with friends at clarke quay

i got to meet up with my friend chester, who has been working in singapore for five months now, on my first night. he chose to have dinner at swensen's at chinatown point, a stone's throw from where i was having a drink of canned barley.

i walked over to chinatown point and spotted him waiting. it was great fun to see him again after five months. we sat down and actually ordered a baked macaroni and cheese and a pizza. i know, it's funny to have those meals in singapore, but chester's the boss.

ting, another friend, joined us momentarily. he ordered pasta and chicken, and we got to talking about their lives in singapore, and how life is back home.

after dinner, we headed over to clarke quay, which is the place to go if you want to have some drinks, dance, and listen to music. we were supposed to have drinks at cafe iguana with pats and her friends, but the three of us decided to sit down and have coffee so we can continue our talk.

it was great have people show you around. i didn't have to plan my nights, or do touristy things. i was shown around to places they would normally go to, which gives me a peek at how their lives are over there. i got to see the river and the lit up riverside point, which looked great at night.

food was not as expensive as i expected it to be, mainly because servings are large (except in swensen's!). alcoholic drinks will really burn a hole in your pocket, so you really have to abandon your love for alcohol if you want to save up in singapore, or have some money left over for shopping. the bars over at clarke are interesting, though. every bar was so different from the next. it was evident that the bar owners clearly thought out their concept and executed it beautifully.

it was a relaxing, steady night, spend with good friends over coffee and tea and a muddy mud pie at the coffee club. it was really great to have people to talk to after going around by myself in the city. while i greatly enjoy solo traveling, spending time with friends after a tiring day sure helps ease the body a bit.