Your Today is My Yesterday

Thaipusam

2012-02-13T09:06:00.000+08:00

This past Tuesday was the Hindu festival of Thaipusam. I tried to look up what the day is meant to celebrate but there seem to be multiple things so will just leave it at being a very spiritual day.

In Singapore, they actually shut down some of the roads so that the devotees can make the 2.5 mile walk from Little India to the temple just down the road from my apartment. Now, 2.5 miles doesn't seem like such a long way...but imagine if you had to walk that far wearing this...

The men are wearing kavadis or burdens.

These are worn as an act of devotion and apparently the more pain that is suffered the more god-earned merit is obtained. If you can't see in the pictures above, the kavadis are not only balanced on the shoulders of these men but are actually affixed to their bodies...

Sorry that the picture above is blurry but I had to snap this fast because there were so many people walking with him.

In addition to the men, the women also participate as devotees...

So, in addition to walking, barefoot, with the kavadis for 2.5 miles in the Singapore heat...these guys also dance with them on...can you imagine...

Expat friends

2012-02-12T08:18:00.002+08:00

I follow some blogs of other expats living in Singapore. There are a few who have just arrived in the past six months and another few that are leaving around the time that I will be leaving. Almost all of them have a post about the struggles with making friends as an expat. It isn't so much that it is hard to find people to become friends with but how much time and energy should one invest into the friendship knowing that one or both of you at some point will be moving away and possibly moving on.

So these posts from other bloggers really got me thinking about how their experience as an expat is going to be if they are being guarded about who they allow into their life? And, did I do the same thing?

In looking back at my time in Singapore I can honestly say that this never even came up as an issue for me. I made some amazing friends while living here. We have shared a lot of great memories and I would like to think that I'll maintain contact with them even once I move back to the US. However, there is a very real possibility that we will lose touch. That may sound harsh but that is just life. I have friends that live in the same city as me that I've lost touch with and couldn't give you any specific reason as to why.

I will say that one of the lessons that living half-way around the world from your core group of 'peeps' teaches you is that you must work at relationships. Obviously this is not only true for those of us living in different time zones but I think it is something we tend to take for granted in day-to-day life. It is far easier to just assume that someone will always be there for you than to put effort into the relationship. Prior to coming here I rarely 'scheduled' time to speak with my friends...sure...we would make plans to catch-up but even then I was a bit relaxed about even doing that. A 12-13 hour time difference coupled with the cost of international dialing rates teaches you to actually 'set dates' with your friends and family. As a result, I don't feel like I've missed out on too many things and haven't been too estranged from anyone back home while living here.

I'm thankful that I never had any reservations about making friends while living here. Without some of them my experiences here would not have been nearly as wonderful. I would be lying if I said that I wish I didn't have more time with some of them...but not once have I had the thought that I shouldn't invest my time or energy because one of us will be leaving. So, instead of 'scheduling dates' with my US friends I'll soon be shifting my energy to arranging dates to call or video chat or visit in person with my friends from Asia.

If you are an expat and happen to be reading this or have the opportunity to become an expat I'll give you some unsolicited advice on this topic...go all in when it comes to friends. Who cares if you have 30 years or 3 years or 3 months with somebody? I'd like to think that people enter and exit our lives at the times that we need them to be there and we don't always get to make the decision about the timing.

I've been asked a lot lately about what I will miss the most when I return to the US and it is the exact same thing that I have said that I miss the most about being away from the US...the people.

33/52 - Hong Kong

2012-02-11T16:48:00.002+08:00

Week 33 of 52
Hong Kong

Last weekend, Mom and I went to Hong Kong for a visit. I've only ever flown through the airport so it was fun to get out and explore a new place. The weather was a bit on the chilly side by Singapore standards...although still a bit warm for Mom coming from Michigan.

Hong Kong reminded me of a bit of Singapore. It has an Asian flare to it but is easy to get around and the majority of people speak English. It is also similar to Singapore in that there are lots and lots of buildings and if you want to go shopping you could spend all of your time in the shops.

One notable difference was the size of the buildings...holy cow are they tall...

We went to one of the higher points in Hong Kong via cable car and got a great view of the central part of Hong Kong.

I had a little fun with one of the settings on my camera...

and also got a great picture of the two of us...

I think our favorite part of the visit was to the Stanley Market area on the south side of Hong Kong island. It had much less of a city feel to it and there was a great market where we did some shopping.

There were also a bunch of great cafes and restaurants. We ate a cute place that was a bakery/cafe combined. I was super excited because they had so many yummy cookies, cupcakes, brownies, lemonbars, etc to choose from! Asia is not known for their baking so I was thrilled to find this place that was run by an American.

We spent the last evening of our weekend in Hong Kong on the Kowloon side. We had a nice dinner and then took a walk along the water to view the amazing lights and skyline of Hong Kong...

4 weeks...

2012-02-01T07:35:00.000+08:00

So, the countdown continues and I am somehow at the 4 week mark...yikes! I'm super excited to be coming home but am also sad about leaving Singapore. And...in the middle of all of that I have a lot of organizing to do. Movers to schedule...things to organize for packing...repairman to be scheduled...lots of dinners and drinks with friends...transitioning job responsibilities...canceling of utilities...and on and on... Please don't get me wrong, am not complaining at all...it is just going to be an interesting...and busy...ride for the next few weeks!

Temple tree

2012-01-31T07:28:00.000+08:00

One of the stops I always take people to in Singapore is the Buddhist temple right in the heart of Chinatown. I didn't plan to take any pictures since I've been to it a number of times before. However, there were some great decorations for Lunar New Year. This one was my favorite...

These were up on the altar in the main hall of the temple. You'll notice that the tree on the left has $10 notes stuck in with the shiny leaves. It was a unique and pretty way to display money offerings.

32/52 - River Hongbao

2012-01-30T07:52:00.000+08:00

Week 32 of 52
River Hongbao
Singapore

I have been wandering around showing my mom the city the past few days. We have spent a good bit of time on the different Lunar New Year festivities and sights. It is a fun time of year here...LNY is similar in importance to Christmas in the west...there are lots of lights and lanterns and colors and music all around the city.

Something that they do every year in Singapore is the River Hongbao which is a festival/carnival down at Marina Bay.

There are performances and is an entire section on the history of the Lunar New Year festivities in Singapore. I like it mainly for all of the fun lanterns and bright colors...

Since this is the year of the dragon they were everywhere...

They also always have the different animals of the zodiac. If you remember, I am an ox so found my guy and got a picture with him...

Bank of Kate

2012-01-29T13:53:00.001+08:00

One of the things that I always end up coming home with from a trip is leftover currency from the country I have just visited. When there is a chance you may head back to the country you tend to keep a small amount of the cash on-hand and then before you know it...you end up like this...

I dipped into my savings at the Bank of Kate just before I headed to Australia. I realized that since I am heading back to the US soon I actually don't need to keep it any longer so ended up turning it at the currency exchange place and had a lot more than I realized.

Can you guess all of the currency? I'll give you a hint and tell you all of the countries represented...
USA
Australia
Thailand
New Zealand
Korea
Japan
China
Taiwan
Malaysia

31/52 - Melbourne (in and around)

2012-01-28T09:27:00.000+08:00

Week 31 of 52
Mornington Peninsula
near Melbourne, Australia

Two years ago I made a passing comment to my friend Sonya that we should try and go to the Australian Open sometime. It seems so close (only an 8 hour flight from Singapore) and I hadn't been to Melbourne yet. Note to self...do not make random comments to Sonya about trips...she is good at making them happen! We were lucky enough to have the Australian Open fall over the Chinese New Year holiday here in Singapore so we only had to take one day off of work.

We were supposed to arrive Friday morning and see some evening tennis on Friday night...unfortunately, Qantas had other plans for us and we didn't end up arriving until Friday evening. On Saturday, we spent the afternoon in a part of Melbourne called St. Kilda. It is right on the water and has great restaurants and some nice shopping. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast (very hard to find here in Singapore) and a very long walk along the beach. It was a really grey day so I actually didn't take any pictures...next time.

On Sunday, a group of gals hired a van and driver to take us to the Mornington Peninsula which is known for some great Pinot Noir. It was a much prettier day to tour some cute little wineries...

We ended up going to about five places along with a local brewery...

We also had an amazing lunch at one of the wineries...

On Saturday night, Sonya and I made up for the lack of Friday night tennis by getting center court tickets to see our favorite player, Roger Federer. He was playing against a young Aussie, Bernard Tomic so it was a packed arena and had a great vibe...

Roger won the match but went on to lose to Rafa Nadal later in the week. And this was the closest I was able to get to him...

On Monday we were back to Rod Laver arena for an entire day of tennis. We had amazing seats at one of the service lines and only about 8 rows off the court...

We were close enough to hear the players ranting and see everything really well. The only problem was we were sitting in the direct sun...and the reflection off of the court added about 10 degrees so we were soaked just sitting and watching...I cannot imagine how hot it must have felt to the tennis players.

Tuesday was a pretty quiet day spent just wandering around the city. We had another delicious breakfast and did a little shopping before I headed off to the airport to come back to Singapore.

I had previously not been too interested in visiting Melbourne...mainly because of things I had heard from people. They had always said that Sydney was definitely worth the visit but Melbourne could be skipped. I'd have to disagree...Sydney is a must see if you are in Australia but Melbourne is a city with an amazing vibe to it. Great architecture, beautiful views, delicious food, friendly people, and if visiting in January some amazing tennis!

Today is brought to you by the number 5!

2012-01-25T19:38:00.000+08:00

I have been MIA from the blog lately because I just got back from 5 days in Melbourne, Australia. I'll blog about all the fun we had but as a preview...we saw some great tennis at the Australian Open...had amazing breakfasts...and went wine tasting.

Here's a preview of how amazing our seats were...

That is Serena Williams in case you aren't familiar with the tennis pros.

Today marks 5 weeks until I leave Singapore. Right now...in 5 weeks time I'll be about 7 hours into my 18 hour return flight to the US. I cannot believe that three years has flown by so quickly...and I really cannot believe that my last few weeks here are flying by so quickly!

I'll do some blog catch-ups in the coming days...right now I'm off to bed a bit early to try and fend off a nasty cold I caught while I was away. Have a great Wednesday, January 25th...see, another 5 in there!

Singapore living

2012-01-15T11:44:00.002+08:00

Growing up in Owosso my concept of a home was a typical single-family house with a garage and a yard. There weren't very many apartment complexes and certainly no high rise buildings. I'm sure that people who are from more urban areas would have a different frame of reference.

In Singapore, there are not a lot of single-family homes. Those that do exist are insanely expensive to rent or purchase (think millions of dollars). Obviously, when you have 5 million plus people living on an island you very quickly run out of room so the easiest thing to do is build up instead of out.

These are HDB (Housing Development Board) apartment blocks. They are built by the Singapore government and are lower cost than the privately held apartment buildings. Typically, locals will live in HDB apartments but there is nothing that prohibits expats from living in them...although I'm pretty sure we couldn't own one.

The newer buildings where most of the expats live look more modern and tend to be newer...

I actually looked at a place in this complex...

The thing that is a bit different than being in the US is that all of the units are privately owned. When you you want to rent one you actually have to have a leasing agent that contacts the landlord's leasing agent to schedule viewings and then negotiate the leases. I am not aware of any typical apartment buildings like we have in the US where they manage all of the units in the building. It all seems very inefficient by having so many people involved.

I have enjoyed city living and think that I have adapted well to being in an apartment building again. However, I'm looking forward to being back in a home that I own...with no neighbors above me or just on the other side of the walls...it will be nice to have a yard again...and to be able walk directly from the garage into the house without having to take an elevator...

BTW - if you check out the pictures of the HDB buildings above you'll notice poles with laundry hanging out to dry. Most of the private buildings don't allow you to do this so is one way to tell (and am generalizing here) if a building is HDB or not.

I'm an Ox...what are you?

2012-01-10T20:55:00.003+08:00

We are coming up on the year of the dragon in the Lunar calendar. I found out today that more babies are born in Singapore in the year of the dragon than any other year (so much so that the last time it was a dragon year they had to build more schools). Apparently dragons tend to be strong leaders and many kings and presidents have been dragons.

I am not a dragon but as you probably read from the title of this post am an ox. The general description of an ox is as follows...

Dependable, ambitious, calm, methodical, born leader, patient, hardworking, conventional, steady, modest, logical, resolute, tenacious. Can be stubborn, dogmatic, hot-tempered, narrow-minded, materialistic, rigid, demanding.

I would certainly agree that a lot of those characteristics tend to describe me but there are some that definitely do not. What do you think?

If you are curious what your Chinese zodiac is go to this website and take a look...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_zodiac

- to +

2012-01-08T09:27:00.002+08:00

The entire time I've been living in Singapore I've tried hard not to dwell too much on things that frustrated me or were different. I mean...really...those differences are a big reason why I even opted to live here in the first place...to be able to experience them. Being human...you tend to just get frustrated sometimes and this gets a little harder than you might think.

For example...
Yesterday I went to the movie with a friend and was stuck waiting for a bus for longer than I wanted to be...ugh...couldn't it just get there...why is traffic so unpredictable...gee I wish I had my own car...

It got me thinking...there are probably negatives and positives on both sides of the globe...so now that I am on my countdown to my last days in Singers I have had a bit of a shift in thinking...I may randomly share a few of these thoughts with you as short blog posts over the coming weeks...

Traffic & Driving
Am really looking forward to having my own car again and being able to drive myself when and where I want...
Will miss the luxury and ease of public transport when there are traffic jams or late nights out...

City Living
It will be nice to be back in a home with a yard and some real space that is all our own.
I will miss being able to walk out the door and be in the thick of things in a matter of minutes.

Tropical Weather
I have a long-standing disdain for hot & humid temps but must finally admit that it is kind of fun being in flip-flops most of the year and that sitting by my pool on the weekends enjoying the cool breeze and blue skies is not a horrible thing.
I will not miss the crazy rain that comes with living in the tropics and am very much looking forward to wearing turtlenecks and tights and boots...when I get back to NC.

Any last requests?

2012-01-06T10:06:00.001+08:00

I have known for some time that I will be permanently returning to the US sometime early this year. Yesterday, I booked my flight home and will be departing and arriving on February 29th!

