Happy Holidays!

At the Raffles Hotel, home of the original Singapore Sling.

One of many trees lighting up the Singapore night.

Christmas cake at Cova.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all. We wish you the best in 2011.
明けましておめでとうございます。2011年もよろしくお願いします。

Verve Pizzeria

A new Italian restaurant recently opened near our home. Verve Pizzeria serves a range of salads, pastas, and pizzas, all in a casual atmosphere. The restaurant's theme is that icon of Italy, the Vespa. There are colorful images of Vespas of different eras on the wall, and even Vespa handlebars fashioned into a statue on the bar. The restaurant faces a small stand of trees, the last remnant of a forest that once covered the hill where a new condominium and the NTU alumni center sit.

I ordered the meat lasagna. It had a rich flavor, enhanced by the generous slices of Parmesan cheese on top. Unfortunately, one of the pasta layers was chewy, as if undercooked or of a different thickness than the other layers. The dish came with a small mixed salad with a balsamic vinegar and oil dressing. It was a small highlight of the meal.

Hisako ordered the linguine with sun-dried tomatoes. I'm not sure why though, since she has never been a fan of sun-dried tomatoes. It also featured pine nuts and Parmesan cheese. this dish was far from terrific. The pasta was quite chewy, leaving both of us unsatisfied. There was too much olive oil, yet it was dry overall.

The atmosphere and the free pizza slices brought out as an appetizer were the real highlights of the meal. There were few customers and the music was not very loud, meaning it was quiet enough to carry on a conversation. There was a large Christmas tree and other decorations, making it festive. We might return, but we'll order one of the meat dishes instead.

Sentosa

Before visiting Sentosa, a tiny island south of Singapore proper, the name conjured images of throngs of people vying for a tiny square of space along a man-made beach, or waiting in long lines for a tourist attraction. It's curious how hearsay and snippets of conversation can create vivid images in our minds of places we've never been. These images can prevent us from giving a destination a chance, as our eyes are conditioned to look for verification of what we expect. I'm not sure where I got my impression of Sentosa. The only images I had seen prior to visiting were of Amazing Race participants taking a long zip line from the top of the island down to the beach, which looked quite amazing.

We decided to visit Sentosa on a whim. After playing tennis on a Sunday morning (our first tennis in over four months in Singapore), we decided that it would feel great to be on the beach. The sun was beating down from a clear blue sky, but a steady breeze made the heat bearable. We hopped on the train, then switched to the monorail for the last leg of the journey. While crossing the water, we passed some of the immense container ports, endlessly loading and unloading the 'stuff' that causes conflicts and drives economies around the world.

The entrance to Sentosa.

The first stop on the monorail is Universal Studios Singapore. We were annual pass holders of Universal Studios Japan, when we lived in Osaka. We enjoyed strolling around the New York sets and doing the Jurassic Park ride. But my interest in this particular theme park is waning. So, we continued on the monorail. The next stop lets people off to see Singapore's largest Merlion, a creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish. The Merlion is a symbol of Singapore, and there are several of them, of different sizes, throughout the island. Since we've seen Merlion elsewhere, we also skipped this stop and continued on the monorail.

The last stop is the beach - not only the beach, but a series of restaurants and bars that face the beach. 

The beach was surprisingly clean, both the sand and the water. We rested under a few palm trees in a classic Southeast Asian beach pose. Then we continued along the beach, past a number of clubs and restaurants. We saw a few sea kayakers, but mostly people were just lying on the beach or poolside.

One of the highlights was Wave House, an outdoor restaurant that features a surf pool. I first saw this on a tv commercial for a cruise line, but I didn't understand how it worked until I saw it for myself.

Water streams from one corner of the pool, constantly flowing toward the center of the pool, where the surface of the pool curves upward to mimic a big wave. Beginners, like the guy in the image above, hold a rope while first stepping on the skimboard. They try to get their balance, and when ready, release the rope. After a matter of seconds, beginners usually crash, then end up at the far end of the pool. Sometimes the water is so strong it shoots them over the blue wave into the back of the pool. I would want to wear a helmet (and mask out of embarassment) if I ever tried this.

