Right Here Right Now

Sssss-stretch... yyyyyyyy-yawn... Huh? I fell asleep. What time is it?

Wait. You don't understand. I have actually written countless blog posts in my head!

We brought the laptop to New Zealand in November and I wanted to write on-the-spot blogs from a (more) distant land for the first time, but internet access wasn't as reliable as I had hoped and we were also constantly moving. When I first told Paul I wanted to blog from NZ, he said, "About what, Maldives?" He's a card. By the way, no one has harassed me about my writer's strike more than my husband. And now he informs me that he's written one himself so I must beat him to publication.

I won't start with any of the three big trips we've taken since you last heard from me. I won't waste time with pathetic excuses either; I'll just get right into what's been happening recently, with about eight hours left until 2011.

I thought the US jumped the gun on Christmas decorations, but they began appearing mid-October in Singapore. Not until December did a minor mania begin to build: extra traffic, extra crowds, sales, songs, shopping. Orchard Road, the main shopping thoroughfare, was decked out in blue and purple lights and lighted trees. A bit more traditional red and green would have been appreciated, but one standout difference here (in a largely non-Christian country) is that signs actually say Merry Christmas. It may be just as commercialized, if not more, but they don't fool around with what idea in particular they are commercializing.

 Orchard Road

For my birthday this year, we couldn't fall back on any favorite dining spots as we haven't labeled any as favorites yet - though I always strive to locate them - so we tried an Italian place in our neighborhood called Oso. I owe a dedicated post to the uninspired yet always overpriced dining, nightlife and other stuff here, but luckily Oso was a cut above and we liked it enough that it's where we are going tonight. I've avoided cheese all day in preparation for the outstanding Burrata cheese appetizer for two. I wonder what Paul will start with. Kidding.

The day after my birthday we tried to get 'in the spirit' and we went to Fort Canning Park to hear Christmas carols by candlelight. Not to sound like a Grinch, but we would have been happier watching Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer on TV at home. It started at 6:30 pm so it was actually carols by sunlight for most of the duration, though we only stayed until dusk, about 30 minutes, because sweating profusely while watching a dance troupe in neon blue outfits is not all that Christmasy. I think we may have been the only couple there without kids. I don't have any statistics but I'm fairly sure there were more children present than adults. Well we tried (can you guess whose idea it was to try?) but tropical heat dampens many ambitions here.

 Carols at Fort Canning Park

Oh yes, we also spent a weekend in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. More on that next time. Lots of Christmas there too, which is a little confusing as it's a Muslim country.

I was privileged to have Christmas visitors this year. My friend Peggy and her family stopped in Singapore on their way from Hong Kong to Perth, Australia for two days just before Christmas. I toured Singapore with them while Paul was at work: botanic gardens, river cruise... one day I will take Paul on these tours that he always misses. The first night Peggy dressed her 5-year-old daughter and her three-year-old son in Santa outfits and we went to Orchard Road. The kids were celebrities! Asian locals and tourists couldn't get enough of two adorable blond Santas. They had to start refusing photos. Oh, I also got to dance inside a purple Christmas tree with the kids. Singapore's decorations may be non-traditional but they are engaging.

Inside the purple tree

By Christmas Eve we were missing home, especially since we got to be there last year. Paul suggested we stay home and cook so we did. This may sound odd, but I miss home more when I grocery shop for items on a holiday. I don't know if it's the crowds or seeing items that I know are only sold for a short time around holidays here but are everyday items back home, like pie crusts. It occurred in Hong Kong too when I picked up something on Christmas Eve and people, mostly marooned expats, were there picking up their cooked turkeys. Here, I picked up provolone cheese, marinated mushrooms, olives - had to settle for manzanilla rather than black, roasted peppers, bread, a packaged 'fresh' mozzarella that I salted myself, fish, shrimp, spaghetti and some brownie mix. I have a small oven so I can bake brownies now... but I've never wanted a cannoli more.

Paul fried the shrimp and fish and I did the rest. It turned out quite well and it really did make us feel a little better about being far away from where half our family would be enjoying such things. The wine helped too. And the music. We created a list of our favorite Christmas songs and made it through the list several times over the Christmas weekend. Thanks to Scott and Slingbox and TBS, we also didn't miss A Christmas Story. Speaking of which, we went out for roast duck on Christmas day. Fa-ra-ra-ra-ra-ra-ra-ra-ra. Luckily we had no other plans since it rained heavily most of the night.

Tonight, New Year's Eve will just be the two of us at Oso. Or should I say, the three of us? That Burrata is hefty.

We hope you've had a lovely Christmas and we wish you a wonderful new year. One thing you have to look forward to is our photos and blogs of our trips from 2010.

And happy birthday to my hubby.

Master of the House

Coming very, very soon. I promise! Technical difficulties...

Deja Vu

We've returned from the 4-day tour of Hong Kong. Paul, the employed one, flew business class on Singapore Airlines while I flew economy on Jetstar - at 6:40 a.m. (yawn). You do what you must for a cheap flight. A smile still found its way to my weary face as I looked out the window to find the green mountains sprawling toward the approach to Hong Kong's airport, just where I had left them. I didn't have much trepidation being on my own because I know HK's marvelous airport intimately.

It was raining when I got there. I had arranged lunch with two friends so I checked in at the hotel and my feet barely grazed the room before I was off to meet them. Over the course of lunch the rain reached "Black Rain" status (there's a description here, probably from June 2008 about black rain; it's an indicator of a whole lotta rain). Good to be back! It was an excuse to linger over tapas. Eventually, the rain mostly subsided and husbands resurfaced from work and tracked us down. Paul met me pre-dinner time after his half day at the office and we ate in Yung Kee, an HK classic. We went straight back to the hotel and quickly surrendered to exhaustion.

The next morning I was a tourist. There's a place, the Chi Lin Nunnery, that I honestly meant to visit for almost two years and, somehow, I failed to get there. I was determined this time. It's quick and easy to travel by train from the city. My friend Peggy met me there before she took off for a trip home to New Zealand. The rain had cleared overnight and it was hot. I know I live in Singapore, a tropical climate. So could Hong Kong possibly be worse - in July and August anyway? It seems impossible, but I boldly say, Yes. Sweat rolled down the sides of my nose the minute I stepped from the train station.

Luckily, the trip was worth the sweat. What a beautiful, tranquil spot in the midst of a bustling world. I've seen lots of temples in my Asia travels, but this one was perhaps one of the prettiest, and all the wood structures were built without one nail. What I found most interesting was the juxtaposition of a scenic retreat against the ubiquitous high-rise apartment blocks and the backdrop of green hills. There was a tea house on the grounds and Peggy and I stopped in for some tea and dumplings in an effort to escape the heat. If any of you ever visit someone else who lives in Hong Kong, I highly recommend a visit to Chi Lin.

 

Later that afternoon I ran off again to meet two friends for afternoon tea. My friend Victoria brought her one-year-old son and my friend Hester is pregnant, as is another friend whom I didn't get to see because she was visiting the UK. Something about that rain...

There are important decisions to make in life. As the dinner hour approached again, Paul and I faced ours. After careful consideration we chose our favorite little sushi place in our old neighborhood of Wan Chai. No regrets with that decision, except that it was so good it makes me wish I could go there right now. Did you know salmon could melt in your mouth? Back at the hotel we stopped in the bar, which we always liked, for some live music. Morning tea  + afternoon tea + a few sips of dinner tea = I know better but I like tea and I'll sleep some other night.

Early the next morning I got my hair done since I haven't yet found anyone too reliable in Singapore. In my non-stop social blitz of Hong Kong, I met a group for lunch at a posh restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental hotel. My friend Leslie made it her noble ambition last year to dine at as many Michelin starred restaurants as possible. I made it to two with her before I left and I was lucky to be present for another on this day. Leslie is in treatment for breast cancer and my visit also coincided with one of her good weeks between chemo rounds. She looks great and has an inspirational strength and an irrepressible sense of humor.

At lunch I also got to see my friend and old J Residence neighbor Maggie who, as of this past weekend, has moved to China. She and her husband were also staying in a hotel since movers packed them up the day before, so I didn't get to visit J Res.

A drink with Leslie then off again to dinner. This time we chose our overall favorite HK dining spot, Wagyu, and my friend Victoria and her husband John joined us. Happily none of our chosen meals disappointed. A final drink in Lan Kwai Fong and then I finally saw the hotel room for more than a few minutes.