I am super excited to be coming home! It will be so great to be with Alan and the cats everyday and to see friends and family in person instead of through the computer. I'm also looking forward to cooler temps...driving my own car...good Mexican food...and many other random things...

At the same time, I am really sad to be leaving Singapore. I'm going to miss the variation in culture...the food...the ability to travel so easily in Southeast Asia...but mostly will miss the great friends I have met here...

I'm going to try my best to live in the moment for the next 54 days (yep...the countdown is on) and enjoy all things Singapore so I don't have any regrets when I am back in the States permanently. As loyal readers for the past three years do you have any last requests? Is there anything you want me to revisit or explore or explain while I'm still here? If so...leave a comment and I'll do it!

30/52 - Chinatown

2012-01-05T07:48:00.000+08:00

Week 30 of 52
Chinatown
Singapore

The Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year is rapidly approaching. We in Singapore will be celebrating it on January 24th & 25th and have those days off as public holidays. In preparation for it Chinatown is a buzz of activity. I always take a trip this time of year to see what the decorations look like and just get a general feel for the upcoming festivities.

We are entering the year of the dragon and ushering out the year of the rabbit. If you are curious what your Chinese zodiac is check out this website: http://www.chinesezodiac.com/calculator.php. I am an Ox - FYI.

In the Chinese culture, Lunar New Year is probably the biggest holiday of the year. It is a time meant to be spent with family and friends. From speaking with the locals, they take about a week where they go to family members homes for large dinners and quality time. It is traditional to give a gift of money to children in red envelopes such as these...

There are quite a few decorations to choose from in Chinatown. The majority of them are red and gold which symbolize luck and prosperity. And since it will be the year of the dragon quite a few of them are dragon related...

There are also lanterns and flowers everywhere as decoration and to be purchased...

It is a beautiful and fun time of year to wander through Chinatown. The crowds can be pretty overwhelming but it is totally worth the fun of seeing the buzz of activity for the holiday.

Fun with food - Egg Tart

2012-01-02T19:19:00.001+08:00

When I first arrived in Singapore I read an article about the best bakeries in Singapore for egg tarts. At the time, I had no idea what egg tarts were. So, the first time I wandered through Chinatown after reading that article I found the bakery where the article claimed was 'the best egg tart' in Singapore.

The shop is a tiny little storefront tucked away in Chinatown. You would easily walk by this place and not even take notice. The man in the picture is standing in front of the only pastry case so you can see just how small the shop actually is.

I should also note that I have absolutely no idea the name of this bakery. Everything is written in Mandarin and the only way I found it the first time was because of the great description of the location in that original article.

So, what exactly is an egg tart?

It is a small pastry (maybe 2 inches across) that is filled with egg custard.

The crust is like a normal pie crust...

The filling is egg custard...

The custard is thick but doesn't ooze out when you cut through it...not sure why but the first time I ate one I thought it would be a little oozier. The crust tastes like any pie crust would and the egg custard tastes like eggs with a little bit of sweetness to them. I would actually say they are more of a savory dessert than a sweet one.

I prefer the English version of egg/custard tarts because they are bit more dessert-like than the Asian version. However, I would have to say that this is one of the better Asian desserts that I have tried...there are some really weird ones...remember the post about desserts in Thailand...

http://yourtodayismyyesterday.blogspot.com/2009/11/fun-with-foodthai-style.html

Welcoming 2012

2012-01-01T20:45:00.001+08:00

I had a relatively quiet evening last night. I went out to dinner with some friends and was home by 10:00 pm. I wasn't in the mood to deal with the crowds of people out celebrating...and by the looks of the number of people heading down to the Marina Bay area while I was walking in the other direction on my way home I made the right choice.

Much to my surprise, I made it to midnight so watched the festivities on television...

Yep...that is a picture of my TV at midnight...I know, I know...I should have been down there with the 10 gazillion other people but I honestly was much happier in the quiet of my own home. And, I think I probably had a better view. Luckily, I live close enough to the Marina Bay area that I could hear them shooting the fireworks and even caught the tippy tops of some of them from my balcony...

What did you do to ring in 2012?

2011 Recap

2011-12-31T10:11:00.000+08:00

I swear that it seems like just about a month ago that I was writing the 2010 recap and about to head off to Bali. I quite honestly have no idea what happened to 2011...it went by so incredibly fast! From my point of view, it was a much more subdued year than 2010 which was a nice change. Just a few minor challenges along the way but where would we be without challenges to face?

I just re-read my 2010 recap blog and realized I didn't end up blogging much more than I did in 2011. I will say that I had every intention of doing so but just didn't get around to it. I will...once again...try very hard to blog more frequently. It is especially important since I'll be returning to the US at the end of February....date to be determined and more on that in another blog post...

Last year I shared a bunch of thoughts with you because I felt I had ended the year a little wiser. I'm not sure about the wiser thing this year but will gladly share more of my thoughts and reflections from what I learned in 2011...

Sunshine after weeks of rain and gray skies can make your day...
Laughing until you cry is still one of my favorite things to do and has got to be good for your health...
Exploring new countries and places with Alan is a lot of fun...
I still love going to the post office and receiving letters...
Being at the NHL All-Star game was pretty amazing...
Finding new places in Singapore has been fun and interesting...
Almost being attacked by a black spitting cobra is actually a pretty cool story to tell...especially since it was an 'almost'...
Having curly hair was fun while it lasted but am honestly just thrilled that I have hair...
Catching up with old friends at my 20 year class reunion was a lot of fun...
Being able to say 'I'm just going to Bali for the weekend' is a pretty cool thing to do...
Peas are still the enemy...
Being on the phone all of the time at work does not make me more productive...
Being charitable and giving is one of the best feelings on earth...
Having friends who 'schedule' time to talk with their friend who is half-way around the world are amazing...
Being healthy and working out are good feelings...
Beer Lao is probably the best Asian beer made...
Spending a quiet evening at home is sometimes almost as good as an evening out laughing with friends and family...
Duke still has amazing healthcare providers...and a kickass basketball team...
Monsoon season is both good and bad..bad for all of the rain but good for the cooler temps and wind...
Laundry is still the best chore...ever...
Being there for a good friend is one of the best parts of a friendship...
Starting the day with good coffee makes for a happier Kate...
I have an amazing husband, great family, and wonderful friends!

As usual, I am not doing any specific resolutions...instead, I do have a few things I'm going to try and work on this year. I am going to try and blog more frequently...I am going to try to enjoy all of my time in Singers before I head back to the US...I am going to try and be a nicer person...I am going to try and be more charitable...I am going to laugh as often as possible...

I'll leave you with a photo recap from my 2011...

New Year Celebration in Bali

January ~ NHL All-Star Game

February ~ Michigan

February - Alcatraz on the way back to Singapore

March ~ Chicago for a business trip & quick visit with Alan

April ~ Australia

May ~ London with Alan

June ~ Exploring Singers

July ~ Langkawi

August ~ Bali & a visit from good friends

September ~ Bali again for my birthday

October ~

Malacca

Phuket

Breast Cancer Awareness walk

November ~ Phnom Penh

December ~ Vietnam and Laos with Alan

I wish all of you a safe and enjoyable New Year's Eve celebration. And best wishes for an amazing 2012!

Luang Prabang - cooking class

2011-12-30T07:54:00.000+08:00

While we were in Luang Prabang, Alan and I took a cooking class run by the local restaurant Tamarind. The class is a full-day event so you start early (by vacation standards) and depart from the restaurant at 9 am.

The first stop is to a local market...

The instructor walks you through the market and explains the local produce, spices, and meats. For most people, this is probably their first experience with a market in Asia so it is always fun to listen to the different reactions. We had a number of Americans in our class and they always get a bit freaked out by the meat area where things aren't in a nice, shiny refrigerated case.

Alan even tried some local meat which I think was heart and brain...

After the market we took a short ride to the cooking school. It is located in a remote area which is just beautiful...

We immediately started cooking. We learned about 5-6 different Lao dishes. The cool part about this class that was different than others I have been to in Asia is that we didn't use modern cooktops but instead used what the locals do...

We even used these great mortar and pestles...they were so great that Alan has ordered one for us to have at home...

We spent a good 3-4 hours prepping and cooking all of the dishes. Alan took the recipe sheet home with him so I can't recall exactly what we made but do know that it was all quite delicious...

I am always a bit lost in the kitchen...let's be honest...am not a very good cook...but I did enjoy this cooking course. I think I did mostly because I was hanging out with Alan and he was having so much fun but the instructor also did a good job of keeping our attention and explaining the local customs and traditions related to food. I would absolutely recommend this course if you ever find yourself in Luang Prabang.

The local kitty could have had something to do with influencing me too...

Luang Prabang

2011-12-24T10:07:00.000+08:00

We arrived in Luang Prabang at around 1 pm without much of a plan of what to do. All that we wanted to do was relax and do a little exploring and enjoy our time together.

We stayed at the Lotus Villa Laos at the suggestion of some friends. Their website does not do them justice...

We stayed in the amazing room pictured above. It doesn't have a television but we actually enjoyed the time without it. They serve a made-to-order breakfast every morning and the staff are extremely helpful. If you find yourself in Luang Prabang I would absolutely recommend this place!

Luang Prabang is a predominantly Buddhist area. There are quite a few wats (another name for temples) around which you can explore. One of the things you can experience is the alms ceremony at dawn which has been going on in Luang Prabang for many, many years. The locals will wake very earlier to prepare rice and food to give to the monks. This is something that happens every single day and if you wake up earlier enough you can see it all happening. We were lucky enough that one of the areas the monks receive alms is right in front of our hotel.

Every morning around 6:00 am you would see this...

These are the local women waiting for the monks to arrive. The small baskets at their right contain the rice that they will give them. They just sit and chat and seem to catch-up with each other while they are waiting. Then, when they see the monks coming one of the women will bang on a bucket to indicate that the monks are nearby...

The monks walk at a pretty steady pace and it must take a few times of giving the alms to be able to keep up with them. It was neat to see but we I am always a bit uncomfortable watching and photographing a religious ceremony.

The main part of the city of Luang Prabang sits on a peninsula between the Nam Khan and Mekong Rivers. It is a small city but has great character.

There are only about four main roads running along the peninsula and then there are all of these side alleys (like the one pictured above). It is fun to walk through the town and up and down these alleys. It is a great mix of locals and tourists.

One of the best parts about our visit was all of the amazing food that we ate. I never would have guessed that we would have had such delicious meals in someplace like Luang Prabang but man...every single meal we ate was delicious!

One of our meals was across the Mekong River at Dyen Sabai. In order to get there you have to pay a toll and walk across a bamboo bridge...

and then climb a little hill...

but the effort is so worth it for the fun environment and great food...

They even have a bunch of board games you can play...

The local Lao food is similar to Thai and Khmer food but has some distinct differences. They utilize sticky rice that you eat with your hands and dip into the different sauces. They also eat fried river weed from the Mekong...sounds a little disgusting but is tasty. It was all delicious and we enjoyed every single meal.

In addition to the local food, they also have some wonderful bakeries. Now, for those of you who don't know, Singapore and Asia for that matter are not known for their pastries or baking abilities. I have found a few bakeries here in Singapore that do an okay job but it is truly okay at best...nothing better. Luang Prabang on the other hand still has the French influence and their amazing pastries...mmm....I love bread and pastries...and I couldn't get enough of them...

The other wonderful part about Laos was the Beer Lao...

A large bottle of Beer Lao was typically about $3 each...a far cry from the $12 it would cost in Singapore for a Tiger beer. And even better than the low price was how tasty it was. I would go so far as to say it is the best tasting Asian beer around...

Now that I've been talking about beer and pastries and all that delicious food I'm a little hungry...a few more posts from Luang Prabang are coming...

Photo courtesy of Alan

29/52 - Luang Prabang Handicraft Night Market

2011-12-21T20:26:00.002+08:00

Week 29 of 52
Handicraft Night Market
Luang Prabang, Laos

After leaving Hanoi, Vietnam we headed to Luang Prabang in Laos.

I have always wanted to go to Laos. When I was in elementary school I wrote a book report on the country. I can't remember exactly how old I was but I do know it was elementary school. I remember pulling out the encyclopedias and doing the research. I even remember tracing the outline of the country. I don't remember much about Laos itself but it has been on my list of places to visit ever since then.

One of the great things about Luang Prabang...other than having such a cool name...and being in Laos...is that each night they shut down one of the main roads in the town and host a handicraft night market.

I have been to many night markets across Asia but this one had some of the nicest people selling their items. And, it was one of the most colorful and best organized I have been to...

Much more on Luang Prabang in the coming days...

Hanoi

2011-12-12T18:16:00.001+08:00

On our way from Hoi An to Luang Prabang we had an overnight stop in Hanoi. We really only had a few hours in the afternoon to explore but did get out for a bit in the Old Town area.

After we dropped our bags and got settled at the hotel our first priority was some food. We found a great little restaurant and enjoyed some spring rolls and some yummy pho. Alan had the beef and I had the chicken. It was probably some of the best pho either of us had ever had. Mmm...

From there we just set out to walk around a bit. There is a lake in the middle of Old Town so we took a nice stroll around it. Here are a few of the pictures I took...

We had a short but fun afternoon wandering around. We even managed to get a nice picture of the two of us...

Off the beaten path - Hoi An

2011-12-12T17:12:00.001+08:00

While we were in Hoi An we took a day to take a motorcycle trip into the country to see a bit more of Vietnam. We booked with Hoi An Motorbike Adventures and would certainly recommend them.

We started the day at about 8am and they picked us up and they took us to their shop. We were on bikes like the ones pictured above. Alan, our guide, and another guy all had their own and I rode on the back of the bike with the mechanic (who we thankfully didn't need).

We went through a bunch of different parts of the countryside that we never would have seen. They took us through these little villages...

We stopped at a couple of tourist type stops...a temple...

And also at a war memorial...

Our guide pointed out a very funny thing on one of the memorials...

If you look closely at the picture above you'll see a nerd (upper left-hand picture) and an old school computer (on the right). This was some sort of war memorial and he basically said that it couldn't have been fought without the nerds and the computers...too funny! I wonder how many people stop at this thing and never take note of these?

We also were able to see some amazing bits of the countryside. It was raining off and on while we were out but was still beautiful.

We stopped at a couple of great little roadside restaurants for snacks and lunch. The type of places that you drive by but would probably never stop on your own cause they look a little dodgy. The food was very tasty and it was more fun because it wasn't someplace we would normally stop.

