Our Life in Singapore: Hippo Tour, Solo Style!

We are over the moon excited right now b/c we're less than a month away from the arrival of our very close friends, Keith and Sophie...we can't wait until their visit!! We want to make the very best of their time in Singapore and give them as many options as possible for things they might want to do. So, that being said, the open top bus tour in Hong Kong got me thinking that I should check out the same type of tour here in Singapore to see if it's worth bringing K & S on. Unfortunately (for me anyway) I had to go at this tour alone. I grabbed my backpack (always good to have in Singapore for unforeseen purchases) and threw my camera around my neck...I totally blended in with the rest of the tourists on the bus :) The tour was pretty good. I will admit that I didn't see anything that I hadn't already seen before, but that was to be expected...Singapore is small. Overall, I enjoyed it and think it will be a great way for K & S to get a feel for the city before we set out to do the "real" exploring. Here are a few pictures from the tour, though most have been seen on the blog in previous posts...

Oh, but first...I got a kick out of this. As I was standing in line to buy my tour ticket, I realized I was starving and had to eat before getting on the bus. I wandered the mall checking out my options and randomly settled on eating a bowl of Pho...Vietnamese noodle soup. I think most everyone that reads this knows that I'm half Vietnamese. I've grown up eating Pho, in fact, I probably had my first taste of it long before I can even remember. Anyway, I don't know if it was the fact that I was dining alone, had a camera with me, or my obvious American accent, but the owner of the shop obviously thought the concept of eating pho was totally new to me! First thing he served me was eggrolls, but not before he explained what they were. I had to keep the laughter in because I can make them myself and have done so recently. Then, he brought out a plate of bean sprouts, onions and mint leaves and explained to me that that was strictly garnish for the soup. I knew that of course! Personally, I don't like mint leaves so I didn't add them to my soup...I think that upset him a little bit, ha! I just never had the heart to tell him that I knew all about pho....and I certainly didn't have the heart to tell him that his pho wasn't all that good :)