It's been nearly 2 months since my last post, so I'll use this entry to quickly recap what transpired during the month of July. I went traveling throughout August, so I'll write a separate post dedicated to my travels.
Many people left Singapore throughout July, so that month was filled with a bunch of going away 'parties'. I say 'parties' because it's better to celebrate someone's time in Singapore than to become sad and depressed that everyone is leaving. Erik (Holland), Anne (Denmark) and I had a semi-communal farewell party at Loof Bar on July 31st. It was a nice evening and also a great way to celebrate the successful completion of my internship at BLUE!
July was supposed to be my 'month of discovery' here in Singapore. The time I was supposed to become a tourist in my own city and visit all of the attractions I had yet to visit. I was only somewhat successful in achieving this goal: I made it to the Singapore Discovery Centre, the Singapore Zoo, and the Bird Park.
I have made it my goal to visit the Asian Civilizations Museum, the Housing Development Board Museum and go to the Night Safari during my 3 days back in Singapore. Let's see how successful I am in achieving this goal!
One event I forgot to mention. "The MRT Pub Crawl: Purple Line"! Singapore has 3 MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) lines. At the beginning of the semester a group of exchange students organized a pub crawl on the green line, starting in the eastern end of the island, and stopping at every second stop for a drink. Reisegruppe Alkohol decided to re-create this adventure for the remaining exchange students and interns on July 22nd. This time we rode the purple line, starting at Punggol and ending at St. James Power Station at HarbourFront. It was a great time, although I exchanged words with the bouncer at Movida (a bar in the 'St. James Power Station' complex) because he wouldn't let in the 3 guys below the age of 23 who were in our massive group. Ladies had to be 18 and guys 23. Oh how I love equality.
I can't think of anything else monumental that occurred in July, aside from the fact that everybody left and I realized that my time was coming to a QUICK close. Look for the entry detailing my August Adventures in Asia. Coming soon.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Canada Day in Singapore!
Or should I say 'No Canada Day in Singapore'. That's not totally accurate, as they DID have a celebration on May 19th. That's right folks, way back in May.
As the good expatriate school children that we are, Kristin and I decided to go and celebrate our great nation's 140th Birthday, Asian style. In the morning I jumped on Google frantically searching for something interesting to do. I discovered that some international teams were having some sort of Dragon Boat competition, Canadian teams included. After that we planned to watch the "Changing of the Guard" at the Presidential residence, then head somewhere for a celebratory 'white' dinner.
As per usual, nothing happened as planned. We showed up at the Dragon Boat offices, not the actual place they were racing. So no dragon boat racing. BURN #1. Still in good spirits we headed over to the Presidential residence to wait for the changing of the guard, but guess what?! Nope, not today. There was a 'special function' so the guard's won't change until next month. Excellent. BURN #2. Now I'm getting pissed off, no surprise. Trying to keep calm, we took a stroll over to the movie theatre where thankfully we got seats to Transformers! Totally corny movie, but fun on a Sunday afternoon. We have this habit of going to emotionally draining and tragic movies, so this was a pleasant change.
About the only thing that did go right was our dinner. To close off our evening, we headed over to Clark Quay, which some of you may remember me talking about in prior posts. It's basically 'Whitey heaven'. We ordered our WMF like any good Canadians on Canada Day. I had a Falafel burger (healthy) with about 2 pounds of fries (shut up). Kristin had what seemed like an entire lamb, which I helped her finish. Gracious, I know.
It was after 11p.m. by the time we finished, so we jumped on the MRT for the ride home.
A messed up day turned out allright after all.
As the good expatriate school children that we are, Kristin and I decided to go and celebrate our great nation's 140th Birthday, Asian style. In the morning I jumped on Google frantically searching for something interesting to do. I discovered that some international teams were having some sort of Dragon Boat competition, Canadian teams included. After that we planned to watch the "Changing of the Guard" at the Presidential residence, then head somewhere for a celebratory 'white' dinner.
As per usual, nothing happened as planned. We showed up at the Dragon Boat offices, not the actual place they were racing. So no dragon boat racing. BURN #1. Still in good spirits we headed over to the Presidential residence to wait for the changing of the guard, but guess what?! Nope, not today. There was a 'special function' so the guard's won't change until next month. Excellent. BURN #2. Now I'm getting pissed off, no surprise. Trying to keep calm, we took a stroll over to the movie theatre where thankfully we got seats to Transformers! Totally corny movie, but fun on a Sunday afternoon. We have this habit of going to emotionally draining and tragic movies, so this was a pleasant change.
About the only thing that did go right was our dinner. To close off our evening, we headed over to Clark Quay, which some of you may remember me talking about in prior posts. It's basically 'Whitey heaven'. We ordered our WMF like any good Canadians on Canada Day. I had a Falafel burger (healthy) with about 2 pounds of fries (shut up). Kristin had what seemed like an entire lamb, which I helped her finish. Gracious, I know.
It was after 11p.m. by the time we finished, so we jumped on the MRT for the ride home.
A messed up day turned out allright after all.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Another Successfull Weekend in Bintan, Indonesia!
Reisegruppe Alkohol decided, jet again, to ferry ourselves off to the resort island of Bintan, Indonesia! When you are looking for a quick getaway, there is no better place. Just 55 minutes off the coast of Singapore, it is easily accessible, has great beaches and is loads of fun. Instead of staying in a dilapidated shack on the east coast like last time, we booked into a resort in the north called the Mana Mana Beach Club. It was a bit expensive, everything was listed in Singapore dollars rather than Indonesian Rupia (which I dislike), but for a 2 day weekend away we couldn't have asked for more.
We managed to book all 13 of us on a ferry and secure accommodations, even though this was only 2 days before we left. We were very lucky considering the size of the group. Saturday morning, we got up bright and early and headed for the Tana Merah Ferry Terminal close to Changi Airport. We checked ourselves in, had some breakfast at their overpriced cafe, then got on board. Joelle, Kristin, Arno and I rode in first class comfort (that's the only way we could make it work on the initial booking) and relegated the others to coach. To bad for them. It was WAY to cold, but at least we got a free puff pastry and drink!
A shuttle bus picked us up from the ferry terminal in Bintan, and took us to our resort where we were able to promptly check in. This was especially important because we were, oh, about 5 hours early for check in. After ditching our stuff, we went and sat our butts on the beach and tanned (or tried to in my case) for a few hours, before having a quick lunch at their cafe. A quick word about that, and sorry for you people who think I talk to much about money! The prices were OUTRAGEOUS! You were paying S$11 for a hamburger which came with about 5 french fries. Jesus. I bought 'pizza strips' which was a very thin crust and a spattering of baked on pizza sauce and chili. They didn't even have my dip. Oh well, life goes on. It's only one weekend, right?! I had fish later that night in a small town just outside of the resort. That was nothing short of amazing. Fish, rice, chili sauce and lemon. Nothing is healthier and more tasty than that! At least in Asia.
In the interest of time, we sat our asses on the beach, drank beer and ate for the rest of the weekend. Saturday night was precious because I got a bit tipsy and jumped up on the platform at the beach bar and started bustin a move. I now realize that 'Alcohol makes fat people feel skinny and ugly people feel pretty.' I look disgusting in all the pics. They're up on Facebook for all to see if you are so inclined.
That's about it for now. Today is Canada Day, so Kristin and I are going to find something exciting to do in order to celebrate! Look out for that!
We managed to book all 13 of us on a ferry and secure accommodations, even though this was only 2 days before we left. We were very lucky considering the size of the group. Saturday morning, we got up bright and early and headed for the Tana Merah Ferry Terminal close to Changi Airport. We checked ourselves in, had some breakfast at their overpriced cafe, then got on board. Joelle, Kristin, Arno and I rode in first class comfort (that's the only way we could make it work on the initial booking) and relegated the others to coach. To bad for them. It was WAY to cold, but at least we got a free puff pastry and drink!
A shuttle bus picked us up from the ferry terminal in Bintan, and took us to our resort where we were able to promptly check in. This was especially important because we were, oh, about 5 hours early for check in. After ditching our stuff, we went and sat our butts on the beach and tanned (or tried to in my case) for a few hours, before having a quick lunch at their cafe. A quick word about that, and sorry for you people who think I talk to much about money! The prices were OUTRAGEOUS! You were paying S$11 for a hamburger which came with about 5 french fries. Jesus. I bought 'pizza strips' which was a very thin crust and a spattering of baked on pizza sauce and chili. They didn't even have my dip. Oh well, life goes on. It's only one weekend, right?! I had fish later that night in a small town just outside of the resort. That was nothing short of amazing. Fish, rice, chili sauce and lemon. Nothing is healthier and more tasty than that! At least in Asia.
In the interest of time, we sat our asses on the beach, drank beer and ate for the rest of the weekend. Saturday night was precious because I got a bit tipsy and jumped up on the platform at the beach bar and started bustin a move. I now realize that 'Alcohol makes fat people feel skinny and ugly people feel pretty.' I look disgusting in all the pics. They're up on Facebook for all to see if you are so inclined.
That's about it for now. Today is Canada Day, so Kristin and I are going to find something exciting to do in order to celebrate! Look out for that!
Monday, June 11, 2007
Kuala Lumpur: Vesak Day Long Weekend
First of all, no I do not know what Vesak Day is all about. I should look it up and I will. But if you really want to know, there is always wikipedia!
Conrad, Rudy and I left Singapore Wednesday night, May 30th on the night bus destined for Kuala Lumpur. I must note that this was no ordinary bus, but a luxury coach. This is like traveling in business class on any major airline. Well minus the food. We only got a bottle of water. Needless to say, it was the best an overnight bus could be. Even though I didn't sleep because the oncoming traffic kept shining their demonic headlights into my eyes. We arrived into KL around 5a.m., phoned up the hostel we wanted, jumped in a taxi and slept for a few hours.