On Saturday morning Paul and I did a little required shopping and I had a stroll around Wan Chai before we met one of his coworkers for a dim sum lunch. Then Maggie and her husband Chris met us in Wan Chai for the event I had been waiting for: a foot massage at Siam Thai Massage. I got really accustomed to those massages. Hey, when you can have your feet rubbed for an hour for about $10, it's simply wrong to pass up. Singapore lacks such economical pursuits of relaxation.

Then we got tattoos. You see, I love Maggie, but I don't love her love of theme parties. That night was her and Chris' farewell party and - similar to her birthday last year where everyone had to wear a uniform and I was a Mad Men style secretary and Paul was a chef - the theme was trailer trash. When in Rome... So Paul sported a big eagle on his arm and one on the other forearm: the double eagle. I went for a classy rose on my chest. Let's just say that the tats complemented the chosen outfits. And let's also say that after the party while everyone was hanging out at a bar, someone asked Paul where he was from. When he said NY, the guy said, "No way! You look more like you're from Texas than I do - and I'm from Texas." Maybe it was the handlebar 'stache. My husband dedicated himself to the occasion and shaved part of his face that I haven't seen in about 15 years. My outfit, complete with pink fuzzy pants that I wear to sleep but some people wear in public (often with a logo written across the butt) earned a lot of stares. Trashy costumes: successful. Oh, my friend Kathleen is also pregnant now but not yet pregnant enough to pull off the classic 'pregnant woman in a too small shirt holding a beer can and cigarette.'

I had to leave a little earlier than Paul for my flight home on Sunday. I was sad to leave - again. I miss Hong Kong - again. Everyone asked me how I find life in Singapore and for most, "Fine" was not a sufficient answer. I sincerely don't wish to sound negative or unappreciative, so I managed to provide some details of how Singapore is "fine," but I can't deny that I (we) prefer Hong Kong. I was asked, if we had moved to Singapore first, do I think we might like it more. That's a good question and I think, perhaps, we would. But it's impossible to withhold comparisons now that it is in fact our second home in Asia. As I walked through the streets of Hong Kong, the strangest feeling was that I was not a stranger. We haven't been gone so long and everything remains so familiar that it still felt like I was home, and the only odd part was not staying.

Have Love Will Travel

I hear it's a lil' steamy over there? Why don't you come visit Singapore now that you know how the weather feels?

Lots of travel plans are taking place here on Gopeng Street. First up, we are going to Hong Kong this week. Paul is going to work for a couple of days so naturally I'm tagging along. We'll stay through the weekend, and already my schedule is almost full. One reason I'm especially happy to be there this particular weekend is that my friend Maggie and her husband will be moving to China in less than two weeks and Saturday night is the farewell party. China! She's a braver soul than I am. Not that I wouldn't try it, but it's an entirely different world. Another of my earliest friends there, Kathleen, is soon moving to New York where her husband got a job. I'm a little envious. Such is the nature of expat life... a few years here, a few years there. Or everyone is leaving HK because it's just not as fun without us.

Have I ever mentioned how I knew four people in Singapore before moving here? Yes, I moved countries - in Asia - and I know people. They are either friends or friends of friends from HK. One already moved back to the UK, but I've seen each of the others a few times here. One just arrived recently. I didn't even know my neighbors' names in Fords.

In August, Paul is taking me on a whirlwind tour of... someplace. My hubby took it upon himself to choose a destination and book everything while leaving it a mystery to me. I guess we can call it a 9th anniversary trip. I'll find out what is once we check in for boarding passes. I'm not used to such a surprise since I plan all the trips and he comes along as Mr. Piraino. Sweet, isn't it? Don't think he's not harassing me with teasing statements, mostly about how much fun we'll have in Sentosa - an island off Singapore that's an easy day trip. He tells me to stop frowning my disapproval as he goes on about how great the ferry ride will be.

Then in October we will travel to Bhutan. This one's all me. I saw a documentary about this small, beautiful mountain kingdom back when I was maybe early 20-something, scribbled a note on whatever scrap of paper was on hand at the time, and decided I must go. So it's sort of a dream fulfilled. If you've never heard of it, look it up. It's often referred to as Shangri-La. You'll have to wait until we've been there for my description.

Once we get back from HK next week, I'll get to work on New Zealand, our November trip. That one will be our long, ambitious trip this year as Japan was last year, Australia the year before that. I've wanted to visit NZ for ages too. Two trips of a lifetime will happen about two weeks apart. I'm a lucky, lucky girl. You can't say we haven't taken advantage of the regional travel opportunities. The more we travel, the more I long to see more of my home continent. America, the beautiful.

Speaking of which, we did celebrate July 4th. A friend had a BBQ at her place and 10 Americans gathered and did what Americans do on July 4, minus the fireworks. But we did have sparklers! I don't know where she got them but they've been illegal at home for so long that it was a novelty to hold them again.

August 9 is National Day here. Preparations have been ongoing for weeks and they include military jets roaring overhead at a distance I consider too close for comfort. The rumbling unsettles me every time. I hear there will be loads of fireworks and a parade. In Singapore style, the government works to create interest, and in Singapore style kills all the spontaneity and fun by requiring tickets to see the parade. I don't even know how that's possible but I suppose I might find out if I get arrested for peeping at a marching band.

Come Sail Away

(Click on the arrow to play slideshow. Click on a picture to go to album.)

Surprise! We haven't taken a trip, yet you're getting a post about a trip. My every-day-living reports must be boring by now, but don't fear; I have Vietnam up my sleeve. It's the trip we took back in February and never documented. With moving soon after, settling here, and a pinch of procrastination it's taken some time (yikes - five months!) to complete a worthy post+photos. I probably forgot some details by now but I'll dig up what I can.

We arrived in Hanoi on a Thursday evening, February 4, and checked into the Sofitel Metropole Hanoi, a historic luxury hotel built in 1901 in the French colonial style and perhaps my current favorite hotel in the world. There are two wings, the classic and the opera. The classic wing contains the original rooms and the opera wing is an addition of more modern yet equally elegant rooms. We passed through the hotel briefly for two non-consecutive nights with an excursion sandwiched between our stays in Hanoi. So to sample both tastes, we first stayed in the opera wing and upon return we stayed in the classic wing. They were both beautiful, but remaining true to my tastes, I especially enjoyed the classic room. The entire hotel had an old-world atmosphere and it felt like a true sanctuary in the center of the hyper city. I cherished the level of detail which you don't often find in more modern, built-for-efficiency hotels. It felt like something special. Elegance and charm all over. Wish we had more than two brief glimpses.

If I remember right it may have been a bit rainy when we arrived. We made a reservation at a "must try" restaurant called Bobby Chin but after some minor complications we canceled and ate nearby the hotel. My credit card company takes it upon themselves to randomly protect me at times when I try to charge something online from abroad, particularly airline tickets or travel plans, considering it high-risk activity - even after living abroad for two years. Therefore, I wasted a good bit of time before dinner trying to make an online payment to the tour company we had scheduled our next day's excursion with. Hotel staff tracked down someone from the company on a mobile phone after hours to confirm for us and we had to pay in cash once on the tour. Thanks, as always, Citibank.

Bobby Chin was a fair distance by taxi, so we nixed it. No matter, we had a fine dinner after all. We chose a place called The Press Club. When I studied the menu I was slightly disappointed at first that we hadn't managed to choose a more Vietnamese cuisine. We really enjoy Vietnamese food we've tried, mostly in Hong Kong, and this place had a more Western flavored menu, but it was a very good meal in a classy setting nonetheless. We took a short walk before returning to the hotel to have a drink at one of the hotel lounges, this one poolside.

The next morning, a van from Indochina Sails picked us and a few others up for the 3-4 hour drive to Halong Bay. Driving through Hanoi and surrounds is an adventure in itself. Controlled chaos is a gentle term. Vehicles sprawl in all directions with seemingly no road rules and converge at intersections like ants on a cookie crumb. Families of four on single motorbikes is a common site. What do you do when you have to transport two trees somewhere in Vietnam? Hitch them up on the back of the motorbike. Four six-foot porcelain vases? Why, the motorbike, of course. A cow? Motorbike. Wait - If you're picturing some sort of trailer attached to the bikes - no, no, no. Just the bike, driver, some fantastically manipulated cord and 200-400 pounds of miscellaneous items. It was a long, tedious drive sporadically eased by marveling at impossible sights on two wheels. One sight I unfortunately can't forget was a cage of kittens so tightly packed they couldn't move - and the sack on top of the cage where there were more kittens - unmoving for a different reason.

Once we arrived at the pier we had to wait for nearly an hour at a cafe/gift shop, obviously owned by the tour company. After 30 minutes of boredom, you might be more likely to purchase a can of soft shell crab flavored Pringles. Eventually a small boat conveyed us to the larger boat where we would spend our time cruising Halong Bay overnight. Ours was a traditional Chinese style teak boat. Our cabin was small but comfortable enough.

