Tuesday 5 July 2011

Day 263-266-From Spain To Singapore

Eva and me at Jurong Bird Park on 1st July 2011
Eva and her family arrived here on 29th June 2011. Although Singapore welcomed them with a blazing wave of heat on that afternoon, my friends from Spain were unfazed. 

Dinner at Jumbo

I brought them home, we freshened up and then drove down to Jumbo at the Riverwalk for some seafood dinner with FaiZ and MarG in tow. After that , we took the highly recommended  river tour along the Singapore River and at 11pm, ventured to Mustapha where we bought some exotic fruits home. Fruits which I now find out are also available at the la boqueria market in Barcelona!

Sri Krishnan Temple at Waterloo Street-2/7/2011

On Saturday, I played tourist too when we did a walking tour from my house to Chinatown and visited many places I didn't know exist. 

Sri Krishnan Temple-Details

And for those monuments I have walked past many times, I saw them through the eyes of someone new to them and realised how much beauty I had missed while I was too busy with this and that.

Lotuses for Kuan Yin (Goddess of Mercy) Temple at Waterloo Street-2/7/11

Used flower trays for the temple made with bamboo 

Lotuses and joss sticks

Remember these lotuses? Familiar? There was a bunch at my lotus pond. And as we walked down the road towards a trishaw kiosk, we saw another familiar sight.


It was exactly a year ago when I finished the bedroom in the Rolla House preparing for Rosanna's arrival in Singapore. And a year later, their footprints in Singapore remained firmly on our shore so much so that it was almost surreal. Like time has warped and the present met the past when I turned to Eva and said -Eva, this is Rosanna and Walter and we both stood there staring at the picture, bemused, bewildered and slightly befuddled. It was then that I felt the sudden pangs of friend-sickness and wished Rosanna was here too. 


Souvenir bag from Raffles Hotel-2/7/11

Noon arrived and we sauntered past the Raffles Hotel and their ubiquitous Singapore Slings , The Mint Museum of Toys and saw the Marina Bay Sands from afar.


Billboard advertising Indian Food at Raffles Place

We then went up to the 70th Floor at Raffles City and viewed Singapore from the sky. It was really quite spectacular. 

Metal trunks at the Indian Muslim Heritage Center- Telok Ayer Street 2/7/11

This is a place I didn't know exist, the Indian Muslim Heritage Center which was opened just 2 months ago. Look at the ingenious way they had used these trunks ..

Metal trunks displaying artifacts donated by the Indian Muslim community

..now if only I know how to wire my own metal trunks, imagine all the tiny things I can display in them.


Alex at Telok Ayer Park as a reveler from days of yore

In the short 4 days with Eva and her family, we have had plenty of laughs and many special moments. Like when the children of both culture met, not speaking each other's language and yet having the time of their lives. Or when Eva laughed till she cried and yes, those unforgettable moments when Alex had everyone rolling on the floor with his mimicry. 

Eva resting at my home

Even the quiet times were nice, chatting in the living room, sipping ice mango tea. 

Eva cooking dinner on 2/7/2011

And with the Spanish meal Eva prepared on the evening before they left for Malaysia, a dinner we shared with the other mini friends, Cindy and Asuka, their stay could not have  ended on a more  perfect note. But it actually did! With the almost 3 hour conversation the 4 of us mini lovers had. So much so that none of us wanted to leave that night. 

61 comments:

Flor said...

Sans ¡Que experiencia más linda!!!
Y que maravilla que Eva pudo estar en tu casa y en tu increíble y bello país ( =
¡Wooow!! que días más divertidos ( =
Un besito para las dos
Flor

Ascension said...

Sans...me corroe la envidia jejejejejeje, es broma, sabia que os llevariais bien.
Eva es una amor de mujer, es muy simpatica e inteligente.
Me alegro muchisimo de que lo hayais pasado tan bien.
Que preciosas fotografias, seguro que les ha encantado todo lo que han visto y Eva habra disfrutado muchisimo de tu compañia y de las charlas que seguro habeis tenido.
A sido como si un trocito de mi te hubiese visitado....porque estoy segura que cuando me reuna con Eva en alguna de nuestras Kedadas, nos contara las maravillas de tu pais.
besitos ascension

rosanna said...

