WTF Are You Wearing?!

This picture will make a lot more sense after you read the rest of this entry...

My friend Kathleen passed along an invite to attend her friend Gareth's birthday party. I asked her if it would be strange that she was bringing friends to his birthday party and she started laughing. I couldn't understand why she was laughing until she sent us the written invite that Gareth had composed. This is what we received in our inboxes:

Q. What did Cinderella do when she got to the ball?
A. Gag
This year, so that everyone can keep up, its time for a completely different theme, which ironically is hosted at the most tasteful venue yet.
A clash?...Score!!

After a one year absence because of religious and personal reasons, the Buck Wild annual celebration is back.
2012 has only just begun and already, we can smell the hope. Everyone seems optimistic about this year, and it's not just because it's going to be Obama's last term in office. I'm talking about everyone getting a year older, and really coming together and having a good time. This, my peers, is the perfect opportunity to do it.

The theme speaks for itself. What the fuck are you wearing?? Guests are expected to make complete fools of themselves-- shock factor and self-disgrace are of paramount importance. Life is too short to take yourself seriously.

Set in the rooftops of the Arab Quarters of Singapore, Pasha is a beautiful and charming Moroccan style Hotel/ Restaurant/ Bar/ Private Lounge located on Aliwal Street. It is conveniently both outdoor/indoor and will suit the needs of all shameless party goers perfectly.
Pasha have kindly offered all of those in attendance not only all areas unrestricted access, but also the following for the entire night:
- $12 doubles
- $8 wines
- $8 beers
- Complimentary finger food/ snacks
This shit is recession proof for real.

It is also (finally) with great pleasure, that I am announcing the retirement of my old party thong, which has been in active duty for so many reliable years. So as to not disappoint the ladies, I will be showcasing a brand new European imported multicolored "t-back" for the very first time. Dudes, don't hate me cuz you ain't me.
Usual rules apply.
Those not dressed up will be refused entry (sorry!).
Poor attitude/ "Straight off the boat" syndrome, subsequently escorted out.

The parties of past have been legendary so there is no reason not to make this one the best one yet. You are welcome to invite friends.
Thumbs up lets do this!


I couldn't stop laughing and immediately wanted to meet Gareth. Clearly he had an amazing sense of humor. Val and I went over to Anna's before heading over to the party to have a few drinks. We just about died laughing when we saw each other's outfits!

When we arrived at Pasha, we saw Adrian and Kathleen and decided to order a bottle of vodka to help get us in the proper spirit. 

We started mingling and making new friends and I was waiting for Owen, Pete and Dave to arrive. Dave lives in Beijing and was in town visiting Singapore for the first time.

I became engrossed in a heated conversation about American football with a man who's name I cannot remember for the life of me!

Just when things were getting intense Gareth made his entrance. Mind you, it was an entrance that I will never forget!

Once he was down, Kathleen introduced the birthday boy to us. We became fast friends and started snapping photos left and right...

We were laughing, drinking, and meeting new people like it was going out of style. The simple fact that everyone looked so ridiculous just aided in the constant flow of laughter. 

Just then Owen, Dave, and Pete walked in to the bar. I instantly ran to Toma (Dave) to give him a hug as I hadn't seen him in a very long time. 

Anna came over to inspect their outfits and was very dismayed that they did not dress up in accordance to the theme. 

Her remedy? To undress them and re-stylize them until they looked somewhat erratic. The next series of photos are just hilarious...

The rest of the night went on as such and we ended up outside on the rooftop deck chatting and drinking before calling it a night. 

Art and Brunch

The Singapore Arts Science Museum has a lot of exhibits that come through that are worth seeing. When I found out that they were going to have an exhibit of Andy Warhol's works, I knew I wanted to go. My friend Anne wanted to see it as well and suggested that we go to the exhibit and get brunch at the Fullerton Hotel afterwards. It sounded like the perfect Sunday plan. The art museum is located right in the center of Marina Bay and there is a lot to do in the surrounding area. 