The next few days we putzed around KL trying to see as much as we could. We managed to visit the 'Petronas Twin Towers' on more than one occassion because it's just that magnifiscent, and because you can see the damn thing from everywhere in the city. During the day it's spectacular, but at night it is magnificent. Some of the brightest lights I've ever seen.
Another impressive building is the KL Menara Tower, which is the communications tower finished in 1996. Both the Petronas Towers and the KL tower are part of Malaysia's master plan for complete development by 2020. I'm not sure if they'll reach that goal, but Malaysia isn't the third world country I was expecting. The highways rival ours in terms of quality and the number of petrol stations throughout. 'Petronas' is their national oil and gas company, by the way. The cities, on the other hand, could use a few more sanitation workers (a.k.a. garbage men). There are piles of rubbish on the streets, but any seasoned traveler looks past that toward the good things the city offers. Take France for example. Nobody cares that there is dog poop in front of the Chanel store because, well, there is a Chanel store!
Aside from these two 'major' attractions, we visited a the KL Butterfly Park, the National Mosque, Main Train Station, and the Central Market. Also smoked some shisha and ate some excellent Egyptian food near our hostel. We enjoyed it so much the owner gave us a 10MR discount. Usually you give them EXTRA money when you like something, but he was so happy we were happy, so he gave us a discount. The three of us as like kings for the equivalent of C$6.00 each.
Coming home was an adventure and a half. A word of advice: Don't listen to people when they tell you booking buses in Malaysia is no problem on long weekends. It absolutely IS a problem. It took us 11 hours to get home, when it should have taken about 5; we had to take 3 separate buses AND cut out Malacca (a colonial city) on our way home. The funny part was it only cost us about C$10 for the entire return journey. How they make money like this I don't know...
Until next time!
Conrad, Rudy and I left Singapore Wednesday night, May 30th on the night bus destined for Kuala Lumpur. I must note that this was no ordinary bus, but a luxury coach. This is like traveling in business class on any major airline. Well minus the food. We only got a bottle of water. Needless to say, it was the best an overnight bus could be. Even though I didn't sleep because the oncoming traffic kept shining their demonic headlights into my eyes. We arrived into KL around 5a.m., phoned up the hostel we wanted, jumped in a taxi and slept for a few hours.
The next few days we putzed around KL trying to see as much as we could. We managed to visit the 'Petronas Twin Towers' on more than one occassion because it's just that magnifiscent, and because you can see the damn thing from everywhere in the city. During the day it's spectacular, but at night it is magnificent. Some of the brightest lights I've ever seen.
Another impressive building is the KL Menara Tower, which is the communications tower finished in 1996. Both the Petronas Towers and the KL tower are part of Malaysia's master plan for complete development by 2020. I'm not sure if they'll reach that goal, but Malaysia isn't the third world country I was expecting. The highways rival ours in terms of quality and the number of petrol stations throughout. 'Petronas' is their national oil and gas company, by the way. The cities, on the other hand, could use a few more sanitation workers (a.k.a. garbage men). There are piles of rubbish on the streets, but any seasoned traveler looks past that toward the good things the city offers. Take France for example. Nobody cares that there is dog poop in front of the Chanel store because, well, there is a Chanel store!
Aside from these two 'major' attractions, we visited a the KL Butterfly Park, the National Mosque, Main Train Station, and the Central Market. Also smoked some shisha and ate some excellent Egyptian food near our hostel. We enjoyed it so much the owner gave us a 10MR discount. Usually you give them EXTRA money when you like something, but he was so happy we were happy, so he gave us a discount. The three of us as like kings for the equivalent of C$6.00 each.
Coming home was an adventure and a half. A word of advice: Don't listen to people when they tell you booking buses in Malaysia is no problem on long weekends. It absolutely IS a problem. It took us 11 hours to get home, when it should have taken about 5; we had to take 3 separate buses AND cut out Malacca (a colonial city) on our way home. The funny part was it only cost us about C$10 for the entire return journey. How they make money like this I don't know...
Until next time!
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Shakespear in the Park Singapore Style
On May 27, 2007 a couple of friend's and I went to see Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' at Fort Canning Park here in Singapore. It was closing night and the house was packed. What made this performance especially interesting was the venue; it was outdoors! It looked as if it would rain, but the director made us all will the rain away, and stay away it did. The show went off without a hitch!
The play was a modern rendition of Shakespeare's classic play. One obvious modern touch is when Hermia went frolicking in the woods with her pink backpackers sac, runners and small booty shorts. I think she was trying to hook up with Lysander in the forest; they say they were try to 'elope.' They even managed to incorporate modern music into the script, although the exact titles slip my mind.
The set and effects were quite good considering the play was outside. They strung lights through the trees (okay, that part's easy but still pretty) and also had this big metallic box that that opened up from all sides. People come out of there (again, no surprise), but these giant Swiss balls (like the ones you do your ab crunches on), escaped as well. They were the size of two men standing on top of each other, no joke. I still haven't figured out what purpose they served, but they looked cool, that's for sure.
The costumes were great. Everything seems whimsical and dreamlike, which I'm sure is what Shakespeare intended. I often wonder what fairies looked like in Shakespeare's day? OK! I only thought about that during the play, but that's beside the point. It's still a valid question!
Like any good love story, everyone lives happily ever. Man I love it when life is all shits, giggles and rose petals...
The play was a modern rendition of Shakespeare's classic play. One obvious modern touch is when Hermia went frolicking in the woods with her pink backpackers sac, runners and small booty shorts. I think she was trying to hook up with Lysander in the forest; they say they were try to 'elope.' They even managed to incorporate modern music into the script, although the exact titles slip my mind.
The set and effects were quite good considering the play was outside. They strung lights through the trees (okay, that part's easy but still pretty) and also had this big metallic box that that opened up from all sides. People come out of there (again, no surprise), but these giant Swiss balls (like the ones you do your ab crunches on), escaped as well. They were the size of two men standing on top of each other, no joke. I still haven't figured out what purpose they served, but they looked cool, that's for sure.
The costumes were great. Everything seems whimsical and dreamlike, which I'm sure is what Shakespeare intended. I often wonder what fairies looked like in Shakespeare's day? OK! I only thought about that during the play, but that's beside the point. It's still a valid question!
Like any good love story, everyone lives happily ever. Man I love it when life is all shits, giggles and rose petals...
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Brown...deep down
I am brown, deep down. I really had no idea. Right from the time I arrived in Singapore people have noticed that I am willing to eat pretty much everything known to man, save for puppies, kitties and any sort of blood based beverage. Now don't be mistaken. Those are not popular in Asia, at least not the parts I've been. But if I ever get in with a tribe in Africa, I'll have problems when they slit the goat's throat, mix it with blood and down that shit like it's a fine, aged whiskey. No siree.
My good friend Lorena noticed the same thing when I was in Mexico about 6 year ago. Man, I can't believe it's been six years already. Wow. Anyhow, I ate pretty much everything they put in front of me, and loved every last morcel of it. It was a running joke in her house when her mother would ask 'Are you hungry?' What a silly question. 'OF COURSE I'm hungry!' was my response. That's because I usually was. The only dish I did not like was 'Menudo Soup', which is a traditional Mexican dish made from trip. That is a cow's stomach, for those of you who aren't familiar, and has the consistency of fat. In fact, I spit it out and told her they forgot to take out the fat at which point I got this look 'It's not fat, you idiot...' Oopsy!
I can tell I'm becoming localized mostly as a result of the large quantities of chili and tobasco sauce I can eat. At Sapna's going away lunch, I loudly declard to the entire table that I personally believe that tobasco sauce is MUCH hotter in North America, because I can barely eat any of it back home. I was promptly informed that all tobasco sauce is made in the same factory in the United States, and that I'm eating the same sauce I eat back home. The only difference is that the ol' taste buds had acclimatized to the constant barrage of spice. When I go back home, I think I'll find all the food will be bland.
I can also slurp noodles like the best of them. I wasn't sure if this was a good thing when one of my mates pointed it out, but at according to Miss Martha: 'it's a good thing.'
The remaining challenge: Try 'Pig's Organ Soup.'
If I can shovel that down, I will be 'completely brown' not just 'brown, deep down.' I'm looking forward to it.
My good friend Lorena noticed the same thing when I was in Mexico about 6 year ago. Man, I can't believe it's been six years already. Wow. Anyhow, I ate pretty much everything they put in front of me, and loved every last morcel of it. It was a running joke in her house when her mother would ask 'Are you hungry?' What a silly question. 'OF COURSE I'm hungry!' was my response. That's because I usually was. The only dish I did not like was 'Menudo Soup', which is a traditional Mexican dish made from trip. That is a cow's stomach, for those of you who aren't familiar, and has the consistency of fat. In fact, I spit it out and told her they forgot to take out the fat at which point I got this look 'It's not fat, you idiot...' Oopsy!
I can tell I'm becoming localized mostly as a result of the large quantities of chili and tobasco sauce I can eat. At Sapna's going away lunch, I loudly declard to the entire table that I personally believe that tobasco sauce is MUCH hotter in North America, because I can barely eat any of it back home. I was promptly informed that all tobasco sauce is made in the same factory in the United States, and that I'm eating the same sauce I eat back home. The only difference is that the ol' taste buds had acclimatized to the constant barrage of spice. When I go back home, I think I'll find all the food will be bland.
I can also slurp noodles like the best of them. I wasn't sure if this was a good thing when one of my mates pointed it out, but at according to Miss Martha: 'it's a good thing.'
The remaining challenge: Try 'Pig's Organ Soup.'