Ooohhhh oohhhhh, sigh sigh...
I wont add more.....
Hus to you all, Rosanna

Sans! said...

Flor, que ha sido un increíble 4 días:). Estoy seguro de que va a leer sobre el viaje aún más asombroso de Eva a Malasia cuando se va a su casa. Tan lejos de lo que yo sé, están teniendo un tiempo fantástico:)

El amor a ti también!

Sans! said...

Ascensión, hablamos de que a menudo, incluso cuando Cindy y Asuka estaban aquí:). Eva nos contó todas las cosas buenas, por supuesto:). Ser capaz de mirar a su trabajo de cerca es un placer. Usted ha sido muy amable conmigo. No creo que pueda volver a su generosidad para con el mismo grado. Tal vez Eva puede traer un poco de Singapur en contacto con usted:).

besos y abrazos

Sans! said...

There will be more,much much more, Rosanna because we will them :).

Now me to bed...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Daydreamer said...

Dear Sans, Isn't this an amazing world? Where friends from faraway lands can meet and get to know each other and share their lives and then actually travel to see each other!! Lucky Eva and Lucky you! It certainly looks like you all had a wonderful and memorable time together! And showing visitors around is the only way I learn anything about my own "back yard"! I LOVE that temple!
Can it really have been a YEAR already since Rosanna and Walter visited? I am a little shocked at how fast the year went! But I want to thank you for sharing these visits with all your world-wide mini friends.... I feel a little tiny bit as if I was lucky enough to be there with you all! Such a blessing!

The Old Maid said...

Oh Betsy is so right! I too have this feeling I can be there with you all for a moment! Thank you for sharing your blog-friends meetings:) And the photos are fab!

malu2 said...

Ohhhhhhhhhh Sans, que emocion,me ha gustado muchisimo veros,que suerte!!!! Sans, quiero decirte, que mi hija Malú, hoy está en Singapur,
haciendo escala hacia Vienam, en su viaje de bodas. Besos.Mªluisa.

Eva - tatalamaru said...

Que crónica más bonita Sans, me han gustado mucho las fotografías, y ya tengo ganas de que Eva regrese para que nos cuente todo con más detalle, aunque en su facebook ya vi bastantes fotos y sé que lo pasaron genial juntas.
Un abrazo enorme desde España y me alegro mucho de que os hayais podido reunir y pasarlo tan bien, os lo mereceis las dos.
Besos

BiWuBär said...

The fun and joy you had during these wonderful days is very present - and it's nice to be a silent co-visitor via this post. The most amazing thing for me is that window display with Rosanna and Walter. Must be great to watch good friends who live so many miles away in a shop window every day... ;O)

Greetings
Birgit

Eva said...

Wow!!! For us (including Alex and Arnau) has been one of the most wonderful and incredible experiences in our life. We only have great memories of every day and all of you.
Fai and you are the best. You both have our love.
We felt like at home and we had the best guide tour ever :)
Also Fafa and MarG were sweet...and Nathaniel, and Xander, and you mum, and Christel....
And the girls!! How amazing they are, still laughing....
Besos!!!

Rosamargarita said...

Que aventura tan emocionante! conocerse a pesar de las distancias, del idioma.
Felicitaciones y besos a las 2.

cockerina said...

Sans, these images suggest that the world is really small and we are all little drops of water in a unique sea ... I'm crying from emotion, everything is wonderful!
I want to be there, also ... damn, I can not speak English .. :((
ciao!
Caterina

Plushpussycat said...

What a fun travel diary, Sans! Thank you for introducing me to the blog of Eva. Oh Sans! The lotus flowers are exquisite! Your trip around your home country looks like so much fun! I want to go to the orchid gardens next time I am there.
Jennifer

Susi said...

Que armonia se ven en las fotografias, realmente Eva es una mujer dulce y especial, un viaje largo con una sorpresa muy agradable que ha sido el encuentro contigo, realmente se respira la armonia y la diversion, muchas felicidades a las dos, bueno a todos los que habeis tenido la suerte, muchos besos
Susi

Norma Bennett said...

What am amazing time you are having, thanks for taking us on the tour too - how funny to see Walter and Rosanna in the shop window!! I love those tin trunks too.