More advanced riders start by sitting on the side and jumping into the flow. Advanced riders turn up the water volume, creating a bigger wave. This guy (above) was the best rider we saw. He was able to ride up the wall, twist the board in different directions, and make it look fairly easy. This is probably especially fun to see at night, and it's open until past midnight on weekends.

Overall, Sentosa was far better than expected. We even saw the zip line, which still looks amazing. I'm sure we'll go back.

The Street

On Sunday we went to East Coast Park, a very popular weekend spot. On the way, we stopped by the area known as Arab Street, which features streets of cafes and shops with vague inspiration from the Middle East. Given the location near a large mosque, one can also find Muslim goods like caps for men (called taqiyah or songkok) and scarves for women, and other items needed for prayer.

I was impressed with some of the design work around the neighborhood, like this hummingbird drawn on a post and these sprayed figures on an alley wall.

After walking around for about 30 minutes, we continued on to East Coast Park. It features a beach, bicycle and rollerblade rental, and numerous restaurants. We also saw something quite unique: Ski360, a cable-based water skiing park. Having grown up water skiing on lakes behind a boat, I never imagined the possibility of cable skiing. But cable skiing takes out a lot of the risk of boat skiing. No risk of hitting another boat or something floating in the water, and no feeling of being abandoned while waiting for the boat to return to pick you up after going down. The cable also pulls at a uniform speed, so you can get out of the water easily and maintain a good speed. I don't know how clean the water is, but the agricultural run-off in Iowa's reservoirs was never clean either.

We ate lunch with some friends, while watching the wakeboarders do amazing jumps.

The Common Cold

Everyone knows the misery of a summer cold--sniffles, coughs, and the chills, all in 90 degree heat. When you catch a cold in Singapore, it is always a "summer cold."

In the U.S. everyone gives advice: chicken soup, vitamin C, mentholated rub, herb teas, orange juice, steam shower, garlicky food. In Japan, people always suggest gargling.

In Singapore, there are many over-the-counter medications, and the most common everyday advice is to sip warm or hot water - never cold water. And against all the advice I heard growing up, the doctor told me to stop drinking fruit juice, claiming that the acidity would bother my throat. It makes it hard to know who or what to believe. I suppose we're all inclined to favor the advice we grew up with, but since there is no "cure" for the common cold, I guess one person's advice is as good as another's.

Seven prescriptions in two doctor visits.

The first time I visited the doctor here with a cold, I simply went to make sure it wasn't more than a cold. I have learned that one catches a cold from contact with others, not from a change in the weather or getting caught in the rain. As I already said, there is no "cure" for the common cold, or people wouldn't continue to suffer from them every year, and people wouldn't keep inventing new "cures." The best one can do is to simply wait out a cold. The only reason to take medicine is to relieve the symptoms while waiting for the cold to run its course.

But try telling that to the doctors here. When I visit the doctor in Singapore, I get 2-3 minutes of conversation with the doctor and a handful of medicines, one for each symptom. And the system makes it hard to avoid taking the drugs. The doctor prescribes a bunch of things and sends you away, and the total cost of the visit is less than US$5. With no alternate advice, you end up taking the medicines and hoping for the best. 

I guess the upside is that it isn't freezing cold outside, and I don't have to shovel a walk or scrape a windshield while sick. And I can still find something close to chicken soup, which always makes me feel better.

For more on the common cold, I like this collection of info:
NY Times - the common cold

Cheese!

This past Saturday we went to a friend's house in Pasir Ris for dinner. It was the farthest I've traveled on the subway/train here, all the way to the other side of the island. It doesn't sound like much, but when your daily life consists of shuttling back-and-forth on a single bus between home and the office, a long ride on the train becomes eventful. Dinner consisted of chicken curry on noodles (instead of rice), pork sausage from Taiwan, and some of the best chicken wings I've ever had. They were Philippine style, and they would put many U.S. happy hours out of business.

Sunday we went for a four-hour hike around MacRitchie Reservoir in the afternoon. It was a great day for it, until it began raining with about an hour left. We were pretty wet by the time we caught a bus home. But it was a good day nonetheless. You can't beat tramping around tropical forests for an afternoon out. We saw some butterflies, including a purple one (maybe the purple duke), plus some long-tailed macaques.