If I can shovel that down, I will be 'completely brown' not just 'brown, deep down.' I'm looking forward to it.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Tiger and the Arts + Paulaner Brauhaus
As if I hadn't consumed enough calories in the week prior, Jens, Kristin and I (Canadian Kristin, not German Kristin nor Norwegian Kristin) decided to grab a couple Tigers Saturday night from the 24 hour store, march on top of this damn cool media and design/arts building here on campus, and chat away about life in Singapore and our plans for the future. F.Y.I.: Tiger is a famous Singaporean beer. Just for good measure and to keep myself honest, I picked up a 'Big Bau' AND Potato chips to accompany my beer. I needed neither but craved both. A Bau is a Chinese bun filled with meat/vegetable/red been etc, and a 'Big Bau' is, well, bigger :) A beer would have been fine, but leave it to Sean to go overboad and get some 'extras.' In my defence, I didn't finish the chips. Yea!
As per usual, we were all looking DAMN fine in our best ragged shorts and t-shirts as we sweated our guts off outside in the hot and humid air; even when it 'cools down' at night, it remains hot and muggy. No bother, we came here for a new experience, and new experiences we shall get. I won't get into the niggty gritty of our conversation here because it was a 'you had to be there kinda thing,' but suffice it to say, we connected on a deeper level for sure.
The next day I hauled my arse outta bed relatively early (around 10:15a.m., which is REALLY EARLY for a Sunday), and went downtown to Paulaner Brauhaus for an absolutely AMAZING German brunsch; the Germans assure me this isn't 'fusion' food and that it really is quite authentic. Needless to say, the weekend was a total write-off calorie wise, if you hadn't already figured that out. In good fashion, I stuffed myself with as much German beer, food and desserts as I possibly could in the 3 hours we were given. I had to justify the S$47 price tag. Considering that free flow beer is included with the buffet, it's a price and experience you just can't beat.
Like any good German, I toasted my beers with an authentic toast to the 'apfelstrudel' and 'kinderüberraschungsei' Gods. More on this later.
P.S. When I source some photos, I'll post a few up here.
As per usual, we were all looking DAMN fine in our best ragged shorts and t-shirts as we sweated our guts off outside in the hot and humid air; even when it 'cools down' at night, it remains hot and muggy. No bother, we came here for a new experience, and new experiences we shall get. I won't get into the niggty gritty of our conversation here because it was a 'you had to be there kinda thing,' but suffice it to say, we connected on a deeper level for sure.
The next day I hauled my arse outta bed relatively early (around 10:15a.m., which is REALLY EARLY for a Sunday), and went downtown to Paulaner Brauhaus for an absolutely AMAZING German brunsch; the Germans assure me this isn't 'fusion' food and that it really is quite authentic. Needless to say, the weekend was a total write-off calorie wise, if you hadn't already figured that out. In good fashion, I stuffed myself with as much German beer, food and desserts as I possibly could in the 3 hours we were given. I had to justify the S$47 price tag. Considering that free flow beer is included with the buffet, it's a price and experience you just can't beat.
Like any good German, I toasted my beers with an authentic toast to the 'apfelstrudel' and 'kinderüberraschungsei' Gods. More on this later.
P.S. When I source some photos, I'll post a few up here.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
The Devil Eats Prata
Most all of you know that I enjoy my food. A little bit too much at times. While others seem smitten with drinking, which is a popular worldwide past-time among young and old alike, I enjoy food. I like to say that I prefer to chew my calories rather than simply swallow them. In fact, my first love affair in Singapore was with Prata, which are these Malay-Indian bread things that are basically made of butter, flour and oil. Four of those things in one day and I had to buy new clothes.
I gotta say that I'm becoming quite the fatty mcfatterson over here in Singapore. The food is great, but talk about oil and carb overload! You get a humongous helping of rice with every meal (because it costs nothing) with some vegetables fried in oil (which ARE delicious, I assure you) and a bit of meat. People say they 'sweat out their weight' because it's so damned hot and humid. What do I have to say to that? Malarcky!
I've started asking for 1/2 helpings of rice (which turn out to be 2/3 helping, but I won't tell if you don't) and trying to opt for less oily meats and veggies, but that proves to be difficult. Today Jens (my German roomate) and I went to the University gym and worked out our upper bodies; I think I'll be able to feel it tomorrow. It's so damned hard to make it to the gym every day though...I'm so tired after work that I'd rather just go home, sit on my ever expanding ass, and read 'The Devil Wears Prada.'
If my inner hunky mchunkerson is ever going to come out of his cocooon, I gotta start eating better and exercising more. If not, I'll be a fat boar by the end of the decade.
So there it is, I've made myself semi-accountable to all of you. Eat it up and feed it to me if I weight more than 150 pounds when I come back to Canada!
I gotta say that I'm becoming quite the fatty mcfatterson over here in Singapore. The food is great, but talk about oil and carb overload! You get a humongous helping of rice with every meal (because it costs nothing) with some vegetables fried in oil (which ARE delicious, I assure you) and a bit of meat. People say they 'sweat out their weight' because it's so damned hot and humid. What do I have to say to that? Malarcky!
I've started asking for 1/2 helpings of rice (which turn out to be 2/3 helping, but I won't tell if you don't) and trying to opt for less oily meats and veggies, but that proves to be difficult. Today Jens (my German roomate) and I went to the University gym and worked out our upper bodies; I think I'll be able to feel it tomorrow. It's so damned hard to make it to the gym every day though...I'm so tired after work that I'd rather just go home, sit on my ever expanding ass, and read 'The Devil Wears Prada.'
If my inner hunky mchunkerson is ever going to come out of his cocooon, I gotta start eating better and exercising more. If not, I'll be a fat boar by the end of the decade.
So there it is, I've made myself semi-accountable to all of you. Eat it up and feed it to me if I weight more than 150 pounds when I come back to Canada!
The Phantom of the Opera was Here!
The Phantom of the Opera is rolling through Singapore! Kristin and I, one of my Germans, decided to shell out the big bucks and attend. At S$120 bucks it was a bit of a strech, but if it's been around for a gazillion years I knew it would be good. The performance didn't dissapoint!
The staging was excellent; I was especially amazed at the flawless set transitions that seemed to occur every few minutes. My 2 favorite parts of the show are the opening sequence, after the auction, when we hear the 'Phantom of the Opera' theme song for the first time (also when they raise the chandellier). The bridge scene was also spectacular, when they create a mock-river on stage, complete with loads of candles and a boat! Really great stuff.
My advice to people who know nothing of the show is to learn the songs before you go! The accoustics are excellent, but I had no idea what the Opera star was singing because she was trilling every second word; she was speaking English. Because it was my first Phantom experience, I was content to absorb the staging and costumes and will focus more on the songs when I see it again in London.
The staging was excellent; I was especially amazed at the flawless set transitions that seemed to occur every few minutes. My 2 favorite parts of the show are the opening sequence, after the auction, when we hear the 'Phantom of the Opera' theme song for the first time (also when they raise the chandellier). The bridge scene was also spectacular, when they create a mock-river on stage, complete with loads of candles and a boat! Really great stuff.
My advice to people who know nothing of the show is to learn the songs before you go! The accoustics are excellent, but I had no idea what the Opera star was singing because she was trilling every second word; she was speaking English. Because it was my first Phantom experience, I was content to absorb the staging and costumes and will focus more on the songs when I see it again in London.
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Tioman Island, Malaysia
A bunch of us foreigners (8 Germans, 2 Canadians and 1 French) decided to work it up in Malayisa over the Singapore Labour Day long weekend. It's an island 32 km off the coast of Malaysia, and was featured in the 1958 movie 'South Pacific'. TIME picked Tioman Island as one of the world's most beautiful islands in 1970. In addition, it's 12,383 hectares of rainforest are protected by the Malaysian government. Thanks Wikipedia!
Normally people catch busses either from Singapore (expensive) or from Johor Bahru (the Malaysian town on the Malaysian-Singapore border) to the Malaysian town of Mersing, then catch a 2 hour ferry ride to Tioman Island. We decided to be a little bit different, in part because we're lazy and the buses were full. We ended up catching cabs from Johor Bahru to Mersing, which is a little over two hours. Now you may think that we got killed with charges by doing this, but we managed to organiz 2 cabs to Mersing for 260RM (about C$85). Divided by the 7 who initially went together, it was a bargain.
We stayed at Salang based on the recommendations of others who had gone before us; it was a great choice. The first day we chose hostels, and almost got screwed over because it's difficult finding places to stay for 10 people, then lounged on the beach, ate some excellent food and just relaxed. Sunday, our second day, was also spend lounging on the beach and messing around in the ocean. I say 'messing around' because I can't actually swim, so this consisted of my floating in the ocean, trying to tread water and swimming about 30 meters before exhaustion set in. One of my goals is to now learn how to swim! Monday we took a boat ride around the island, where we got to scuba dive a couple times, look at some pretty beaches, and went up to this nice, but small, waterfall. I'll throw up links at the end of the entry to my Tioman pics, the most of which are us at this waterfall. I think it's obvious to say that we drank beer at night at the few bars there are on Tioman, talked with all the friend's and got very little sleep. Tuesday we left around 2p.m., so we had breakfast, packed, chilled on the beach one last time, then popped on the ferry for our adventurous ride home.
A word about the ferry...
We started our journey on crystal clear waters, but after about an hour a storm started to brew. Initially the clouds came in and the sea got a bit rough, but we were okay. Sittin on the top meant that we were basically out in the open with a tarp over us. Needless to say, we got soaked. The weather continually got worse to the point where we couldn't see in front of us and the engines were working like made to propel us on. We finally made it into Mersing, soaking wet, where we found some 'private cabs' to take us back to Johor Bahru. This was an interesting choice, because we passed a bunch of police on our way to J.B., one of which saw my pretty white face and pointed to all his buddies. About 3 minutes after that we were stopped at the side of the road and our cabbie had to pay the officer 50MR as a bribe; apparently he did not have a cab license. The cabbie asked us if we'd pay the 50 Ringgit, but Krisin and I had nothing of that. It's not our fault we found illegal cabs! At any rate, we made it back to J.B., had some eats in their modern supermall, then walked accross the river-boarder to Singapore.
