Our First Visitor

Last weekend we had the pleasure of hosting our first official visitor.  We have had friends come on business so they stayed at hotels but this was the first person to use the guest room.  My friend, Ben, came to visit  for two nights on his way to Japan for his R&R break.  Ben and I worked together a couple years ago in Baton Rouge and have kept in touch ever since.  Around the time we moved to Singapore, Ben moved to Saudi Arabia.  Needless to say, we both had lots of stories to share about our experiences living abroad and it was great catching up.

Living and working in Saudi Arabia is drastically different from Singapore.  Ben lives in a compound in the desert that is protected by a high fence and guards.  He works six days a week, twelve hours a day for six weeks and then gets two weeks off for R&R.  It only rains a couple times a year and is even hotter than Singapore.  Alcohol is illegal, although many try their hand at home brewing and wine making, and women have to cover themselves whenever they leave the compound.  If you want to read more about life in Saudi Arabia you can check out Ben's blog and my favorite post of his about attending a Saudi wedding.

This was Ben's first trip to Singapore and with only one night to entertainment and show him the best sights so we decided on dinner at Jumbo.  Jumbo is known for its chili crab which is popular dish here and a must have if you come to visit.

Wearing our Jumbo bibs so we don't cover our clothing with chili crab

After dinner we headed down to Marina Bay to show him our favorite night time view in Singapore, the Marina Bay Sands and the Merlion.

This was actually the first time we have been able to watch the light show. 

Merlion!

It was great to see Ben and hopefully he will get the opportunity to move to Singapore when he finishes his project in Saudi.  We are really looking forward to more visitors in the coming months!