We crossed some great little bridges...

And the countryside where the rice was being planted was just amazing...

Alan certainly had a lot of fun driving an old Russian motorcycle...

And I had a great time riding on the back taking pictures along the way. It was nice to just be able to enjoy the scenery and have my only concern be to stay on the back of the bike...

28/52 - Hoi An

2011-12-11T12:04:00.001+08:00

Week 28 of 52
Hoi An, Vietnam

I always love first impressions of a city or place that I travel. My first impression is seldom wrong although my mind has been changed a few times over the years. When we landed in Danang from Ho Chi Minh City my first reaction was to just take a deep breath. There were actual houses ( not high rises) and green and fields and trees. You don't realize how much you miss these things when they are all around you all of the time. But living in Singapore I certainly do miss them. So, my first impression of Hoi An was a good one.

Hoi An is one of those cities that is both busy and quiet at the same time. You can find a quiet corner for lunch or good coffee or you can try and walk along the market and get touted by all the local merchants. The food itself is amazing. Both the local Vietnamese fare and the nicer restaurants were super yummy.

We stayed outside of the Old Town area...

We were right on the South China Sea...

We had to catch a shuttle or taxi into town but it was actually kind of nice to get away from the noise and business of the town. It would have been beautiful to sit by the ocean or pool at our hotel but it was rainy and windy most of the days so we just relaxed and caught up on some sleep.

A few pictures from around Hoi An...

This is one of the places that I will add to people's 'must see' lists when in Asia. It is just a lovely little place.

27/52 - Somewhere on the Mekong River

2011-12-08T09:43:00.001+08:00

Week 27 of 52
Somewhere on the Mekong River
My Tho, Vietnam

Alan and I had a quick stopover in Ho Chi Minh City on the first part of our vacation. We were only there for about a day and a half but managed to fit in the tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels and head out to the Mekong Delta. It is similar to the trip that I did when I was in Ho Chi Minh City the first time. We had beautiful weather and while I had been on the tour before it was fun to see Alan experience it for the first time.

Alan tried to squeeze into one of the entrances to the tunnels...

And even crawled through the tunnels...

I'm still amazed that people lived underground in these tunnels. Especially since they have now been widened in order to accommodate us bigger Westerners during the tour.

When we went out on the river tour we had a huge boat all to ourselves. The boat captain had his daughter on the boat with him and it was so cute to watch the two of them interacting...

A few more pictures from around HCMC...

Next stop...Hoi An...

26/52 - Elephant Parade

2011-11-26T08:10:00.001+08:00

Week 26 of 52
Elephant Parade
Singapore

From now until mid-January there is an open-air art exhibition going on here in Singapore called "Elephant Parade". It is similar to the cows in Chicago or the wolves in Raleigh a few years back. There are over 150 of these elephants scattered around Singapore. Each has been painted by a different artist and will be auctioned off at the end of the exhibition. The exhibit is not only for us to enjoy the art but also to raise awareness on saving the Asian Elephant globally.

Last Sunday I took a long walk and saw a fair number of the elephants. Some are really amazing and others are just okay...nothing special. As with all art, I guess there will always be a mixed reaction. I do have to commend all of these artists for donating their time to paint these for such a worthy cause.

So the little guy pictured above is called 'Delightful Durian'. If you know anything about Asia you'll know what a durian is and appreciate that it is something very specific to the region so I thought this one best embodied Asia + elephant. Here's the other side of him...

I think my favorite out of all of them was this little guy...

He is named 'Al BUIN'. He just had some amazing colors and I love the position of this one. It looks like he is having a great time and smiling...maybe it is because he has such a great view of the Marina Bay area...

A close second to Al BUIN was this guy...

He is called 'Skyline Singapore' which I think is a pretty obvious description of him.

I had a nice, although super hot, walk wandering around and seeing these little guys. I am really thankful that Singapore makes such an effort with promoting art and making it accessible to everyone. I acknowledge that elephants are not earth-shattering pieces of art but they certainly are fun to look at, very creative, and raise awareness for a good cause. What better combination?

I'll leave you with pics of a few others since you can't be here to see them in person...

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T07:29:00.001+08:00

Happy Thanksgiving from Singers!

If I were in the US I'd be getting ready for a big meal and spending time with family and friends. In Singapore, I am enjoying a nice cup of coffee and some quiet before heading to the office. I am lucky enough to be constantly reminded of how blessed I am. I try hard to live in the moment and acknowledge all of the great things but often get side-tracked by the little things. I'm glad that we have a day a year that brings out the 'thankful' in all of us Americans.

Things I am thankful for this year (in no particular order):

My fabulous husband
The fact that Alan arrives here in Singapore in one week!
My amazing family
Good coffee from Bean Traders that helps me wake up every single morning
Fabulous friends...both near and far
Working out - yes, this is strange and I tend to both love and hate it but I'm often reminded that there were many times last year where I didn't have the energy to do things...
Google chat, Skype, email, Facebook, and all other forms of social media that have aided me in keeping in touch with everyone the past few years
Having a good job
Pudding - am not sure why but have a new appreciation for pudding...just can't get enough of it
A good book - suggestions are always welcome
Laughing until you cry
Evenings without teleconferences
Finally finding a great pizza place here in Singapore
The opportunity to live in a foreign country - this still excites me after 3 years of being here
Caramel creme candies...yes, I love them!
Getting mail
Sunny days with big poofy white clouds in the sky
Travel and exploring new places
Sending mail
A nice glass of wine to end the day
Good health
My wonderful mom
Naps on rainy...or not rainy weekend afternoons
Cats - both mine and my kitty nephews here in Singapore

This list could go on and on and on but I'll limit it to just these few items for now. This year I will be having two Thanksgiving meals...lucky, I know! I'll be enjoying a home-cooked meal with a friend and her family on Saturday night and then at a potluck meal with a large group of pals on Sunday. I'm SO excited and am glad it isn't the Thanksgiving meal failure in Bangkok of 2009.

Enjoy the time with your family and friends this weekend! Please eat some great food, laugh a lot, smile a lot, take a few food-induced naps, watch some good football or hockey, and mostly take a few minutes to just enjoy all of it!

Thanks again to all of you for continuing to read my blog!

Gobble! Gobble!

Fun with food - Custard apple

2011-11-20T21:16:00.001+08:00

I walked into the grocery store the other day and saw something in the fruit aisle that I have not seen before...

It doesn't look very appealing...does it? Although, I have learned that fruit from Asia often doesn't look near as good as it ends up tasting. The sign at the store said that this was a "Taiwan Custard Apple" which I have never heard of before.

The outside of it is pretty rough similar to the exterior of a pineapple. The size itself is larger than a normal apple and about the size of a small grapefruit.

Cutting through it was not the easiest thing because the exterior was so tough. The texture inside was basically that of a normal apple although slightly denser. It smelled sweet so was excited to try it, however, I wasn't really sure how to best cut it. Instead of the seeds being in just the center of the fruit they were all over like in a watermelon...

I did manage to cut away enough of it to taste it and enjoyed it. The texture was like a normal apple but the flavor was much sweeter and actually did taste a bit like custard. I would certainly eat more of it but it was similar to a lobster where it was just too much work for too little payoff. I'd be happy for somebody else to cut around all of those seeds and then give me all the tasty fruit!

25/52 - Phnom Penh

2011-11-19T08:48:00.001+08:00

Week 25 of 52
Phnom Penh
Cambodia

Two weekends ago (yes, I know I am a bit behind in my blogging these past few weeks) I met up with some friends in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. You may recall that last year Alan and I spent a few amazing days in Siem Riep wandering around the temples and eating great food. I have heard mixed reactions about Phnom Penh but have always wanted to make the trip so took the opportunity to meet up with friends as the perfect reason.

A bit about Phnom Penh...is the capital and largest city in Cambodia...sits on the Mekong River...was colonized by the French way back when...was the home to the S-21 prison camp during the Khmer Rouge genocide in the 1970s...is a bustling, crazy traffic, good food, nice people, kind of city.

I only had two days to see the area so the first day was spent touring around. We started at the Royal Palace which is right in the middle of the city and near to most of the hotels and good restaurants.

The grounds and building of the Royal Palace are quite beautiful. And apparently the sitting king and his family actually still reside at the palace unlike many of the other countries in Asia. However, I must admit that these buildings have become sort of 'standard' looking to me now. When I first came to Asia I couldn't take enough photos of the palaces and temples and everything but now they actually seem pretty normal...my how my perspective has shifted. One thing that I never get bored with are the beautiful colors in these places...

After the Royal Palace we walked down to the National Museum. We ended up opting to not tour the museum itself but I did enjoy the short walk over...

One of the main forms of transportation around the city is via tuk-tuk. Most tourists take them but also many of the locals. We saw one tuk-tuk with two guys on the back and a normal sized refrigerator!

There were signs like this all over the city. The week prior was the celebration of the king's 90th birthday.

Nothing special about this building...just shows the French influence.

From here we wandered to the Russian Market. I didn't take any photos of the market itself but it was one of the nicer ones that I have been to in Asia. The aisles were relatively wide, the market was clean, and there was a nice selection of goods.

The next bit of our touring in Phnom Penh was focused on the genocide of nearly 3 million Cambodians by the Khmer Rouge. While it is not a pleasant topic to read about or experience I feel strongly that it is important to learn about even the horrible things in our history for no other reason than the hope that by being educated about it they not be repeated, ever again.

We started at the Security Prison or S-21.

What was once used as a high school was turned into a prison by the Khmer Rouge. People were brought here and immediately lost all rights and any level of humane treatment. People were crammed into small rooms, given very little food, beaten, tortured, chained up, etc. Upon entering the compound you come across these rules...

1. You must answer accordingly to my question. Don’t turn them away.

2. Don’t try to hide the facts by making pretexts this and that, you are strictly prohibited to contest me.

3. Don’t be a fool for you are a chap who dare to thwart the revolution.

4. You must immediately answer my questions without wasting time to reflect.

5. Don’t tell me either about your immoralities or the essence of the revolution.

6. While getting lashes or electrification you must not cry at all.

7. Do nothing, sit still and wait for my orders. If there is no order, keep quiet. When I ask you to do something, you must do it right away without protesting.

8. Don’t make pretext about Kampuchea Krom in order to hide your secret or traitor.

9. If you don’t follow all the above rules, you shall get many lashes of electric wire.

10. If you disobey any point of my regulations you shall get either ten lashes or five shocks of electric discharge.

Inside many of the now empty rooms are rows and rows of pictures of the people who were imprisoned here. Hundreds of faces of male...female...young...old...healthy... who had their pictures taken upon entering this horrible place. Many looked scared, however, every so often there were some who looked a bit pissed off...which I had to appreciate...despite the fact that they had been stripped of everything else they were able to own and portray disdain toward their captures. The entire time I was walking around this place all I kept thinking was how it could go from being a place that holds the hope of the future as a high school to someplace that represents the worst of the human race.

After touring at the S-21 museum we headed out to the area referred to as the Killing Fields. As the name implies, the Killing Fields are an area outside of Phnom Penh where the Khmer Rouge took prisoners, executed them, and then buried them in shallow graves. As horrible as it sounds it was worth the trip to walk the land where such a horrible thing took place. The tour itself was well done. They give you headsets and you walk through a guided tour that is narrated by some of the survivors of the genocide.

The building above is what you see when you enter and exit the Killing Fields. Inside are seven floors of skulls of victims of the genocide. It is haunting to see so many skulls in one place and to know that they are only a small portion of the people who were executed. I stood outside it just before entering and all I could do was say "I'm so sorry this happened to you"... How could anybody do such a horrible thing? And how could they do it to their own people?

The last stop on our tour around Phnom Penh was to the temple of Wat Phnom...

Wake across the street

2011-11-05T10:15:00.002+08:00

Someone in the condo building across the street from mine has recently passed away. Instead of being at a funeral home the wake actually occurs at the place of residence of the deceased. In the middle of the courtyard they have put up a tent to provide protection from the weather. Under the tent are a number of tables and chairs and there appears to be a buffet table with food. In the middle of the tent is a large alter with a lot of very colorful floral arrangements, candles, and quite a large picture of the deceased. It is similar to an alter you would see at a Buddhist temple. Behind the alter are quite a few large floral arrangements (as tall as me) and the casket is there as well. Despite the casket being there people seem to be paying their respects at the alter where the picture is instead of walking around to the casket.

In addition to this, there is a very large metal container that is being used for burning joss paper.

Joss paper is also called 'ghost money'. It is burned to ensure that the spirit of the deceased has lots of good things in the afterlife. It can be very traditional looking or more modern like the one above.

It is interesting timing that there is a wake in the condo block across the street when earlier this week I visited a Chinese cemetery. I would love to take pictures to show you because it is so different than anything I have seen in the US but funerals are clearly not something that should be photographed. I even felt a bit bad trying to steal glances as I was walking past.

24/52 - Bukit Brown Cemetery

2011-10-31T21:28:00.000+08:00

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!

Hissssssssssssss........

2011-10-30T21:47:00.000+08:00

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!

23/52 - Road trip to Malacca

2011-10-28T16:27:00.000+08:00

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.

22/52 - Phuket

2011-10-24T22:26:00.000+08:00

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...

21/52 - Knock out

2011-10-17T21:36:00.001+08:00

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.

Fun with food - Bau

2011-10-10T20:58:00.001+08:00

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.

20/52 - SAM

2011-10-09T19:29:00.000+08:00

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...

19/52 - Think Pink!

2011-10-02T14:29:00.000+08:00

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!

18/52 - Bali Birthday

2011-10-01T14:14:00.000+08:00

Week 18 of 52
Ku De Ta
Bali, Indonesia

A couple of months back, my friends highjacked my passport and booked a flight to Bali for my birthday weekend. It was a great surprise and is a fun place to spend a weekend so there were no complaints from me.

We flew from Singapore on Friday night...

I had a bit of a headache so just relaxed at the villa while Jen and Sonya went out for a bite to eat and some drinks. We stayed at a different villa than the past two times I've been to Bali. It was just as nice but just in a different part of Seminyak. If you ever travel to Bali you really should rent a villa instead of staying in a normal hotel. They are unlike anyplace that you will stay in the rest of the world. Here are some night shots of ours...

