Day 10 - Bedok Reservoir

So, today is Monday and later this afternoon I head to Thailand! I was a bit lazy this morning, though I was up by 8:30. Around 11:00 I went for a walk around Bedok Reservoir, which is across the street from the luxury condo. It's a 4 km loop and I did it in about an hour. Wore my hat, as it was the middle of the day. The walk was very nice and most of the time there was a breeze, which helped. I saw a number of people running and decided they were insane - I don't even run at noontime at home!

There really wasn't too much to actually see - just lots of lush greenery and of course the reservoir itself. I did get some good shots of the condo complex, plus one of a sign at the pumping station. If you don't speak one of the languages on the sign, the picture is rather descriptive. Believe it or not there was actually quite a bit of shade along the pathway, so that was really nice. Most of the walk was rather quiet, though there was some construction noises that I could hear most of the walk. It was a good chance to just be quiet, as Singapore has lots of noise.

So, just about time to head off to the airport. Here are some pictures from my walk:

Bedok Reservoir

Day 9 - Singapore

So, after 4 hours of sleep, it was time to get up for church. I made my way successfully via taxi. Alas, remembered when I arrived for the 9:30 service that Tara teaches Sunday School during the 11:00 service, so it wouldn't be until after that when we'd meet up with Frank and Sarah for brunch. Oooops - I could have slept more and gone to the later service. Tara teaches 11 year olds - what a handful and she is a brave woman!

We met for lunch at Simply Bread (I think that's what it was called) and I had a diet coke (need my caffeine, you know) and French toast. Yummy!!! Sarah is from Dubai and has been in Singapore for the past year working - she'll be heading back home soon. She's one of Frank's piano students. We had a great time gabbing and hanging out. Then it was good-byes to Tara, as she heads to the US on Friday for a conference (and I'll be in Thailand all week).

The plan for the afternoon was Sentosa Island, which is a small island just off the island of Singapore. When Frank first moved here 8 years ago, it was a rather primitive island. Now it is getting built up, with several HUGE casinos being built. Did walk up the hill (part of it was on escalators), but decided to pass on the museum that was there. A large tourist group had just entered, plus some bratty kids.

We slowly made our way to a mall (they're also convenient meeting places) to meet up with Craig and his wife Lisa. Tara was also joining us, as we were thinking about catching a movie. The five of us ended up talking, missed the movie time, and then headed to a Thai restaurant for dinner, where I finally had the Phad Thai that I love. The conversation was all over the place, but we had lots of laughs. Craig was impressed that I - a woman - was interested in baseball (though he's a Cubs and Diamondbacks fan). He couldn't believe it when I told him lots of women in the US are baseball fans, as that is not the case in Asia.

Craig and Lisa have been to Bangkok many times, so gave me tips on where to shop and what excursions I should go on. So the general plan is Tuesday for the palace and temple(s), Wednesday to the floating market, and Thursday to shop. My hotel is located near a lot of the shopping, so that's convenient. I head back to Singapore on Thursday, but not until 10 PM, so I will have plenty of time to shop. And the traffic at that hour is not horrible, so I don't have to panic about that. Plus I have a late check-out at the hotel - 6 PM (and I can probably leave my luggage there while I go for dinner).

Pictures:
Sunday in Singapore
Frank's Pad
Luxury Condo

Day 8 - Back in Singapore

So, I'm back in Singapore. Saturday morning Frank had a couple of students, so we were meeting up in the center of town, at Borders. I slept in a bit (let me tell you, going halfway around the world really screws up one's sleeping!) and then headed off. I started off walking along the street in the direction I needed to end up, but dark clouds were rolling in (still have no umbrella) and the air was rather still, so no breeze. I caught the No. 5 bus and off I went. Managed to get off exactly where I needed to and enter Borders, just before the skies opened up. Yah me! I was feeling groggy, so stopped at Coffee Bean & Tea for a vanilla latte (I am pretty picky with lattes) - not bad. Walked around Borders and the rest of the mall until it was time to meet Frank.

The shops here in Singapore have these tall, skinny plastic bags for umbrellas - brilliant! As it rains nearly every day at least for a little while, these are very handy. It's "Singapore Sale" time at the shops, so yes everyone was shopping. But then again, they always are!