We started with a lunch of several small courses of Vietnamese specialties like fresh spring rolls. After lunch we cruised to a small island called Titop where we disembarked to climb the steps to its peak for some photo ops overlooking the bay. Halong Bay is enchantingly beautiful with its scattering of beveled limestone peaks jutting out and reflecting across the water's silvery surface. We weren't lucky enough to be accompanied by the stingy sun so the vistas were shortened by haze. But even the gray mists complimented the atmosphere.

We returned to the boat and cruised along to the next stop. Here we had a choice of either visiting a floating fishing village or kayaking. Feeling like we knew what to expect from the floating village, especially having seen one on the river in Cambodia that likely couldn't be topped for the "Wow, people live like this?" factor, we chose the kayaking. I'm glad we did. Even with the light drizzle, paddling around this stunning backdrop was so peaceful. I felt small among the peaks. It's a good moment that I'll remember. And our team kayaking skills have improved significantly - which only means that we didn't get hit in the face with branches this time (Russian River... Sonoma, CA... pre-blog travel).

After returning to the boat for some relaxation we cruised to our overnight anchor spot and had dinner. After dinner I think they started showing the film Indochine in the lounge but the sound didn't work so they stopped. Paul and I were already out on the upper deck enjoying that silence and the black sky and the light of another boat anchored in the distance. A few others were also out there but eventually we were the last ones.

Early morning activities began with Tai Chi on the deck, though we didn't participate. Our morning began by relaxing in bed next to the picture window, admiring the passing scenery as we slowly cruised. The tranquility came to an awkward end as a woman in a small boat paddled past and lingered along side our boat. She was fully stocked with seashells for sale. She caught our eyes and stared at us hopefully, as if we would throw open the window and shout, "We'll take six clam shells!" while tossing her the payment. It just wasn't her lucky day.

Our final stop was at Sung Sot Cave or Surprise Cave. After climbing the 100 steps to its entrance it was a surprise how... well, cavernous the cave was. It was vast and mesmerizing and exquisitely sculpted by time and the elements. I don't have a lot of cave experience to compare, but it was more than a worthwhile excursion. DEFINITELY different from the bat cave in Borneo. Not a cockroach or bat poop to be found. Probably why there were so many more tourists to be found.

After the cave exploration we ate breakfast back on the boat, packed and checked out. It was about a two hour cruise back to the pier so we sat on deck and soaked in the last of the mist and mountains. Then another hour in the cafe/shop. The reason this drove me insane was that the one and only thing I wanted to see in Hanoi was the Hanoi Hilton, the Vietnam War prisoner museum, and I knew we would run out of precious time which was wasted sitting around this dump. I had to give up the goal. I suppose it's possible we'll return one day? Let it go...

The van was full on the way back to Hanoi and Paul and I were the lucky ones who got to cram up front with the driver. Vietnam roads are not for the faint of heart. My front seat view kept me alert for the four hour drive which felt like six or seven. You name it and we saw it hurling past on the backs of motorbikes. The real circus only began as we wound through the streets of the city to drop off guests at their different hotels. I don't know how to describe the pace and the action of people and vehicles moving in every direction. I could only believe it by witnessing it. It was the one advantage of being stuck in the van. Normally I like to explore a city on foot, but if we had been walking those gritty, buzzing and whirling streets I would have quickly run screaming back to the hotel. Behind the relative protection of the windshield we got a good look at the frenzy that is modern Hanoi.

We did of course get back in the late afternoon, too late to catch the Hanoi Hilton. We instead made a reservation through the concierge for a water puppet theater performance at the theater a few blocks from the hotel. We headed out early and took a slow walk there along the river. I am still recovering from my anxiety of crossing the six lane street without any traffic signals. It was definitely reminiscent of Frogger. The general advice is to keep a steady pace with no sudden darting or stopping and the traffic will allow for your steady movement. In other words, just go. Easier said than done. The smaller streets are no picnic either as motorbikes zip past, inches from your feet. You may also be assailed by people selling stuff, as usual. We made it to the show alive... I guess the Metropole gets the best water puppet theater tickets because we sat front row center. It was totally touristy but fun to watch. It hardly lasted an hour which was the perfect amount of time to watch puppets.

We hit the streets again and walked around the "old section." The colonial architecture was something I really enjoyed. Some buildings showed their age while some were well preserved. Most were quite colorful. Life seems to be lived out on the streets. You can witness modern Vietnam mixed with steadfast tradition, comfortable cafes among ancient food stalls, faded and cracked facades next to brightly painted colonial architectural jewels, hawkers enthusiastically trying to get your attention as well as impenetrable faces staring silently, and I believe somewhat defiantly, back at you. Throw some ever-present communist flags into the apparently capitalist mix... Hanoi: a thriving and struggling composite in full color, full stereo frenzy. It's a peculiar and compelling fusion. I did appreciate the city's personality; I just think I could only handle it in small doses.

We had dinner on the small 2nd floor terrace of a casual restaurant called Bar-Club 69. We chatted with our neighbors, a Swiss (I think) father and daughter. She was a flight attendant celebrating her birthday by meeting up with her father in Hanoi. He suggested the location because when he had last been there 15 years ago, he thought it "quiet" compared to Saigon, so he was quite surprised to see how much Hanoi has changed.

Fed and content, we didn't make much of an attempt to find nightlife. It just seemed like it would be an exhausting and sweaty endeavor, so we walked back to the hotel and sat at the poolside lounge again. In the morning we took a last walk around outside. It pained me to bid farewell to our lovely room after such a short stay, but I was slightly comforted by the sandwiches we had made for the road from the hotel bakery. There's a legacy of great French bread in Hanoi. Not to mention that they buttered the bread - of my tomato and cheese sandwich. Butter and cheese. Mmm.

We ate the sandwiches on the drive to the airport. I'm glad it wasn't a chicken sandwich. One of our last memorable sights... Paul noticed something out his window and eagerly nudged me. I looked up and there was a cardboard box on the back of a motorbike. The box had two holes cut out, and poking out of each hole was the small face of a chicken, all eyes and beaks, both staring at us just inches from the window. They just cracked me up, even if they were heading for a dinner plate.

So that was our trip to Vietnam. It was an interesting enough place that I would like to return to and explore further if we had the time. I didn't even get any pho (simply delicious noodle soup), though Paul had some on the boat. I would go to Hanoi again just to stay at the Metropole, and beautiful Halong Bay was worth the nerve-rattling van ride.

What can I say? My memory did a respectable job after five months rest.

And my favorite moments shared with the one I love:

-Ha-long till we're there?

-I don't know. Stop Hanoi-ng me.

Finger an inch from the other's arm - I'm not tai-chi-ing you. I'm not tai-chi-ing you. I'm not tai-chi-ing you. 

-Now you're really Hanoi-ng!

Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers

This past Saturday we went to Beerfest Asia. Friends of mine told me about it and I had a hunch it was something Paul might be interested in. I knew about 5-10 others going so I figured it would be fun - beer from around the world under tents at one of the marinas. The tickets stated the time as 6 p.m. to 5 a.m., but that was a bit too ambitious for us. We got there just after 7 p.m. and left by 1 a.m., before some and after others. There was music, big screens showing the World Cup, some no-fuss food, a few games... and beer. Not to mention stuffed monkeys, Hell's Belles and Bono.

You see, live music was performed by cover bands, one called Achtung Baby doing all U2 songs and one called Hell's Belles, an all female group covering AC/DC. My friend from Washington state was quite familiar with Hell's Belles who hail from Seattle. Her husband is a fan. I was looking forward to the U2 songs. Our group congregated in one tent while the music was in another. Paul and I wandered over to hear some "U2" songs. For a band that only plays U2, they could use a little improvement on their U2. The freaky thing was that Australian "Bono" spoke with an Irish accent and introduced the members of the band as the members of the actual band. They dressed like them too (circa 1992). A little weird. Hell's Belles, however, were spot on for AC/DC, and the wild schoolboy outfits worked pretty well on women. The crowd loved them. Quickly after hearing how truly AC/DC they sounded, I remembered how much I dislike AC/DC.

Somewhere in between all the rockin' Paul and I played a good old-fashioned boardwalk game of toss-a-ring-on-a-bottle. As a team, we earned a monkey. If only there was skee ball or frozen custard and funnel cakes. It was one of the less boring nights we've had in Singapore anyway. But try keeping a beer cold while outdoors in this country... the bottles sweat almost as much as I do.

