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MALAYSIA AND LAOS
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Kuala Lumpur
Mark had work in Malaysia early in Feb so we decided this would be a good time for me to tag along as he had the hotel room. The not-quite 1 hour flight was about $90 SGD round trip.
We were there from Monday evening to Thursday evening, and stayed at Le Meridien Hotel in Petaling Jaya which is about 30 mins west of downtown KL. I had looked for group tours but to no avail- they offered only private tours, which would have been costly as it was just me- no one to split the cost. However, a fellow traveller from one of my Facebook groups recommended a local driver, Ayup, so I hired him for 8 hours on Tuesday and 4 hours on Wed. He was great! Normally he gets bookings through hotels, however hiring him directly took the extra hotel fees off. For 50 Malaysian Ringgit per hour (approx. $15 SGD/hr), he drove me around and provided some great information about the area. I didn’t have to navigate the transit system, and I felt safe which was an extra bonus.
First thing Tuesday morning, we headed about 45 mins northeast to the Batu Caves. Ayup accompanied me up the gazillion (272) brightly painted stairs to the main cave entrance. One of the most popular Hindu shrines outside of India, it’s the focal point of Thaipusam in Malaysia with over a million devotees attending over the weekend before I arrived (remember the skewered people from my last blog?)
Beside these stairs is the Murugan statue- at 42.7m (140 ft) it is the tallest statue of a Hindu deity in Malaysia and the third tallest in the world. Built by Tamil Malaysians, it took 3 years to construct, and 300 litres of gold paint. It was completed in 2006.
Inside the cave were a few temples that people were giving offerings to (milk pots and other items). Along the stairs into the cave there were A LOT of monkeys to navigate around. As it was just after the 3-day holiday weekend, there was quite a bit of trash/food on the ground, so the monkeys were quite happy and didn’t bother anyone for food. Ayup said that eventually this trash would be cleaned up and then the monkeys would become more brazen. He was not fond of their cute little selves.
From Batu Caves, we went further north to Genting Highlands. I took a cable car to the top of the mountain where there was a huge mall, casino and two amusement parks (indoor and outdoor). Apparently, decades ago, even though gambling was illegal in Malaysia, Chinese visitors would go to this mountain to gamble. The Malaysian government decided to capitalize on this and authorized legal gambling ONLY at Genting Highlands. So, a casino was built and is quite the attraction…if you have money. There was nothing cheap about anything up on that hill. I took the cable car back down and Ayup took me to a beautiful Chinese temple on the side of the mountain.
Then back to downtown KL where I explored the amazing bird park. I’m a bit wary of peacocks, and there were quite a few roaming around, but aside from that it was a very nice large park.
Day 2 we explored more of downtown. I went up the KL Tower which stands 420m tall and is currently the world’s 7th tallest tower. I wanted to go up the Petronus Twin Towers (451.9m) however you need to purchase the tickets 24 hours in advance which I didn’t know. Interesting wiki info: On Sept 1, 2009, a crazy French urban climber scaled to the top of Tower Two in just under 2 hours using only his bare hands and feet, no safety devices. Another insane male human- check.
The third tower in KL is the Merdeka 118 which, when completed, will stand at 678.9m (2,227 ft) and will be the second tallest building in the world behind the Burj Khalifa (828m/2,717ft). Mark saw the Burj Khalifa from a distance when he was in Dubai last summer.
We also went to a local indoor market which was nice- mostly clothing and household goods.
Overall, I liked Kuala Lumpur for the 2+ days I was there. The people were nice, I felt relatively safe, there’s a lot of green open spaces, and it wasn’t as crazy at Bangkok, although the traffic could be pretty gnarly during rush hour as with any big city. It was definitely much cheaper than Singapore.
On Feb 21, I went with a friend to the Dance of the Fire Dragon which is held once every three years at the Chinese temple Mun San Fook Tuck Chee here in Singapore. Unique to this temple, this dance is performed in celebration of the earth’s deity feast day which is the second day of the second month in the lunar calendar. This dragon, which was over 60m in length, costs more than $10,000 to make. When we arrived, we entered the tent area attached to the temple where it was super smoky. Everyone had tears streaming from their eyes…. but they were all smiling and excited. It was a very festive and noisy atmosphere. We watched as the dragon was pierced with more than 4,000 lit incense sticks. Once it was ready, a bunch of men, from head to tail, carried the dragon outdoors and down the street to the beat of drums and cymbals in a sort of dance. At the end of the performance, the dragon would be lit on fire and burned. We didn’t stay to the end- our eyes couldn’t take any more of the smoke- but it was a really cool experience.
