Hello- I have a good internet connection here in Singapore, and thought I'd take the opportunity to do a post "live" from the road and to thank everyone here that responded to my questions about Shanghai and Singapore. Shanghai was an amazing place-we went to Jia Jia Tang Bao twice and Yang's Fry Dumplings across the street once. Both were so good! Hunger is becoming a very foreign sensation on this trip. I am eating so much more for lunch than I usually do that I'm not hungry for dinner, but eat it anyway, because I don't know how long it will be before I'm back again! Hopefully not too long! It had been several years since I'd been in Asia and I had just forgotten how great it is here.

Past two days in Singapore: We spent our second day in Singapore today. Yesterday we went to the Raffles Hotel and saw the Hotel museum, which was interesting-a history of the hotel, with lots of old photos from the early 1900s and travel brochures and memorabilia from the first half of the 20th century. We then went to lunch in Little India then to the Mustafa shopping center/department store. It was unbelievable. It is the largest single store I have seen in my life, I think, selling more goods and "stuff" than you can imagine. Several very large floors - everything from groceries, jewelry, clothing, suitcases, furniture, you name it, they had it! I somehow found the women's clothing and bought 2 embroidered linen shirts. After this we went to a Buddhist temple and a Taoist temple, which were very interesting. Came back to hotel, then went to the Night Safari up near the Zoo. We took a tram ride around, getting out to walk the trails at one point. We saw lots of animals. I think the walking part was the highlight, because you could hear all the jungle noises, and at one point we went through an enclosure where bats were flying around. They had some bananas and other fruit hanging for the bats to eat, and we saw one land on some bananas about a foot from the trail, and we were able to watch him eat close up!

Today, we went to Chinatown and bought a lot of stuff in the street stalls-shirts for both of us, postcards, several silk embroidered purses. Went to Maxwell Road hawker center for lunch, which was great fun-I saw so many things I wanted to try, but finally decided on a noodle and fish soup, DH had a seafood noodle dish. Went to two more temples, then made one last pass through the street market in Chinatown - conveniently located all around the MRT metro station, and now wer're back at the hotel for a swim. It is very hot and steamy, but at least we live in Florida, so it isn't anything new for us!

Tomorrow we plan to do a walking tour of the Colonial District and I haven't planned out what to do in the afternoon. Thanks again for everyone's help-and thanks for the seaweed egg flower soup recipe, Shanghainese--I know I'll be making that when I get home! After that, we are off to London, France and Budapest, then home. I will do full trip reports when I return!