View from my room.

Outdoor living room

Inside my room

Saturday was my actual birthday so after a nice sleep-in we headed out for breakfast and did a little shopping. Jen had to attend her cousins wedding later in the day so she went off to see her family and Sonya and I went out for my birthday celebration.

We went to Ku De Ta, which happened to be just a short walk from our villa. I guess you would call it a restaurant but they have lounge chairs and you can lay around or sit and have cocktails and food and read and relax in the sun with the ocean just in front of you. We had a nice late afternoon meal and some good wine and cocktails.

We sat and chatted and laughed and when we started to think about leaving we realized that the sun was setting so decided to stick around to see it. This is us before the sunset...

And here is the view from our table...

And the sunset...

These short weekend trips to places like Bali have become the norm for me. I was chatting with someone from the US before last weekend and said I was 'just heading to Bali for the weekend' and they laughed at my saying 'just heading' like it wasn't a big deal. I really need to soak all of this in before I come back to the US because it really is so different than home.

I wonder where I'll be spending my birthday next year...

Fun With Food - dragon fruit

2011-09-19T21:20:00.000+08:00

After my recent mooncake post Alan made a comment that I like to dissect food. He is 100% correct. I like to take things apart but I also do it so that you, my faithful blog readers can get a better idea of the food without being here to taste it with me. I looked back through my blog and realized that I really haven't written too much about the food in Asia. I am a little surprised at myself since so much of a culture is defined by food and meals...and also because I love good food. So...I am righting that wrong starting now. I am beginning a series titled 'fun with food' which will explore the different foods that are specific to Asia. I hope you enjoy and if there are any foods you want me to blog about feel free to make a suggestion.

Dragon fruit

The first time I saw a dragon fruit was at the hotel breakfast buffet on my first trip to Singapore. The interesting thing is that the part you eat looks nothing like the outside of it. Which I guess is no different than a pineapple or cantaloupe. I'm not sure why it is called dragon fruit but I suspect it has something to do with how scary it looks...like dragons. Although, I do think it is sort of a pretty fruit.

To give you an idea of the size of a common dragon fruit here it is with a teaspoon...

So, how does one slay a dragon fruit?

Step 1 - cut into the dragon...

It is actually really easy to cut through despite the tough looking exterior.

The inside reminds me of a kiwi. There are edible seeds and a sort of mushy meaty bit.

Step 2 - take out the insides

You can just use a spoon around the edge of the shell to get the insides to pop out.

Step 3 - cut up the fruit and serve

The fun thing about the dragon fruit is that you can use the shell to serve the fruit.

So...how does it taste? The consistency is certainly one similar to a kiwi. It tastes a lot sweeter to me than a kiwi. To me there is a mix of a citrus flavor and maybe an apple or pear. I think it is tasty and worth eating again.

Sunday morning walk

2011-09-18T15:39:00.000+08:00

This morning I wanted to get out and enjoy some sunshine and the nice breezes we've been having so I decided to go for a walk. The Formula 1 Night Race in Singapore is next weekend so I thought I would wander down near the pits to see if anything interesting was going on. I am assuming that most of the drivers are already in Singapore to adjust to the time difference.

They actually begin setting up the lights and barriers and stands for the race in August. It is a huge undertaking since these cars travel on normal city streets at speeds upwards of 200 mph. Unfortunately for me, the pit area that is along one of my normal walks was completely blocked off in preparation for the race. There were loads of 'race officials' wandering about and looking at the barriers and lights and then looking back at their plans. Here are a few pictures...

I was surprised to see that they had the lights on even in the middle of the day.

This is coming out of one turn (just behind me to the left) and then goes immediately into another one (up near the yellow taxi).

The cars will come from the right (where those guys are standing with the red car) and go just past the dark blue stands and make another quick turn to the right.

I felt a little defeated walking home since I wasn't really able to see too much interesting for the Formula 1 race. I was about ten minutes from home and walked in front of the Sri Thandayuthapani temple and came across this...
(apologies for the shakiness and the zooming in and out)

This was the celebration of Purattaasi which I only learned after asking a very nice guy who was leaving the temple. I always feel a bit weird taking photos of religious ceremonies and asking questions about them but he seemed genuinely happy to tell me about it. He explained that it is one of many Hindu celebrations throughout the year and the people were praying and celebrating in honor of the gods. When I got home I googled it and found that it is a celebration to honor Lord Vishnu who is thought to be responsible for preserving the universe.

What is hard to see in the video is the that the gold thing bouncing up and down is actually attached to one guy...by needles...through his skin...

The loud cheering in the video was when he started to walk up the stairs...which is probably not the easiest thing to do with all of that stuck to you with needles.

This picture doesn't show too much different than what is in the video but if you click on it to make it larger take a look at the skinny guy with long hair in an orange sarong (in the upper right-hand corner of the picture)...

He was obviously somebody important to the temple. He would come out and signal for the different things to begin.

As always, it was fun to just be walking home and stumble across something completely new. Ironically, not two minutes after I left this exciting scene I passed by a catholic church who was tolling the bells for noon mass. I just love the diversity of this country!

17/52 - Marina Barrage

2011-09-17T14:47:00.000+08:00

Week 17 of 52
Force of Nature art sculpture
Marina Barrage
Singapore

Have you ever passed by a place so many times that you eventually decide you need to know what the heck it is? I have seen Marina Barrage off in the distance on walks, on my way to and from the airport, from the top of the Marina Bay Sands hotel...and have never known what it was...

I had always assumed that it was some sort of boating place but it is not at all. It is actually a fresh water reservoir that has a dam to keep the fresh water in and the sea water out. Who the heck knew??? Clearly I need to brush up on my vocabulary because when I just looked up the definition of barrage it reads "an artificial obstruction in a watercourse to increase the depth of water, facilitate irrigation." You are allowed to walk in and around the area and it is pretty informative.

Walking up to it appears a little ominous...I wasn't quite sure what I was walking into...

You walk around that curve and enter this open courtyard area with art and water fountains and more importantly...an amazing breeze.

The first place that I wandered out to was the Marina Bridge.

(This is a view from on top of the pump house building but you can actually walk out across the bridge.) The bridge itself sits on top of nine dams or gates that can be raised or lowered to help with flooding in Singapore. The water on the left of the bridge is fresh water that flows into the reservoir from the rivers in Singapore and the water on the right side of the bridge is sea water. You can see one of the gates raised (second one in from the right side of the picture). Here's a view of it from the bridge...

I walked out across the bridge to catch the view of the city...and this is an view that I have only seen from a moving taxi up until today...

Inside of the complex is the Sustainable Singapore Gallery. It has information on Singapore's efforts at environmental sustainability. It was interesting but I didn't spend as much time as I would have liked as there were a few large tour groups that kept getting in my way...there was however a nice mix of information and art...

A wall of recycled bottles.

These little water droplets actually had information inside you could read.

There were funky mirrors on the ceiling and walls that I liked.

Even I was trying to be a bit artsy with the reflections inside the gallery.

Up on top of the building is a 'green roof'. They have grass growing and is a wide open space where you could have a picnic or relax and read a book. It was pretty hot up top so I didn't spend too much time there. However, due to the location at the edge of the sea there were some pretty nice breezes so was a perfect location for kite flying...

Back down on the main level is a nice central courtyard. There are some great pieces of art (including the one that I posted at the beginning of this blog entry.)

There was also what they called a 'water playground' which was essentially a bunch of fountains that you could walk out and either play in or stand in with your bare feet to cool off.

I enjoyed wandering around today. And I am always so impressed at how Singapore manages to have so many green spaces in the middle of such a big, urban area. And I am doubly impressed that these places are almost always free to get into. Mostly, I enjoyed the fact that now when I see this place I will actually know what it is!

Mooncakes

2011-09-16T11:42:00.000+08:00

My last 52 weeks post was about the lanterns and festivities around Mid-Autumn Festival. One of the traditional foods eaten during this time are mooncakes. I have asked around and tried to research as to what, if any, is the significance of the mooncake. Unfortunately, I have no specific answer for you. I guess I would liken it to fruit cake at Christmas and ham on Easter...is just something you eat because you always have.

So, what you ask, does a mooncake look like...

The traditional ones are typically round or square and are about 2 inches thick. They have a thin, baked exterior with various fillings inside. Most of them will have a salted duck egg inside but I actually wanted to taste mine and nothing about salted duck egg in a cake sounded good to me so mine was a fruit and nut variety.

They also have less-traditional varieties. I picked up some that are called 'snowskin' covered.

These little guys are meant to look like rabbits. I thought it was because this is the year of the rabbit but instead it is because the rabbit is the symbol for the moon...who knew?

So, I actually tasted all of these.

The traditional mooncake smelled a bit interesting...sort of like spice cake but with some spices I did not recognize. I figured it would be like fruit cake sense it was so dense and heavy. Biting into it I realized it really must be a taste that is acquired...I did not really care for it. It was an odd combination of sweet with salty and grains and paste and just general oddness. Needless to say, I took two bites (I always feel like you should take two just to confirm) and then discarded the rest.

The little rabbits were oh so sweet...insanely sweet...over the top put you in a sugar coma kind of sweet. Each was a different flavor. The pink was raspberry, the green was green tea, and the yellow was vanilla. The insides of these were filled with lotus paste which to me seems like a whole lot of sugar mixed with lotus somesuch. If I had to choose between the two I'd take the snowskin variety but I am not a fan of things that sugary and sweet so one bite would have been fine.

In case you were curious what the insides looked liked...

I've seen these around since I started traveling to Singapore in 2008 and never tried them. I'm glad I tasted them all but probably won't go out of my way to eat them again.

The best part of the whole mooncake taste test...the box the snowskin variety came in...

Questions

2011-09-09T19:14:00.000+08:00

I am confident that every single American remembers the exact moment when the learned of the 9/11 attacks...I won't go into specifics here...I will tell you that I still have an email from my brother Jeff printed and hanging on a bulletin board at our house in NC. It is his stream-of-consciousness description of his morning having just arrived at work in a building right next to ground zero and his next few hours until he was safely away from it all. I keep it hanging up and read it every so often to remind me how lucky and truly blessed we were as a family to be so close to tragedy and escape it relatively unscathed.

At the time that I received Jeff's email I never would have thought I would be living in another country. Not because of what just happened but because it hadn't really dawned on me as an idea. Now, after having been here I cannot imagine not having lived this experience. There are the obvious reasons of travel and food but it has opened my eyes in ways I never thought of as a 'benefit' or 'perk' to being an expat.

I'll be the first to admit that Singapore isn't crazy different from the US...I typically describe it as 'Asia Light'...but there is enough of a difference that it makes you think. I have to abide by the local laws...whether or not I agree with them or I risk being shipped home or even, believe it or not, caned as a punishment. But it definitely stretches beyond the laws and government...to things like the difference in culture and religion and dress and skin tone... Sure we Americans pride ourselves on diversity but putting yourself into a situation where you are the minority teaches you a lot and in a very different way.

One of the biggest lessons I have learned during my time in Asia is to ask questions... It seems so simple, doesn't it? But, for some reason, before living here I was afraid to ask questions. I was afraid I would offend someone...or intrude...or who knows what...but whatever it was kept me from asking them. As a result, I would view things and put my own spin on them, right or wrong, because I didn't know any different. Now I ask a million questions. I do it in a polite manner and I do so with the understanding that some people may not want to answer them. However, 9.9 times out of 10 they do...and they are thrilled to teach you about their culture or religion or food or how they dress... I may not agree with everything but certainly appreciate the opportunity to learn about it and make my own decision.

When I was in Vietnam last year I went on tour and within a few minutes of pulling away from the hotel the tour guide said "I am going to tell you our side, the Vietnamese side of the war. I'm not trying to attack you or offend you but please respect that this is the view from my country." I remember some people from my office saying they were indeed offended by the way the US was portrayed in some of the museums and other places. I did not find it offensive at all...it was just a different view.

I have been so lucky to learn things about so many different religions and cultures and governments. My world view has been completely changed. Before coming here I thought I considered myself open-minded but the comparison between then and now is light years difference. Regardless, I'm thankful. I encourage you all to do the simple thing and ask the questions. And I have to wonder that if everyone had an experience similar to mine or just simply took the time to ask questions instead of make assumptions would we be able to live in a place with no more 9/11 type attacks? I know that is a very naive view but this is my blog and a gal can be hopeful.

On another note, while we are remembering 9/11 I can't help but give a shout-out to all of the amazing service men and women. If you are interested in doing something small...you can always drop something in the mail to one of our military personnel posted overseas using anysoldier.com. Here's the website: http://anysoldier.com/. And here's a link to my original post about this fabulous website.

16/52

2011-09-08T20:41:00.000+08:00

Week 16 of 52
Mid-Autumn Festival
Chinese Gardens, Singapore

Sunday night I went out to Chinese Gardens to wander around and see the lanterns that are up for the Mid-Autumn Festival. What, you ask, is the Mid-Autumn Festival? It is celebrated in some Asian countries, mostly Chinese, to celebrate the end of the fall harvest season. It coincides with the autumnal equinox when the moon is fullest. This year it is celebrated on September 12th.

One of the things that goes along with the festival are lanterns. They are up all around the city and there are quite a few at Chinese Gardens.

I'm not exactly sure what the meaning behind the lanterns is although, I'm sure it is similar to the twinkly lights that we put up at Christmas...just pretty! The thing that I didn't get a picture of were all of the kids walking around with their own little lanterns. They put them on little sticks and then put either a light or a candle inside and they walk around with them.

I enjoyed wandering around looking at all of the pretty lanterns and light displays. While I wasn't really participating in the festival it was fun to be around all of the families and to experience something new.

Night Lights

2011-09-04T18:32:00.001+08:00

Before I start with my blog...this is my 400th blog post! Woohoo! I'm never imagined I would hit the 400 mark when I first started writing blog posts...

Last night I met my friend for dinner in a part of town that I don't usually frequent. The dinner itself was good but a little odd...service is not usually that great in Singapore and last night was no different. It is really a shame because had it been just a little bit better the whole meal experience would have been fabulous.

After dinner we walked up the street to the Singapore Art Museum. The SAM was one of the spots for the 'Night Lights 2011' exhibit. The brochure they handed out claimed we should "be dazzled by the nine-evening outdoor showcase of spectacular light installations from France." I'm not sure that I was 'dazzled' or that I would call it 'spectacular' but I had no idea it was going on and it was fun to come across.