All in all, a great weekend where we got to bond with some of the new arrivals. I'll be travelling with a few of them at the end of the Month to Kuala Lumpur, my last long weekend in Singapore :(
Look out for a post about that
Here are links to my pictures, and to the videos I took of our ferry ride home:
Tioman Island Pictures: http://ualberta.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2042544&l=4ac93&id=120402234
Ferry Ride Home 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjZZpJcrGsk
Ferry Ride Home 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVAChgd-kmo
Enjoy!
Normally people catch busses either from Singapore (expensive) or from Johor Bahru (the Malaysian town on the Malaysian-Singapore border) to the Malaysian town of Mersing, then catch a 2 hour ferry ride to Tioman Island. We decided to be a little bit different, in part because we're lazy and the buses were full. We ended up catching cabs from Johor Bahru to Mersing, which is a little over two hours. Now you may think that we got killed with charges by doing this, but we managed to organiz 2 cabs to Mersing for 260RM (about C$85). Divided by the 7 who initially went together, it was a bargain.
We stayed at Salang based on the recommendations of others who had gone before us; it was a great choice. The first day we chose hostels, and almost got screwed over because it's difficult finding places to stay for 10 people, then lounged on the beach, ate some excellent food and just relaxed. Sunday, our second day, was also spend lounging on the beach and messing around in the ocean. I say 'messing around' because I can't actually swim, so this consisted of my floating in the ocean, trying to tread water and swimming about 30 meters before exhaustion set in. One of my goals is to now learn how to swim! Monday we took a boat ride around the island, where we got to scuba dive a couple times, look at some pretty beaches, and went up to this nice, but small, waterfall. I'll throw up links at the end of the entry to my Tioman pics, the most of which are us at this waterfall. I think it's obvious to say that we drank beer at night at the few bars there are on Tioman, talked with all the friend's and got very little sleep. Tuesday we left around 2p.m., so we had breakfast, packed, chilled on the beach one last time, then popped on the ferry for our adventurous ride home.
A word about the ferry...
We started our journey on crystal clear waters, but after about an hour a storm started to brew. Initially the clouds came in and the sea got a bit rough, but we were okay. Sittin on the top meant that we were basically out in the open with a tarp over us. Needless to say, we got soaked. The weather continually got worse to the point where we couldn't see in front of us and the engines were working like made to propel us on. We finally made it into Mersing, soaking wet, where we found some 'private cabs' to take us back to Johor Bahru. This was an interesting choice, because we passed a bunch of police on our way to J.B., one of which saw my pretty white face and pointed to all his buddies. About 3 minutes after that we were stopped at the side of the road and our cabbie had to pay the officer 50MR as a bribe; apparently he did not have a cab license. The cabbie asked us if we'd pay the 50 Ringgit, but Krisin and I had nothing of that. It's not our fault we found illegal cabs! At any rate, we made it back to J.B., had some eats in their modern supermall, then walked accross the river-boarder to Singapore.
All in all, a great weekend where we got to bond with some of the new arrivals. I'll be travelling with a few of them at the end of the Month to Kuala Lumpur, my last long weekend in Singapore :(
Look out for a post about that
Here are links to my pictures, and to the videos I took of our ferry ride home:
Tioman Island Pictures: http://ualberta.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2042544&l=4ac93&id=120402234
Ferry Ride Home 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjZZpJcrGsk
Ferry Ride Home 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVAChgd-kmo
Enjoy!
Monday, April 16, 2007
Wakeboarding at East Coast Park, Singapore
I'm no waterbaby, but I decided I had to try wakeboarding when the opportunity presented itself last Sunday. We got up bright and early and hopped on the train, ready for a day in the sun! We're all so damn white, we really needed it! Kamil and Arno, two new German exchange students staying in my hall decided to join us.
Much to our surprise, they had a wakeboarding special on at S$5.00 for 30 minutes. Normally wakeboarding is S$35/hr on the weekends, so we were more than pleased at this offer. It isn't wakeboarding in the typical sense because you are not being pulled by a boat. Instead, a mechanical line that pulls you around a small lake, and you must navigate through special booeys if you do not want to sink; if you go off track you risk sinking when the cable is switching towers, because it momentarily looses tension! The first time I made it half way around, then ditched out, the second time I made it 3/4 of the way around, but sank when the cable was switching towers (proof that you must stay on course!). The third time was golden! I figured out how to position myself between the markers, and almost made it around 2 times. Some girl fell right infront of me so I had but had to abandon the line; I did not want to deal with the hassle of a collision just to make it 2 times around!
After wakeboarding, we went for a drink and met a cool English guy named Chris. He was taking a year off life and travelling around the world; it sounded awesome! We then went rollerblading for about 30 mintues, got a goody bag with a free athletic tank top and tons of useless samples and caught some dinner before heading it back to NTU. I definitely want to spend more time exploring the unique areas of Singapore and try out new things. I actually like wakeboarding and rollerblading, and would like to improve my skills a bit. I think flying halfway around the world warrants a bit of experimentation, don't you?
Alright I want to do a bit of work before the lab closes up, so I'll close up for now. Talk soon!
Much to our surprise, they had a wakeboarding special on at S$5.00 for 30 minutes. Normally wakeboarding is S$35/hr on the weekends, so we were more than pleased at this offer. It isn't wakeboarding in the typical sense because you are not being pulled by a boat. Instead, a mechanical line that pulls you around a small lake, and you must navigate through special booeys if you do not want to sink; if you go off track you risk sinking when the cable is switching towers, because it momentarily looses tension! The first time I made it half way around, then ditched out, the second time I made it 3/4 of the way around, but sank when the cable was switching towers (proof that you must stay on course!). The third time was golden! I figured out how to position myself between the markers, and almost made it around 2 times. Some girl fell right infront of me so I had but had to abandon the line; I did not want to deal with the hassle of a collision just to make it 2 times around!
After wakeboarding, we went for a drink and met a cool English guy named Chris. He was taking a year off life and travelling around the world; it sounded awesome! We then went rollerblading for about 30 mintues, got a goody bag with a free athletic tank top and tons of useless samples and caught some dinner before heading it back to NTU. I definitely want to spend more time exploring the unique areas of Singapore and try out new things. I actually like wakeboarding and rollerblading, and would like to improve my skills a bit. I think flying halfway around the world warrants a bit of experimentation, don't you?
Alright I want to do a bit of work before the lab closes up, so I'll close up for now. Talk soon!
Easter in Saigon!
I've had an interest in Vietnam after watching so many war movies and t.v. shows with my Dad. When I found out I was coming to Singapore, I knew I had to make a point of visiting the country to see what it was really like.
After securing an extra day of leave, Sapna, Jens, Kristin and I decided to get out of Singapore and head to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) over Easter weekend (April 6-9). The flight and VISA cost us a mint at S$313 for the flight and S$70 for the VISA, but upon arrival, prices fall dramatically. If you can, I recommend going for longer than 3.5 days, but that is all we could manage with our work schedules.
After clearing customs, we caught a cab to the 'Red Sun Hostel' in the backpackers area of Saigon. It was awesome! I'd recommend it to anyone. It included breakfast which was a real treat; Vietnamese coffee is to die for!
The first day we basically ate WMF (white man food, for those of you who haven't read my previous posts), drank beer and Vietnamese coffee, and explored the city. I had some tailoring done, which cost me US$112 for 2 pairs of pants and 3 shirts. The quality is allright, but they didn't seem to understand that I wanted it 'fitted.' Even after an adjustments it still isn't quite right, so I'll have to find a tailor in Singapore and see what they can do.
The second day we took an organized tour of the Cu Chi tunnels, located about 70 km northwest of Saigon. These tunnels were used by the VC (Viet Cong) forces in their fight against the South Vietnamese and American troops. It was interesting to listen to the presentation because it was from a totally different perspective than we are used to. The Americans were the agressors this time, not the saviours trying to liberate the Vietnamese from communism repression. Vietnamese soldiers, even some women, were given medals for killing the most Americans, or destroying the most tanks. I really felt sorry for the Americans in the room when the tape was playing; they must have been terribly uncomfortale. After the tunnels, the tour bus dropped us off at the War Remnants Museum in Saigon. What resonates with me the most about the museum are the pictures illustrating how devestating Napalm and Agent Orange are, not only to the Vietnamese landscape, but more importantly to the people; burns and mutations were not uncommon, and their effects linger to this day.
After securing an extra day of leave, Sapna, Jens, Kristin and I decided to get out of Singapore and head to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) over Easter weekend (April 6-9). The flight and VISA cost us a mint at S$313 for the flight and S$70 for the VISA, but upon arrival, prices fall dramatically. If you can, I recommend going for longer than 3.5 days, but that is all we could manage with our work schedules.
After clearing customs, we caught a cab to the 'Red Sun Hostel' in the backpackers area of Saigon. It was awesome! I'd recommend it to anyone. It included breakfast which was a real treat; Vietnamese coffee is to die for!
The first day we basically ate WMF (white man food, for those of you who haven't read my previous posts), drank beer and Vietnamese coffee, and explored the city. I had some tailoring done, which cost me US$112 for 2 pairs of pants and 3 shirts. The quality is allright, but they didn't seem to understand that I wanted it 'fitted.' Even after an adjustments it still isn't quite right, so I'll have to find a tailor in Singapore and see what they can do.
