24/52 - Bukit Brown Cemetery

Week 24 of 52
Bukit Brown Cemetery
Singapore

Since it is Halloween today I thought it would be fun to have a spooky themed 52 weeks blog this week.  I've been wanting to visit the Bukit Brown Cemetery for quite some time so finally made the trip out to see it. 

Bukit Brown Cemetery is actually a Chinese cemetery that has been abandoned since the 1970s.  The area is huge and covers approximately 213 acres of land.  It has been in the news quite a bit this year because there have been talks of exhuming the graves so that they can develop the land.  Just this past week there were a handful of articles in the newspaper because the Singaporean government have agreed to document the graves prior to exhumation in order to document and preserve the history.  According to the articles, about 5% of the nearly 100,000 graves will be exhumed to make way for a new road.

Gates at the entrance.

So, what does a Chinese cemetery look like?  And how is it different from a typical cemetery you would find in the US?

The plots are much larger than you would find in a US cemetery.  Also, in the US you would typically just find a single headstone to mark a plot but as you can see in the picture above there is a lot more than just a single headstone. 

Obviously, the headstones are marked in Chinese so I have absolutely no idea what any of them said.  Although, a fair number of the headstones had photos on them which was a little creepy to me...

A lot of the plots were decorated with creatures from Chinese mythology...

Some of them were even guarded by soldiers...

The cemetery itself is a beautiful and quiet area in an otherwise bustling city.  Even without the beauty and history of the cemetery it was a great place to just stroll around and enjoy a nice walk. 

A few other pictures from my adventure...

And lastly...the scene of the cobra encounter...

I hope you all have a spooky Halloween!

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Hissssssssssssss........

So, I went out exploring earlier today for my 52 weeks project...which I'll blog about that later.  While I was out exploring and enjoying a beautiful day here in Singers, I ran across a little bit of nature. 

Now, you all know that I am a cat lover and you are probably hoping for a cute cuddly picture of a stray kitty that I bumped into...um...not really...I ran across a snake! And he hisssssssssssed at me!  It actually scared the @$#+ out me to be completely honest.  (If there were any candid cameras capturing it I'm sure I would get a good laugh about it.)  Anyway, I was walking through a grassy area (this will make much more sense when I post my 52 weeks blog) and heard a little rustling in the grass.  I assumed it was a gecko or mouse or something similar so didn't immediately think much of it.  Then...I caught something black out of the corner of my eye and in the time it took my brain to register it was a snake it was sitting upright and hissing at me and it even made a little jump at me and popped a little.  I stopped dead in my tracks and started moving backwards (am 99% sure it wasn't as graceful as I am making it sound) and got myself back on the pavement.

Before getting myself back on the pavement I saw enough of the snake to realize it was very black, probably about 2 feet long, and had a winged area around the head...sort of like a cobra.  

Snakes in Singapore?  Especially ones that look like a cobra?  Well, come to find out there are Black Spitting Cobras here in Singapore.  Want to know what they look like?  Here's a link to a picture of what my little hissing friend looked like...open the link at your own risk (and no, I did not stick around long enough to take that picture) http://www.flickr.com/photos/francisg/2458463564/

The black spitting cobra is poisonous.  They, as their name indicates, will spit venom at their predators.  The venom won't hurt you if it hits intact skin but if it gets in your eyes it can blind you and apparently their bites can be lethal.  Holy cow!!!  I was literally within about 2 feet of one of these things???  The popping sound I heard may have been it spitting at me.  I was wearing long pants and didn't notice anything get on them so maybe his venom supply was running a little low...or I just imagined the popping noise.

I had no idea there were snakes in Singapore and clearly had no idea that there were cobras.  I will now be a bit more careful when walking through grassy areas!

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23/52 - Road trip to Malacca

Week 23 of 52
Malacca River by night
Malacca, Malaysia

We had a day and half off of work this week for the Indian holiday of Deepavali.  Instead of just hanging out in Singapore my friends and I took a road trip to Malacca, Malaysia.  Alan and I take road trips all time back in the US but I've never done one here in Singapore.

This was us starting out the trip.  We stopped for some lunch before heading out so that is why Sonya is about to take a giant bite of her sandwich.

Since they drive on the opposite side of the road here I was out voted for being able to drive so got stuck sitting in the backseat.  Oh well...at least I got out of Singers!  To get to Malaysia you have to go through an immigration and customs checkpoint in Singapore and then again in Malaysia to enter the country.  I even got a stamp in my passport!

The is us on the bridge between the Singapore and Malaysia checkpoints.

Once you get into Malaysia it is only about a 2-2.5 hour drive to get to Malacca.  It took us about 3 hours due to some pretty bad storms and a couple of accidents.