The rain had stopped by the time I met up with Frank, so we headed off for lunch at Crystal Jade for some Chinese food. We had sweet & sour pork, chicken kwayteo, and broccoli with garlic sauce. And I will have you know that I successfully ate the entire meal with chopsticks! It was quite yummy and as this restaurant is also in Bangkok, I know I'll have an option for someplace that has food I like (and could order).

Then it was off to the Asian Civilisation Museum and we DID get caught in the rain. Knew it would happen sooner or later. We took shelter at this very posh hotel for a while, walked through the underground tunnel where I took a picture of one of the city's Merlions, then the rain had tapered off, so we crossed the river to the museum. A special exhibit of Vietnam had just started that day, so we lucked out!

In the evening, we were headed to Dom and Ming's apartment for a party. They had gotten married the week before in a small ceremony, so this was a party for everyone else. Dom was one of the first friends that Frank made in Singapore. Before the party, Frank had to stop and get his hair cut at a Filipino mall and afterwards we ate at a shop called Kopitiam - kopi=coffee, ti =tea, and am=shop. We had some yakun kya toast (aka French toast) which was yummy.

Dom and Ming's party was a fun time, though I started crashing around 11/11:30. It's typical in Asian cultures to take off your shoes when you enter the house, so there was a great pile of shoes by the door and everyone was in bare feet. Dom is Italian and grew up in Australia and Ming is Chinese.

Unfortunately I got a second wind on the way back to the condo and was awake until 4 AM. Though some of that was because I was working on hotel arrangements for Bangkok and was trying to find the best deal with the best service at the best hotel in the best location.

Latest pics: Scenes of Singapore

Cutting Edge!

Just a short post - I know I need to update the past couple of days.

I just wanted you all to know how "cutting edge" I am. Remember last weekend weekend in Singapore that Frank and I went on the Nature Walk with the Henderson Waves and Alexandra Arches? Well, guess what was featured in this Sunday's "Times Straits" (local newspaper)? You got it - the Nature Walk! We're so glad we discovered it before it became the "in" thing to do. LOL.

And here's a picture from the Nature Walk:

KL to S'pore

So, Friday I headed back to Singapore.....with a long 4 hours at the airport. Why, you ask? Two reasons: 1) I was afraid there'd traffic and it would take me forever to get there (it only took an hour) ans 2) I thought my flight was at 3:15 (it was at 4:40). Yup, definite "toon" move. While hanging out in the airport, I "people watched" and made a list of random thoughts that I will share here:

- the "dirty" buildings in KL I think is actually mildew....some buildings don't have it - newer? more expensive & mildew resistant building material? somehow cleaned?

- the scooter drivers put on a jack backwards to protect their shirts from road debris and to cut down on the wind

- Malaysia also has cell phone towers "disguised" to look like evergreens - I saw 4 on the bus trip to the airport

- forgot to mention that these are former British colonies, do driving is on the left

- during the Singapore Nature Walk last weekend, checked out the restroom.....it was just holes in the ground so I waited

- I would definitely go back to KL, as I figured out how to get around on public transit and then left.....guidebooks were not helpful for this AT ALL

- I was amazed at what some women - obviously tourists - and the skimpy clothing that they were wear in a fairly conservative Muslim country

- on the flight to S'pore, the pilot announced that it was 28 (Celsius) and dry in Singapore..... obviously "dry" is a relative term

So that ends my random airport thoughts.....

::shout out to my cousin Chris who was winged today!!!!!::

So back in S'pore, I met up with Frank at a luxury condo - he is condo-sitting for his friend Queenie, who is in Canada right now. It's on the 18th floor - the top......plus a second story! It's a really nice place :) Sitting in comfortable a/c right now, watching a big screen TV (nothing on, so watching a countdown of the best guns), several pools, great views......

Shortly after I arrived, we took off for a performance of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. The program consisted of works by Beethoven, featuring guest violinist Leila Josefowitz (and guest conductor Eri Klas. The program was absolutely wonderful and interesting and exciting! Beethoven is one of my favorites and I actually was familiar with several movements in the works. I also think this was my first symphony concert. The concert was held at the Esplanade.

After the concert we ate at the hawker hall nearby. We had satay (AKA meat on a stick) and stir fried rice. To drink we had young coconuts that weren't as young as they should be. Then it was back to Queenie's place and I crashed.