I arrived at the Art Museum before Anne so I got the tickets and sat outside to wait for her. It was a beautiful sunny day and the ledge that I was sitting on had a pond with gorgeous lily pads and flowers. 

As pretty as they were I realized they were a haven for nectar and bees. I rapidly moved to the far end because I did not feel a need to get stung. I remember very clearly from Jerry McGuire that dogs and bees can smell fear. I'm not sure if that is true or not but didn't want to risk it! Anne arrived in the midst of me swatting away insects and we went inside and started to walk through the exhibit. I have to say that I was thoroughly impressed with how extensive the exhibit was as I was only expecting it to only be a few rooms. The entire fourth floor was turned in to a timeline of his works through out various stages in his life. The curator had turned one of the rooms in to his workshop and was fully equipped with silver balloons and fans. The Singapore Arts Science Museum had also set up a secondary exhibit in the sub floor of local artists that had been influenced by Warhol and his art. Their pieces were show-cased and there was a brief bio on each artist and how they had been impacted by AW. 

After the exhibit we caught a taxi to the Fullerton Hotel. In reality it isn't a far walk but in the Singapore heat we had no desire to brave the temperature and humidity. Sunday brunch at the Fullerton Hotel is an experience to say the least. They are famous for their champagne brunch and if you do not have a reservation, you almost certainly will not get in. Brunch is from 12pm-3pm and is free flow champagne, wine, and margaritas. We arrived and were seated after they sorted out our reservation. The waiter quickly came around and asked if we were doing the champagne brunch or non-champagne brunch. Is it not clear sir? Can you not tell that we are champy ladies? As soon as we finished our first glass we got up to start on the first round of food. 

The brunch is set up in to various stations and separated by cuisine. Hands down my favorite station is the cheese station. My first time at the Fullerton Brunch I never made it past the cheese! You think I'm kidding, but I swear to you I am not! 

Owen had just returned from vacation from Phuket and saw that I had checked in to the Fullerton. He texted and I told him to hurry and meet up for drinks. Meet us he did, and we caught up about his Thai vacation. 

From brunch we went to another bar in the hotel and got a bottle of wine and persuaded the bartender to let us play out own music. Once that go old we were on the move. 

The next stop was Ku De Ta, a rooftop bar in the top of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. 

You have an amazing view of the Singapore skyline. We decided that we would order a bottle of vodka so that we could get one of the reserved seating areas. None of us felt like sitting at a high top table, we wanted to be able to lounge and be comfortable. 

Owen had an issue with the waitress not understanding that we wanted sugar free Red Bull. He tried over and over again to explain it to her but alas, it was not working. 

We stayed, chatted, finished the bottle and enjoyed the sunset. 

Owen suggested that we head to the casino to gamble. I'm not a huge gambler but at this point in the day, and after so many drinks, it seemed like a brilliant idea. I'm not exactly sure how but from the elevator ride, to the short walk to the casino, Anne and I lost Owen. He didn't have his phone on him so we had no way of getting a hold of him. My phone had died so the only other option was to hope we would run in to each other. Quickly, Anne and I became bored with this and we decided that we would stop for tapas at Rio Tapas Lounge. They had a jazz band and woman singing and we sat down and ordered tapas and a bottle of white wine. After sitting for awhile and listening to music and snacking, we decided to call it a night. It was a great way finish out the weekend. 

A Proper Braai

The great thing about Singapore is that it is BBQ weather all year round. Yes, there is the rainy season, but you can always manage to organize a great day of grilling with friends and move under cover if need be. When our friend Willo sent out an invite for our circle of friends to come to his place for a barbecue , I was definitely in. Actually, the invite said to join him at his place for a braai-rugby-beverage night. I had no idea what the first word meant, but google came to the rescue explaining it is an Afrikaans term for "grilling" or "barbecue" that is commonly used by South Africans. The rugby match was a big one between South Africa and England and it started at 11pm so we planned on being at Willo's around 8pm to drink and eat. 

