Weekends in Singapore

On Sunday morning, I met up with my friend Will, whom I had met in 2008 when we were both Humanity in Action fellows. Will took me to Chinatown to grab breakfast. More delicious food!

It was great to catch up after so long, even though our reunion was rather brief as we both had to head to church. 

My grandma had told me the pastor preaching was quite funny, so I was looking forward to his sermon. He was pretty entertaining, even if I didn't catch all of his amusing quips in Chinese. 

After church, we went to lunch at a nearby food court, because May and I were meeting our cousins for a picnic in the Botanical Gardens. Singapore's food courts are incredible!

After lunch, our aunt gave us a ride to the gardens, where May and I promptly started sweating profusely as we walked toward our meeting point. Took us about ten minutes to find them. 

More food, family, and fun!

Our uncle actually found a HUGE wild iguana or something sleeping next to a lake. Not sure how the heck he saw it through all the trees (and on a quiet side path, no less), but I guess that's why he has the ranking of a US Green Beret. 

For size comparison, here is my 8 1/2 year old cousin standing about 15 feet away from it. 

The Botanical Gardens were quite beautiful. Lots to see, including the 150 year old tree on the five dollar bill. 

After an afternoon of humid fun, we went to dinner together. We have such a big family, we squeezed ourselves into two huge tables. But only half our family was even there!

My cousin Kenneth had invited me to grab drinks with him in the evening, so when everyone left from dinner, May and I joined Kenneth and his girlfriend Mavis at a bar nearby. I liked the scene. Quiet yet still lively -- basically not crazy. 

We had a case of the munchies after our drinks, so we went to get some more food. Yum. 

All in all, a very good weekend. Also, Sunday was/is my dad's birthday, so a throwback in his honor. Haha. Happy Birthday, Dad!