This is us stuck sitting in traffic due to one of the accidents.

It may seem a bit odd but it was so nice to see lots and lots of green.  Living in Singapore you get used to being in a metropolitan area.  There are buildings and concrete everywhere.  While I make an effort to get out and enjoy the fabulous park system here it isn't the same as seeing green all around you.

Boring photo of the side of the highway in Malaysia.

Malacca itself is a great little city.  It is much bigger than I expected but could be best described as being quaint.  It has an interesting mix of being a typical Asian city but with a very noticeable Portuguese presence. 

The streets are all very narrow and the majority of the buildings are row houses like those above.  Some of them are split in the middle so there are separate things if you enter from the front versus the back.  Some have maintained the original structure and they are very long.

Along the river was a great area with tons of restaurants.  We stopped at one that served typical Nonya style food.  It is local to the area and is a mix of Chinese, Indian, and Malay food.  Is pretty spicy but oh so tasty.

We had a great dinner and evening on the river.  I would highly recommend eating the local food and enjoying the view.  Wednesday morning we wandered around the town a bit.  There are a lot of great old churches to see.  One of the most photographed is this one...

It was a lot of fun to get in the car and take a trip versus having to go through the ordeal of dealing with an airport.  I would certainly go back to Malacca and do some more exploring.

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22/52 - Phuket

Week 22 of 52
Sunset over the Andaman Sea
Phuket, Thailand

I took a weekend trip to Phuket, Thailand with a couple of friends.  Just about everybody living in Singapore takes a trip to Phuket at some point.  I hadn't been and wanted to see what all of the hype was about so booked the flights and hotel.  When I originally planned the trip I figured I'd get out and see a bit of Phuket...instead...I ended up lounging by the pool and ocean by day and then watching this beautiful sunset at night.  It was the perfect way to get away from what has been a crazy period at work lately.

So...I cannot tell you what Phuket is like at all but I can tell you how awesome it is to lounge around all day and not think about work.

Here's a shot prior to the pretty sunset...

And one from earlier in the day when we took a little stroll down the beach...

Yep...it was a tough, tough weekend...

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21/52 - Knock out

Week 21 of 52
The end of a stressful Monday
Singapore

I have had one of those Mondays where I should have just stayed in bed.  Nothing terribly earth shattering or truly horrible but just an annoying and stressful day to start the week and coming off of a rather stressful weekend.  In the grand scheme of things it is no big deal...but annoying nonetheless. 

I had a personal training appointment tonight and was supposed to go for a run.  It is nice and breezy out and rather cool by Singers standards so was looking forward to it.  At the last minute my trainer texted me and told me to bring my gloves...change of plans...we'd be boxing!  Wahoo!

Working out is actually a good release for me to let go of the stress and ick of the day.  Boxing...is a seriously awesome way to make me laugh and smile.  Come on...punching things...kicking things...so, so great and such a stress reliever.

Muay Thai boxing is very popular in Asia.  As you can tell by the name it originated in Thailand and is a huge sport there.  I've never actually been to a live Muay Thai match but will try and go if I get back to Bangkok.  It is a form of boxing where you throw normal punches...jabs, straights, uppers...don't I sound like a boxer...but you also knee, elbow, and kick.  It is an all-out workout that wears you out in no time at all.  I don't actually fight anybody but instead just spar with my trainer based on him calling out the different punches and kicks that I should do.  We've been boxing off and on for the past two years.  Although, we haven't actually boxed since July so this was a timely change of plans.

In case you were wondering, those gloves are my personal gloves.  I wandered through some dodgy alleys in Bangkok near one of the big Muay Thai arenas in order to find them.  I didn't intend for them to be so fancy but the only ones they had in my size were these...

I'm not sure how well you can see it but there is a dragon on the end of each glove.  At first I wasn't a big fan but now I sort of like the fact that if I ever were to really box somebody the last thing they'd see before I punched them was a dragon...insert evil laugh here...

So, I should have had a 52 weeks post over the weekend...I never said it would be 52 consecutive weeks...or if I did...tough, I changed the rules...
And I probably should have gotten out and about to explore someplace in Singers but it didn't happen...
Feel free to argue with me...I'm in a fighting mood!
Actually not really...just thought I should sound a bit tough since my post was about boxing.  I sincerely hope your Mondays in the US are much better than mine was here.

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Fun with food - Bau

What, you ask, is bau?

Still don't have any idea after looking at the picture?

They are buns filled with yummy goodness.  Officially, they are steamed buns made of wheat flour and filled with various meats or vegetable pastes.  They are a great size for a quick snack and super easy to eat while on the go. 