Willo's uncle lives in one of the historic black and white houses in Singapore. These houses were built in the British colonial days (19th century up until WWII) for expatriate families and are situated amongst a lush nature landscape. They are the most expensive homes to live in and so sought after that you have to bid in order to be able to rent one. When we arrived at the house, there was no sense of feeling like we were still in the city. I immediately heard the chattering of friends that had already arrived, and as I walked up the long driveway I heard two of my friends yelling that they were on the back patio. I walked over to the back gate and the patio opened up to two huge outdoor seating areas, a pool, and a table set up for us to eventually eat at. I was greeted by Michael and Adrian and they quickly told me that the others were taking a tour of the house. We walked inside and there were large grandiose rooms that flowed and opened in to one another. We ended up in the kitchen where Michael poured me a glass of wine. I looked out the big window adjacent to the fridge and saw three women grilling in the distance that I did not recognize. I wasn't sure who they were and Adrian said they were the help preparing the braai. I could hear the rest of my friends making their way to the main floor we all said our hellos and introduced anyone that was new to the group. It's true what they say: when you hang out with people often enough, you start to dress alike. Val, Anna, and I all were in a very similar outfit. We had to take a photo! 

Everyone headed out to the back patio and refreshed our drinks and started to catch up. I was leaving for Hong Kong in 4 days and this was going to be the last time that I was going to see a lot of my friends for awhile. Drinks led to more drinks and eventually the table was set for us to eat! The food was amazing and we ate well. 

The match was about to start and half the group went inside to watch while the other half stayed outside and continued to chat. 

When the match was over (South Africa won in case anyone was wondering!) we all congregated outside. The boys quickly jumped in the pool and Mia and Kathleen were soon to follow. 

There was a big tree to the left of the pool and one of the branches overhung perfectly to have a rope tied to it. It was a perfect way to have fun in theory.  

It took Owen only one swing to somehow unwind the rope from the branch! I tried my best to use my toned arms (haha) to swing the rope back over the branch but it just wasn't happening. Owen got the rope over the top, now the question was how to secure it to the branch. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but I hoisted myself on to the base of the branch and started climbing up the tree. I was doing just fine and not aware of the height until Adrian yelled, "Mish, don't look down!" I, of course, naturally looked down and froze. I couldn't move forward and couldn't move backwards. 

The boys realized I looked like a deer in headlights and got out of the pool to figure out how to help me down. Owen noticed that I was legitimately scared and climbed half way up and led me partly down. 

He then jumped down and told me to keep my body very stiff and grabbed me by my legs and lifted me down. The intense workouts he has been doing 6 days a week came to benefit me! Aside from a brief scare and a scrapped leg, I was just fine. In celebration of my return to solid ground, we opened another bottle of wine and poured myself a very heavy glass. I sat down on the couch next to Carrie and enjoyed a long sip. 

I got up to grab my camera out of my handbag and saw Willo walking up to me. He very disarmingly said, "Amisha, I'm going to throw you in the pool." It took a second for me to register what he had said and before I knew it I felt his arm around my waist and we were falling into the pool! 

There was nothing left for me to do but gasp for air and laugh at what had just happened. My friends were waiting to see if I was upset, and once they realized I wasn't they felt free to laugh along with me. I climbed out of the pool and had a moment of panic. My iPhone was in my back pocket! I frantically ran to the edge of the pool and started scanning the pool for my phone. It was nowhere to be found. Carrie called my phone and, low and behold we located it in between the couch cushion that I was sitting on before I got up to grab my camera. I was so grateful that it had fallen out of my back pocket before I was flung in to the water! Willo set his sights on Anna next and she exclaimed, "No! I'll jump in myself!" Willo started to run towards her and she had no hope of escaping. She realized this and tossed herself in! That was two down fully clothed in the pool. Willo was on a roll! The rest of the night carried on with swimming, drinking, snacking, and laughing. 

Before we knew it, it was 4am and slowly we started to wind down. One by one we all said our good-byes and called it a night. All in all, it was a perfect Singapore night with good friends, rugby, braai, and drinks.