I only had my teeny-tiny, point & shoot camera so didn't get great pictures but hold true to Alan and my friend Tina's recommendations that you should always be ready with a camera in your bag...you never know what you are going to come across...

The exhibit that was the most interesting to watch was called 'Lyrical Perspective' and was at the SAM.

They used lights on the outside of the SAM building which came alive when somebody spoke into a microphone. I was able to get a few seconds of it on video so hopefully you get an idea...

Another of the exhibits was called "Lampounettes' which were just gigantic table lamps...

One of the exhibits that was cool to see in person but couldn't really be captured on camera was called 'Parking Mad'. There was a row of about 20 Volvo cars parked in front of the Singapore National Museum. They had frosted windows and lights inside that would light up in sequence...

The exhibit that I liked the best was called 'Green Invaders' and reminded me of my youth playing Space Invaders on our original Atari...

Not a game for kids

2011-09-01T21:41:00.003+08:00

A stop that I always make when I have visitors in Singapore is Chinatown. There is some great food, cheap shopping, and some good photo spots. There is also a Buddhist temple that is open to tourists. I have blogged previously about visiting the temple.

One of my favorite parts of Chinatown is just outside of the temple. There is a plaza or courtyard or some big ole' slab of cement where people gather. Part of it is covered and under the cover are always a bunch of older Chinese men playing either checkers or dominoes. These do not appear to be the friendly games of our childhood...they are serious business...and there is always lots of intensity and stress and cheering and commenting...is fun to just sit and watch for a bit.

I often wish I could speak Mandarin so I knew what they were saying to each other...but a small part of me really enjoys not understanding so that I can put my own commentary to it.

I also think it is interesting how these two games that are taken so seriously by these men are mainly the games of children back home. I am curious what game I will be playing when I get a bit older. My guess is that it will be Scrabble. Do you think there will be as much interest and intensity when I score 68 points on a 3-letter word?

BTW - I cannot decide who I like better...the guy in the blue plaid shirt with his hands on his head or the guy in the greenish print shirt with his hands clasped at his chest.

Summertime

2011-08-30T15:08:00.000+08:00

Alan asked me one night when I was home why I didn't blog much...or at all...when I'm home. It isn't that I don't do lots of fun and interesting things...it is more that I am so busy enjoying myself that I don't find time during the day to blog.

Outside of spending time with family and friends, one of my favorite parts about being in the US last month was enjoying all of the fabulous and fresh summer fruits and veggies. I just don't get those here because Singapore is a small island and land is a commodity which means there isn't much of it left for farming. We get tons of fresh fruit and vegetables here...but it just isn't the same as buying them from the farmer's market.

My first day back in NC last month Alan took me to the NC State Farmer's Market. Everything looked so pretty and smelled so delicious...and I was lucky enough that peaches were still in season...

I ate tons of corn on the cob, peaches, blueberries, summer squash, tomatoes...I just couldn't get enough of it all.

I know that summer is nearing an end in the US and that a lot of crops are just about finished. However, if you have a local farmer's market near you go down and check out what they have...buy something and enjoy it a little bit for me. And when it gets to be September/October you'd better get yourself to an apple orchard...don't make me come back there...

15/52

2011-08-29T14:11:00.000+08:00

Week 15 of 52
Uluwatu Temple
Bali, Indonesia

This past weekend we went with our friends to Bali. We stayed in an amazing villa and spent a good amount of time relaxing but we also got out and saw a bit of the island. This little guy was one of many monkeys at the Uluwatu Temple which was one of our last stops. They were cute little creatures but are mean and sneaky little buggers. We weren't allowed to wear sunglasses into the temple because apparently these guys will snatch them from you. While we were there we saw one of them snatch a flip flop from a lady...ugh!

We stayed at Villa Jerami in the Seminyak area...if you ever go to Bali, I would highly recommend this place...

(picture courtesy of Alan)
As you can see, the villas have private pools and outdoor living rooms...it was nice to have our own little piece of paradise...

As amazing as the villa was we did manage to get out of it and were able to see some of the interesting bits of Bali.

We toured a Bali Hindu temple...

We had lunch on the top of a volcano...

We saw rice terraces...

and we had a beer on the beach...

It was a fun weekend and we enjoyed seeing both the sights and hanging out with friends.

14/52

2011-08-22T21:36:00.000+08:00

14/52
Random alley
Chinatown, Singapore

Okay, okay...I know it has been 4+ weeks since I last blogged. I wish I had some super funky story to tell all of you but I don't. Instead, I was busy hanging out with some of my very favorite people in the US. More on what I did on my little blogging vacation later...

Alan and some of our good friends, Angie & Paul are in Singapore visiting me right now so we spent yesterday wandering around the city. We hit Chinatown and went down a street I had not been down previously and came across this great wall. This is one of the reasons that I love to go exploring and especially without a plan...I mean I am all about a plan...but sometimes the best things you come across are those that you didn't even know you were looking for.

I have no idea what is behind that door but I love whoever it was that made it look so pretty. In my mind there some nice lady with an apron standing just behind those shutters waiting to open them and hand me a delicious apple pie. And the only thing that would make this picture even better would be if a cat was hanging out on the steps...

13/52

2011-07-17T09:48:00.000+08:00

Week 13 of 52
Navy Pier
Chicago, IL
USA

There is nothing like landing in the US and seeing blue skies, and sunshine, and the Midwest, and lots of Americans, and diet Mt. Dew, and pizza, and Mexican food, and watching a Coast Guard ship leave Navy Pier...

I arrived in Chicago at about 2:00 pm local time. It was an uneventful trip which means it was a good trip. I flew from Singapore to Hong Kong and then direct to Chicago. It was a long trip but I had great flight attendants and was lucky enough to be in business class. Here's a shot of my first view of the US...

I'm not sure exactly where this was because I took this picture in between sleeps...

After I got to the hotel and unpacked and cleaned up a bit I decided to head down to Navy Pier to get outside for a bit and enjoy the nice weather.

It was quite busy down at Navy Pier...quite a change from when Alan and I were there in March. The weather was certainly nicer and this time I got to see a Coast Guard ship from Mackinac undock and head back out, presumably to head back Up North...

I cannot tell you how great it was to come back to the US and see a military ship heading back out and have all of the people...I mean every...single...person...stop and watch and applaud as they set back out. I haven't seen that kind of patriotism in awhile and it makes me proud to be an American and glad to be back on US soil for a bit.

12/52 - a little late

2011-07-11T21:24:00.000+08:00

Week 12 of 52
View from my hotel room
Berjaya Hotel
Langkawi, Malaysia

This past weekend I went to Langkawi, Malaysia for a birthday weekend with a friend. We take a trip each year and we typically like to do some exploring but we have both been very busy with work this year so opted for a quieter weekend this time. If you are interested in a quick trip from Singapore that will bring you pretty scenery and some much needed relaxation I recommend the Berjaya Hotel.

We didn't leave the hotel grounds the entire weekend. It is a sprawling property that has done a nice job of incorporating the hotel into the landscape instead of mowing everything down and starting over.

We had a funny time on Friday night when we checked in. It took us three rooms to get to one that had two beds and we could get into but it ultimately turned out to be very nice. We stayed in the rain forest but with a nice view of the Andaman Sea. Instead of a large building with all of the rooms in it like most hotels they have chalets. Most of them are single buildings either in the rain forest or on the sea. Ours had four rooms in the building but we never heard anybody else.

Our Saturday consisted of the following...
-sleep in...
-breakfast...
-hang out by the pool...

-enjoy a fruity drink at the swim-up bar...

-see a Dusky Leaf Monkey up close for the first time...

This little guy kept turning his head at the exact moment I would hit my shutter button...finally got him though...

-Enjoyed a relaxing massage at the spa...
-Sat on the balcony and had a glass of wine to toast my friend on her birthday...
-Watch the sunset while enjoying an amazing Thai dinner...

Sunday was a similar day except we had to fly home...

In my bag

2011-07-07T22:36:00.000+08:00

There are a few things that I never leave home without here in Singapore. If you ever visit Singers or Asia for that matter you may want to include a few of these in your bag as well...

#1 - Wallet
Seems pretty obvious...

#2 - Passport & green card
First, the card that permits me to be in the country for longer than 30 days is indeed green. I'm supposed to have it with me at all times. And there are a lot of things here in Singapore that require your passport so I typically have mine with me.

#3 - Cash
Unlike the US where you can pay for just about everything with a credit card or debit card (I rarely have cash when I am home) here in Singers you really need to have cash. Most of the places like grocery stores, pharmacies, etc accept credit cards but most people tend to pay with cash.

#4 - Mobile phone
Very important for keeping in touch...and for checking the bus arrivals...and calling taxis...

#5 - Camera
I almost always have one of my cameras in my bag. If there is one thing I have learned from being here is that you never ever know what you might come across and should always have a camera on the ready.

#6 - Handkerchief
I know this is hard to see but is standard white handkerchief. It is always hot, hot, hot out and it is good to have something to wipe the sweat off of your brow.

#7 - Mass Transit Card & apartment building key card
Mass transit card is good for travel on bus, MRT, and in some taxis. The apartment building key card is critical to get myself into my building.

#8 - Keys
House key and mailbox key.

#9 - Kleenex
The hawker centers here don't give out napkins so you always need to have tissues.

#10 - Umbrella
Something that you only get caught without once and you'll never forget it again...because no matter what happens if you forget your umbrella a downpour will occur.

Quiet time

2011-07-04T21:42:00.000+08:00

All is quiet at my house again...AliG has gone back home. It was nice having a kitty in the house and I do miss having another creature around here...but...it is also nice to not get attacked when walking down the hallway. One last fun picture of him...

And...I was out for a walk yesterday afternoon and thankfully had my camera with me so I could catch a picture of this cute ginger cat...

Hope everybody has a great 4th of July today!

11/52

2011-07-02T23:47:00.000+08:00

Week 11 of 52
Marina Bay area
Singapore

I have been feeling a bit nostalgic about the US this week. I've never done anything particularly special for 4th of July but I have always enjoyed the fireworks that come along with it. Even if I didn't get the chance to see them in person I love watching the fireworks in DC or Boston on TV.

Two years ago I spent 4th of July with some fellow Americans at a celebration specifically for us Americans. This year I wanted to see some fireworks but didn't necessarily want to go to the American Club celebration. Instead, I decided to watch the fireworks which are part of the rehearsal for the Singapore National Day coming up in August. (I blogged about it a few years ago.)

I ended up waiting on the bridge near the Esplanade enjoying a very cool breeze with three friends. The funny part is that all three are from Britain which seemed a bit ironic since I was there for Independence Day fireworks...

Anyway, we watched the entire National Day dress rehearsal and waited and waited for the fireworks. Shortly after 8 pm they started the fireworks and it was great. It brought me back to sitting on the hood of our car with my family at the Owosso Airport when I was a little kid...and laying on the beach with my brother Jeff and mom staring up at the fireworks being shot up from out on Lake Michigan...and watching the Washington DC fireworks on TV with my mother-in-law...and watching the fireworks at the Duke football stadium with Alan...

Like I said, I have been feeling a bit nostalgic and despite being halfway around the world and despite the fact that the fireworks were not in fact for us Americans...I found a way...as all expats do at some point...to make something local feel a bit like home...if only for a few minutes...

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."

Have a safe and happy 4th of July weekend!

Suggestion #2 - grocery store

2011-06-27T21:21:00.000+08:00

One of the suggestions I received for things to blog about was the grocery store. I think it is a great idea because I try and visit grocery stores in most cities. I like to see what things are the same and what things are completely different...you can find some crazy stuff in grocery stores. Obviously I'm quite used to the grocery stores here since I've been shopping in them for the past couple of years. With that being said, there are still some things that I just cannot stomach spending the crazy amount of money on...remember the dish rack incident of 2009?

**photo disclaimer**
I take pride in the photos that I take and add to the blog. Unfortunately, there is a big fat sign outside of the grocery store that says 'no photos' so I had to take all of these with the camera on my blackberry. Apologies in advance that the quality isn't that great and that some of them are a bit blurry.

I'm lucky that I live quite close to four different grocery stores. This gives me some options but it also means that I will pass one on my way home regardless of where I am coming from. Since I live in the city none of these are stand-alone stores like back home. Instead they are in shopping malls and on the first floor of office buildings.

The one that I shop at most often is Cold Storage. It is the most expensive one in my area but it also has the largest number of US goods. If I want produce I will shop at the Fair Price because they have a much better selection and are significantly cheaper so it makes it worth it to split the shopping list.

The stores themselves have similar floor plans to the US grocery stores. The produce and deli are as you enter...

One noticeable difference in the picture above is the sushi counter at the back. There are 3-4 lovely ladies behind that counter making fresh sushi all day long. It is amazingly cheap and very tasty.

Most of the fruits and veggies are the same but there are some things that you would never see back home. A lot of greens for Chinese cooking...there are always fresh mangoes...and always dragonfruit...

There is a decent seafood selection at this grocery store. I've actually never purchased any seafood from there but it always looks fresh and I see lots of other people buying it. There are different varieties of fish than back home but nothing too out of the ordinary. I think the most random thing are these...

Yep, that is a package of two fish heads for sale. A lot of people here use them for cooking and one of the local delicacies (which I have not and likely will not try) is fish head curry. We Americans tend to be somewhat wasteful compared to Asia. Most places that I have been here use every bit of every creature that they eat...not sure how tasty it is but makes sense.

Something a bit odd (and this is not just Asia, have seen this in Europe too) about grocery stores here is that they do not keep eggs refrigerated. They just have them on the shelves across from the bread...

There are also about 10 million different varieties of eggs...not sure what the difference is...I tend to just buy the cheapest ones.

Most of the rest of the store is about the same as back home. There is an aisle that has bread...one with cereal...one for pasta...dairy items...frozen foods...cleaning supplies...you get the idea. However, there are a few aisles that you won't find back home...

That is just a small portion of the options for chili sauce. And let me tell you...this is one of the things that I will really miss about living here...so good on so many things! In case you were wondering, chili sauce is to Singaporeans and ketchup is to Americans.

There is also a huge selection of bottled teas. Remember, this is much more of a tea drinking region than coffee so you can get loads of varieties.

