From Wikipedia: The Istana is the official residence and office of the President of Singapore. Meaning "palace" in Malay, it is where the president receives and entertains state guests. The Istana is also the working office of the Prime Minister of Singapore.
Five times a year, The Istana is open to the public. That's it - five times! Luckily, today was one of those days and it just happens to be about a 20 minute walk from us. So we got out the door bright and early - which actually didn't go all that smoothly. Imagine two, screaming, hungry kids who wanted nothing, but to watch a movie and eat breakfast at home. The neighbors already hate us, but after this morning with the kids hollering on the porch, I'm pretty sure they're plotting our demise.
On the way there, we stopped at this coffee place around the corner from us: Killiney Kopitiam. It looks like an absolute dump - very bare bones - but the joint is always packed with locals and is apparently quite a Singaporean institution. The one near us is the original, but there are many more locations now. We ordered what everybody else eats for breakfast: two incredibly - and I mean incredibly - runny eggs, kaya toast and coffee with condensed milk. I'm not even sure the eggs are all that safe when they're cooked so little, but hey, peopel have been eating them that way forever here. Actually, Asians eat a lot of eggs: fried on top of rice, hard-boiled in many noodle dishes and runny. The kids got french toast. For good measure? We also got their famous version of Laksa which some folks eat for breakfast here, too. Yummy! I'm happy to eat good laksa any time fo day.
We made it to The Istana by 9 and after going through security and shelling out $1 each, we strolled right in without any kind of wait. When we left at 10:30, the line was incredibly long. Wahoo! Getting up early paid off - despite ticking off the neighbors! There were very few westerners all told though Tom actually ran into somebody he knows - an Aggie! There are a LOT of Texans here.
The grounds are absolutely gorgeous. It sits on 106 acres smack dab in the middle of Singapore, a country on an island where real estate is incredibly pricey. I can't imagine what this place is worth.
No pictures are allowed inside the house. I even looked on line so I could swipe a few for the blog, but nope - I couldn't find a one. The rooms are very grand and tastefully decorated with massive chandeliers, or as Maisie called them, "princess lights." Most interesting perhaps was the room full of gifts given to Singapore by other countries. There was an incredible collection of blades - some silver, some gold, all stunning. There were sculptures out of wood and teapots out of silver - I mean - some really gorgeous, extravagant gifts. The US? I only saw a dinky crystal elephant, probably about 8" tall. That's it! The other countries have lavished gifts on this country and we have given that? I guess it's good. We're not wasting our money on stuff that sits in glass cases. I guess you don't have to give fancy stuff when you're the biggest and most powerful country in the world.
The lawn also had all sorts of activities for kids: a giant playground, face-painting, bird exhibit and more. The birth rate is very low in Singapore so they are constantly trying to promote how kid-friendly this place is (and it is!) The kids had a blast running like wild dogs across the grass.
Afterwards, we went to the local mall to run some quick errands, grab lunch at yet another interesting food court and then came home for a big swim.
Tonight? Tom has figured out how to play movies on our TV that he's rented on his iPad. Tee hee!