It's sort of fun to be in a country where people care A LOT about the World Cup. I mean, I still couldn't care less, but it's fun to be around people who do. I guess our neighbors are Japanese because there were excited screams coming from across the hall the night Japan won a game. I know people rooting for USA, Mexico, Australia. I might join in to watch the next USA game with some USA fans. Why not? Everybody loves an underdog. Here's hoping they... tie... again. Woohoo. And now I know what a vuvuzela is, whether I want to or not.

Related to the World Cup, there's a curious display that you might catch round a random corner while traveling the streets of Singapore. Cows. I don't know for sure, but I was told that a marketing company is behind this quirky project. Marketing what, I'm not sure. In different parts of town there are standing metal cut-outs of whole "teams" of cows wearing various World Cup team jerseys. My friend told me about two teams she saw in different spots and I though it sounded bizarre. Sure enough, I spotted a team the next day in a grassy field on my way to a train. The jerseys were light blue and white striped. I'm told that's Argentina. There's a sign among the cows that says These cows are under surveillance. If you must take one, call... and gives a phone number. That may actually be the kookiest part. I didn't have a camera on me but if I pass them again, or maybe Mexico's or Italy's cows, I'll try to snap a picture.

Happy Father's Day.
Happy Father's Day.
Happy Birthday.
Happy Graduation.

Australian U2

One of those fine fellows in the back came home with us

One More Time

My last post about banking problems was so boring, Paul finally stepped in for relief. He'll be glad to know that our minds have grown so alike that he wrote what I would write and I don't need to add much more.

It was strange leaving from the Singapore airport for the first time. I kept looking around for the familiar sights of the Hong Kong airport after so many trips from there. We can reach this one by cab in about 20 minutes. I realize when talking to people who live in places like Alabama just how much I take for granted always having lived near major international airports. We knew we wanted to return to Bali from the minute we left it in 2008, but the longer we live here and the more places we check off the list, the more we seem to add. It's good fortune that we ended up even nearer to Bali, making a return practically required.

Well, we just might have to go back one more time for continued furniture shopping. The hotel wasn't so helpful in this matter; they gave us a list of shops and got us a driver, but out of the few shops on the list, one was closed; one was, according to our driver, still under construction; others were a bit far away. We spotted the table in one of the last shops along a road with several others. The shipping is costly - not to get out of Bali but to get into Singapore. The expenses seem to accumulate at the receiving port. My HK friend with the furniture that inspired us said it would have been cheaper for her to ship it to the UK than to HK! Guess we'll have to look into other options if we want the table. Or go back to Bali - just to double check. Seriously, before we head home, we should go there and load up on teak lawn furniture.

As Paul said, the hotel's lost some subtle touches that had contributed to our love of the whole experience the first time, but it is still quite lovely. We did get to try something new, the meal at Bumbu Bali. I had a dish that sounded so simple: shredded chicken with lemongrass and shallots. Oh man, I can still taste it and it would be a pity to never taste such exquisite flavors again. (2 hour, 15 min. flight+about $120 airfare=Possibility)


The weather wasn't quite as perfect this time. It was more humid and some hours of the day were sunny, some overcast, and on the day we left it actually rained for a few hours. I would just like to make one correction to Paul's account. The photo he labeled, Lisa went for the hollowed out watermelon, is not an entirely accurate representation of my poolside beverage consumption. In reality, he said he would order us drinks and surprise me with his choice. Then a watermelon arrived. We shared.

Here are links to the posts from our first Bali trip, in case you'd like to reminisce:


July 9, 2008  July 4, 2008

And more photos from this trip (click on a picture if you want to go to the album):

Going Back to Cali

Nah, I don't think so.

Actually we went back to Bali.

I know it's been awhile since I've jumped in here because I couldn't remember my password and had to have them email me a new one.

My primary excuse is work which has had me in the office some crazy hours. It was also the primary reason for our trip.

One good thing about Singapore is it is a hop, skip and jump from so many great locations you can see so much of the world on just a long weekend.

So where to go, where to go.... Philippines? Thailand? Kuala Lumpur? All close by and places we want to get to and explore, but Bali is now only just over 2 hours away! Faced with a Mendy's like decision (for you non-Seinfeld fans it means either going to a place you know is great or taking a chance on something that is new and exciting) it was actually quite easy even for two very indecisive people. In desperate need of some relaxation and not exploration and with little need to revisit the tourist sites we've already seen, Bali, one of the most beautiful places on earth, was our obvious answer. To make things even simpler we decided to stay at the Ritz again, except that it's now Ayana Resort and we weren't sure what changes that might bring. But a quick scan of their website showed everything pretty much the same, with only the addition of a bar built on the cliffs over the Indian Ocean, so we were booked pretty much right after that.

Relaxation wasn't too hard to find...

We left late Thursday night and after the usual inconveniences of traveling got to the resort around 11:00 pm. Not ideal but the schedule left us with 3 full days and we ended up with a much nicer room than last time with an upgrade to an ocean view (our only complaint last time was our room, which we paid additional for a "technical" ocean view and had to settle for double beds).

Upon entrance we were greeted with fragrant leis (but no giant gong), refreshing tropical drinks (but we weren't seated while the staff ran around, just typical counter check in) and no live Indonesian music pulling you into another world. However it was an 11 pm check in so we assumed that may have played a part, but as you could see we would be comparing everything to our last visit (in detail).

We got some sleep and started our Friday with their buffet breakfast (not included this time which was disappointing). From there we suited up and headed straight for the cliff side, infinity pool which took us some time to discover last time.

No glossy memories here - this is still one of the most beautiful places on the planet to be! We kind of always wondered since we last left that pool two years ago if we would ever make it back knowing how much we want to do while we're in Asia and how limited our time really is, so we were very happy and very appreciative that afternoon.

Infinity beer... A man can dream

Lisa went for the hollowed out watermelon

Dinner plans that evening were very easy as well. Back to the Lia on the beach for some grilled seafood. A 2+ pound lobster, delicious local fish, cold beer and serenaded with live music all for about 60 bucks. Very happy & very appreciative.

Feisty and delicious

Saturday was the only day we decided we would "do" something. And that something was take a half day to look for furniture. We went to a party back in HK and saw this really beautiful wood furniture which the couple that lived there told us they got in Bali very cheap. As we're still under the assumption we have a big empty house back in Jersey somewhere, this was maybe something we could use.

Somewhat under prepared we got a driver for a few hours and headed out. We randomly stopped in several shops where they had nice things but nothing that jumped out at us. As we weren't looking for anything specific we were moving pretty quickly. In the second to last shop they had this nice carved coffee table. It was huge (4.5' x 4.5') and nothing we needed, but was very pretty and out of curiosity I asked what it cost. The answer was low enough without haggling that I then asked what shipping cost, and to get to Singapore was not too much. Then I asked what it would cost to get it to our apartment after import taxes, etc. and she told me she would email me. Well those costs were literally 3x the price of the table. Singapore is just ridiculously expensive but that is a topic for another post.

Worth a second look?

Either way we're still in deciding mode and (quite easily) thinking maybe a trip back would help our decision.

So if that gives it away, yes the rest of the trip lived up to our expectations. Without going into all the details we enjoyed some time on the beach (however it does not look like it will be private much longer as they are building another resort next to in with a path leading to the same spot). Tried the "fancy" restaurant and martini bar we didn't get to last time at the resort which was quite good. Spent a good amount of time in our favorite pool and our last dinner was at a local restaurant that was "redonculously" good and amazingly cheap.

That's right I said redonculously good!

Pint size martini testers - sure we'll give it a shot

We also tried the new Rock Bar addition over the Indian Ocean. Not for us. Standard club / bar like atmosphere with a DJ. Completely takes away from the charm and tranquility that brought us back there. We really missed the little band of locals that walked around playing requests - our favorite bar from last time was modernized a little and we were the only two people there. What a shame. But at least we got to see these guys on the beach.

Technical difficulties uploading the video - will have to try again later.

I wouldn't say they don't know what they are doing because the rock bar was pulling in tons of Japanese tourists and someone at work asked me about the place because they read it was the "place to be" in Bali now.

Would we still recommend the place? I would say yes, because it is still beautiful, people are super friendly and no one else would know what they were missing. But like a "Royal with cheese" it's the little things. And while we are already talking about making it back for just one more trip before we say good bye to this part of the world (I mean you want to be sure when choosing a coffee table) we probably would give another resort a shot and hope we're not thinking about the Mendy's soup (or our pool) when we're there.

