"Life" in Asia

A couple of weeks ago I was so excited to have three very special visitors in Singapore.  You know those few people in the world who probably know you better than you know yourself and who have loved you for years and years (yes that would be including your super awkward tween years)?  I am lucky enough to have two girls that I have literally grown up with and who I am so happy to know that I feel just as close to today as I did when we became insperable in 7th grade.

Laura's wedding day

We lived through our lamest dorkiness - Backstreet Boy obsessing, butterfly clip wearing, and note passing days in junior high.

the young and dumb years :)

We were side by side through every drill team performance, prom, boyfriend (and subsequent breakup) and roadtrips in high school.
We have given Laura away to marry Grant, survived "big kid jobs", lived on separate continents, but despite real life trying to get in the way...we are still us.

LIFE (Anna, Laura, Giffin, Eden)

Needless to say, Eden, Laura and I have about a million memories to choose from and I can't imagine my life without them.  Hence why we have always referred to our little group as "Life" (minus Giffin who we missed very much!).  When I moved to Singapore, they told me to keep time in my second year open because Eden, Laura and Grant (Laura's husband) were saving to come see me.  I could not have been more thrilled!  After a year and a half, it finally came.

They arrived on a Sunday morning at 5:45am.  Since I work on Sundays at 9 am, I told them that I couldn't pick them up from the airport, but that if they took a taxi, I would get to see them for a few minutes before leaving for work.  Secretly, I was scheming to surprise them at the airport.  4:30 am my alarm went off, and I was in a cab by 4:45 am.  I got to the airport before the flight even landed so that I could be sure to spot them.  I stood anxiously staring between the entrance and their baggage claim area. An hour passed.  Flashbacks to Ellen's arrival flashed through my head.  Not again!  I frantically looked at other baggage claims, called immigration to see if three white people were being held for inappropriate behavior, and finally decided that I had to leave in order to be home in time to get ready for work.  I couldn't believe it!  Two minutes after getting into a taxi I got a call from Eden saying "We're here!!! We're almost to your place!"  HOW they managed to get past me I have NO idea...but they completely "Houdini"ed their way past me and into the taxi line without me seeing them.  My big surprise = epic fail...however it was a typical and hilarious way to start our time together.

Ultimate Fail.

They spent their first day sleeping off the brutal 24 hour flight odyssey.  That night they experienced their first real Indian food experience.  It was a BIG hit.  Then we went for a walk downtown to show them Orchard Road (the "Times Square" of Singapore).

Monday was touristy day.  We walked (and walked and walked) through the colonial areas of Singapore and through Little India.  Luckily Grant is a map expert (literally) and he had done his Singaporean research ahead of time.  He navigated us better than I probably could.  Eden had a bit of an issue with the humidity and heat ;).  It's definitely something that you just have to accept.  Sweat dripping down your back is a definite no matter what time of day you choose to go out.  That night we got dressed up and went to Chinatown for dinner and then for drinks at club on top of one of the tallest buildings in downtown called Altitude.  $18 gets you one free drink and a 360 degree panaramic view of the entire city.  It's pretty spectacular even on your 4th time up there.  After meeting up with some other teacher friends, we made our way to the Pump Room...an awesome dance club with local bands that play covers of all your typical "white people" party music - Journey, Lady Gaga, Britney...you name it!  It was so great to let loose and dance around like fools with my best friends.

the Cox's!

Never have I ever...been kicked out of a mosque in Little India

Tuesday we spent most of the day at the Botanical Gardens.  It's one of the prettiest places in Singapore and one of  the few spots where you won't hear obnoxious pop songs blaring in your ears or see a million people walking around playing on their i phones.  We walked through the main garden, the Orchid Garden and enjoyed lunch at the garden cafe. We left hot, sweaty and exhausted but it was an absolute blast.  My roommate, Kirsty, was nice enough to take pictures of all of us while we were there.  They are some of my favorites!

flashback to 14

hahaha

Tuesday night we ate Indian food again, but this time we had it delivered and ate it picnic style on the floor of my condo.  Then it was off to the Night Safari.  After whispering the super secret code "Get wild at Night Safari" and enjoying 20% off, we loaded up onto the tram and began the ride.  Night Safari is basically a zoo that doesn't have the typical glass/cage restrictions.  The animals are separated from the trams by deep ditches or electric fences so it appears that they could walk up to you at any minute.  We got to experience the lion roaring, wolves howling and the ever popular "really loud obnoxious Chinese group" talking behind us.

we were never good at this whole "growing up" thing

Wednesday morning we woke up very early to make our way to the ferry heading for Bintan, Indonesia.  Only about an hour away, Bintan is a great getaway spot for pretty beaches, cheap accommodation and yummy food.  There were 7 of us: Eden, Laura, Grant, Julian, Rachel, Staci and me.  It made it so much fun having a bigger group to hang out and laugh with.  We had SO much fun despite some minor setbacks - rain, broken snorkel equipment, rain, rain and more rain.  Luckily we had awesomely bad 90's music blaring over the loud speakers at our resort that resulted in a lot of spontaneous dance parties.  I'll let the pictures do the rest of the story-telling...

After our snorkeling "adventure"

nothing beats this

Leaving a space for our Giffin - we missed you!

BEST Forrest Gump impressionist EVER!

Pretty much what it looked like the whole second day

catching a few rays on Day 1

dance party while waiting for the rain to stop...which it never did

Mr. BagMan makes his debut

completely overtaking the karaoke machine...Chinese people take it WAY too seriously

Their last day was Saturday, so after I worked all day (boo), we met up and headed into town for an amazing dinner.  Eden's birthday is June 22nd and mine is July 3rd, so we have always liked combining our birthdays when we can.  It was a bitter sweet dinner since we knew they had to get back to pack their things and head towards the airport by 11 pm.

the last supper

Here's to 25 :)

Unfortunately that was the end of our awesome week in Singapore together.  We did one final three-way hug and that's when the tears started.  Bless Grant and Julian's hearts...as we started our sobfest, their reaction was "Well, I guess we'll just load the car."

I was a slobbering mess as they got into the taxi and for a while afterwards, but I am still SO happy that I got to share some of my new life with my old life.  It is such a relief to know that whatever part of my life I might be in, they are two of the people that will always be a part of it.

For Life.