From Cincy to S'pore: The many "S's" of Singapore: Sights, Smells & SWEAT

So I have decided that Singapore is like Ground Hog Day. Every day you wake up and the weather is exactly the same. There is really no reason to even check the weather report, because you are pretty much guaranteed that it will be 86, high humidity and at some point it is going to rain. What does this mean? Well if you are Singaporean it means you try to stay in the air con as much as possible and avoid walking anywhere. This is why restaurants and shopping are so popular in Singapore.

However, I like to take in the nice weather and walk as much as possible (plus seen that I don't have a car...it is a cheaper option than taking a taxi everywhere). Every morning when I put the kids on the giant greyhound bus to school, I set off on my morning run/walk. I try to go between 4-5 miles, along the Singapore River. It is a lovely stretch...but at 8:00 a.m. it is already 86 and 70% humidity, so I'm dripping with sweat long before I reach the first stop light.

It is also pointless to really try to do anything with your hair other than wear it pulled up in a pony tail. There have been a few days where I have been motivated to style my hair, but then end up pulling it up within about 15 minutes of being outside.

So I have determined that Singapore = Sweat. But there are also some interesting smells in Singapore too. Some good, some not so pleasant. Like the not so pleasant smell coming from our Jack & Jill bathroom. So since the first week we moved into the condo, there has been a pungent odor (i.e., sulphur) coming from this bathroom. We tried running water in all the drains, we constantly flushed the toilet, nothing worked. So I began calling building maintenance...which has now become my daily routine. Everyday I call and complain, and then every other day they send some idiots out to look around and tell me that they "can't smell anything". I have finally resorted to locking up this bathroom, placing towels in front of the doors to block the escape of odors, and continue my daily calling.

Another not so pleasant smell is of rotting meat from the wet market. So the wet markets in Singapore are a bit like a Farmer's Market without the yuppie following. This is where the locals go to buy their fresh fruits, veggies and meats. If you can stand the smell of the occasional rotting animal, you can get some pretty great deals on food. So on Saturday the four of us decided to go experience all that the wet market has to offer. We got some great produce, and some nice flowers...but then we made a wrong turn and headed down and aisle that had me and Addison retching and Isla claiming "she didn't want any of that".

On Sunday, we took in some Singapore sights and visited the Asian Civilisations Museum where they have Terracotta Warriors on display. The terracotta army was buried near the tomb of the First Emperor of China, so that he would have an army in the afterlife. Each warrior has unique facial features and clothing. There were more than 6000 of these soldiers buried in the tomb.