Anyway that's all for now and I'll blog ya' later. (hopefully not too much later)

Borrowed Tune

After such a dreadfully boring post, I've decided to offer you all something more interesting. It's borrowed, but you might enjoy reading this blog. Our friends Christine and Jerry adopted a baby boy from China earlier this year. Christine detailed the trip to China here:

http://nihaohon.blogspot.com/

Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want

Maybe we weren't quite as wide-eyed and willing to be challenged once we moved to Singapore as we were when we first moved to Hong Kong. I'm not sure. I just know that there seemed to be an endless path of obstacles to settling in here. In fact, I still don't have a PIN for my ATM card, as one example. Everything we attempted was like one step forward, two steps back because each thing hinged on something else: opening a bank account, paying bills, opening other accounts. I know I shouldn't complain, really. I do have all day to solve problems, but I felt so frustrated at the end of every day when none of the attempts got us anywhere. I was at a point where I was hoping for not even a good week but simply a week where everything wasn't so difficult. I'm filled with excuses for not writing, but this is probably why I hid from it for so long.

Now that the dust is starting to settle (really, I gotta dust), I can recap less grimly because I'm mostly over it. I know Hong Kong wasn't without transition difficulties and it may be too rosy a memory, but I swear it was easier to move from the US to HK than from HK to Singapore in some aspects. Some things were easier this time, like deciding what to bring (everything), filing familiar paperwork, not having to sell cars, not wondering what it's like to live in Asia.

I have not forgotten how desperate I was for weeks in Hong Kong when we moved into J Residence and couldn't get an internet service provider. One major difference this time is that just before we left HK we bought a laptop (Macbook of course). What a difference. While in hotel and temporary residence, no problem. But again, once we moved into this apartment the trouble started and I was consumed for hours a day by trying to correct it. Worse yet, much of the trouble needn't have happened.

The Icon provides free wireless internet access throughout the building. Great, we thought, we might not have to pay for service, as long as we found the speed acceptable. We got a connection on the laptop but not on the desktop computer. After a couple of days of trying countless fixes, I went to the management office and inquired. I should have done so earlier. I was told I should use a router to connect and I would find a network name listed that would include my location like T2L22, as in tower 2, unit 22. I thought, aha, I don't have a strong enough signal because I'm not using a router. So I bought one but the signal was still so weak it was often non-functional. I visited the office again and they sent up 3 "IT" guys to help. I knew it was a bad sign when one said he'd never seen a Mac before. I asked why I didn't see the network name I was told to look for, T2-blahblah, and after some dancing around they told me that was incorrect information. Basically, they were making up answers. They knew less than I did and their answer was essentially that I should pay for a service. I just didn't want to surrender before I knew I had done everything right. Hours and hours more investigating. I'm up on a lot of tech-speak again.

I concluded there was no malfunction but the connection was just not fast or reliable enough so we planned to sign up for a service subscription. Paul had to leave work early to meet me at the shop (because he had to open the account because he has an employment pass and I don't... see what I mean here...) About an hour before, I found a box in a cabinet above the refrigerator containing a router labeled T2L22. Plugged it in; it worked; I cursed. We went ahead and paid for service anyway because it's still unreliable sharing a public connection, especially during after-work hours when everyone's home web surfing. But I didn't necessarily need to buy my own router, though it is more technologically current. The worst part was wasting about two weeks struggling.

Then there was banking. We opened a Citibank account. The woman who helped us typed so poorly that she had us write all our information in the standard application forms and didn't finish entering it until about nine hours after we left her. We had asked if we could open a multi-currency account and she said we'd have to open separate accounts for each currency, so we opened a Singapore Dollar account. Of course, some days later I saw a brochure detailing Citibank's multi-currency account option. Should have known how things would progress from there.

In Hong Kong, we still had money at HSBC. The way to wire the money from HSBC to Citibank is to go into HSBC and request it. Not an HSBC in Singapore but the HSBC in Hong Kong. Yep. So we had to fill out a request form and mail it to HSBC in Hong Kong and wait and see if the money appeared at Citibank. Thankfully, it did.

...But we couldn't access it. We used Paul's work address when we opened the account here so everything addressed to me got lost because I don't work there, including the checks with both our names on them. And yes, even though it's a joint account, they send everything separately. Paul received his ATM card and PIN so he could withdraw cash, but a situation arose when time came to pay rent. The real estate agent/relocation gang forgot to give us the landlord's payment details so when I realized this as the rent was due, they asked us to make an online bank transfer so it would be on time. This is when we learned that we couldn't access anything online because they send a one-time text message to your mobile phone with an additional PIN. But we didn't have local numbers when we opened the account so they took Paul's HK number and added a Singapore area code to it. Needless to say, he never received the message at this non-existent number. They wouldn't update the contact number to the local number I then had unless we went into the bank, filled out a change form and waited to receive the online banking PIN in the mail.

The landlord's agent threw a minor hissy fit that the rent might be a day late, so Paul ended up going to Citibank, withdrawing cash from the ATM and walking over to the landlord's bank and depositing cash into his account. We've since gone into Citibank to set up automatic bill payments, including rent. In the meantime, after having gone into the bank a month ago and spending 30 minutes filling out update forms, my address still has not been updated, therefore no PINS for me. Paul, on the other hand, has received a good three notices saying they've updated his address.

Back in Hong Kong accounts, I believe we need to have a child (a son probably preferred) so that we can offer the customer service reps this child and perhaps persuade them in finally letting us go. For internet service, Paul got the runaround before leaving Hong Kong and we had to leave the modems with my friend Maggie to return for us because they wouldn't just end the service. We only had a month left on the subscription so we let it run out and then he called from here and it was a bit simpler. However we are still receiving phone bills. When Paul tried twice to cancel, they said they had to call him back each time - on a Hong Kong number. We're just not paying the bills. I don't have a phone contract here so I can eventually leave the country without bills trailing. I read about a plan from a particular phone company that would work well for me, though I did have to go to three of their shops to find someone who knew how to set it up.

I gotta admit, I've gone to bed grumpy many a day here in sunny Singapore. Sorry, this was really boring. Some people pay therapists. This is what do. I owe my readers some sort of payment after this post. Oh, sorry. I still can't get to the money.

Movin' On Up

I'll start with the Ladies with L's. The relocation assistant we first met on our February visit to Singapore was named Liz. The real estate agent we first had then was named Lilian. When we moved here, we wanted to start looking for an apartment right away and Lilian - luckily - was not available those first days. I say luckily since she was a key player in the mishandling of the first offer we made and lost. So we were assigned a second agent, Leanne. Our relocation coordinator overseeing the whole process was named Lauren. And the person who surveyed the apartment when we finally moved in was named Liz. At first I couldn't understand why Paul confused the names of everyone we were dealing with, and eventually I realized that we were dealing with five women whose names started with L, two named Liz. (He managed to keep my name straight through most of it.)

Fortunately, Leanne turned out to be a more effective agent than Lilian and I requested that we stick with her. We determined some facts from our first visit: we wanted to be centrally located, near transportation; we wanted to see more units in the building we originally chose and missed out on, River Place; we also wanted to see one other particular building that Lilian had mentioned but didn't show us, The Icon. It was in an area we were interested in, but she had said it was more than our budget (when does that stop real estate agents from showing people places?) When I inquired about it while she was driving us around, she said it was a "yuppie" building with many young couples without children, as if this was a description that we'd find unappealing. I remember looking between Paul and me in the car to see if there were some kids we had that I didn't know about and wondering how this Lilian could be successful in real estate.

Anyhow, once Leanne was assigned as our agent, we made the above requests, so on the first day, I saw exactly what was requested and nothing more. As it turned out, there were no units available in River Place so all I saw were three units in The Icon. It wasn't Leann's fault; that's what Lauren told her I wanted. Of course there was a confused conversation when I asked what else I could see the next day but it was eventually clarified that I wanted those places included in the viewing list, not that I wanted to see those places exclusively. Exasperating.

One of the three units I saw in The Icon stood out as a strong contender. I saw several more places the next day, but we also scheduled a revisit of The Icon with Paul. He agreed it was a winner and we moved quickly this time, letting go the hope of River Place. The owner lives abroad so we dealt with his agent. It seemed that in the negotiations, if you can call them such, the landlord demanded more than we did and unless we wanted to search for a third time, we had to give in to the ridiculous little demands. The stand-out one was that we would not put any nails into the walls because he didn't want to have to repaint when we move out. Just use 3M picture hangers, we were told. I mention this detail because it leads to minor disaster and heartbreak which will be shared in a separate post.