Ana Anselmo said...

I want to be there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lucky girls, all together!!!
love
Ana

Yolanda said...

Que manera tan bonita de contar vuestro encuentro, cuanto me alegro por las dos, Eva es una persona muy especial a la que se le coge cariño enseguida, me alegro muchos por las dos. Muchos besos. Yolanda.

Unknown said...

Thanks to Eva's visit I get to take a tour of your fascinating world too! What amazing images, Sans. Of course, the little red bicycle caught my eye, for obvious reasons, but all the details, the Indian food menu, the lotuses, the wall and roof of the Temple, a feast! Is that a roseate spoonbill behind you two at the Bird park? We have some at our local zoo, and I love them. I saw a few once in the wild here, they look like flying flowers. Thank you for the details and the stories-I feel like I'm getting to know a bit about your world, and I'm so happy to be there.

contar said...

Hola, gracias por sus comentarios, es increible poder compartir una aficion, con personas de tan lejos.
me gusta mucho mirar las fotos de sus viajes, y todas las ideas que realiza a partir de ellos.
En algunas partes de España es tradicion, que las novias, regalen durante el banquete, alfileres con la cabeza en forma de perla, y desde hace algunos años estos alfileres se decoran con flores hechas de porcelana rusa.
con ellos se cofeccionan centros, o cojines.
En casa es tradicion regalar a todas las novias de la familia estos alfileres.
un gran abrazo

Hi, thanks for your comments, it's amazing to share a hobby with people so far.
I love looking at pictures of his travels, and all the ideas drawn from them.
In some parts of Spain it is tradition that brides, gifts during the banquet, head pins with pearl-shaped, and in recent years, these pins are decorated with flowers made of Russian porcelain.
with them cofeccionan centers, or cushions.
At home it is tradition to give to all brides family these pins.
a big hug

Kathy said...

Thanks for sharing. I enjoy seeing your pictures. It's as if I were there. I wanted to say "hi" too.

Sans! said...

Betsy :):) I feel very lucky that I have friends who endure terribly long flights to come to our tiny island. You all made me feel so proud of Singapore. Never a day went by without Eva or Alex telling me how impressed they were with my country and Alex has proclaimed on the morning we walked to Chinatown that "I love Singapore" :). I still remember the exact spot he said it..right at the entrance of OUB Centre when we were enquiring about going up to the rooftop bar called 1 Altitude for a view of Singapore from 283 m from sea level. this is their website http://www.1-altitude.com/. I don't think I have felt more proud of my garden city :).

I hope you can see it one day too :).

Sans! said...

Thank you, Ewa.

So funny how our love for miniatures have made photographers out of us, even if we are amateurish in our efforts. I want to get a better digital camera after this one goes :). A camera has become so important now, it is almost like my laptop. I will be quite lost without it .

Would you believe that before miniatures, I do not own a camera and never took a picture when I was on holiday? All pictures were taken by friends :).

Sans! said...

Ahora? Maria Luisa? Ahora en Singapur su hija? Ella está tan cerca y tan lejos:) Pero le deseo el mejor momento. Realmente creo que el sudeste de Asia es un lugar maravilloso para pasar sus vacaciones. Espero que vuelva aquí un día y tomar el té conmigo:).

besossssssssss

Sans! said...

Eva:):) Me alegro de que finalmente "chat" en la blogland:). No estoy seguro si sabe pero yo cada vez que visita su blog en el que tiene un mensaje nuevo. Sé que usted y algunos otros entusiastas en miniatura española se reúnen muy a menudo:).

Vi fotos de Malasia en facebook y que son grandes!

un abrazo

Sans! said...

Birgit, really incredible right? Almost Twilight Zon-ish too! Do you have Twilight Zone in your country? :)

I love that this community is doing it more and more now, visiting each other when we can. It really makes us much closer in many ways :).

It is my hope that I get to meet about 2 blog friends a year this way :).

Sans! said...

Thank you Eva :) Here's a thousand kisses and hugs from Singapore. Fai will be in Ipoh on Friday :). You will be in Taman Negara by then I think.

Have you been to the firefly park yet? Tell me all about it. I remembered one flew on Rosanna's finger and it looked like a diamond ring sparkling from her hand in the dark :). Impossible to take good pictures.

