keith that came to out aparment to train us in Singaporean culture. It was a lot of fun and we learned so much about the culture here as well as some interesting historical factoids. Here are a few examples:
4 million people live on the island of Singapore
1 million of those are expatriates (25 % of the population)
Singapore is only 41 years old
Only 10% of Singaporeans hold a university education
Always present your business card with two hands, and accept someone elses with two hands (don't bend it or place it quickly in your pocket or wallet!)
You feet are considered unclean - never use your foot to move an object or touch another person.
Your left hand is also considered unclean. Never hand anything to another person using your left hand.
Later on, Keith took us for authentic Chinese Dim Sum in Chinatown. Dim Sum means "small pieces going straight to your heart". The servers push little carts around containing small dishes (like "tapas") and you just nod when you want something. We had spring rolls, salad, shrimp dumplings, fried fish and more. It was delicious! For dessert they offered us a dish made from bird saliva! I declinedand had the mango pudding instead.
Sentosa Island:On Sunday, Darin and I went on a special excursion to Sentosa Island, described in magazines as " an island resort that's just minutes from the Central Business District, yet a world away from the bustle of the city!".
We arrived via cable car (that moves horizontally for the most part, not up or down) from Mount Faber (which isn't really a mountain but a hill covered in rain forest - very pretty). The island is full of entertainment and attractions such as Underwater World, The Merlion and Cinemania. But we mainly wanted to go walk on the beach and go to the famous Spa Botanica at the Sentosa Resort and Spa.
The had a nice lunch on Siloso beach and then headed to the Spa. It was absolutely breathtaking. Set amidst the lush rainforest, we were led to an outside pavillion where we could hear peacocks and falling water whilst enjoying obscenely indulgent pampering with a 90-minute massage. After that we had a mud bath where you cover your entire body and face with mineral mud. We felt relaxed and rejuvenated, and went back to the city to have dinner by the river (yes, we washed the mud off before going back to the city).
See more pictures on Photoworks.com (link will open in new window)