One demand we did submit was honored, probably because it's a worthwhile investment on the owner's part. When I first saw the place I liked everything about it except one glaring, clear fact: the glaring, clear glass walls enclosing the master bathroom. I can't imagine why anyone would think this is an architectural option. The bathroom is connected to the master bedroom and shares a wall with the wardrobe. All the walls of the wardrobe and the main wall of the bathroom are all clear glass. I told Leanne that Paul and I are close, but not that close. Amused, she said the glass could easily be covered with an opaque film. It was done before we moved in. -We occasionally get mail addressed to the former occupants, a Norwegian couple. Apparently the Norwegians live in a more open society.

Our new home... we moved in on Monday, April 5, three weeks after arriving. It's a fairly new building, about 2-3 years old. We're on the 38th floor out of something like 45. We have a water view, which translates to looking out onto thousands of shipping containers. There is a sprawling pool on the 7th floor and it's completely usable, unlike the pool in J Residence with its odd layout with room for only eight people to sit and the shower you had to walk through on your way in and out. It's also free unlike the pool at J Residence. When we started apartment hunting and asked if there were charges to use the pool, I think the agent thought the question a little crazy. (The majority of places I viewed had big, inviting pools. It seems more like a priority here than an impractical addition like the one we had in Hong Kong, probably because it's hot all year.)  There is also a whole floor, the 31st, with gardens and terraces and seating areas. We don't have our own balcony this time, so this is an attractive feature.

Our unit is two bedrooms, still considered small by many standards, but compared to our place in Hong Kong, it's huge. There is a closet in each bedroom. There's also a big storage room they call a bomb shelter here. I can't figure out if it's actually a bomb shelter, and if it is, what does the Singapore government know that I don't? Or it could be maid's quarters which are typically disturbingly small. Or it's just a storage room with a creative name; it does have a steel door though. Two bathrooms (one with real walls). A real kitchen! It has a full size refrigerator, an oven, a washer AND a drier! It's a full size Bosch drier that works better than my old drier back in Fords. Did I mention there's an oven? And a gas stove burner? The kitchen is separate yet still very open to the living room. I really like it. Oh, the best part - there's a trash chute! I honestly grinned and giggled the first time I threw a bag down and listened to it fall 38 stories, the sound fading with each passing floor as if a cartoon coyote fell off a cliff.

The Icon is located at the edge of Chinatown, steps away from an MRT (train) station. It's two stops/about 20 minutes to work for Paul. I have a basic supermarket in walking distance, though as in Hong Kong, I need to go to 2-3 stores to get all the things I want. There are shops and restaurants on the ground floor of our building including 3 sushi restaurants, 2 coffee shops, key maker, shoe repair, dry-cleaner, cake shop, wine ship, 7-11, and most recently and most appreciated, Quizno's. There are signs for an Argentinean restaurant coming soon but I'm not sure I believe it. Nearby there are mostly office buildings so the streets are busy during lunch and rush hours.

There are lots of Singapore style food stalls around, but try as I might, I can't get excited about fatty meats or mystery fish covered in sauce served with rice. There's little variation on this theme, stall after stall. There is a well-known food center a few minutes away that Anthony Bourdain supposedly visited. Maybe I'll try the popular chicken/rice dish one day, but Quizno's is right downstairs and I don't have to spit bones out of the sandwich. There is also a surprising number of Italian restaurants in the area. And a couple we've tried were actually pretty good, though we haven't found a pizza more than acceptable within walking distance yet.

There are lots of other bars and restaurants nearby, but the bars closest to us are a bit of a letdown. They're either cheesy local Karaoke bars or ones with darkened glass fronts that prevent you from seeing in, which in Asia, means you can probably pay for more than a beer inside. Soooo, we skip those. There's a really nice Irish bar that we tried once and we were the only ones in it on a Saturday night. I think because The Icon is the only high rise apartment, besides three nearby towers of more typical government housing, and it's in what is essentially a business district, Saturday nights are disappointingly quiet in the neighborhood. When I first walked around, it appeared that there was more on offer because it was hard to tell what opened when. Some places are closed on weekends; some open only for lunch; others only open for dinner. You have to walk around at different hours of the day on different days of the week to figure out what's available. Note: Quizno's is closed on Sunday.

It's more of a local area with a sizable Chinese population and businesses that cater to local tastes. It's no Wan Chai, but we like it, and part of the fun is searching for hidden gems.

Liz #1 (leaning against the bomb shelter door) and part of the kitchen seen from the living room

Appliances! Oh, there's a fold out ironing board inside that top drawer - very cool

Clearly, the master bath and wardrobe - before the opaque addition

Some of the view

Part of the pool

Here I Go Again

Guess I'll have to get around to changing the Life in Hong Kong subtitle and picture. I'll add that to the list. First things first.

So, where have you been?

It's not as if Singapore is a giant black hole that sucked me into it, almost never to be heard from again - or is it? Some days, I wonder. We've been here almost two months and I'm forgetting all the details I would have written if I had written but they're starting to come back to me, and I probably haven't written because I've been distracted by the hassles of settling in and I would just be detailing my frustrations, which would be no fun to read. With a little time (or a lot) I can laugh about those frustrations. Really, I can. Haha. Ha.

I'll stick with chronology and start from the beginning - the end of Hong Kong. After all our things were packed we stayed for three nights at the Island Shangri-La Hotel which was quite lovely. It was about a 10-minute walk from our apartment and it made me feel better not to stay too far from "home" so I could kid myself that life in HK would go on as usual. But on Sunday morning there was in fact a plane waiting.

We arrived in Singapore late in the afternoon and checked into our serviced apartment, The Ascott. We had three choices of residence and I chose this place because it was closest to Paul's office, one train stop, and also because it was very close to an apartment building we had previously seen and were still considering. Soon after arrival we walked outside to find a bite to eat and the neighborhood was desolate. Picture tumbleweeds blowing by, but it's so humid here they would be palm fronds. We ate terrible food at Harry's, a chain pub that you can't walk two blocks without running into here, simply because it was open. The area around Raffles Place and The Ascott is part of the business district so I suppose it would be like trying to find life on a Sunday evening in NYC's Financial District. I'm happy that one decision was made so early and so easily. We were no longer interested in living there.

The Ascott was a comfortable and attractive residence with a few more amenities than we had back in our temporary housing days in HK. Though one thing that seriously irked me is that we had a studio apartment. It hadn't troubled me until I became aware that one of Paul's coworkers, a single guy, had a one bedroom. Another had a two bedroom. The efforts of our team of relocation specialists shine once again. There was also a rooftop pool but there was no chance I would use it. It was a long, narrow lap pool, too deep to stand in, and the walls were clear glass. It was essentially a human aquarium. No thanks. I did sit by it on several afternoons if I had nothing else to do while waiting for housekeeping to do their thing.

There was a washer/dryer which I most certainly did use since the laundry service cost about $10 per shirt. Ha. There was also room service at exorbitant prices. Made me miss the old Peach Blossom serviced apartment days back in Hong Kong with its ridiculously cheap dinners (and laundry service). I burnt myself twice while ironing Paul's shirts. One burn on my thumb is till visible from weeks ago. Call me a housewife, but I could use help on the house part.

Within two weeks my stomach realized it was being moved around Asia again and it staged a revolt. I awoke feeling unwell on a day I was supposed to meet up with some expat gals for the first time. I hoped the nausea, dizziness and chills would ease if I lay down but the pain only intensified. I held out for a couple of hours since I'm developing a complex about how many times I've needed emergency medical care while living out here, but I finally gave in and had Paul call a doctor for me. This made me feel weak, but after the alien that lived in my gut for nearly two months last summer upon return from Borneo and the digestive misery (and hospital visits) it caused me, I decided to counter-attack quickly this time.

I took a taxi to a nearby hospital and I saw a doctor fairly quickly, although it felt like an eternity. I was not impressed by his diagnostic questions. He only asked of some symptoms and how long I'd been in Singapore, not if I ate anything suspect, or where else I've traveled or if this has ever happened before. He said it was likely food-related. His words of comfort, "Oh, this will probably happen a few times while you're here," as he wrote the prescription for antibiotics. Doctors can be disappointingly predictable. I had to ask for something for the pain, as if he couldn't see I was in any. He had me wait around for over an hour to see if it lessened. It hardly did, but my choice was to go home and deal with it or stay overnight, so I went home and continued to vomit up the bile in my empty stomach. The cramps became sharper at times but less constant and I managed a few spoonfuls of a $15 bowl of chicken broth. It took about three days and little by little I felt better. I wish I could say I ate something I knew I shouldn't have, but I'm still left guessing at what got me this time. Asia. My tour of its hospitals continues.

Fortunately, I was better by Easter so Paul and I were able to continue our tradition of the last three years: Champagne brunch buffet. It was a fine treat.