The second day we took an organized tour of the Cu Chi tunnels, located about 70 km northwest of Saigon. These tunnels were used by the VC (Viet Cong) forces in their fight against the South Vietnamese and American troops. It was interesting to listen to the presentation because it was from a totally different perspective than we are used to. The Americans were the agressors this time, not the saviours trying to liberate the Vietnamese from communism repression. Vietnamese soldiers, even some women, were given medals for killing the most Americans, or destroying the most tanks. I really felt sorry for the Americans in the room when the tape was playing; they must have been terribly uncomfortale. After the tunnels, the tour bus dropped us off at the War Remnants Museum in Saigon. What resonates with me the most about the museum are the pictures illustrating how devestating Napalm and Agent Orange are, not only to the Vietnamese landscape, but more importantly to the people; burns and mutations were not uncommon, and their effects linger to this day.
The third day we took another organized tour down the Mekong River. This was slightly more 'touristy' than the Cu Chi tunnels, but I still had fun. We travelled in many old boats down the river, one of which was paddled by two women, saw a coconut candy factory, had lunch, fruit and tea (all at individual stops!), and of course had the opportunity to buy crafts. I opted to leave the souvenir purchases till the end; I don't want to end up with too much stuff. The highlight of this excursion was holding the python (twice!). I don't typically like snakes, but they assured me it had eaten recently and posed no danger. I guess they were right!
In the evenings we explored the city, visted the markets, drink lots of beer (Saigon beer is great in the heat!), sampled more coffee and tryie out some of the other local delights. Vietnamese spring rolls are a must have. Now a word on the coffee. It comes with a small percolator perched on top of the cup, and tastes slightly of almond. I take mine with condensed milk, which makes it a bit sweeter, but the girls had theirs black. Truly excellent.
I'm going to leave it there guys. Until next time!
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Weekend in Bintan, Indonesia: March 31-April 1
What does one do on the weekend when you don't have much time but you still want to get away? You go to Bintan, Indonesia!
Located about 1.5 hours southeast of Singapore by ferry, Bintan is a resort island for Singaporean tourists looking to get away. We intended to leave Singapore bright and early the morning of Saturday March 31st, but like all good students, we slept in and managed to miss the early ferry out. No matter, we still made it in fine form, with enough time to eat at KFC, take out money (after taking too long to decide how much), find a creepy cabby, have him dump us in his brother's 'resort' eat some good food, drink too much beer and make it back to Singapore on Sunday night.
Accommodations were more rustic than any of us were used to, but a good experience nonetheless. Sleeping over the water in an old shack, listening to the ocean at night, and experiencing rainfall in the morning were all worth it. Plus, it wasn't the girls who had the 'luxury' cockroach free, shower equipped bedroom, it was the guys! I was too tired to even offer to switch rooms when I found out they had a cockroach the size of a mouse in their room. What a gentleman. Sorry girls!
Initially we were scared of eating the food they prepared for us, but upon first bite we knew it was solid. For the equivalent of S$4.00 we ate rice, fish, cooked cabbage (delicious), various kinds of tofu (the girls opted for vegetarian fare), cuttle fish (like squid) and a few other delicacies that I can't remember. It was some of the best food I've had here, and I'm happy to inform you that Sapna thoroughly enjoyed every bite of her veggie food. Go Sapna!
All in all, it was a fun but restful weekend away, complete with cheap beer on the beach, sleeping in my first 'shack,' eating delicious food and bargaining with our 'honest' cabby. A word from the wise, never ever under any circumstance pay the cab drivers what they initially offer. You can always bargain the fare down. The rule is to start at half what they offer then barter; we'll nearly always pay more because we're white. We paid S$45 for a return journey but our cab driver's brother said we shouldn't have paid him more than S$17.00, so don't be afraid to haggle!
Here are a few pictures to put a face to what I described above:
Located about 1.5 hours southeast of Singapore by ferry, Bintan is a resort island for Singaporean tourists looking to get away. We intended to leave Singapore bright and early the morning of Saturday March 31st, but like all good students, we slept in and managed to miss the early ferry out. No matter, we still made it in fine form, with enough time to eat at KFC, take out money (after taking too long to decide how much), find a creepy cabby, have him dump us in his brother's 'resort' eat some good food, drink too much beer and make it back to Singapore on Sunday night.
Accommodations were more rustic than any of us were used to, but a good experience nonetheless. Sleeping over the water in an old shack, listening to the ocean at night, and experiencing rainfall in the morning were all worth it. Plus, it wasn't the girls who had the 'luxury' cockroach free, shower equipped bedroom, it was the guys! I was too tired to even offer to switch rooms when I found out they had a cockroach the size of a mouse in their room. What a gentleman. Sorry girls!
Initially we were scared of eating the food they prepared for us, but upon first bite we knew it was solid. For the equivalent of S$4.00 we ate rice, fish, cooked cabbage (delicious), various kinds of tofu (the girls opted for vegetarian fare), cuttle fish (like squid) and a few other delicacies that I can't remember. It was some of the best food I've had here, and I'm happy to inform you that Sapna thoroughly enjoyed every bite of her veggie food. Go Sapna!
All in all, it was a fun but restful weekend away, complete with cheap beer on the beach, sleeping in my first 'shack,' eating delicious food and bargaining with our 'honest' cabby. A word from the wise, never ever under any circumstance pay the cab drivers what they initially offer. You can always bargain the fare down. The rule is to start at half what they offer then barter; we'll nearly always pay more because we're white. We paid S$45 for a return journey but our cab driver's brother said we shouldn't have paid him more than S$17.00, so don't be afraid to haggle!
Here are a few pictures to put a face to what I described above:
Monday, March 12, 2007
Singalicktionary
I'll give 10 points to whoever correctly guesses what this word means. Carefully sound it out and then either post your response on my Facebook profile or within the comments section here!
Whiteys, Whitewashing and WMF
Some of you may have heard me talk about the 'WMF' and the 'Whiteys' here in Singapore, either on here or on my Facebook, but have no idea what I'm talking about. Well, I have finally managed to grab a few moments of my precious time to explain to you fine folk what these two words actually mean. You're in for a real treat tonight!
WMF simply means 'white man food,' and is a rendition of a phrase coined by one of my bestest fasian friends out there, Diana Wong! She came to Singapore on exchange about a year ago, and when she came home she started to call all our food 'white man food,' or 'WMF' for short. Ever since then, I've called anything that resembles 'western food' WMF. WMF is popular here in Singapore, but for some reason they think we eat porc'n'beans with every meal....
'Whitey' is a word I coined myself to represent the large expatriate (white) population in Sing. I was looking forward to being a 'visible minority' for once in my life, but that dream was shattered when I stepped on the plane in Tokyo en route to Singapore. Why you may ask? Because the whole damn plane was filled with whiteys! Jesus! The airport had even more of them. I was devastated.
Now I didn't start to call them whiteys right from the start; it took a few weeks to develop. One dayI realized that there are so many derogatory terms for Asians, Blacks, Latinos and every other race you can think of, but the worst they can throw in our white faces is 'gringo' or 'cracker.' Well I don't know about you, but gringo and cracker are pathetic and BOOOOO-RING.......so I decided that we need a new word. Hence 'whitey' was born.
I love going to Clark Quay and making fun of all the whiteys there (even though I am one). For those of you who have never been to Singapore, Clark Quay is about 95% 'expatriate' and 5% 'local'; and the locals are mostly the workers. While you are walking down the Quay you can really tell that it's been whitewashed with a bunch of whiteys devouring WMF.
I happen to think whitey is quite mild and tame, but I have got slack for using it. I have just one thing to say to you all: I AM WHITE. In fact, I'm about as white as you can get, and if I wanna call my people whitey I think I should be able to. So there.
Yours in white-ness
Sean
WMF simply means 'white man food,' and is a rendition of a phrase coined by one of my bestest fasian friends out there, Diana Wong! She came to Singapore on exchange about a year ago, and when she came home she started to call all our food 'white man food,' or 'WMF' for short. Ever since then, I've called anything that resembles 'western food' WMF. WMF is popular here in Singapore, but for some reason they think we eat porc'n'beans with every meal....
'Whitey' is a word I coined myself to represent the large expatriate (white) population in Sing. I was looking forward to being a 'visible minority' for once in my life, but that dream was shattered when I stepped on the plane in Tokyo en route to Singapore. Why you may ask? Because the whole damn plane was filled with whiteys! Jesus! The airport had even more of them. I was devastated.
Now I didn't start to call them whiteys right from the start; it took a few weeks to develop. One dayI realized that there are so many derogatory terms for Asians, Blacks, Latinos and every other race you can think of, but the worst they can throw in our white faces is 'gringo' or 'cracker.' Well I don't know about you, but gringo and cracker are pathetic and BOOOOO-RING.......so I decided that we need a new word. Hence 'whitey' was born.
I love going to Clark Quay and making fun of all the whiteys there (even though I am one). For those of you who have never been to Singapore, Clark Quay is about 95% 'expatriate' and 5% 'local'; and the locals are mostly the workers. While you are walking down the Quay you can really tell that it's been whitewashed with a bunch of whiteys devouring WMF.
I happen to think whitey is quite mild and tame, but I have got slack for using it. I have just one thing to say to you all: I AM WHITE. In fact, I'm about as white as you can get, and if I wanna call my people whitey I think I should be able to. So there.
Yours in white-ness
Sean
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Food a la Singapore
Unlike Canada and most other countries I've visited, it is much cheaper to eat out in Singapore than to prepare your own food at home. However, the average Singaporean doesn't eat at restaurants as we know them. Instead they eat at "Hawker Centres/Stalls." These are basically food centres where tons of private vendors sell their food at prices so cheap you'd almost think you were taking advantage of them. These stalls are not pretty and sometimes they look like they're dirty, but thanks to strict Singaporean health regulations, there is no risk of getting sick. For those who are interested, dictionary.com defines a Hawker as "One who sells goods aggressively, especially by calling out." This isn't how it works here. Everything is very calm and orderly, and nobody harasses you.
Everybody says to reserve your seat with a small packet of kleenex, but I usually just leave my bag at the table; so far nobody has stolen it. Alternatively, you can stand beside a table as they are eating. Seems a bit rude, but what else is there to do when the Hawker Centre is packed to the brim?!