There is also almost an entire aisle dedicated to rice. Who knew there were so many varieties of rice??? I go through phases where I'll cook a lot of rice at home and I typically just grab a bag and test it out. So far I have yet to come across some that I don't like. And yes, they are far better than the rice back home...not sure why.

So...over the past few years you have heard me numerous times complain about the cost of certain things here in Singers. Just in case you thought I was making things up or being overly dramatic I thought I'd share some of them with you...

chocolate chips for the low, low price of $10.65/bag...

sliced cheese for $7.95 per bag...what a deal...

ice cream for $14.35 per container (that is the normal sized Ben & Jerry's container)...can I just say that this is both awesome and horrible at the same time. I am an ice cream lover...ask Alan...I cannot have mint chocolate chip ice cream in the house...I eat it all...so having ice cream be this expensive keeps me from buying it which is good for the figure...

and a 6-pack of Budweiser for $17.75...mmm...that better be some good beer!

There you have it...a mini tour of my grocery store here in Singers. Hope that you enjoyed it and thanks for the great suggestion. Feel free to keep the suggestions coming...I'm having fun with these...

And I'll leave you with one last photo...

Would you like some seaweed Pringles to go with your beer?

10/52

2011-06-25T20:08:00.000+08:00

Week 10 of 52
Little Guilin
Bukit Gambok, Singapore

This afternoon I visited Little Guilin in the Bukit Gambok area of Singapore. The official name of the park is Bukit Batok Nature Park but is named Little Guilin because of the resemblance to Guilin, China.

Bukit Gambok is located just a little west of the center of the island. I chose this place for my 52 weeks project this week because it is an area of Singapore that I haven't been to previously. While the area itself is quite pretty I have to admit that the best part of my adventure today was actually the travel to and from Bukit Gambok. I took the MRT which once you get out of the city center is an above-ground train so you get to see quite a bit of Singapore that normally you wouldn't. (For those of you who are familiar with the MRT system, green line towards Joo Koon and then switch to the red line to Bukit Gambok.) There isn't much country-side in Singapore but you do get away from a lot of the shopping districts so that most of the high rise buildings are mainly residential condos. On my way back I took the red line the long way around and saw lots of grass, some more water, and even went through a bit of an industrial area.

Traveling outside of the city center where I live is also interesting to me because you get about 5-6 stops out and it very quickly becomes local. For a good bit of my trip I was the only Westerner on the train. I got a few second glances but not too many...I must look less like a tourist and more like a local these days... When I first starting coming over here I experienced this when I was scouting some condos for a friend. I remember feeling a bit uncomfortable and being really aware of the fact that I was the one that didn't belong. Two years later...I couldn't really care less and actually didn't notice this until a Western couple got on the train in the middle of my trip and it triggered the thought of "hey...one of these things is not like the other"...and then I remembered that I was also not like the other...

Back to Little Guilin...
The park itself is actually really small. The lake and little mountain (I use that term so, so loosely) take up most of the area of the park. There is a walking trail along the water and a few grassy areas to sit but that is it. For some reason it was really breezy and much cooler there than in the city. I'm not sure if the weather is always like that but if so this would be a great place for a little picnic.

Of course when I was there this afternoon it was cloudy and a bit drab. It has also rained this morning so the water wasn't too clear. Not ideal for taking photographs but this project isn't just about the pictures...is also about getting me out and about during the week.

When I first saw pictures of this place I assumed it was in the middle of a big park... something that you might need to hike or take a long walk to be able to see...

Picture #1 -

This was taken standing on the path looking at Little Guilin.

Picture #2 -

This was taken from about the same place (had to get clear of some trees) but just turning so that my back is to Little Guilin.

I did get to see a little critter hanging out...

I had a good time today riding around and seeing parts of the island that I haven't seen before. I even have some ideas for some future 52 weeks projects!

Gold Class

2011-06-20T20:52:00.000+08:00

Last year I blogged about going to the movies and I introduced everyone to Gold Class.
Here's the link in case you forgot my original post.
I have been a number of times since that first movie and must admit that I am now addicted.

Yes, my name is Kate, and I have a problem...

I LOVE GOLD CLASS!!!

I went to see Hangover 2 with my pals a couple of weeks back and we didn't book early enough to go Gold Class...we got stuck in the normal theater...ick! We had to wait in line at the concession stand, there were no blankets, the seats didn't recline, and there was some strange person sitting...right...next...to me!

The next weekend I went with another pal and saw another movie...this time...Gold Class! I am seriously addicted. How can you not be when they bring wine and food to you at the push of a little button? I am soooo going to miss this when I move back to the US.

I remembered my camera last time so snapped a quick picture of what the seats are like so you can see why I love this so very much...

Would you go Gold Class?

Suggestion #1 - my commute

2011-06-19T19:58:00.000+08:00

A few days ago I asked for suggestions of things that I should blog about...here is the first blog from one of the suggestions that came in...and it isn't too late for you to make a suggestion...come on...you know you want to...

Kate's Commute to work...

I usually try to take the bus to the office. If I have an early morning meeting or am being lazy I'll take a taxi but most days I am on the bus. The taxi takes less time but costs about 10 times as much which is really hard to justify. This is my route to work based on taking the bus...

I start by leaving my apartment...

Yep, that is my front door...and yep, there is a black cat Halloween bag hanging from it. I put it up my first Halloween here and it has been there since. It now serves as an umbrella holder...you never, ever, ever want to leave the house in Singers without an umbrella.

That is the outside of my front door...I love my welcome mat...I brought it from the US because welcome mats are one of those things that are insanely expensive here and also very boring looking...I like fun welcome mats.

Since I live on the 5th floor I have to take the elevator (aka - lift) up and down. I wouldn't mind taking the stairs but they don't bring me out at the lobby of my building but instead take me out the back. They also are outside so I end up getting very warm within minutes of walking out my door...not fun when headed to the office.
Another fun elevator fact...probably not fun...just interesting...there are two...but the buttons only call one elevator at a time. It is actually pretty common here for the elevators to not be linked which seems a bit odd to me.

That is the walk from my building to the bus stop. It is just down the road from where those cars are stopped.

You can see the bus stop just up ahead. I usually pass a few people on the way there but didn't this day. It was actually pretty quiet at the bus stop.

Can you guess which bus I take? And I'm actually pretty lucky that the stop near my house is serviced by so many buses. BTW - I take the #14 to the office.

Me in my seat on the upper level. Most of the #14 buses are double-deckers and the upper level is typically less crazy and quieter than the lower level.

The bus I was on when I took these pictures is one of the older buses. But they are still quite clean...just a little more wear and tear...

I typically get an entire seat to myself unless the bus is fully packed. I think part of it is because I sit in the aisle seat and not at the window. I think the other part is because I'm not Asian. I've seen it time and time again where people get on the bus and will typically choose to sit next to the other Asians before sitting next to any Westerners...not sure why...and I take no offense to it since I get more room...

Eighteen bus stops and about 20-30 minutes after I board the bus I arrive at the bus stop by my office...

There are usually quite a few people who get off the bus here since I work in a place called Science Park. I'm not sure where everybody was that day...

That is a picture of the overpass I walk on to get to the bus to take me back home. They recently just completed the cover so now you can get across without getting horribly wet.

I walk between a couple of buildings and then arrive at my office building. I take a shortcut so I end up coming up from a driveway and don't come to the front of the office. I realized just now that I don't have a good picture of my office so will have to get one at some point and post it.

The lobby of our building is really boring. It is a shared space so there really isn't anything in the lobby...and that little television only plays ads which is kind of annoying. At least here you only have to push one button to call all three elevators.

Me riding to level 3...

And walking to my office. We occupy three floors of the building and the level that my office is on is shared with the chocolate company Ferrero Rocher...and no...they do not ever share with us...

My commute ends at my office - room 313.

9/52

2011-06-18T14:11:00.000+08:00

Week 9 of 52
Labrador Nature Reserve
Singapore

Alan and I always laugh that when we are on vacation and out exploring just about everyplace I choose as an activity involves some sort of climbing. This past Sunday I went and explored Labrador Nature Reserve and in my usual fashion chose someplace that involved a lot of steps and climbing.

The park is located on the southern part of the island and apparently contains the only rocky sea-cliffs on the island of Singapore. When I think of rocky sea-cliffs I think of the coast of Maine and these were nothing in comparison. They were also a bit hard to see because of all of the vegetation from the park area.

One edge of the park marks the entrance to the Keppel Harbour area.

The island on the other side of the water is Sentosa Island. And off in the distance you can see some of the ships that make Singapore the second largest shipping port in the world.

The park has quite a few remnants from WWII. Since it is on the southern tip of the island it was considered to be at risk for enemy landing so they built a fort to defend the island. This such as machine gun posts still remain...

and old cannon posts up high on the hill...

and even an old cannon...

I took the picture looking out through the barrel of the cannon.

On my way up the 400 million steps that led to the top of the hill I passed a couple of elementary school age boys bounding down the steps. One of them was very excited that there was a cannon at the top. He told me to keep going and to 'be sure to see it' because apparently it is 'really great'. He also informed that I wouldn't be able to fire it though, which was 'a bummer'. I always love these little snippets of interaction from people in passing...this is one of those things that I will always remember when I think of Labrador Park.

At the top of the hill is a nature walk. Along with nature-type things there are different bits about the old fort and Singapore's involvement in WWII. It was an interesting walk but man were there loads of mosquitoes...and apparently I was the lunch special! I read that there are old tunnels that you used to be able to go through but they are currently closed indefinitely for maintenance. I hope they open up again before I leave Singers because it would be fun to wander through them.

The park area was nice and quite informative. However, I wouldn't rank it as one of my favorite parks in Singapore.

Houseguest

2011-06-15T22:03:00.000+08:00

Guess who is visiting again?

Yep...AliG!

My friend is away on vacation in Europe (lucky her) so I have him for two weeks.

Remember what he looked like the first time he stayed at my place last year...

While the cuteness of his kitten-hood has gone away I must admit it is nicer to have an adult cat in the house. He is far more well behaved...except this morning...on my way out the door he decided he didn't want me to go so he jumped up on my leg...claws out...and...I was wearing a skirt so he landed right on my bare skin...OUCH!

It really is nice having a critter in the house. I know I say this every time he visits me but it really is true. Tonight when I came home he meowed until I picked him up to cuddle with him...so cute!

Like all cats though he has his crazy quirks. The newest one is that he only wants to drink water directly from the faucet. He has a full water bowl right next to his food bowl but he completely ignores it. Instead, he wants to do this...

Some assistance may be needed

2011-06-13T22:19:00.000+08:00

I think that based on that title I am calling myself out a bit.

I have been absolutely horrible about blogging lately. If it weren't for my 52 weeks project you may not hear from me at all. Shame on me...

I've thought about it for the past few days. Am I just not interested in blogging any longer? Have I experienced everything there is to experience in Singapore? Am I too busy? Has prime time television actually been that good? Am I having such a wild and crazy time that I don't want to blog about it? Ha...I know you are laughing out loud about that last one.

To be honest, I think I am still interested in blogging but have just let it fall lower (ker-thunk, that was the sound of it being on the very bottom) on my daily list of things to do. I'm going to try and correct that and blog a bit more.

I could also use some inspiration. Any suggestions?

Are you dying to know what my front door looks like? I could devote an entire blog to just that.

Are you curious what I do just about every Sunday afternoon while I'm here? I could write one up to let you know.

Do you want to know what my favorite exercise is at the gym? And yes, it is specific to Asia.

Want me to tell you about my bus ride and taxi ride and MRT ride? Just let me know.

Curious to know what I still can't justify spending money on at the grocery store? I'd be happy to share.

Once again, the suggestion box is open. I believe that blogger prefers it to be called the 'comments' section instead of 'suggestion box'...who cares...use it...let me know...

8/52

2011-06-12T15:01:00.000+08:00

Week 8 of 52
Sentosa Boardwalk
Singapore

Last night I walked on the Sentosa boardwalk which links mainland Singapore to Sentosa Island.

Sentosa Island bills itself as 'Asia's Favorite Playground'. A lot of people here really like to go there and most tourists make it a stop on their trip to Singapore.

I've been there twice.

To me it is a just a really expensive let down because it is the ultimate tourist trap. Nothing to really see and everything costs 3-4 times what it costs elsewhere in Singapore. Now, to be fair, it has now been about a year and a half since I have been there and they have since opened a Universal Studios, a casino, and a whole bunch of other places. One of these days I may take a wander over there to see what it is like and if it has improved.

You may be wondering why, if I do not like Sentosa, was I walking along the boardwalk? I went to a movie with a friend at Vivo City which is the largest mall in Singapore. Don't believe me? Take a look...

The entire area of brightly colored lights in the picture above is the mall that is Vivo City. It is huge!

The weather last night was just beautiful and neither of us had ever been on the boardwalk so we took a relaxing stroll.

7/52

2011-06-03T20:51:00.000+08:00

Week 7 of 52
Residences
Tower of London
Somewhere along the River Thames

As you saw from my blog posts earlier in the week, Alan and I were in London for a long weekend. We had a great time wandering around and revisiting the wonderful city. Our last day in London we decided to tour the Tower of London. We had been before but it was years ago and I really wanted to see the Crown Jewels

If you haven't been and you are in London I think it is definitely worth going for a visit. The entrance fee is a bit pricey but there is a lot to see inside and the tours by the Yeomen are fun.

This place dates back a long, long time but has been pretty well maintained. Although I find it pretty hard to imagine what it was like to live here when there weren't paved streets or plumbing or heat or air conditioning...boy, we sure are spoiled these days. It also must have been really odd to live in a place that was a prison and where executions were held. At least the view was nice...

A few more pictures that I liked from when we were wandering around...

London - day 3

2011-05-30T15:30:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was one of those days where we didn't really have a plan. We started the day out at Buckingham Palace to watch the Changing of the Guard but we were pretty early and there was some sort of race being set-up which was causing all sorts of craziness in the area...so, we just left it for another time. We ended up wandering around, on foot and saw a fair bit of the city. I don't think we saw anything new from prior visits but it was good to just be out and about.

I should point out that the weather yesterday was magnificent. Very mild temperatures with spots of sun and blue skies and a nice breeze most of the day. Such a nice change from the crazy heat we are having in Singapore.

I have been on the prowl for some silly signs for a London edition but haven't seen any. Instead, here are some fun statues that we saw while we were out yesterday...