Final KL Pictures

Totally Off-Topic

The lobster place across the street from where I work in Boston burned:

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/05/30/boston.fire.ap/index.html

The building on the right is one of the two towers in the complex and you can't see it, but the pedestrian bridge mentioned in the article is the one I walk across whenever I drive in and park in the "mud lot."

Day 6 – KL

(By the way, I uploaded three days' worth of posts tonight, so be sure to start with Day 4)

Well, this morning started off auspiciously. I’d set the alarm for 7:30, turned it off, and was awoken two hours later by housekeeping. Ooops. Not that I have anywhere in particular to be. I started to walk towards the transit station, but heard this loud music coming from a mall, so decided to check it out. Apparently it was the opening of Big Apple Donuts & Coffee….you should have seen the line! And it’s “Big Apple” as in NYC as I saw pictures of the city on the boxes of donuts. They didn’t seem like anything in particular to me and there’s already Dunkin Donuts all over the place. So on to the transit system – this line had the monorail. So off to KL Sentral I went. Found the buses ok and what I need to do on Friday to get to the airport. I’ve decided to leave the hotel by 11:00, just to be on the safe side. The flight is at 3:15 and the noontime bus should get me there by 1:15, but I’ve seen the traffic! I want an earlier bus if possible and certainly not a later one.

Next, on to Chinatown, which basically is Julan Petaling (Petaling Street). I’d found the Petaling stop on the transit stop and finally figured out that it was on the KTM Koumter line. Bought a ticket and off I went………ahem. The fact that it was a COMMUTER train should have been my first clue, as we headed OUTSIDE the city. Guess there’s a town with the same name. It was only two stops and there was a return train in 10 minutes. Back to KL Sentral I went.

So far every single train station I have seen has some sort of a covering (if it’s outside) and you’d really be pretty protected – both from the sun AND the rain. All the walkways and escalators all have roofs.

This time found the correct train and got off at Pasar Seni stop and walked a couple of blocks to Julan Petaling. Which pales in comparison to Chinatown in Singapore, seemed to me just like anything you could buy at a street fair in NYC, and I bought nothing, other than lunch at the Swiss Hotel. I had a hamburger (it had a fried egg on it!) & fries – the hamburger looked a bit “suspicious.” It amused me that the Pepsi Light was KM 1 more than just a Pepsi. I was sitting in the bar and ESPN was showing a soccer (football) game – Everton vs. Sunderland (score 3-1 @ halftime which was when I left) and I *think* they’re two Australian teams, plus the fans (cheering for Everton) and the coaches were wearing heavy winter coats. The volume wasn’t up enough and during one break, ESPN was showing scores from a Saturday back in November and then when they went to halftime, I could have sworn the screen listed the game as being in Liverpool. Needless, to say, I am not quite sure what I was watching! Might have been a repeat.

After walking back and forth several times along Julan Petaling and taking a couple of pictures, decided to head to the tourist office to check my e-mail on the free internet. My timing was pretty good, as the heavens OPENED up and we had quite the thunderstorm for about an hour. I was sure glad to be inside and once again, I had good timing (which I know will have to end soon & I am purchasing an umbrella when I get back to Singapore). I spent a lot of the time watching a video of the “Colours of Malasyia” – an annual cultural dance & music program celebrating the country’s anniversary (this year it was 50 years, though I think the video was from 2007). I really liked the traditional Indian (as in India) dance.

Oh my word, on the way to the tourism office I passed three tourists – the woman had TAKEN OFF her shoes and was walking along the street (not even on the sidewalk) in her BARE feet. Ick!!! That’s a prime way to get diseases! (yes, I was reading the guidebook section on disease last night)

Once the storm was finally over, I made my way back to the hotel – via monorail – and just finished watching game 5 of the Boston Celtics vs. Detroit Pistons, which the Celtics just barely won. It wasn’t live, as I started watching it during the 2^nd quarter at which point it would have been 5 AM in Boston.

Well, as it is after 7 PM now, I should go scrounge up some dinner and then head to Starbucks so I can upload everything I’ve types to the blog (I love copy & paste) and the pictures to Facebook. Seems so strange that everyone back home is just starting Thursday and for me, it’s almost over.

PS. Had a Thai Chicken Salad for dinner in the hotel restaurant. Have been at Starbucks for about the past hour, uploading pictures and posting - doing a lot of waiting for the pics......

Chinatown - Thursday