We also crossed the HSBC TreeTop Walk -- a 250m (273 yards or 820ft) long bridge above the rainforest that rises as high as 25m (82ft) above the ground. It is quite narrow, so it is strictly one-way only. Once you reach the far side you have to pass through a gate, which clanged shut behind the person in front of us, temporarily making H think we were trapped on the bridge. That would have been terrible, but the door just closes so that no one can enter from the far side.

Once home, we went out for dinner at Everything With Fries in Holland Village. As you can imagine, everything comes with fries. And the fries really were the food highlight. My best memory, though, was the conversation with the waitress about, of all things, cheese.

Being friends with Wes, I have come to appreciate a quality burger, plus, when you eat a burger at most U.S. restaurants, you have any number of cheese choices. So when I asked, "What kind of cheese is on the cheeseburger?" I didn't anticipate any problems. However, she paused before answering, as if she'd never heard the question before. So, I shouldn't have been surprised when she finally answered, "Melted."

Of course.

I really have to laugh, since the interaction reminded me of a previous cheese-related conversation I witnessed ten years ago in Winterset, Iowa. A friend was visiting from England (where they know a thing or two about cheese). While at a grocery store, she was eyeing a whitish-cheese in the case labeled "Swiss", and she inquired of the man behind the counter, "What kind of cheese is that?" He replied, "Swiss." She repeated, "What kind of Swiss?" And he repeated with a somewhat heated tone, "Swiss." She fired back, "I can read that it's Swiss, but what kind of Swiss?" At this point I felt compelled to step in and stop a potential international incident.

Growing up in Iowa, I knew that Swiss cheese is the generic name given to a cheese with holes in it. The fact that this is related to the Swiss Emmental is something never learned. In fact, I probably never heard the word "Emmental" until I was in my 20s. The cheese in the case certainly was not imported from Switzerland. In the U.S. this holey cheese is called Swiss cheese, despite the fact that there is nothing particularly Swiss (as in the country Switzerland) about it.

However, my friend had grown up with similar grocery stores and similar cheese cases in England, where some of the cheese actually was imported from places like Switzerland and France, and it was labeled as such. However, since there are many kinds of cheese from Switzerland, calling it "Swiss" did nothing to help her understand the flavor of the cheese. The cheese man in Winterset may or may not have known that the country Switzerland produces a large variety of cheeses, but at that moment, there was a great disconnect in cheese communication, one which I was able to experience when ordering my burger.

Incidentally, it was melted cheddar.

MacRitchie Reservoir

Singapore often feels like a concrete jungle. High-rise apartment blocks, cars and buses everywhere, no mountains in sight; there seem to be few alternatives to "the city."

シンガポールと言えば、山が見えないし高い建物や車、バスしか見えないところと思うかもしれない。大都市から逃げる方法がないようだ。

 

Singapore's financial district at night.

However, don't be fooled by the Singapore naysayers. There are a few spots of green that offer hours' worth of trails in tropical vegetation. In addition to trees and flowers, there is wildlife - butterflies, birds, monkeys, and snakes (thankfully we haven't seen one yet).

しかし、そう言うシンガポールだけじゃない。大自然の中のトレイルでゆっくり歩けるところもある。木と花以外にもたくさん生物がいる。

We recently spent a Saturday morning at the largest area of nature trails in Singapore, located in the center of the island. This area, which consists of a series of reservoirs, including MacRitchie Reservoir, provides drinking water for many Singaporeans.

３週間前の土曜日シンガポール島の真ん中の方にある最大公園に行った。シンガポールの飲料水が溜まるところのマックリッチと言う貯水池でハイキングをした。

http://www.nparks.gov.sg/cms/index.php?option=com_visitorsguide&task=naturereserves&id=49&Itemid=75

We tried a few different trails - one a gently sloping incline with a rocky path, another a wooden deck on the edge of the water, a third a paved path under a tall canopy of trees. The area was full of people, from hard-core trail runners and racing kayakers, to walkers with dogs and lazy picnickers. In fact, some of the trails were downright packed.