Next on General Hospital... house hunting, blind friending, Citibank-hating and some observations on Singapore. Preview: it's hot. I threw a rock at the equator today.

Till The Next Goodbye

We departed Hong Kong on March 14, Sunday, two years and twelve days after we arrived. For weeks before we left friends and acquaintances asked the same question asked of us just over two years ago, "Are you ready?" My answer then, now, always, "No."

As for material matters, when you have a moving company pack everything, there is a huge burden lifted, but there is still an incredible amount to sort, organize, separate, discard, give away. Pack the tape measure and furniture measurements in the suitcase to have when apartment hunting. Remember the list of account numbers. Remember the electronics chargers. Donate books to the local used bookstore. Donate household items to the Salvation Army conveniently located in Wan Chai. Give plants to friends, even though said friends look as if I'm handing them a small child to care for. Oh, buy wine… of course, buy wine. We did this the day before the movers came so they could pack and ship it since GS pays for the import duty. Wine and other alcoholic items cost a terrific amount more in Singapore due to the heavy tax on them, so we tried to bring a small stock.

Believe it or not, I started the clutter-clearing process back in January. It's shocking how much accumulates within a two room apartment in two years, much of it in the form of paper. Don't be disappointed; I still saved much for the last second, though I did sleep for about three hours the night before the movers came, which meant I still had to remove the bedsheets along with other last grab items once they were already charging in. I never saw all of them in the same room at once, but I estimate there were eight movers. For such a small place, it took a surprisingly long time for eight men to pack it up, about five hours. My reliably generous friend and neighbor Maggie brought me a sandwich around 2:30 just before they left since I hadn't eaten all day. Maggie.

And then the other matters... I know a lot of people in Hong Kong, but I doubt I was anyone's closest friend. Having said that, I will miss some of them a great deal. Such uniquely wonderful people: Nicky, fellow librarian with a librarian's nature (the good kind, not the crazy kind); Peggy, my first Kiwi kindred spirit; Victoria, my Queen's English language tutor and match in dry humor (humour to her); Kathleen, with whom I spent one of my most idyllic days on the small island of Cheung Chau back in 2008; Leslie, the L.A. attorney/surfer girl who loves the search for good food as much as I do; Maggie, sweet, infinitely generous, endlessly energetic, fun and the best foot massage companion from Idaho I've ever known.

Some friends avow they'll visit us. My faith in the promise of visitors has dwindled over two years (forgive me, but if I'm wrong, let me know when you're arriving) but we might actually see some Hong Kong friends in Singapore. It is barely a 3.5 hour flight and a lot of people pass through here for work. Actually it's such a common migration - kind of like moving from Staten Island to New Jersey - that I will already have four acquaintances in Singapore. One is Kate, the girl who organized the first group I went to where I met my friend Liz (who since returned to London) and Nicky and eventually Kathleen. The others are friends of friends whom I have met at least once in Hong Kong.

Similarly to when we left NJ we had a wealth of farewell get-togethers. Maggie, the Great Organizer, planned a party for us on a junk boat one week before we left. It turned out to be just a group of ten, but it was a great group of ten and it was a lot of fun to spend some of our last moments in Hong Kong sailing around that spectacular harbor with friends, and I thank them for it. I was a bit saddened that a couple of very good friends couldn't share the moment with us due to unfortunate timing. My friend Kathleen had to fly back to the US the day before because her husband's grandmother was ill and subsequently passed away. Another good friend, Leslie, is recuperating from surgery related to breast cancer. She's going through a very difficult time, and I hate to move on knowing a friend will need support. Fortunately her mother is staying with her and she has so many friends at her side, even if they often feel helpless as true friends do when they want so much to take away the hardship of the other.

I feel obligated to say something final about living in Hong Kong, but I believe that a summary would be inadequate. I hope that I've captured certain essences in two years' documentation here. The rest is for that book I'm writing… for the last 30 years or so. There are things we meant to do and see before we left, but we'll have to save them for a visit back. Aren't there always things you've meant to do and see before you've left?

Hong Kong's a great city. I thoroughly enjoyed my days and nights in it and my travels from it. It's loud and crowded yet surprisingly calming and comforting after traveling to mainland China or Vietnam or Thailand. People do walk into you a lot, but I just look at it as an ongoing practice in agility. It's the only city I've seen besides NYC that really doesn't sleep - except for the unfortunate moment when we attempted to eat at the Flying Pan, a 24 hour diner, at about 5 a.m. during a bout of jet lag, and it was CLOSED! By the way, the L in Flying intentionally replaces R in a loving tribute to the Chinese mispronunciation - the clock on their wall says Time Fries. There's a lot to eat, as much as there is to avoid eating. Fish balls will never sound appealing to me. Ever. Sometimes smells wafting from food stalls make my nose crinkle.

It has a great skyline. It's hot and humid and the air quality is terrible, but the cinemas are really clean and comfortable. Public transportation is a wonder of efficiency. Bus drivers drive certifiably dangerously. Taxi drivers are sometimes lunatics but most often courteous and reliable and my directions were almost always understood. People love wearing tee shirts with random English phrases or pseudo-philosophies on them, like Hitch your wagon to a star, Turn the lights out when not at home, No reason why I'm single. I always wondered if they understand the words or just like the way they look. Local Chinese say 'hello' in a tone hilariously reminiscent of Squiggy from Laverne and Shirley.

I love my neighborhood of Wan Chai and we couldn't have chosen a better place to live. It felt like home - in a comfortable, crazy, temporary, transplanted way. What I will miss most will probably occur to me after not seeing or hearing or tasting it after a few months. But there is no Denino's.

What there is here is a community of people in the same situation: being expats. This is what shaped my personal experience in Hong Kong. Really, it's what made it easy to live in a foreign land. So when I try to compose a final, grand statement about Hong Kong, I think about the people more than anything else. A city as great as Hong Kong reveals itself more brilliantly when its treasures are shared.

Fittingly, we spent our last night out with Maggie and her husband Chris at Wagyu, the place Paul and I stumbled on for brunch one Saturday in our early days - Paul wrote about it back then - we liked it so much we made a same day dinner reservation immediately after finishing brunch, and it has been my favorite ever since. For the finale, all four of us indulged in the Wagyu beef. It was the perfect ending with good friends. I would have stayed out all night to avoid the inevitable, saying goodbye. I remained collected as the moment arrived, hugged Maggie and Chris, but once they waved while getting into the cab on Queen's Road to head back to J Residence without us…

And so we begin again in Singapore. I don't know if I could feel more fortunate for all we've done and seen, thanks to Paul's long work hours and both our willingness to say yes.

Yes, Yes, yes.

Enjoy Part II with us.

(Just Like) Starting Over

Our life together is so precious together
We have grown, we have grown
Although our love is still special
Let's take a chance and fly away somewhere alone

It's been too long since we took the time
No-one's to blame, I know time flies so quickly
But when I see you darling
It's like we both are falling in love again
It'll be just like starting over, starting over...

...It's time to spread our wings and fly
Don't let another day go by my love
It'll be just like starting over, starting over

Why don't we take off alone
Take a trip somewhere far, far away
We'll be together all alone again
Like we used to in the early days
Well, well, well darling

It's been too long since we took the time
No-one's to blame, I know time flies so quickly
But when I see you darling
It's like we both are falling in love again
It'll be just like starting over, starting over

Our life together is so precious together
We have grown, we have grown
Although our love is still special
Let's take a chance and fly away somewhere

(It's John Lennon, in case someone doesn't know and thinks I'm that poetic)

Hot Hot Hot

I haven't abandoned a Vietnam post. It's just that enough time has passed that I have to reach back in my mind to write about it, so I decided to write about the more recent trip to Singapore first, otherwise soon I will have to reach back twice and I might strain something.

We went to Singapore on February 21 to get a look at the place. We've committed already so it's not as if we could say, "Nah, this isn't for us," but a preview couldn't hurt. It's less exciting than the blind leap we took arriving in Hong Kong to live, never having visited it. I realized that folks in the other hemisphere might not know anything about Singapore. Here are selected bits from trusty old Wikipedia:

Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, 137 kilometres (85 mi) north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands. At 710.2 km² (274.2 sq mi), Singapore is a microstate and the smallest nation in Southeast Asia. It is substantially larger than Monaco and Vatican City, the only other present-day sovereign city-states.

Singapore is the 5th wealthiest country in the world in terms of GDP (PPP) per capita.