My pictures of the owls in Jurong Bird Park all came out dark :(

Sans! said...

Sí RosaM. La vida es bella! :)

Hasta la vista Baby! Teehee :)

Sans! said...

Caterina!!! You can , you can ! Language is no barrier. Learn to eat spicy food and you will fit in perfectly :).

It has been so incredible, my journey with My Maharajah's Palace. I can write a 2000 page epic memoir on my experiences , the people I have met and come to love, the importance of minis in my life...things I never imagine mattered , dreams I never thought possible.

I shan't start now or I will never stop :)

Margriet said...

The pictures show it all...it must have been wonderful days with Eva!!! Isn't it wonderful how many lovely people we meet...online and sometimes even in real life!!!
I enjoyed your story as always Sans :-)

Unknown said...

*twirls in*

ARLOS!!!~ wahahha so nostalgic ahh~~! reminds me of the time i dragged Dale around the bird park too LMAO i think we took almost the same route, i remember we were both so camera shy, practically none of our pics had humans in it -_-"

it was a very very good weekend for me too :) <3 <3 <3

Sans! said...

Jennifer, I have never been to the orchid garden :) Maybe you can bring me there? ;p

Sans! said...

Susi, estoy tan feliz de verte aquí:). Visita de Eva me ha vuelto a introducir a la comunidad Spanish. Espero que podamos seguir teniendo lazos estrechos incluso cuando regreso:). Puedo visitar su blog todo el tiempo y admirar su trabajo.

Ya estoy soñando con la forma en que, los miniaturistas de Singapur, un día colaboran un mini-proyectos conjuntos con todos ustedes en España:). ¿Crees que es posible?

Sans! said...

Norma :) it was a special moment, being with Eva when we "met" Rosanna and Walter :). Those tin metal trunks are my favourite types of luggages :)

Sans! said...

Ana, you know Nike? You know what they say? Just do it! :):)

The Old Maid said...

Oh gosh Sans you were like my cousin - she never takes a camera with her at all! I can't imagine any trips without my little memory-helper;D

Sans! said...

Yolanda, gracias por su visita:). Eva tiene muchas cosas maravillosas que decir acerca de la comunidad española. Usted debe estar orgulloso de ser parte de un grupo especial de personas.

un abrazo

Sans! said...

Amy, if you look closely , you will see that the red bicycle is part of the trishaw or rickshaw. We call it trishaws over here because these have 3 wheels :). The one in the window is a miniature of the real thing :).

I bashed one last March for my dolls :). You can see it here if you want: http://sansdollhousediaries.blogspot.com/2010/03/day-131-133-our-gondola-trishaw.html but the pictures were badly taken :).

The birds were scarlet ibis , very similiar to your spoonbills (which I saw too at the park but the white ones) You have really sharp eyes! ( http://www.zoochat.com/photo/scarlet-ibis-jurong-birdpark-5396.jpg) You know they are in the same shade of red as the one you seem to favour in your art. Didn't you blog about red once?

Sans! said...

Thank you Contar for the interesting facts on your cushions. I really learn so much visiting all your blogs :).

Sans! said...

Kathy :) I have just realised that I love showing off my country :). Eva and her family are in Kuala Lumpur now and will go into the world's oldest tropical rainforest tomorrow at Taman Negara :) I am sure it will be a wonderful experience for them. :)

Sans! said...

Margriet, it is so easy and quick to connect online :). Yesterday, I finally went to facebook using my mini-centric profile . I had 16 friends then. I spent about 45 minutes clicking to add people I knew from blogland and/or friends of mini friends or mini artists whose work I love. This morning, I found that I have 68 friends! So fassssst!

But I love how my friendships in blogland built over time slowly though. Slowly by internet standard of course. I knew about 100 new people a year-following or they following my blog. I chat (through comment) with about 20-30 people regularly and have exchanged gifts with as many :). And now I have met 7 :) and am on email frequently with a couple of them, one of whom I talk more to than my real life friends :):).

Blog friends are definitely real friends :)

Sans! said...

*starts twirling with Cindy ad feeling very dizzy

Ooooooi ! Our last meeting felt so short I want to do another one SOON!