色んなトレイルへ行ってみた。砂利道の緩やかな上り坂のトレイルに行ったり、貯水池側のデッキみたいな道に行ったり、高い木の下の舗装されている道を歩いたりした。思ったより人数が多かった。

 

Walking alongside MacRitchie Reservoir. Storm clouds loom.

We enjoyed just over an hour of walking when the sky ripped open and dumped on us for 30 minutes straight. It was a remarkable downpour. When it began we found the only dry place was under the thick canopy of trees. However, the water soon penetrated the canopy and left nowhere to hide. We decided to turn back and find some sort of shelter, but it was too late. I was completely soaked. H found a large leaf that she used as an umbrella a la Totoro (see below), but it only protected her head. 

１時間以上歩いた後どしゃ降り雨が降った。３０分ぐらい降った。最初は木の下しかぬれていなかったけれど、すぐびしょぬれになった。ぬれてないところを探そうと思ったが遅かった。Hはトトロみたいな大きな葉っぱで頭だけカバーをした。

 

After finally finding a gazebo to rest under, I wrung out my socks and t-shirt, and waited for the rain to abate. On the way to get a coffee, we ran into a handful of monkeys. They seem aggressive. Later on the way to the bus stop, we saw another group excitedly rummaging through the garbage.

コーヒーを飲みに行く途中猿を見た。攻撃しそう。その後でバス停に行くときゴミを食べている他の猿を見た。

 

Despite the rain, it was a great morning. I hope that next time we can try one of the longer hikes, maybe even the one with the canopy walk. Back from the reservoir, I must admit that sometimes it's great to live in a city, where one can drink a beer and eat a pizza along the riverside. Ah... Singapore!

大雨だったがいい午前中だった。今度もっと長いとレイルに行ってみたいなと思っている。マックリチから帰って来てビールとピザをエンジョイしていてシンガポールに住んでよかったと気づいてきた。

 

Happy hour at Brewerkz.

Stolen bicycle!

Have you seen me?

Any impressions I had of Singapore being a crime-free country were shattered last week when I discovered that my bicycle had been stolen. Part of me if saddened by this news. I bought the bike in 2000 for my first (and so far only) RAGBRAI (Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa). That was an incredible journey taken with a few of my closest friends, including Wes (seen below).

Me and Wes somewhere in eastern Iowa, August 2000

I also rode this bike to the Boulder County Recorder office to sign the paperwork that officially married H and me over nine years ago. This bike was my daily commuter for years in Boulder, giving endless joy on my way first to the Geography Department, then to my office on East Campus. It got me up Boulder's hills, kept me out of the snow, and took me past prairie dogs.

Then, it was taken from outside our building sometime over the past few weeks. Someone must have cut the lock. Now it's gone forever.

Before you cry for me, though, let me tell a funny story about karma.

I actually haven't ridden the bicycle in Singapore because the rear chain guard broke in transit (it was the original, and the plastic shattered). So, the first time I jumped on it after assembling it, I went through my gears and went too far, rolling the chain into the gap between the spokes and the rear gear hub. It stopped me dead in my tracks and bent the derailleur. After much effort extracting the chain from the spokes and that space and pulling the derailleur into place, I realized that I had done more damage than I thought, and that it was going to cost some serious money to fix. I delayed because it's probably cheaper to buy a new bike. Plus, the bus stops right in front of our house and drops me right by my office. Plus, the National University of Singapore, or NUS, is also known as the National University of Stairs. It is built around and on top of a sizable hill, making it a challenge to get to campus. Not to mention the traffic.

So, while I miss my bicycle, I also feel for the thief. Here's a list of old parts needing to be replaced - tires, brakes, brake cables, chain, front derailleur, (now) rear derailleur, right gear shifter. About the only thing new on it was the seat, purchased two years ago. (Why did I ship it all the way to Singapore? Because we were under the shipping minimum, so it was almost free.) Plus, the first time the thief goes through the gears, the chain is going to catch again, probably leading to serious face plant. I mean, I hope no one is hurt, but there is a certain bit of karma in this tale that you have to appreciate.

So, goodbye old friend. (After some repairs) may you provide your next owner with 10 more years of joy!

Phuket

In a very spontaneous move, we traveled to Phuket, Thailand recently. We thought about it on Wednesday, bought tickets on Thursday, and left on Saturday.

