Short posts
When your beer comes with…ice and a straw?? 🧐🤨
(it is an excellent cherry/raspberry/apricot smoothie sour from a Latvian brewery) -S🇸🇬
A random Singaporean street scene -S 🇸🇬
Sunset over Singapore, from our hotel’s rooftop pool. -S 🇸🇬
Other random shots from Singapore’s Chinatown. -J 🇸🇬
Street art scenes in Singapore’s Chinatown -S 🇸🇬
Random shots from our walk around Singapore. We specifically visited Merlion Park, home of Singapore’s iconic half-lion, half-fish statue/fountain. -J 🇸🇬
Hit an Irish Pub in our 19th country today -Singapore! (19/32) -J 🇸🇬
A bit more history on this place, the first Irish pub to open in Singapore (back in 1995):
A quintessential Irish pub Molly Malone’s was the first Irish pub to open in Singapore, way back in 1995. More than a quarter-century on, she still maintains that unrivalled jovial atmosphere intrinsic to any classic Irish Pub.
Molly Malone’s Irish Pub was actually born in Ireland and transported piece by piece to Singapore, where she was reconstructed in 1995 on the corner of Circular Road and Canton Street. There she remained for just over 9 years, before packing up house and moving across the street to the helm of Circular Road on Christmas Eve of 2004.
Colombo National Museum and Independence Square
Sri Lanka has a National Museum that was built and opened in 1877. It focuses on the various Sri Lankan Kingdoms that existed before the Dutch took over in 1658, and the subsequent British rule (1796-1948). Interestingly, the museum now holds 6 artifacts that the Dutch took in approximately 1765, that were only returned to Sri Lanka in 2023. -J 🇱🇰
Wow-look at those feet!
We also visited Independence Square, dedicated to the independence gained from the British in 1948 (the museum there was closed when we went).
We haven’t seen much of Singapore yet, but I can confirm that the airport kicks ass. You see that instantly upon arriving at immigration, which took 20 whole seconds. Baggage claim ain’t too shabby either. And of course, the Jewel waterfall is pretty damn cool. There’s so much more too! -S🇸🇬
We’ve been hunkered down in Singapore since Monday, after we both started to feel sick the night before our flight to the Maldives. We pulled an audible, deciding that it was better to skip our Maldives visit entirely and head directly to Singapore, where we’d have an entire week to get better. -S🇸🇬
It’s always interesting seeing what American fast food companies sell overseas. -S 🇱🇰
The highlight of Yala Natl Park—perhaps the top wildlife experience of our whole trip—was seeing a Sri Lankan leopard! We followed it for a long time, tracking it thru four areas of dense vegetation.
But this last portion was the best: we watched it (unsuccessfully) go after a spotted deer! -S🇱🇰
Monkeys just never follow the rules. -S 🇱🇰
Today was all about Sri Lankan history and culture. Over the course of a 16-hour private day tour, we visited 3 UNESCO World Heritage sites: the ruins of the ancient city of Polonnaruwa, the Dambulla Cave Temple, and Sigiriya (the Lion Rock Fortress). More photos of each coming this weekend -S 🇱🇰
Speaking of elephants, we saw several along the road as we drove thru Minneriya National Park—our first in Asia. -S 🇱🇰
Don’t be a douchenozzle and pay to ride an elephant. Just don’t. -S 🇱🇰
I’ve noticed some of these “foreigners only” toilet facilities here in Sri Lanka.
They seem to be around touristy areas, where foreigners pay a higher fee. The (controversial) idea is that Western visitors might have higher expectations of hygiene than what is often found in public toilets. -S 🇱🇰
There was a live band at our hotel bar last night, which is always fun to enjoy while overseas. There are usually plenty of American songs being played, but the lyrics sometimes come out as sounds rather than actual words. I find it so endearing. This group did much better than most. -S 🇱🇰
Sri Lankan art? 🤷♀️ -J 🇱🇰
The view from our hotel window in Colombo, Sri Lanka, is of the Lotus Tower—South Asia’s tallest self-supported structure (1,168 feet). During the day the Lotus flower is purple. But at night, it changes color! -J 🇱🇰