About bird park, I found out that we can actually go on a group tour at the Fragrant Hotel just down the road from me! S$50 (adult) inclusive of transport! So we did that. But we only had 2 hours so we missed quite a lot of the park. I will definitely go again with my next guest :)

Who is it going to be? :)

Sans! said...

Ewa, life is never the same again for me after miniatures. I sometimes bring my camera even if I am just going for a run :)

Unknown said...

eh don't tell me it's already planned?? LOL who is it, who who????

*untwirls Sans*

Margriet said...

Sans...I've been a part of e-mailgroups and other online groups since 1999 and I've met a lot of miniaturists since then!! A few have become really good friends :-) One very good friend lives only 15 minutes away, but I would probably never have met her if we hadn't met online first!!!
With blogging now I'm meeting wonderful people abroad...most of them I will never meet in real life, but I'm thankful for all those nice contacts I have :-)

BTW..I don't really like facebook..but it can be convenient sometimes ;-)

Drora's minimundo said...

Wow! Even reading this makes me feel as if I was there with you. I am sure this was a visit to remember for all of you. A few years ago we visited Singapore and we have very beautiful memories, especially of the Orchid gardens, the cleanliness, the wonderful food....
Thanks for sharing.

Jollie said...

Oh my dear Sans and Eva I can see that you had a great time together!! That is so wonderful to have friends from Spain that are comming to visit you Sans :-)

Big warm hugs,
Jollie

Teresa Martínez- IGMA artisan said...

Sans que experiencia tan bonita. Conocer personas como Eva siempre es maravilloso.
Gracias por las fotografías y por compartir esos momentos.

Sans! said...

Cindy, you know her as well. In fact, you know her VERY well :).

Sans! said...

Margriet, I know exactly what you mean. The really good mini friends I made here in Singapore were met online first :).

I facebook to play games ..haha :) By the way, google has come up with a facebook equivalent already. My brother is trying to get me on it! I can no longer catch up with all this social media.

Sans! said...

Drora, I wish I knew you then :). But you can always visit again :).

Sans! said...

Estoy muy feliz de verte aquí Teresa:). Hablando con Eva acerca de usted me hizo sentir como si yo le conocía personalmente:).

julie campbell said...

I have missed many blog posts as life has been busy but it was a pleasure to sit down this morning and read about your wonderful visit . It looks like you had the most wonderful time :0)
julie xxx

dalesdreams said...

Wow, what a visit! :)

I think Cindy and I visited that Temple. Sans, you live in such a beautiful country, there is beauty all around you where ever you walk. :)

Eva is such a beautiful person, look at her in the kitchen. You have the most comfortable kitchen to be in.

I'm so glad that you all got to meet up and get to enjoy each other and the time spent together.

Sans! said...

Hi Julie !!! A huge hug for my friend whom I haven't seen in a while :).

Yes, we had a wonderful time and it is so nice that you visit as well :).

Sans! said...

Dale, when I posted this picture of Eva in the kitchen, I was of course reminded immediately of the one we took of you in the same kitchen :). hahaha. I wanted to do a compilation posts of all my blogger friends in the kitchen :):). Some day when we are all no longer so self conscious eh?

carmen said...

que bonita historia!
sólo demuestra una vez más que el mundo es un pañuelo...

Sans! said...

Hola Carmen:).

Busqué en Google lo que quiere decir "el mundo es un pañuelo":) y esto es lo que he encontrado en este sitio web: http://www.spanish-learning-corner.com/spanish-proverbs.html

El mundo es sin pañuelo
The world is a handkerchief
Ours is really a small world. This proverb is used Spanish to meet someone unexpectedly after a long time and in an unexpected place.


¿Qué dice un proverbio interesante!

Muchas gracias Carmen!

un abrazo

Yayin said...

He disfrutado mucho viendo las fotos,estoy segura de que lo han pasado genial y como le he dicho a Eva,es una amistad para toda la vida.Os doy las gracias a las dos,por compartirlo con todas nosotras.
Besos - Rosa

Sans! said...

Bienvenido y estoy muy contento de ver que aquí Rosa (Yayin):).

Me alegro de que puedo compartir con ustedes, mis momentos felices con Eva:)

besos

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