Phuket is an island off the coast of Thailand, about two hours NW of Singapore.

Beautiful sunset from the airplane window, looking over southern Malaysia.

We stayed three nights on the west coast of the island. It was the type of resort I don't particularly like, but it was good to get away from work and the heat of Singapore. It seems ironic that we had to visit a tropical island to escape anywhere. However, we were greeted by a constant cool ocean breeze at our hotel that we never feel here. Calling the breeze cool is very generous. It's not like we needed a jacket. However, it was refreshing. This is still the rainy season in Phuket, so there were fewer guests than normal. This is nice for getting seats at a restaurant or a chair next to the pool, but it limits one's people-watching, which is one of my holiday hobbies. The other downside is that there was no snorkeling. Phuket has wonderful snorkeling nearby in the dry season. Maybe we'll return some day, although I would prefer to visit about 50 new places before going back. It so vastly pales in comparison to beaches in places like Grand Cayman, San Sebastian, Santa Monica, and Hawai'i that I'm not too excited to go back.

Strong winds at the beach. Evidence of erosion here, and the roots of several trees are clearly exposed and vulnerable, which will likely lead to more erosion.

Unfortunately, the strong winds and rough currents meant no swimming on the beach. So, we walked around the resort grounds (six hotels all together in one large piece of land), read books by the pool, and ate some good (not great) food.

Nice pool, but almost no guests.

One highlight was seeing the resort elephants. They are both young, around four. As you can imagine, they are very popular with the kids. Thankfully, they don't get climbed all over all day. Each hotel has a set time when the elephants will arrive, and they stay for about 30 minutes at each before walking to the next hotel.

Kissing Hisako (hoping for some bananas as thanks)

About the attention you'd expect from any rare large animal in public. It reminds me of the attention maiko get in Kyoto.

After four days, we returned home. We've only been here three months and we've already traveled to two countries (and Thailand was a new one for both of us). I don't know if we already have island fever, or if we're still settling in and excited about the opportunities around us.

Where should we go next?

Vietnam market

We've been back from Vietnam for a week now, and it already seems like months ago. We're settling back into Singapore life, but I just glanced at some photos and decided to share them. One morning while staying outside Duong Lam, we walked around this market.  All of the fresh fruits and vegetables were pretty standard, though colorfully arranged: dragonfruit, mango, peaches, grapes, melons, lychees, and a dozen other things that I don't know the names of.

The highlight was the meat table and the bucket of eels. The meat certainly looked fresh, but there was something questionable about cutting and selling meat in the great outdoors. At least she was wearing gloves!

 

I've only ever purchased eels pre-grilled and in plastic, so seeing them swimming was great. I wish I'd been able to grill them up on the spot.

 

Hanoi Food and Drink

One highlight of any trip should be the food. Hanoi has its fair share of wonderful things to choose from. Bun cha is a dish of what appears to be mini hamburgers and grilled chicken in a thin broth, combined with rice noodles and heaps of herbs like basil. 

Grilled meats and fresh noodles.

Just add a mound of herbs!

Finally, any hot day can be made a little easier with a cold beer. We ended this day on the 12th floor rooftop bar enjoying a cold Hanoi Beer. Great views of Hoah Kiem lake and the Red River from up on the roof, and you can hear the city pulsing below.

Halong Bay

One of our highlights in Vietnam was a daytrip to Halong Bay - http://www.halongbay-vietnam.com/ OR http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halong_Bay - which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994. The ride from Hanoi took around four hours in a microbus, with a very international group of passengers - Russia, Cameroon, Israel, Australia, Korea, Japan, and the U.S. (only me).

One of the many boats taking tourists to Halong Bay.

Once we arrived at the docks we hopped onto a boat to eat lunch ...

Some of the salads and main dishes from lunch.

... en route to our goal - a large cave and a set of limestone islands rising precipitously from the ocean.

Our boat approaches the islands.

Beautiful, incredible, breathtaking landscape. If it had not been 100 degrees, it would have been nearly perfect. Many tourists stay one or more nights on these boats, eating multi-course meals, relaxing on deck chairs between swims in the bay, kayaking through limestone caves, sipping beer while watching the sun set over the water.