Now on to the food!
I'm fairly easy going when it comes to food (except for smelly cheese), so I get along great in Singapore. The only difficult thing is deciphering what the Indian/Malay/Chinese names actually are! On many occasions, customers have explained dishes to me and helped me choose. How kind! One lady even got my tray for my, put the cutlery on it, gave me some sauces and told me what they were for. I was touched, to say the least!
The first day I was here, I had tandoori chicken, prata and a drink at an Indian stall at NTU for about S$3.50. What a bargain! Tandoori chicken is chicken coated with this red seasoning (don't know what it is exactly) then deep fried; very tasy, and also very fattening. Prata is a typical Indian bread generally served with a curry sauce. I prefer to eat mine with 'Dal' which is made from lentils. It has a bit more texture and is not as runny as the curry. So far, Indian food is probably my favorite, although I'm taking a break from Prata. Eating 4 of those a day is not healthy, but at S$0.60-S$1.00 they are a bargain!
When I need a carboydrate break, I try to eat soup. Soups here are nothing like ours back home. I've had 2 different varieties so far that I really like, and I forget the name of both. How convenient! One tasty dish is pork dumpling soup with home made noodles. I think everybody knows what pork dumplings are; no need to get into that. Home made noodles are also self-explanatory in that they are actually noodles made by hand. Dough is repeatedly pressed through a machine until it's the right thickness, then cut. They're a nice change from the dry pasta we eat at home.
Not surprisingly, McDonald's is the tried and true standby when I feel like familiar food or when the school canteen (school hawker centre) is shut down. It's a dangerous situation because a BigMac meal on campus will set you back about S$4.30 (C$3.50!). A good C$2.00 cheaper than back home! I try to sample the local delites as often as I can, but sometimes I just need a burger and fries.
There are many places along Clark Quay where we can sample many different types of WMF ('white man food'). Clark Quay is very pretty to walk around because it's beside the water, and is lined with bars and restaurants. If you want to be with a bunch of whiteys, it's the place to be. I've sampled some 'Mexican' food there, which was tasty but not so Mexican. I've also went to 'Brewerkz' which makes excellent hamburgers, and a sampling of other WMF.
A little about drinks:
While drinking alcohol in Singapore can be prohibitevly expensive, non-alcoholic drink are quite cheap. One of my favorites is 'Milo,' which tastes like a mix between ovaltine and hot chocolate. It's nice because it is not too strong or too sweet. I was unaware that we can actually get this at home, so pick some up if you'd like try it out! It's made by Nestle and comes in a green tin. You can still get the typical soft drinks here, although the cans are about 20 mL smaller. This will cost you anywhere from S$0.80-S$1.00 depending where you buy them. They have many different kinds of tea and coffee, but they call it 'teh' and 'kopi.' It's confusing when they have 'teh o' 'teh c' 'kopi o' and 'kopi c' on the menu. My understadning is that the o's and c's explain if it is black, or if it has milk and sugar in it. I'm not a big coffee drinker, so I still have to figure that out
I'll post an article sometime with some pictures of what I eat throughout the week.
Keep fit and have fun!
Sean
Everybody says to reserve your seat with a small packet of kleenex, but I usually just leave my bag at the table; so far nobody has stolen it. Alternatively, you can stand beside a table as they are eating. Seems a bit rude, but what else is there to do when the Hawker Centre is packed to the brim?!
Now on to the food!
I'm fairly easy going when it comes to food (except for smelly cheese), so I get along great in Singapore. The only difficult thing is deciphering what the Indian/Malay/Chinese names actually are! On many occasions, customers have explained dishes to me and helped me choose. How kind! One lady even got my tray for my, put the cutlery on it, gave me some sauces and told me what they were for. I was touched, to say the least!
The first day I was here, I had tandoori chicken, prata and a drink at an Indian stall at NTU for about S$3.50. What a bargain! Tandoori chicken is chicken coated with this red seasoning (don't know what it is exactly) then deep fried; very tasy, and also very fattening. Prata is a typical Indian bread generally served with a curry sauce. I prefer to eat mine with 'Dal' which is made from lentils. It has a bit more texture and is not as runny as the curry. So far, Indian food is probably my favorite, although I'm taking a break from Prata. Eating 4 of those a day is not healthy, but at S$0.60-S$1.00 they are a bargain!
When I need a carboydrate break, I try to eat soup. Soups here are nothing like ours back home. I've had 2 different varieties so far that I really like, and I forget the name of both. How convenient! One tasty dish is pork dumpling soup with home made noodles. I think everybody knows what pork dumplings are; no need to get into that. Home made noodles are also self-explanatory in that they are actually noodles made by hand. Dough is repeatedly pressed through a machine until it's the right thickness, then cut. They're a nice change from the dry pasta we eat at home.
Not surprisingly, McDonald's is the tried and true standby when I feel like familiar food or when the school canteen (school hawker centre) is shut down. It's a dangerous situation because a BigMac meal on campus will set you back about S$4.30 (C$3.50!). A good C$2.00 cheaper than back home! I try to sample the local delites as often as I can, but sometimes I just need a burger and fries.
There are many places along Clark Quay where we can sample many different types of WMF ('white man food'). Clark Quay is very pretty to walk around because it's beside the water, and is lined with bars and restaurants. If you want to be with a bunch of whiteys, it's the place to be. I've sampled some 'Mexican' food there, which was tasty but not so Mexican. I've also went to 'Brewerkz' which makes excellent hamburgers, and a sampling of other WMF.
A little about drinks:
While drinking alcohol in Singapore can be prohibitevly expensive, non-alcoholic drink are quite cheap. One of my favorites is 'Milo,' which tastes like a mix between ovaltine and hot chocolate. It's nice because it is not too strong or too sweet. I was unaware that we can actually get this at home, so pick some up if you'd like try it out! It's made by Nestle and comes in a green tin. You can still get the typical soft drinks here, although the cans are about 20 mL smaller. This will cost you anywhere from S$0.80-S$1.00 depending where you buy them. They have many different kinds of tea and coffee, but they call it 'teh' and 'kopi.' It's confusing when they have 'teh o' 'teh c' 'kopi o' and 'kopi c' on the menu. My understadning is that the o's and c's explain if it is black, or if it has milk and sugar in it. I'm not a big coffee drinker, so I still have to figure that out
I'll post an article sometime with some pictures of what I eat throughout the week.
Keep fit and have fun!
Sean
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Chinese New Year in Hong Kong
Chinese New Year is likely the biggest break I'll have during my time in Singapore, so Sapna and I decided to make good use of it and head somewhere special! Singapore more or less shuts down over Chinese New Year, so it wouldn't be an efficient use of holiday time to stay here. We racked our brains, talked to travel agents and locals, and after much deliberation decided on Hong Kong. At C$450.00 per person it wasn't a bargain flight, but the price was fair considering it was Chinese New Year. We left at 6:55a.m. Friday February 16th and came home Wednesday February 21st at 11:30p.m. This made for a difficult day at work the following morning, at least for me.
After landing, we hopped on the A21 airport express bus from Hong Kong International Airport to Mong Kok MTR station. We stayed at King Wah Hostel just right around the corner (although it still took us a good 20 minutes to find where exactly our hostel was!). Even though the transportation in Hong Kong is EXTREMELY efficient, it is still easy to get lost. The MTR (Subway system) stations can be particularly confusing being as there can be as many as 6 exits out of each station, all leading in different directions. We got lost going back to our hostel nearly everyday! We finally clued in and noted that exit 'B3' out of Mong Kok MTR station will take us to our hostel. Strange how it took us 5 days to realize this...I'm ashamed.
Our hostel looked super sketchy from the outside, especially considering that one of the entrances/exits was in a back alley complete with a rickety old freight elevator. Our room itself was more than adequate. We ordered a 2 bed private hostel with our OWN bathroom and a private air conditioner! I haven't been cool while I slept in over a month! It was heaven. Mong Kock is quite central, so we never had to travel far to get to where we wanted to go.
We hit pretty much everything up in our 6 days in Hong Kong. After a short nap on Friday, we went for dinner at Delaney's, an Irish Pub in TST. In the next days we went to the Hong Kong Museum of History, briefly viewed the Hong Kong Museum of Art, tried to watch the Near Year's parade (didn't see much due to poor location), and watched the New Year's fireworks. After the fireworks, we went to SoHo (which is awesome, and has the worlds longest escalator network snaking up the hill!) for dinner at an Italian place. We checked out Lan Kwai Fong to see the bars and people watch, the Aqua Spirit bar (Hong Kong's sky bar on the 29th floor of a tower, complete with a great view!), Luk Yu in Central for Dim Sum (more for the ambiance than anything else), visited the largest sitting Buddha in the world on LanTau island and of course visited the shopping streets, including Stanley Market. I picked up 2 track jackets to wear when it's chilly, one of those Adidas tank tops that whisks away the sweat for wearing in my room when it's hot, and two pairs of shoes.
Getting custom made clothing is common in Asia. I decided against getting some garments made in Hong Kong because I was only there for 6 days. I need some new pants and a few light shirts, so I may look into it after pay-day. Gotta find a good tailor here in Singapore or head over to Vietnam where a friend assures me they can copy anything I'd like in about a day! It almost sounds like LensCrafters: 'ready in about a day.'
There are a few more interesting stories, but I'll just have to tell you in person because they won't translate well over the internet. Here are two you can ask me about:
1) Cab driver freaking out
2) Butt crack girl in Lan Kwai Fong
Bye for now!