The bun itself is pretty light and sort of squishy.  If I had to compare it to something it probably has the consistency of a sponge cake.  They are a bit sponge-like...hence the comparison in the last sentence...to the touch and bounce back to their normal shape...think angel food cake.

Most of them fit in the palm of your hand...

The picture above is a normal teaspoon to give you an idea of the size.

You are probably wondering what the pink dots are on the one on the left.  As I mentioned, there are a number of varieties and the colored dots on the top are what let you know what is in the filling.  I got a barbecue chicken one (pink dots) and one with a sweet black bean paste.

So, how do they taste?

I actually really like them.  The bun part of them is a pretty bland taste and the real flavor comes from whatever the filling is inside them.  I also like that you can get both savory and sweet versions.  The barbecue chicken is just exactly what it implies...although is probably a bit sweeter than what you find in the US.  The sweet black bean paste probably sounds horrible but I really enjoy it.  It doesn't taste anything like beans to me and is truly sweet.  You get a little bit of the consistency of the beans but otherwise you wouldn't know. 

You can get bau at most hawker stalls, at grocery stores, and even at the 7/11.  The 7/11 ones aren't the best but like any convenience store food they do in a pinch...and actually are far better than roller dogs from the convenience stores in the US...probably a little healthier too.

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20/52 - SAM

Week 20 of 52
Singapore Art Museum
Singapore

Friday evening I went to the Singapore Art Museum (SAM).  I had a teleconference until the early evening and then didn't have any plans so thought I would take advantage of the free admission on Friday evenings.  It is a place that I have walked past many times but have actually never ventured inside. 

The museum is housed in a former Catholic school and the building is really interesting.  

They have done a good job of utilizing the space inside.  However, I was a little less impressed with the contents of the museum.  I'm not sure if it was because it was Friday evening or just poor timing on my part but quite a few of the galleries were closed indicating that the exhibitions were under construction.  I walked all throughout the museum and was unable to locate a gallery with any sort of permanent collection.  It was a bit disappointing.

I did see two of the current exhibits by Asian artists.   

The artist in the pictures above is Liu Kang who was one of the most influential artists in Singapore.  He occupied three different gallery halls and his paintings and sketches were colorful and and were the types of pictures that if you stood back from them you saw the beauty of them but when you got up close you could see all sorts of detail that wasn't noticeable before.  He also used a lot of Indonesian influence in his painting which I liked having just been to Bali.

One of the interesting things about the exhibit was the notice/warning upon entering the gallery that there was nudity.  I am fine with there being a 'notice' but I guess in my head there is always a possibility of nudity in art museums.  Just something a little different about Singapore...

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19/52 - Think Pink!

Week 19 of 52
'Treasure the Breast Things in Life'
Pink Ribbon Walk for Breast Cancer
Marina Bay Waterfront Promenade
Singapore

October is breast cancer awareness month both in the US and here in Singapore.  Last night, my friend Kathy and I went to cheer on the participants of the Pink Ribbon Walk for Breast Cancer here in Singapore.  I normally would participate in these things but I didn't get registered in time and for some reason they don't have same day registration here.  So, we just went down to see what was going on and support a cause near and dear to me.

If you know me, you'll know that I am not one to wear pink.  Okay...I'm not one to wear much besides black but did pull out my one and only pink skirt for the event.  And I had to laugh a little when I ended up on an MRT car that also had pink seats...

This event reminded me a bit of the Race for the Cure back in the States, however, this was not a competitive event.  Instead, it was just a walk with an entrance fee where all of the proceeds went to the Singapore Breast Cancer Foundation.  Most of the people that were participating in the walk wore the shirts that were given to them with the entrance fee...but there were a few fun outfits...

 

The couple in the photo above were a riot.  Dave and Roothie were standing near us for a bit and we ended up having a nice chat with them.  In addition to being asked to have their photo taken by lots of people...Dave would sneak in the back of pictures (he is quite tall) that others were taken.  Most people would laugh when they looked at the picture on the camera but one little lady just wasn't sure...it was great!

Even Kathy and I had a little fun with our attire...

It was also nice to see all of the different cultures come together to support such a great cause...

They even had one of the local dragon boat clubs 'paddle for the cure' and they made their entrance just before the walk began...

At the start of the race, they released quite a few white and pink balloons over the Marina Bay area...it was pretty...

After the walk, we had a nice dinner on the opposite side of Marina Bay and were able to see the light show that occurs every night...

If there are any local events where you are that support breast cancer research I would encourage you to attend.  Regardless of if there are any events, be sure that you and your loved ones are performing regular self-exams and contact a doctor immediately if anything seems out of the ordinary.  Early detection truly saves lives!

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