However, Halong Bay is not perfect. There are an incredible number of tourists and a large amount of garbage floating in the water. Many people argue that UNESCO World Heritage status had led to the kind of unregulated tourism that will eventually destroy the very object of tourism. This is certainly not the first time tourism has threatened a tourist landscape, nor will it be the last. In the meantime, we were glad to have seen Halong Bay and kayaked its waters.

Emerald water and vegetation-topped islands make a stunning landscape.

Museum of Ethnology

Saturday we walked through the streets, hitting some markets along the way. Terrific variety of shops selling silk, bowls, light fixtures, teas, plumbing supplies, and all kinds of food.

We soon tired of the intense heat of the city and hopped in a cab to visit the National Museum of Ethnology. It reminded me somewhat of the Museum of Ethnology in Osaka (Minpaku), given its collection of artifacts (clothing, musical instruments, household items, religious objects) from Vietnam's dozens of ethnic groups. The Viet group is the largest, representing over 80% of the population of around 90 million people. Some of groups are quite small, with only around 10,000 people remaining.

Next to the museum full of artifacts are a number of reconstructed homes of different ethnic groups, offering a unique opportunity to walk around and explore the architecture.

This home has an incredible interior with a sloped ceiling 30-40 feet high. With the raised floor and the high ceiling, it was a good 10 degrees cooler inside than out.



The most interesting thing at the museum was the many couples taking wedding photos in and around the old homes. They provide a traditional background for couples, among many locations used by couples for their memories.

Pho dinner!

We just got home from one week in northern Vietnam. I'm going to try to catch up on the blog before we forget everything that happened. I tried to blog while in Hanoi, but every time I did, the software opened in Vietnamese and I couldn't figure out a way to switch it back to English.

We flew from Singapore to Hanoi last Friday afternoon. It's only a 3-hour flight, so it was an easy trip. (If you move to SE Asia on this map you will see some labels of places we went.)


View Vietnam trip in a larger map

After checking into the hotel we took care of the most important thing - dinner. A student from the National University in Hanoi took us to eat pho at a nearby shop.

It was amazing - broth delicately flavored, noodles cooked to perfection, and beef thinly sliced and medium rare. And of course we washed it down with a cold beer. You gotta love Vietnam.

After dinner we walked around Hoah Kiem lake, in the center of the Old Quarter. We watched the young people zooming past in their packs of scooters, riding 2 and 3 per bike. We saw couples young and old making a circuit of the lake or sitting on benches, enjoying the show. The lake is lit at night in a colorful display of lights. With this being the 1000th anniversary of Hanoi's founding, they say the city is extra-exciting this year.

Boxes arrived

Our boxes finally arrived from the U.S., a full seven weeks from the day we dropped them off in Boulder. They went via truck to LA, then on the massive OOCL Tokyo from LA to Singapore. Twelve boxes packed into part of one of these huge containers, packed side-by-side on this gigantic ship.

Once the ship arrived at the port of Singapore, the containers bound for Singapore were offloaded and sent to a warehouse, where another company used a forklift to remove the boxes from inside the container.

Then, a local transport agent took our goods through customs by using our claim for tax exemption and our passport information. Finally, the transport agent trucked the boxes to our apartment on Wednesday night.

We received the boxes around 7:00, and we had nearly everything unpacked by 9:00.

We went out for a drink at that point and have only a few things to finish up, like getting rid of the empty boxes. It takes so much less time to unpack than to pack. It helps that we have lived in this space for about a month and have found places for everything. So when the new stuff arrived, we could fill the remaining cupboard and closet space and not have long discussions about where stuff should go, which are more likely with an empty space and a move involving all of one's belongings at once. Only two things broke along the way: a wine glass given as a wedding present (nine years ago) and a serving bowl that we hadn't used for five years.

I still have to assemble my bike, which requires a wrench. Since I have no tools, I'll put it mostly together and walk it to a nearby bike shop. There is a surprising number of recreational cyclists here. Nothing compared to Colorado, but with the traffic, I didn't expect to see any. I have also spoken with a few bicycle commuters who work at NUS. They say it's doable, although a bit dangerous. I may give it a shot.