London - day 2

2011-05-29T14:54:00.000+08:00

Our first destination yesterday morning was Greenwich. For those of you who take teleconferences with people in the rest of the world or who just know different time zones will know that Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the base of the time for the world. There is also the Greenwich Meridian which divides the Eastern and Western hemisphere...so cool for somebody who jaunts back and forth between the two.

We set out as we normally do but seemed to keep getting side-tracked. The Tube line we wanted to take was not operating until due to maintenance. We then ended up taking a very long and winding walking tour between two Tube stops only to end up back where we started...funny. Years ago when I first started traveling this sort of thing would have annoyed me and freaked me out a bit...now we just kept walking until we found our way back and had a good laugh about it.

After an unscheduled stop for coffee to kill time until 10 am, we finally made it Greenwich...only to find out that the main path leading to the Royal Observatory was closed. Thankfully it wasn't a long detour and we found our way to the top. (Alan would probably want me to take a moment here to point out that almost everything I want to see in life requires walking up a very steep hill.)

We didn't do any touring at the actual Observatory but instead just enjoyed a little known area where you can see the meridian...without paying...

Guess who is in the western hemisphere and who is in the eastern hemisphere?

The clock at Greenwich is a 24 hour clock that maintains GMT. Since it is a 24 hour clock the little hand only makes one trip around the clock each day.

London - day 1

2011-05-28T13:26:00.001+08:00

Alan and I arrived at London Heathrow within minutes of each other (we actually first saw each other in the immigration line). We were both pretty tired after the overnight flights but pledged to stay awake at a least until it got dark.

Our first journey was to a motorcycle diner called Ace Cafe for lunch. It outside of the city center (zone 3 for those of you familiar with London). This place dates back to the 1930s and has recently just re-opened. The food was tasty and it is always fun to get outside of the normal tourist areas to do some exploring.

After lunch we headed to Camden Town to wander around the markets and shops. It has always been on of our favorite areas in London. We didn't make any purchases but did make some mental notes of places to return.

At about 5:00 pm we were relaxing in the hotel room and very close to falling asleep...way...way too early for this if we wanted to battle jet lag. So...we headed out to walk along the river. We disembarked at Embankment and walked along the south side of the river. This takes you just directly under the London Eye...

I am not a fan of the Eye. There are quite a few amazing and historical buildings right behind it and to me it just sort of distracts from them. Plus, years ago, that was the area where we would sit and relax and watch/listen for Big Ben to do his thing.

Big Ben is one of the places that I will always, always, always visit when I am in London. I think the building itself if beautiful and I have an odd fascination with old clocks...but more than that is a great memory between my brother Alan and I with Alan (husband) looking on and laughing with/at us.

BONG!
BONG!

There were actually seven BONGS in all since it was 7pm.

Off to explore more today...

Location:City of London,United Kingdom

6/52

2011-05-24T22:22:00.000+08:00

Week 6 of 52
Arab Quarter
Singapore

Saturday night I met some friends for dinner in the Arab Quarter in Singapore. I've been there many times during the day but hadn't been there at night prior to about a month ago. Holy cow is it busy on a Friday and Saturday night! There are loads of restaurants and people just sort of wandering in the street.

It reminded me a bit of Bourbon Street in New Orleans...just far more tame. (FYI - if you visit Singapore and go out for dinner in this area be warned that some of the restaurants are strict Muslim so will not have alcohol.)

As you can see from the picture above, this part of Singapore has maintained the old row houses instead of building shiny new buildings. It really adds to the feel of this area. The roads are pretty narrow and there are a bunch of alleys between the row houses. The restaurants and bars just plop tables and chairs out on the sidewalks...in the alleys...and on the streets.

We ate at a delicious Lebanese restaurant...mmm... After dinner we met with some other friends at a jazz bar...I know...how funny that there is this great jazz bar in the middle of Arab quarter...anyway...we enjoyed a nice drink while listening to some good music.

I didn't intend for this to be my destination for my 52 weeks project this week. Thankfully I had my camera with me and got some fun pictures. More than anything, this taught me that there is a whole part of Singapore that looks completely different after the sun sets. I am a morning person by nature so tend to go to bed early. I may need to get out and do some more exploring in the evening and at night!

5/52

2011-05-18T21:06:00.000+08:00

Week 5 of 52
Old Kallang Airport
9 Stadium Link
Singapore

This past weekend I visited the Old Kallang Airport for the 2011 Singapore Biennale Open House. The Singapore Biennale is an art exhibition that is held at various locations around Singapore. From their guide...In one of the world's busiest ports, a multicultural city built on trade, 'Open House' brings together artworks that offer multiple perspectives and myriad creative approaches to questions of how we move across borders, see other points of view, and form connections with others.

It was a win-win for me because I was able to see quite a bit of art and also explore an area of Singapore that is normally not accessible to the general public. I think I went more to see the airport but some of the art was pretty amazing which was nice for me.

The airport was opened in 1937 as Singapore's first civil airport and was closed in 1955. From what I have read, the circular control tower allowed for planes to land on any side of the airport.

We were able to go into the building and wander around almost all of it to view the art. You could tell that the terminal building was built in the 1930s...

One of the art exhibits was random writings by an artist all up the walls leading up the tower...

It was fun to see all of the different things written and all of the random places that he wrote things. More interesting to me was being able to climb the old control tower...

I was so excited to get to the top and look around and take pictures...but this was as far as they let us go...

Oh well...

One of the things I love about being in Asia is that they aren't as uptight about keeping people out of things. When they open up old buildings for things like art shows you get to wander around...where ever you want...

The whole time we were walking around and exploring I kept thinking somebody would come up to us and tell us we weren't supposed to be there. Thankfully, they never did so we had a great time wandering around. This is inside the old hanger pictured above...

And this is me being a little artsy...since I was indeed at an art show...

I really enjoyed wandering around what is left of the Old Kallang Airport. One of my favorite parts of the day was wandering through the exhibit which featured over 3000 pieces of art from Singaporean elementary school students.

There were row after row after row of these pictures...and some of them were just SO amazing! A few of my favorites...

There were two other exhibits that stood out. The first was simply written word painted on a wall...be sure to double-click on the photo to enlarge it to be able to read what is written...

The second was called Frequency and Volume and was by artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer. It used our shadows to tune in to local radio stations...

How long will this last?

2011-05-16T20:30:00.000+08:00

Last week I got a notice that I had received a package. I love getting that little notice but then it means I have to wait 1-2 days to get it from the post office. Argh...I am not really a patient person. Last week I ended up having to wait a little longer because the delivery guy wrote the wrong number down on my notice and they had to track it down.

I was FINALLY able to go and pick it up tonight...

HOLY COW!!!

Thanks much to my very wonderful friends Angie and Paul for sending this amazing package of goodies. Apparently my prior blog post about rationing my caramel creams and Thin Mints and my inability to get Peeps at Easter in Singapore gave them some inspiration. These are all of my favorite sweet treats. I will be rationing them if for no other reason than to keep myself from going into a sugar coma.

So...any bets on how long these will last?

Age appropriate

2011-05-15T22:13:00.000+08:00

I have some rules when it comes to clothing and dressing.

#1 - Cover all of your bits...I do not need to see stomachs unless you are in a swimsuit and at the beach.
#2 - You should dress for the season you are in and not the one you want to be in. For example, do not wear summer clothes in the middle of January in Michigan or do not wear long sleeves and sweaters when living in Singapore.
#3 - Unless you are in a dance recital or stage production of some sort or going to the prom or a holiday party you don't need a lot of shiny, jangly (yes, that is a word...at least in my blog world), bedazzlement on your clothing.
#4 - Just because there is empty space on a garment does not mean it needs a bow...please refer to rule #3.
#5 - If you are over 35, your skirts should at least hit the knee...unless you have Tina Turner legs but even then they shouldn't be too short.

You may be asking why on earth you are reading about my clothing rules and what it has to do with living on the other side of the world. I went shopping yesterday...I was in the mood to spend money...I could use some new clothes...so off I went...

I decided to go to one of the largest shopping malls in Singapore, Vivo City. It is the type of mall that you can get lost or turned around very easily. This place has something like 100 million stores in it. Okay, maybe not 100 million but it felt like that many. I went into every single store that sold women's clothing...I shopped for something like 3 hours...and I found nothing! Okay, I found lots and lots of clothing but it was all very short and very tight and had lots of bows and glam and jangle and ugh... It wasn't that things didn't fit...I didn't find anything that I even wanted to try on. Can I just get an Eddie Bauer or an Ann Taylor Loft?

I think this may be only the second time I have been shopping in Singapore. The last time was probably about 3-4 months after I moved here and I now recall why I haven't been since. What a frustrating day! Although, I did get a cute pair of shoes...I have very few rules for shoes...and a really cute handbag...no rules for handbags...except your man should not carry your handbag ladies...but that is a blog for another day...

4/52

2011-05-09T14:10:00.000+08:00

Week 4 of 52
Tanjong Pagar Railway Station
30 Keppel Road
Singapore

I have read a fair bit about the Tanjong Pagar railway station lately because rail operations will cease as of July 1st. The station is currently an active rail station and you can take a train from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Beginning in July you will still be able to take the same train but it will operate out of a station out of the northern end of Singapore.

Tanjong Pagar railway station was built in the 1930s and from what I have read it was modeled after many US railway stations from that period. Reading up on this I was very excited to step into a piece of history...

The exterior of the building is pretty with big, stone arches and large columns each stating Agriculture, Industry, Commerce, or Transport...

Even the detail on the inside of the arches is pretty cool...

The interior of the building is not nearly as interesting and I must say, a bit disappointing. It had a lot of potential but it looked like they never quite finished it or somebody decided to take the cheap way out.

There were a few interesting things on the interior...

The old ticket counter still looks the same as the original that I have seen in photos. If you look at the larger version you'll see it written in Malay on the left and English on the right. I should have mentioned that the railway station is actually owned and operated by the main railway company in Malaysia called Keretapi Tanah Melay (KTM).

I did love this old sign...

You can get outside onto part of the platform. There really isn't anything interesting out there and unfortunately there were no trains while we were there.

I'm glad that I went and saw it but was pretty disappointed as I had expected it to be more than it was. I guess you never really know what you'll find when out exploring and sometimes will come across some disappointing things when exploring. My favorite pictures of the day were from our walk after exploring the train station.

The first was one of the light poles in the parking lot of the railway station...

We then walked walked through Duxton Hill on our way to Chinatown. We didn't do much exploring through Duxton Hill so it may end up on my 52 weeks project at some point in the future. The second picture I liked was somewhere on one of the roads in that area...

3/52

2011-05-05T21:12:00.000+08:00

Before I begin with the week 3 post I have to admit to posting twice in the first week...sheesh...I knew I'd need help by having a theme but didn't think I wouldn't be able to count properly. So this post is for week 3...

3/52
Pulau Ubin
Island northeast of Singapore

To get to Pulau Ubin you have to take a bumboat from the Changi Village jetty. It costs a whopping $2.50 per passenger (additional if you bring your own bike) and the bumboats only carry 12 passengers per trip. It takes about 10-15 minutes to cross the Serangoon Harbor and arrive at Pulau Ubin.

When you arrive at Pulau Ubin you negotiate with one of the local vendors to rent a bike for the day and set off to tour around the island. There are vehicles permitted on the island but not many and the roads aren't really meant for cars. They remind me of the single lane country roads you'd find up north in Michigan.

A bit of history...back in the '60s a handful of granite quarries allowed for about 1000 local residents on the island. Now there are only about 100 locals on the island but they have kept the island in a pretty natural state and it is one of the few truly rural parts of Singers.

We didn't really have an idea of where we were going so just set off on our way. And...it was raining the entire time we were there so got a little bit wet.

I was with my friend Sonya and her parents. We rode up to Chek Jawa which is a intertidal flat on the north east side of the island...doesn't it sound more like a Star Wars character? Once you reach it you have to park your bike and walk around the area.

One of the fun things about being out on the island is that you are in one of the main flight paths from Changi Airport. We saw 2-3 different A380s take off while we were walking around which was fun...

After we left the Chek Jawa area we road past one of the old granite quarries. It was amazing to see the difference in the color of the water...

I really wish I could have seen it in the sunshine because I'm guessing the colors would have been really, really blue. And I must admit that while city living is pretty cool for a lot of reasons I do miss seeing all of the greenery and just natural environments instead of so much concrete and shiny buildings.

We rode around for a couple of hours and then parked ourselves at a table right by the water for some delicious seafood. A couple of my other friends were just arriving on the island as we sat down for lunch so they joined us. We ate fresh fish, fresh crab, prawns, noodles, rice, and lots of yummy other things. When we left we gave them two of our bikes and headed back on the bumboat back to Singers.

I'll leave you with a few pics of the ride back...

Taxi take two

2011-04-29T08:23:00.000+08:00

I usually try to travel by bus or walk if possible. However, I always take taxis to the airport and also when I have an early morning meeting at the office. Last Thursday I took a taxi from home to the airport for my trip to Perth. One week later, I had to take a taxi to the office yesterday morning so I could arrive in plenty of time for a client meeting.
Much to my surprise, when I climbed in the taxi yesterday morning the taxi driver remembered me...
Mr Taxi Driver ~ good morning
me ~ morning, Science Park 1 please
Mr Taxi Driver ~ I remember you
me ~ really??? (said with total skepticism)
Mr Taxi Driver ~ I took you to the airport
me ~ oh really??? (said with total skepticism)
Mr Taxi Driver ~ how was Perth?
me ~ holy cow, you really did take me to the airport...Perth was great!
There are some 25,000 taxis in Singapore so the odds of being in the same taxi twice are pretty rare. To be in the same taxi twice within one week is crazy.

Cottesloe

2011-04-25T19:42:00.000+08:00

As you saw from my last post, I spent the long Easter weekend in Australia. To be specific, we stayed in Cottesloe, Western Australia which is a western suburb of Perth. We were in a large rental house within view and walking distance from the beach.

I arrived late Thursday afternoon and after making introductions of everyone in the house we grabbed a quick beer and walked to the beach to watch the sunset...

The sun actually sets at about 5:30 - 6:00 pm which seems really early to me. And it is actually pretty stunning to watch it set over the water.

Friday morning we got up and went for a long walk along the beach in Cottesloe...

