Singapore Flyer time

So we are in our 2nd weekend in Singapore.  M is off work and we decided to take a trip to the Singapore Flyer (not Singapore Sling - which is the exotic tropical drink that would probably send me flying!)  The Flyer is tagged as the World's Largest Observation wheel (a very fancy Ferris wheel) and from the top you can see the whole city, and even glimpses of Malaysia and Indonesia. It was a little overcast but we could still see quite a way. 

Each car held about 28 people and you could walk freely within the car.  People are chatting and kids are running around in there.  All sides were glass so it was a great view from wherever we were.  Below is what one of the cars looks like.  It takes about 30 minutes to go around and it is a slow rotation so it doesn't stop during entering and exiting either. 

From the top, we took this pictures of the girls. 

(That's right a shameless Times pictures that hopefully will be in print sometime in the future.)

Two completely unrelated thoughts:

• Have you ever noticed that spending money in another county doesn't feel like real money at all?  It's practically like Monopoly money.   (Oh, man, hopefully M won't get down to this part of the blog!)  Not to mention, they have a fun $2 bill that you use all the time.  The $1 is a coin. 
• The custom in Asia, including Singapore, is to take your shoes off before entering someone's home.  It is considered disrespectful to enter a home with dirt from your shoes, etc. to get all over their house.  We are trying to adopt a version of this and we take our shoes off right when we walk into the apartment.  Our shoes are stored in a larger piece of furniture.  Many people actually have a shoe rack outside their front door so the shoes never enter the house. 

The kid's lounge in our complex is a no-shoe zone and we go there to get tennis equipment, basketballs, and the outdoor play area is in there also.  Every time we have been there (and it has been quite a bit) we look like a version of the Three Stooges (M has been at work), trying to figure out who has the key, can't remember if the door pulls or pushes open, someone only has one shoe off, not the other, someone is trying to bring water in (no beverages in there), someone forgets our room number.  Seriously?  The entry doors to this area are glass (of course) and many times it is the same, nice young man in there working, who is watching us during all of this.  Oh, what he must think! 

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