Three words I've been longing to hear: "WELCOME TO HOOTERS!"

Family,

And a good morning to you from across the globe after another GREAT DAY in the Lion City. Team Taylor can confirm that monsoon season (aka "winter") is DEFINITELY in effect, as it rained ALL DAY yesterday, and the skies outside at the moment are JET BLACK. Good times.

So yesterday was EXTRA AWESOME. After a nice sleep, I stepped out of the shower to hear Muffin Puffin speak words that were music to my ears: "We really need to get to Hooter's soon." HOW MUCH DO I LOVE THIS WOMAN!?!?!?!?!?!?!? 20 minutes later we were on Clarke Quay, stepping into an orange booth at the "Owl themed restaurant," and all was right with the world.

So here's the deal - whilst the prices are broadly similar and the menu is identical to the states, there are some noticeable differences:

1. The fried pickles are NOTHING LIKE THE PICTURE. Seriously - we got about 40 little chips of @#$# that were collectively the size of a thimble. LESS than a stellar beginning.

2. No refills on the drinks, and the glasses are SUBSTANTIALLY smaller.

3. Speaking of SUBSTANTIALLY smaller...well, you KNOW where I'm going with this.

All that being said, the wings (and the bleu cheese) were actually VERY tasty, and it was some GUUUUUUUUUUD eatin' at 2 in the afternoon. Needless to say that it felt like a brick in my tummy for the next 7 hours, but hey - no complaining!

After lunch, Team Taylor made the smartest play one can elect in a torrential downpour during monsoon season - GO TO AN OUTDOOR ATTRACTION AND WALK AROUND SOMEWHERE IN A THUNDERSTORM WHEN YOU'RE 2 FEET TALLER THAN THE REST OF THE POPULATION. That's right, folks - we hit up the Singapore Botanical Garden.

Now some of you will remember this from an earlier post, as I hit this place with Terri and Ruth on my first Saturday in the Sing. Jenny and I wandered through a few different spots this time, but the highlight remained the same - the National Orchid Gallery. And whilst it was terrific last time, this visit was WAY more impressive, as they had special exhibits out for Chinese New Year (but luckily you don't have to give the flowers or employees of the garden any red envelopes...).

The place ws an absolute EXPLOSION of color, and we spent over 2 hours walking around the various sections of the orchid gardens. It was also much less crowded than the last time that we rolled up, which made photo opportunities much easier. Oh, and since we actually had our "real" camera with us, that made things easier as well.

In addition to all of the different orchids (so many more of which were in bloom than the last time I'd visited - I'm practically an expert botanist now), the place was already decorated for CNY, and Jenny got some GREAT shots of the different lanterns and decorations.

We caught a cab home from the gardens, and just

as we were about to head to the grocery store, I said, "You know, I sure could do with a foot massage right about now." And lucky for us, the "House of Traditional Balinese Massage" happened to be RIGHT IN FRONT OF US. 10 minutes later, Perfect Pumpkin and I are laying back on side-by-side lounges, music going, candles glowing, while 2 gals try to crush the tendons in our feet. Seriously - there were moments where this was just plain religious. There were other moments where I felt I was in an Arab prison cell undergoing torture during the Crusades. I mean, the "let me break your arch in 11 places" technique was a bit extreme - just sayin'...

After the massage, we rolled over to the grocery store to pick up some food, where I had another "Royale with Cheese" moment. We go over to the gal at the meat counter, and I say, "Can I get half a pound of ground beef?" She looks at me as though I've just said, "I'd like the arm of your oldest child for dinner."

Only then does it occur to me - METRIC SYSTEM. However, for future reference, saying "Can I have a quarter kilo" gets you NO FURTHER than asking for something in pounds. You have to do it in grams. All the same, 246 GRAMS of beef (and $8) later, we were sorted and ready for dinner.

Minus the small detail of almost blowing up the house with our first usage of the gas stove, cooking was a hit. Check out my perfect pumpkin slaving away in the kitchen! It was so guuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuud (peppy cheekies).

We talked to my folks, Jenny's dad, Cuz and KJ before sacking out around 1:30, another great day in the books.

Okay, that's all the news that's fit to print. Chat later today!

Love,

Sam and Jenny