Sean
After landing, we hopped on the A21 airport express bus from Hong Kong International Airport to Mong Kok MTR station. We stayed at King Wah Hostel just right around the corner (although it still took us a good 20 minutes to find where exactly our hostel was!). Even though the transportation in Hong Kong is EXTREMELY efficient, it is still easy to get lost. The MTR (Subway system) stations can be particularly confusing being as there can be as many as 6 exits out of each station, all leading in different directions. We got lost going back to our hostel nearly everyday! We finally clued in and noted that exit 'B3' out of Mong Kok MTR station will take us to our hostel. Strange how it took us 5 days to realize this...I'm ashamed.
Our hostel looked super sketchy from the outside, especially considering that one of the entrances/exits was in a back alley complete with a rickety old freight elevator. Our room itself was more than adequate. We ordered a 2 bed private hostel with our OWN bathroom and a private air conditioner! I haven't been cool while I slept in over a month! It was heaven. Mong Kock is quite central, so we never had to travel far to get to where we wanted to go.
We hit pretty much everything up in our 6 days in Hong Kong. After a short nap on Friday, we went for dinner at Delaney's, an Irish Pub in TST. In the next days we went to the Hong Kong Museum of History, briefly viewed the Hong Kong Museum of Art, tried to watch the Near Year's parade (didn't see much due to poor location), and watched the New Year's fireworks. After the fireworks, we went to SoHo (which is awesome, and has the worlds longest escalator network snaking up the hill!) for dinner at an Italian place. We checked out Lan Kwai Fong to see the bars and people watch, the Aqua Spirit bar (Hong Kong's sky bar on the 29th floor of a tower, complete with a great view!), Luk Yu in Central for Dim Sum (more for the ambiance than anything else), visited the largest sitting Buddha in the world on LanTau island and of course visited the shopping streets, including Stanley Market. I picked up 2 track jackets to wear when it's chilly, one of those Adidas tank tops that whisks away the sweat for wearing in my room when it's hot, and two pairs of shoes.
Getting custom made clothing is common in Asia. I decided against getting some garments made in Hong Kong because I was only there for 6 days. I need some new pants and a few light shirts, so I may look into it after pay-day. Gotta find a good tailor here in Singapore or head over to Vietnam where a friend assures me they can copy anything I'd like in about a day! It almost sounds like LensCrafters: 'ready in about a day.'
There are a few more interesting stories, but I'll just have to tell you in person because they won't translate well over the internet. Here are two you can ask me about:
1) Cab driver freaking out
2) Butt crack girl in Lan Kwai Fong
Bye for now!
Sean
Singapore, Pulau Ubin etc.
Hey all,
I'm going to use this entry to quickly update everybody on what's been happening from when I arrived until just before my trip to Hong Kong. It'll be quite general, but what I've been doing is quite general so it all fits together nicely...
I'm going to use this entry to quickly update everybody on what's been happening from when I arrived until just before my trip to Hong Kong. It'll be quite general, but what I've been doing is quite general so it all fits together nicely...
An outline of a typical day in the life of Sean:
1. Get up around 7:00-7:15a.m., get washed up, put on my wet clothes (result of the humidity) and walk to the bus stop with Jens (my German roomate) for about 7:35-7:40a.m.
2. Arrive at 'Boon Lay' MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) station and meet Sapna at about 8a.m. give or take a few minutes. Get onto the train (hopefully with a seat!) then go to 'Outram Park Interchange' MRT station where we change to yet another train for the 3 minute journey to 'Harbour Front Centre' MRT station. This is where I work.
3. Sapna gets her daily Cappuccino from Swiss Bake then we head upstairs, I pour some cereal, toast some toast and eat breakfast. For those wondering, the office has a fridge, so I can keep milk cold.
4. Start work about 9a.m., and go until about 1:00p.m. then head downstairs for lunch at one of the food courts. Food here is generally cheap at the hawker centers so it's not too expensive. I'll do another entry later strictly on food.
5. Head out from work about 6:15p.m. then re-trace my routing back to my dorm. I usually eat supper on campus so I can see the other exchange student.
6. Walk home!,
7. If I need to send some e-mails or upload pictures, I'll either use Jens' computer while he's at the gym, or duck into the computer lab in my hall. The lab is air conditioned so I like being in there when it's hot outside.
8. Bed time!
Weekends are less structured, praise Jesus. We may go out Friday night, sleep in Saturday morning, do some shopping and other errands on Saturday, go out Saturday night (if we didn't on Friday), then leave Sunday as a free day. I like having one day of the week where I can lay in bed all day if I really want to, or get up and do something. I still have to check out the night zoo, which sounds like something fun to do on a Sunday night. We'll see.
Bars, nightlife, etc.:
I'm not usually a bar-star but I've decided that I can't always just go home after work and go to bed (although many days that's precisely what I want to do!). So far I've been to 2 live music lounges, which were great. The first one is called Wala Wala in Holland village, which is a neat little area (don't know much about it though). The second is called Timbre. Both really good times. Bars in Singapore are typically very expensive, so you have to get there early enough for the 1 for 1 specials (what we call 2 for 1). This way you can get 2 beer or 2 drinks for about S$14.00 instead of just one! Alcohol is notoriously expensive here, so in order to get any value for your money, these are the way to go. If I wanted to get trashed I'd just drink before I leave, but that's never my intention! What's the obsession with being totally drunk?!
We've been trying to go to the New Asia Bar which is a sky bar at the top of SunTec towers. The floor slopes down 20degrees so that you get a better view of the city, so it sounds really cool! Each time we try to go there our plans change, so hopefully it pans out soon.
Pulau Ubin:
Pulau Ubin is a small Singaporean island not far from the 'mainland.' We took a trip there a few week-ends ago to go biking. It is less developed than Singapore, which you can see from the picture below. It was an interesting experience, plus the first time in ages that I'd ridden a bicycle. It's true that you never forget! Along the way we stopped off for a coconut juice, which is basically a coconut with the top chopped off. I had to ask for ice to put in mine to make it cold (not sure if it's supposed to be eaten natural or not, but I prefer cold drinks). I don't really like them that much, but you have to try everything at least once, right?
I'm going to close it off for now, see ya
Sean
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Arriving into Singapore
I arrived into Singapore Changi airport on Tuesday, January 16th, at about 11:40 p.m. This airport is the picture of efficiency: In the space of about 25 minutes I was off the plane, through customs, placed a phone call to my friend who had my room key, retrieved my bags and exchanged some money at the American Express currency exchange place. Pretty good 'eh?! For those of you who know me, you'll be surprised to hear that I DIDN'T get any photos of the airport to post here. Rest assured, those will come next week when I return from my Chinese New Year vacation in Hong Kong!
I got in one of the many cabs waiting outside of arrivals and made my way to 'Hall 7,' my new home for the next 8 months (unfortunately public transport stops around 11:30p.m. or so). The airport and the University campus (NTU) are literally on opposite ends of the island, so on top of being a long cab journey, there are also a plethora of additional charges after 11:30p.m. I've taken the liberty of outlining them for you below:
Kind of amazing how they've segmented 11:30-12:00. Needless to say, I had to pay an extra 50% of the fare, so that trip cost me a good S$40 or about C$32. That's not bad considering what you'd pay back in Canada for a trip the same length, but still shoddy considering the train and bus would cost about S$3.00.
After the cabbie dropped me off, I just chilled on the front steps of the residence and watched the 'Hall 7 Cheerleading Team' practice their routine while I was waiting for my friend to walk across campus to deliver my key. Now it's important to remember that by this time it was nearly 1:00a.m. Cheerleading at 1:00 in the morning?! What have I got myself into?! I've even caught them having *gasp* chess tournaments at 11:00p.m. as I'm coming home! There is simply no justification for such behaviour on a University campus; I may have to report them to the authorities! Okay, I'll stop poking fun now. I'm just used to students being slightly more 'naughty'. In their defence, winning the inter hall games (why they have a cheerleading team) guarantees them a better residence the next year, and I'm sure there is some cool perk to playing chess, I just haven't figured it out quite yet....
The next day I got up earlier than I wanted, went and signed my hall forms, paid some student fees at the Student Services Centre and then went to the "Immigration and Checkpoints Authority" to pick up my student pass (two green cards I have to carry with me all the time, as they are my official identification here). They normally take 2 days, but I giggled and fluttered my eyelashed and the man agreed to have it done my 2:00 that afternoon (okay, hell would freeze over before I ever did anything like that, but it sure sounds fun doesn't it!?). The real deal is that I needed the student pass to go to work the next day, and I told him that I had already arrived into Singapore quite late (which is the absolute truth, scouts honour) so they whipped it up real quick.
Okay kids, you're getting off easy tonight. I'm tired, so I'm going back to my room to get all hot and sweaty; it's super humid here and I don't have A/C in my dorm.
Cheerio and much love to you all!
I got in one of the many cabs waiting outside of arrivals and made my way to 'Hall 7,' my new home for the next 8 months (unfortunately public transport stops around 11:30p.m. or so). The airport and the University campus (NTU) are literally on opposite ends of the island, so on top of being a long cab journey, there are also a plethora of additional charges after 11:30p.m. I've taken the liberty of outlining them for you below:
11.30pm to 11.44pm --> 10% of metered taxi fare
11.45pm to 11.59pm --> 20% of metered taxi fare
12 midnight to 12.59am --> 35% of metered taxi fare
1.00am to 6.00am --> 50% of metered taxi fare
11.45pm to 11.59pm --> 20% of metered taxi fare
12 midnight to 12.59am --> 35% of metered taxi fare
1.00am to 6.00am --> 50% of metered taxi fare
Kind of amazing how they've segmented 11:30-12:00. Needless to say, I had to pay an extra 50% of the fare, so that trip cost me a good S$40 or about C$32. That's not bad considering what you'd pay back in Canada for a trip the same length, but still shoddy considering the train and bus would cost about S$3.00.
