Mark and KT say Goodbye

We had a few extra days in Singapore before we all headed to the States.  I would be leaving a few hours before Mark and KT, to see my friends and family in Ohio for the first time in eleven months.  I was really excited about it, and incredibly grateful that Mark and KT had been around for the past few weeks, keeping me sane while I was anticipating the trip home.

We planned to make the most of their last few days, and Mark popped out of bed bright and early our first day back.  He took off on his own, ecstatic to be back in Singapore.  KT and I slept in and then went to a wet market to pick up some more tropical fruit to taste (starfruit, yum!).  Then we walked over to Chinese Garden, where we checked out the sites.

One of the twin pagodas

We enjoyed walking around the Japanese Garden, looking for the oldest bonsai.  Some of them are over 300 years old!

This one's my favorite!  I think this style is called "full cascade form."

For some reason, the longer we stayed at the garden, the worse I felt.  When we got to the seven-story pagoda, KT wanted to go to the top, but I was feeling so bad that I hung out on a bench and waited for her while she scaled all the stairs.  I couldn't help but laugh when, four minutes after she walked away she returned with a guy in tow.  "Hey Crystal, this is Phillip," she said nonchalantly, as though everyone picks up a guy in four minutes.  Phillip was a British tourist with some questions about what to see and do in Singapore, so we chatted with him for a few minutes before leaving him for the sculpture garden.  The sculptures taught us that Mulan looks nothing like the Disney version.

After the sculptures, I was feeling pretty beat and we headed home.  I ended up sick in bed for the next few days.  Who's to say whether I picked up the bug on the train or if it was the result of prolonged sleep deprivation?  Either way, I'm guessing it was related to Vietnam.  While I laid low, my friends continued adventuring around the city.  In their last few days they managed to hit up the Singapore Zoo, do one last shopping trip on Orchard Road, hang out at Jurong Point, and Mark even made it back to Chinatown.  When I finally left them, still sick and facing a series of long flights back to the U.S., I was satisfied that they'd gotten a great overview of Singapore in the time that they spent there.  It was fantastic having company from home and even though I wasn't looking forward to traveling while under the weather, I was really eager to finally see my family!