London - day 3

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...

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London - day 2

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.

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London - day 1

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

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6/52

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!

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5/52

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...

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How long will this last?

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?

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Age appropriate

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...

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4/52

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...

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3/52

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...

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