The water and the sky were just amazing shades of blue.

The beach there has a nice walking/cycling path in addition to the beachfront. Friday was a public holiday in Australia so there were a bunch of people out and about. Along with the beauty of the ocean there are also some fun pieces of art placed along the walkway...

There was even a giant sundial...

As I mentioned in my last post, this place really had the feel of Southern California. It was even complete with the surfers and great cars you'd expect to see along the beach...

And now that I'm looking back over all of these pictures I feel as though I should have retitled the 'blue' given the amazing shades of blue.

It was a fun weekend and I really enjoyed the cooler temperatures, the blue skies, the ocean breeze, the laughter, and beer, and wine, and good food.

2/52

2011-04-23T13:31:00.000+08:00

Week 2 of 52
Little Creatures Brewery
40 Mews Road
Freemantle, Western Australia

I'm currently in Perth for a long weekend with a friend. Yesterday was a public holiday in Australia so there wasn't tons going on but we did manage to find a great brewery for some delicious cider and good eats in nearby Freemantle.

It was an absolutely beautiful day yesterday. The temperatues were in the mid-80s with bright blue skies and poofy white clouds and a nice breeze coming in off of the Indian Ocean. This area reminds me of Southern California. It is very similar in feel to La Jolla in both the feel and the setting. I only snapped a few shots on our walk back from the restaraunt to the car...

1/52

2011-04-20T00:45:00.000+08:00

Before I begin, I haven't yet decided what my actual theme will be for my '52 weeks' project. I got some great suggestions and am going to try a few of them out first before I decide on my theme. It will have something to do with Singapore or travel or landmarks or food...not yet sure...

Week 1 of 52
MICA Building
Corner of River Valley Road and Hill Street

This is the Ministry of Information, Communication, and the Arts (MICA) building. It used to be Hill Street Police Station building. I personally like to call it the Singapore rainbow building.

I walk by it pretty regularly because it is near my place in Singers. I have wanted to take a picture of it for quite some time but wanted to be sure there was sunshine and blue sky to really show off the colors of the shutters.

On my first trip to Singapore I took a tour of the city and the tour guide told us that there was some poor guy who had the job to open all of the shutters everyday. According to the story, once he got all of the shutters open he would have to begin closing them for the day. I'm not sure how true that is but I do think about it every time I walk past this building. I guess there could be worse jobs than opening all of those colorful shutters. I would pick a different color for every day of the week and begin opening with that color first...
Green ~ Monday
Yellow ~ Tuesday
Red ~ Wednesday
Blue ~ Thursday
Friday ~ Purple

Suggestion box

2011-04-13T20:39:00.000+08:00

I need your help...

I have been doing the weekly photo challenge with a group of friends and I have been enjoying it. It really pushes me to think about things and gives me an idea each week to find something to photograph.

I'm interested in starting another project but linking in photography and my blog and living in Singapore. I'm thinking of starting a '52 weeks' project whereby each week I'll have at least one blog post dedicated to the theme. I'm hoping to be able to link in photography so that I'll have pictures to share as well.

I need your help in determining a theme. I know myself too well and if I don't have the focus of a theme this will quickly become the '2 weeks' project and I'll lose interest. A few possible themes:

Landmarks in Singapore or Asia when I'm traveling ~ each week I'd find a landmark or attraction and photograph it and blog about it.
Food ~ each week I would have to try a new dish and could blog about my reaction, the history behind the dish, etc.
Streets in Singers ~ each week I'd randomly pick a street in Singapore and walk it or travel on it and blog about the area.
Likes/Dislikes ~ each week I'd choose something that I really like about Singers and will miss when I return to the US or something that I dislike about Singers and will not miss at all.

So...the suggestion box is officially open. What do you think I should do? Does one of those seem like a great idea or do you have another idea? Why are you still reading this and not telling me what you think?

p.s. the suggestion box is also known as the comments section...

Sunday @ East Coast Park

2011-04-11T22:26:00.000+08:00

Most Sunday mornings you can find me at East Coast Park taking a long walk. East Coast Park is about a 8 km path right along the...wait for it...Eastern coast of Singapore. There is beach along most of the path and some nice wide trails to allow for runners, walkers, roller-blading, and biking. It is typically just locals who go to get away from the craziness of the city and to enjoy a teeny tiny bit of a beach-type setting.

I enjoy it because on a Sunday morning there are very few tourists there. And to be honest, most of the people who are out there are exercising so there is the courtesy that comes along with being around a bunch of other people focused on their workout. There also tend to be quite a few families and I love seeing families out and about and especially children who are outside...

I'll digress a bit here but when I was a kid we were outside from the morning until night. We would have stayed out even later but the rule in our neighborhood was that if the street lights came on you were supposed to be home. We played random sports, made up our own games, rode bikes, ran around, dug in the dirt, and who the heck knows what else. I'm not sure I would have survived as a kid these days because I just loved being outside. I still do. I'll take a walk outside over sitting in front of the computer or television any day of the week.

The other fun thing that you see off of East Coast Park are all of the giant shipping vessels...

Singapore used to be the largest shipping port in Asia but has recently been surpassed by Shanghai. Regardless, at any given time you will find hundreds of ships off the coast of Singers. There are so many that when you fly in to Singapore at night the ships actually look like the lights of a city so it is hard to tell when you are over the water versus being over land.

Yesterday was a good walk because it was a bit breezy and there wasn't too much sun...as you can see from the clouds. The rain stayed offshore so we stayed dry which was nice.

So...were you an outside kid? If so, what was your favorite thing to do? In the past week I have been reminded of the 'green machine' and ice cream trucks...bring back any memories?

Peking Duck

2011-04-09T19:52:00.000+08:00

Last night I went to Dadong in Beijing for dinner. It is a pretty famous restaurant in Beijing that typically has a 1-2 hour wait (yes, you read that correctly...1-2 hours) for those who do not have a reservation. I am not a fan of waiting that long so lucked out when some business colleagues had a reservation and invited me along for dinner.

The restaurant itself is quite stunning...very modern and wide open. I only took a few pictures of the place since I was with business peeps...

We ordered a set menu so they seemed to just keep bringing us food. We had pork and bamboo shoots and veal and lobster and noodles and vegetables and honestly so much food that I can't remember everything that we had. It was one of those meals where everything we tasted was better than the last. There was also a lot of great conversation and laughter and we had great waiters so the entire experience was excellent.

The best part was by far the Peking duck. I am not typically a fan of duck because it tends to be a bit greasy. I'll eat it but it never is anything I want to order specially when I see it on the menu. Peking duck is a completely different story...oh my goodness is it tasty. They roast the duck in what they call a hung oven. It is essentially an open oven with a wood fire where they hang the duck to roast.

If you double-click the photo to enlarge it you'll see the ducks hanging in the background ready to be cooked. There are four ovens like the one you see and these guys roast the ducks as they are ordered...which means they keep pretty busy all night long.

Once the duck is cooked they bring it to your table and actually carve it in front of you...

Once it is carved the waiters actually show you how to eat it properly. The first step is to take the skin and dip it in sugar and eat it. I'm not a fan of skin and it seemed a bit odd to dip it in sugar buy holy cow was this tasty. The skin is super crispy and flavorful and the sugar just makes it all sorts of yummy goodness. The next step is to put the meat on a thin pancake with sweet bean sauce (tastes like plum sauce) and scallions. (If you've ever eaten Mu Shu chicken/pork/beef at a Chinese restaurant in the US this is similar.) The last step is to take the duck and put it inside these hollowed out sesame rolls that are crispy along with julienned radish, cucumber, horseradish and some other things I can't recall. Our waiter called it the Beijing burger which was pretty funny.

All of the versions tasted so good as did all of the other food. I'm not sure it is something I would eat often but it was quite an experience and would recommend it to anybody visiting Beijing.

Southern Ridges

2011-04-03T21:08:00.000+08:00

Today I explored a new area of Singapore that I wasn't aware of before...The Southern Ridges. It is a 9 km (just over 5.5 miles for those of us not keen on the metric system) walk that links a variety of different parks on the southern part of the island.

I started out at the top of Mount Faber. I wouldn't necessarily call it a mountain...more of a big hill. I was able to walk up from sea level via a set of steps. They say it is the equivalent to climbing a 24-story building but it wasn't too bad. At the top is Mount Faber Park. There are lots of scenic outlooks and a cable car system and restaurants and even a Merlion...which I completely forgot to go and look at...next time. Here are a couple of the views from the top...

Once you are done walking around the top of Mount Faber you can take Faber Walk which is another trail. And I use the term trail loosely as it is paved the entire way...

Along the walk was the Danish Seaman's Church.

Since it was Sunday morning I could hear the organ playing in the church when I walked by. It was a nice contrast to the cicadas and sound of the leaves blowing.

At the end of Faber Walk you come to Henderson Waves trail...

It is the tallest pedestrian bridge in Singers. At the tallest point it is 120 feet above the road below. It looks like a fun bridge to walk across because of the waves but in reality it is just a flat bridge...

However, those wood slats are not flush against each other. There are areas where when you look down you can see through to the road below...not so fun...

On the other side of the bridge is a portion of the trail called Hilltop Walk. I didn't take any pictures because it was just a hill and there wasn't really anything specific to look at.

The next section of the trail is the Forest Walk and struck me as a little odd because the entire thing is a metal walkway...

It is neat to walk through at the same level as the tree canopy but I must admit it was a little odd to hear the metal clanking every time I took a step.

At the end of the Forest Walk is Alexandra Arch...

It is really just a bridge over Alexandra Road but it is neat that it isn't a plain bridge.

On the other side of the road you end up in Hort Park which is a horticultural park...very creative with the name, eh? It is a pretty big area and they have some really interesting gardens that aren't all just flowers.

On the other side of Hort Park is Canopy Walk. It is a wooden raised walkway that again takes you along the tree canopy. It is a nice walk and is good to be up so high and take in some of breeze on such hot and sunny Singapore days. On the other side of Canopy Walk is Kent Ridge Park which is actually right next to my office. I have gone to work there for over two years now and had no idea that I could just up and leave one afternoon and have such a beautiful walk just outside my office door...hmm...there is an idea...

Something old...

2011-04-02T18:32:00.000+08:00

amongst everything shiny and new.

My photo challenge topic this week was 'abandoned'. If I were back home I feel like this would be relatively easy. Here in Singers...not so much... If you haven't been to Singapore this won't make much sense...if you have...you'll know exactly what I mean. They literally sweep the sidewalks every single day here. There is no trash and nothing sitting around that could be considered abandoned. Even the buildings aren't left empty for very long...instead they demolish them and build newer and bigger and shinier ones...which is a shame.

As a result of all of these things I had to really think about what to photograph for my challenge. I even googled 'abandoned Singapore' to see what I could find. Sadly, not a whole lot. So, in the spirit of the challenge I grabbed my camera and set out for a little exploring.

My first stop was to an old fountain that isn't too far from my house. It hasn't been functional since I moved here so I thought I'd take some photos of it...

My next stop was to the an old cemetery near the largest mosque in Singapore. It is a Muslim cemetery and I've walked by it many times but never taken any photos.

I couldn't get any pictures I really liked from the main road so walked along a side street to see if I could find a better angle. I'm glad I did because I actually found another cemetery across the street that wasn't fenced so I didn't feel so bad about wandering through.

When I came home I read up on it and found out that this is the oldest Malay cemetery in Singapore. Apparently it dates back to the 1820s but as you can see by the photos above it has been abandoned for what appears to be quite some time.

I would have liked to have wandered through a bit more but it was right behind a mosque and I was in shorts and a tank top so didn't feel really appropriate since most Muslim women are fully covered. I also was becoming lunch for quite a few mosquitoes so wanted to get out before I ended up with dengue fever.

If you are curious what picture I decided on for my 'challenge' photo take a stroll over to my Flickr page...over there...in the upper right hand corner.

Inquiring minds...

2011-03-27T18:23:00.000+08:00

A week ago Saturday I went to see a bunch of rugby matches with my friends. Yesterday I went to the Singapore Cricket Club and watched some of the England versus Sri Lanka match. Going into both of these sporty Saturday afternoons I had very little knowledge of rugby and hardly any knowledge of cricket. I now have a bit more...at the expense of my friends who got stuck sitting next to me while I asked about 10 million questions about both sports. Initially I think they thought it was cute...the American who has no idea about these sports asking questions...exposing herself to truly global sports...and then the questions continued...on...and on...and on... I suspect my mom or my brothers can empathize with these gals...but what can I say...I like to learn new things and in order to do that it requires asking lots of questions.

One conversation that we did have is that there aren't many professional sports played in the US that are played globally. There is a small following of soccer (football here and everywhere else in the world) in the US and there is tennis but otherwise, not much.
American football is only played in America...
Basketball is played in Europe and South America but isn't played much in Asia or Australia...
Hockey is played in Europe but not anyplace that it gets really hot...
Baseball is big in Asia but isn't played in Europe that I know of...
It was just one of those things that I never really thought of until the past two weekends.

White noise

2011-03-22T21:23:00.000+08:00

I finished my book on the way to the office this morning. It was a good book and I'm sort of feeling that let down feeling after reading a really good book and not having the characters to read about anymore. But...that is not what I'm writing about...because I had finished my book this morning I didn't have anything to do on the bus ride home. I just looked out the window and was far more aware of the goings on inside the bus. I realized this afternoon that I no longer notice all of the different languages being spoken. The gals in front of me were speaking French while the two behind me were speaking Mandarin and the couple across the aisle from me were speaking Tamil. There was a time when none of this would have seemed normal...and now it is just white noise.

Just hanging out

2011-03-19T23:01:00.000+08:00

It's funny how when you are in your own environment you tend to not notice the little things.

Living alone in another country can be a bit lonely sometimes.

I'm lucky that I have a good friend here who also has her entire family here. A husband, a 20-something daughter, and a high-school age daughter. I'm also lucky that she invites me over for dinner quite frequently. The food is amazing...that I will not deny...however...more than the food I tend to enjoy the family banter that occurs and the fact that they allow me into their little bubble of a family. I had dinner there tonight and we had lots of banter and lots of laughter and lots of great food and we watched a very funny and silly movie.

I hope that all of you are able to do that with your family...very soon...and if you are a great person you'll invite the local person who may not have their family around...trust me...they'll appreciate it.