After the cabbie dropped me off, I just chilled on the front steps of the residence and watched the 'Hall 7 Cheerleading Team' practice their routine while I was waiting for my friend to walk across campus to deliver my key. Now it's important to remember that by this time it was nearly 1:00a.m. Cheerleading at 1:00 in the morning?! What have I got myself into?! I've even caught them having *gasp* chess tournaments at 11:00p.m. as I'm coming home! There is simply no justification for such behaviour on a University campus; I may have to report them to the authorities! Okay, I'll stop poking fun now. I'm just used to students being slightly more 'naughty'. In their defence, winning the inter hall games (why they have a cheerleading team) guarantees them a better residence the next year, and I'm sure there is some cool perk to playing chess, I just haven't figured it out quite yet....
The next day I got up earlier than I wanted, went and signed my hall forms, paid some student fees at the Student Services Centre and then went to the "Immigration and Checkpoints Authority" to pick up my student pass (two green cards I have to carry with me all the time, as they are my official identification here). They normally take 2 days, but I giggled and fluttered my eyelashed and the man agreed to have it done my 2:00 that afternoon (okay, hell would freeze over before I ever did anything like that, but it sure sounds fun doesn't it!?). The real deal is that I needed the student pass to go to work the next day, and I told him that I had already arrived into Singapore quite late (which is the absolute truth, scouts honour) so they whipped it up real quick.
Okay kids, you're getting off easy tonight. I'm tired, so I'm going back to my room to get all hot and sweaty; it's super humid here and I don't have A/C in my dorm.
Cheerio and much love to you all!
This is a picture of the covered walkways all around campus, so you don't get soaked (as bad) when the torrential rains decide to dump upon us without notice.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Goin' to Seattle
This is the first post on my new Blog, Singarich. It will be one of my communication tools while I am in Singapore so that I can recount my experiences here to all of you. My University has also commissioned me to be an 'Ambassador Abroad' during my stay, so this fulfills part of my requirements for this as well! Double whammy if I do say so myself.
Okay, here goes:
I left Edmonton January 16th, 2007 on the 13h05 Alaska Airlines flight en route to Seattle, Washington. Unlike most other students, I chose to fly through Seattle because my mommie was gracious enough to give me the flight coupon she wasn't going to use, so I got to fly to Seattle for FREE. The next day I connected with United Airlines flight which I purchased from Travel Cuts USA. The only reason I say where I bough it (most of you probably couldn't care less) is because I got a steal of a deal at 950USD including a 4 day stop-over in Tokyo on my way home. Needless to so, I am quite happy with the price, but at the same time am somewhat peeved that the price is a good 30-40% cheaper than what we'd pay in Canada. Mais comme les Francais disent, c'est la vie....
Tyler and Paige picked me up at SeaTac airport. I conned them into driving down from Vancouver to spend some quality time with me (and be my chauffer). We went for dinner at P.F. Chang's and Paige got all pissy (love you Paiger!) because we didn't get straws with our drinks. I pointed out that nobody else had straws in their water and that maybe American's don't use straws, just like they don't eat gravy with their fries (which is plain crazy talk if you ask me, but who am I to judge?). In fact Americans do use straws, and I actually have no idea why we got the shaft at P.F. Chang's!
After dinner, we went strolling around downtown for a bit, and spend some time at Nordstrom Rack and at Abercrombie & Fitch (like we don't already have A&F in Canada.....). Thankfully nobody fingered us OR threw money at us with the ever-so-welcoming 'Get the FUCK out of our goddamned country' like last time we were in Seattle (I do apologize for the cursive language). I was quite pleased.
Tyler and Paige took off early because Ty had to work the next day, so I went back to my hostel (the Green Tortois right-smack downtown, which I highly recommend). I didn't feel like busting loose and going bar hopping by myself (because that's lame) so I got myself together and walked to the movie theatre and bought the next available ticket for 'Babel'. It was an intersting flick, complete with disturbing scenes of a young deaf Japanese girl's vagina (don't ask, just see the movie please). It is a film composed of 4 different story lines that are all connected in some way or another. It is not a 'feel good after you leave the cinema' type of movie.
The next morning, I got up early-ish, packed my things and went downstairs to see what kind of free breakfast was on offer. To my astonishment, I was greeted by fresh fruit, cottage cheese, and two waffle makers! This wasn't half bad after all! I made myself a small cinnamon waffle with some cottage cheese and fruit, then decided that I'd better have another (regular) one just incase they didn't feed me much on the airplane ('cause you never know with airlines these days...) After the second delicious waffle, I walked into the kitchen to deposit my dishes in the sink. And what was I greeted by? Eggs and toast, with peanut butter and jam. Well, CRAP! Out came the frying pan and the toaster and down went my third breakfast in the space of about 20 minutes. It's funny how I HAD to eat a bit of everyything 'just because I paid for it.' Crazy...
After checking out, I walked out of the hostel to catch the bus to the airport. A bunch of cabbies saw my luggage and motioned for me to get in, but they must have bumped their heads because there was no way I was going to pay $25USD when the bus costs $1.50. Silly men. Where's the common sense?
After checking in, I caught the train to the other terminal, sat around for a while, then decided I had better eat again before boarding the plane to Tokyo (just incase!). For those of you who are interested, we ate about 2 hours after take-off, and again I HAD to eat it 'just because I paid for it.' So that's like what....5 meals in the space of 4 hours?
Here's a tip for all you guys out there: If you notice the plane has some empty seats (as my Tokyo to Singapore flight had) just COUGH your lungs out and the scary woman next to you will call the flight attendant over, start blabbering away in Chinese, and simply DEMAND another seat! You can then lift up the arm rest, scrunched yourself into a ball and have a nice little nap. :)
This is officially too long now, so I'm going to stop talking
Yours in travells,
Sean
1) Welcome to Canada
2) Alaska Airlines CRJ
3) Hostel room at Green Toirtoise
4) Hallway at Green Tortoise
5) Flight monitor - going to Tokyo!
6) My UA Boeing 777
7) My seat - nobody beside me!
Okay, here goes:
I left Edmonton January 16th, 2007 on the 13h05 Alaska Airlines flight en route to Seattle, Washington. Unlike most other students, I chose to fly through Seattle because my mommie was gracious enough to give me the flight coupon she wasn't going to use, so I got to fly to Seattle for FREE. The next day I connected with United Airlines flight which I purchased from Travel Cuts USA. The only reason I say where I bough it (most of you probably couldn't care less) is because I got a steal of a deal at 950USD including a 4 day stop-over in Tokyo on my way home. Needless to so, I am quite happy with the price, but at the same time am somewhat peeved that the price is a good 30-40% cheaper than what we'd pay in Canada. Mais comme les Francais disent, c'est la vie....
Tyler and Paige picked me up at SeaTac airport. I conned them into driving down from Vancouver to spend some quality time with me (and be my chauffer). We went for dinner at P.F. Chang's and Paige got all pissy (love you Paiger!) because we didn't get straws with our drinks. I pointed out that nobody else had straws in their water and that maybe American's don't use straws, just like they don't eat gravy with their fries (which is plain crazy talk if you ask me, but who am I to judge?). In fact Americans do use straws, and I actually have no idea why we got the shaft at P.F. Chang's!
After dinner, we went strolling around downtown for a bit, and spend some time at Nordstrom Rack and at Abercrombie & Fitch (like we don't already have A&F in Canada.....). Thankfully nobody fingered us OR threw money at us with the ever-so-welcoming 'Get the FUCK out of our goddamned country' like last time we were in Seattle (I do apologize for the cursive language). I was quite pleased.
Tyler and Paige took off early because Ty had to work the next day, so I went back to my hostel (the Green Tortois right-smack downtown, which I highly recommend). I didn't feel like busting loose and going bar hopping by myself (because that's lame) so I got myself together and walked to the movie theatre and bought the next available ticket for 'Babel'. It was an intersting flick, complete with disturbing scenes of a young deaf Japanese girl's vagina (don't ask, just see the movie please). It is a film composed of 4 different story lines that are all connected in some way or another. It is not a 'feel good after you leave the cinema' type of movie.
The next morning, I got up early-ish, packed my things and went downstairs to see what kind of free breakfast was on offer. To my astonishment, I was greeted by fresh fruit, cottage cheese, and two waffle makers! This wasn't half bad after all! I made myself a small cinnamon waffle with some cottage cheese and fruit, then decided that I'd better have another (regular) one just incase they didn't feed me much on the airplane ('cause you never know with airlines these days...) After the second delicious waffle, I walked into the kitchen to deposit my dishes in the sink. And what was I greeted by? Eggs and toast, with peanut butter and jam. Well, CRAP! Out came the frying pan and the toaster and down went my third breakfast in the space of about 20 minutes. It's funny how I HAD to eat a bit of everyything 'just because I paid for it.' Crazy...
After checking out, I walked out of the hostel to catch the bus to the airport. A bunch of cabbies saw my luggage and motioned for me to get in, but they must have bumped their heads because there was no way I was going to pay $25USD when the bus costs $1.50. Silly men. Where's the common sense?
After checking in, I caught the train to the other terminal, sat around for a while, then decided I had better eat again before boarding the plane to Tokyo (just incase!). For those of you who are interested, we ate about 2 hours after take-off, and again I HAD to eat it 'just because I paid for it.' So that's like what....5 meals in the space of 4 hours?
Here's a tip for all you guys out there: If you notice the plane has some empty seats (as my Tokyo to Singapore flight had) just COUGH your lungs out and the scary woman next to you will call the flight attendant over, start blabbering away in Chinese, and simply DEMAND another seat! You can then lift up the arm rest, scrunched yourself into a ball and have a nice little nap. :)
This is officially too long now, so I'm going to stop talking
Yours in travells,
Sean
1) Welcome to Canada
2) Alaska Airlines CRJ
3) Hostel room at Green Toirtoise
4) Hallway at Green Tortoise
5) Flight monitor - going to Tokyo!
6) My UA Boeing 777
7) My seat - nobody beside me!
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