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.