In 2009, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Singapore the tenth most expensive city in the world in which to live—the third in Asia, after Tokyo and Osaka. The 2009 Cost of Living survey, by consultancy firm Mercer, has ranked Singapore similarly as the tenth most expensive city for expatriates to live in.

The population of Singapore including non-residents is approximately 4.99 million. Singapore is highly cosmopolitan and diverse with Chinese people forming an ethnic majority with large populations of Malay, Indian and other people. English, Malay, Tamil, and Chinese are the official languages.

You might think it's the part about it being the third most expensive city to live in Asia that would make Paul groan. No, no, it's this part...

Singapore has a tropical rainforest climate with no distinctive seasons. Its climate is characterized by uniform temperature and pressure, high humidity, and abundant rainfall. Temperatures range from 22 °C to 34 °C (72° to 93 °F). On average, the relative humidity is around 90% in the morning and 60% in the afternoon. During prolonged heavy rain, relative humidity often reaches 100%.

So we're moving from hot to hotter, 85 miles from the equator! Oh, the hair horror. This probably evokes no sympathy from New Yorkers after this winter, but as much snow as you've shoveled will be as much sweat as we shall mop.

We got to fly there in business class, as we weren't paying, so I wished the flight was longer than 3.5 hours. I only got to watch one movie in my comfy pod. We also got to stay at The Four Seasons which ain't too shabby. It's right off Orchard Road, the main shopping district. There are more malls in Singapore, particularly on Orchard Rd., than I believed could exist. I suppose the world's 5th wealthiest citizens need someplace to spend their money.

The first impression of Singapore might be that it feels like Florida. Palm trees line the wide roads and there's a resort feel to it. It's also a little like Disney World in that it is incredibly clean and highly organized and feels somewhat artificially fabricated. Until a free trade agreement with the US in 2004, chewing gum was illegal (it's hard to scrape off the sidewalk). Restrictions have since been relaxed and gum can now be imported for medicinal purposes (so we could take up smoking and then try to quit and then freely chew nicotine gum). There are plenty of such rules. "Caning" ring a bell?

We were expecting fierce heat so it didn't seem so bad our first night walking around. There was a downpour that lasted a couple of hours in the early evening before we wandered about for dinner. We wanted something near the hotel so the concierge suggested a quaint French bistro and it was pretty good.

The next morning a representative from our relocation company met us in the hotel lobby to start an orientation. She was a British lady named Liz who's lived in Singapore for five years. She gave us a bag filled with books and maps (good thing I failed to buy any before the trip) and then we were off in her car cruising around the various areas of Singapore.

We first got out and walked about in an area called Holland Village and from the quick glimpse it felt very... like a village. A village created for expats. After living in the heart of Hong Kong I instantly felt a vague panic that there would be nothing more authentic on offer here. I can officially declare now: I'm a city girl at heart - and Holland Village was pleasant enough but gritty city was nowhere in sight. But it was just the first stop. Liz continued to drive and point to places, buildings, landmarks - all whose significance meant very little to us from the window of a car. We next stopped along a small unimpressive beach along the East Coast where many expats are said to live because you can get more home for the money outside the city. Its flaw: it's outside the city. I didn't even find it pretty or scenic enough to be a draw; it did nothing for me.

We then stopped in Chinatown for lunch. As we walked past clean, neatly arranged stalls Liz said, "This must be a lot like home." I would say it was more like the version of Chinatown you would find in Epcot Center - no frenzy, nothing out of place, no recently butchered animal parts hanging on display, no slick sidewalks from the hosing down of fresh fish or the scents that accompany them. I admit, it was a very quick glimpse and with such a large Chinese population these scenes must exist somewhere in the city, though probably still in a clean and orderly fashion.

After a long day of chauffeured exploration we tried to identify places we'd seen on the map. It was still a bit disorienting. Singapore is very small yet it's more spread out than the the urban area of Hong Kong. That evening we had some pasta and pizza on Orchard Road (did NOT qualify for our certain future task of locating the best pizza in Singapore).

The next morning we met Liz again along with Lilian, our real estate agent. She gave us a list of places to view for the day. To make a long list short, we saw four places in total - not exactly a blockbuster day in the two-day house hunt we came for.

In summary, the very first place we saw was easily the nicest apartment overall in our two day search and we did consider it in our decision process but it was near Holland Village and ultimately we decided that we preferred to live in a more central location. We also saw one other place we liked in a brand new building with a fabulous view of the marina but we asked to see it again the next day and it was already gone. We saw another unit in the same building but it wasn't nearly as nice as the first, particularly the view, so we focused on other options.

After the first day, we both tactfully expressed a desire to see more than just brand new buildings in expat areas and to see what different prices will get us, not simply anything only at the TOP of our budget, thank you. As simple as this may sound, both Liz and Lilian seemed perplexed by the suggestion at first. I suppose there was some later discussion with the woman in charge at the relocation company whose job it is to make our move easier. The next day was more fulfilling, with a viewing of 12 places in total and at different prices.

At the end of the second day as we discussed our options with Liz and Lilian, I stated that I liked a certain place out near Holland Village but that I didn't want to sacrifice living in the city for it. Liz said, "What do you mean?" Hmm. Momentarily speechless, I reached around for my advanced "splainin' skills"  because the sentence that I had just spoken couldn't have been more straightforward or clear in its meaning and hardly begged for elaboration. I mean that when I walk out my door I want to see people, things, people doing things, activity, a store or two where I can pop in for something useful. For a relocation rep, Liz, as well as Lilian, had such a narrow perspective on expat living and they subtly conveyed what felt like disapproval of our open-mindedness to an exploration of options.

Cutting to what matters, we did in fact see a place we were interested in. Soon after the second day's hunt ended we called Lilian to ask if we could look at it again the next day to check the details. Paul was scheduled to go into the office that morning so we went in the afternoon with a tape measure and a discerning eye. We left with a definite feeling of probably. From the apartment we walked around the local area to get a feel for it and we ate dinner at Chinese seafood place. We liked the flat and its facilities enough but we were hoping to feel comfortable in the surroundings. It's so hard to tell in a few hours' time. You start to compare everything to the place you currently live and that place becomes irreplaceable.

By the flight home the next morning, we decided it was a go. You may recall, in the early days of the blog, the detailed decision process I went through regarding our Hong Kong apartment choices. So, an overnight decision is fairly impressive for me, but I felt pretty good about it. None of the details matter here and now because the relocation rep called to say that someone else bid and the owner accepted their offer even though they had verbally agreed to ours first. Glad we've got someone looking out for us. We'll soon restart the search with the aid of the agent who championed our cause so brilliantly the first go.

And now for some odd "So this is Singapore?" moments... At the first apartment we looked at (the very nice one that was a bit out of the way of the city), the owner was there and she enthusiastically gave us a tour of the place. Her son, the one renting it out, was also there but I don't think he said a word. She told us she bought the units in this building for her children, so she spared no expense: no cheap curtains, large American style side-by-side refrigerator, units facing southeast to avoid the afternoon sun, etc. She had what I'll call a real zeal for selling. She said she prefers not to rent to single men and she was relieved to see we didn't have small children - because of the balcony. She also pointed out that the building was in a good location, outside the city. Because if you live in the city, you live with a mix of people... you might even get into the elevator with one of those people but not here.

We thought her statements a bit bizarre, but we were mostly just relieved to escape the hard sell and be on our way. Soon after that, our agent said she knew of a very nice building, but the location was questionable. Far out from the city? I probed. No, not exactly she hemmed. There was obvious hesitation in her voice but she eventually mumbled the words. "I have to ask your permission... to take you there... you see... it's near Little India." Gasp! Shriek! Good God, we lived a minute away from Edison, NJ. "Is it in our price range? Yes, can you show us the place, please." This is going to be an interesting process.

Another part of the picture is funny to recount but was rather unnerving at the time. At one place we viewed, as we pulled up to the building, a man was being apprehended by two cops across the street. They were trying to physically restrain him and he was fighting back, all rather quietly. The agent we were meeting was late so we had to stand outside and witness most of the scene. Who knows what he did. I guess backup eventually arrived with a car, not sure. Liz laughed as I observed, "Not the best first impression." We also laughed as she repeated the slogan seen on billboards throughout the city: Be aware - Just because there's low crime doesn't mean there's no crime!

Only one last impression to note. Any cooling breeze there had been which may have briefly tricked us into thinking 85 miles from the equator is bearable had utterly died by our last night there. We arrived back at the hotel after the walk around our potential neighborhood quite perspired, so we had a drink at the hotel bar. My choice of beverage - the chocolate milkshake. It was quite possibly the best chocolate milkshake I've ever tasted. If things get rough in the next apartment search, I know where to head to drown our sorrows.