Laos
From Mar 11-16, six of us AWA ladies went to Laos. Our trip was approx. SGD $1300 per person- including flight and hotel, daily tour guide, transportation within the country (train/van), entry fees to various places, breakfast every day, dinner one night and a food tour. Not too shabby. The direct flight took 3 hours from Singapore.
The group included me and Mary (Canada), Tori (US), Ulla (Denmark), Basma (Lebanon), and Sarita (Nepal). They are a great bunch- low-keyed but up for a good time.
Laos is a truly magical country which I would highly recommend visiting. The people were all so kind and gentle (Buddhist), the food was amazing, everything was super cheap, and I felt very safe (I keep mentioning this fact but as a woman it’s definitely something to consider). We used a tour company based in Vietnam who booked everything but our plane tickets (we booked our own)- it was a very smooth trip…until the end.
We arrived in the capital of Vientiane and spent the first day and a half touring around. With a population of just over 1 million, it was under French rule from 1893 until 1953 when it became an independent state. With all the French influence, there are a ton of French cafes and restaurants which was unexpected…unless you know Laos history I guess, which I did not. Sadly, I knew next to nothing about this country (they don’t pronounce the “s” at the end btw).
The Vietnam War was a huge problem for these people and there continues to be unexploded bombs staggered throughout the country which has been a deadly hazard to them, children included. It’s despicable. But I digress. Sorry.
Our guide, Joi, took us to the Friendship Bridge which spans the Mekong River and is at the border of Laos and Thailand. Apparently, the Aussies spent the money to build the bridge to assist with development in Laos. When you drive from one country into the next, the driver has to switch sides of the road. Craziness. I’m glad I don’t drive in SEA.
We also went to the Buddha Park, walked through Patuxai (Victory Gate) and some temples.
On Day 2, we took the newish Lao-China Railway (LCR) about 2 hours north to Luang Prabang (pop approx. 55,000). The train was packed full- lots of locals, backpackers and tourists. Here, we stayed in a more traditional hotel (Villa Maydou- owned by a local Laos woman and her French hubby) which was on the same grounds as a local temple. Every morning at 4am the drums would sound to wake the monks for their prayers and to receive their morning alms. There were roosters, geckos and toads- lots of nature around us even though we were in the heart of Luang Prabang city.
Day 3, we jumped in a very long local boat and went up the Mekong River to Manifa Elephant Sanctuary. Laos was once known at the “land of a million elephants”, but there are now only approx. 1200 elephants left in the country- 800 wild, 400 “domesticated”. This is due to continued illegal poaching which is heart wrenching when you see these gentle giants up close. This sanctuary is on almost 100 hectares of land and the elephants roam freely with veterinarians on staff.
When we arrived, the staff (mahout -elephant caregiver/trainer) gave us a brief history of the sanctuary and tried to dispel the negative information out there about abuse of elephants at these types of places; that they were in fact trying to expand the population and had 2 young elephants on the property (not exposed to visitors to keep them healthy). The lead mahout reported that their oldest elephant died a few years ago at age 96!
They had a few elephants nearby for us to interact with and provide some food. It was surreal how sweet they were, and how powerful their trunks are. We fed them bananas and bamboo (for the sugar/water). Then they put some type of saddles on, and we climbed aboard, two per elephant. On foot, the mahouts, using verbal cues, guided them along a small stream and through part of the property. Once we were back to the feeding area, we walked down to the river where we had the privilege of washing them….and they seemed happy to dunk us. It was a beautiful experience.
Back on the boat and over to a cliff temple full of buddhas. Lunch was also along the river- delicious local food. Yum.
Speaking of food, our tour guide in Luang Prabang, Sit, took us on a food tasting adventure that evening. We went to the local outdoor market and could taste anything that we wanted. If we pointed to something, he would explain what it was and then buy it for us to try. TBH we weren’t too entirely adventurous for the primary reason that when we asked what happens to the leftover food that had been sitting out for hours with hordes of people walking by (there was A LOT of food), he said “No problem. Put in fridge and good for next day.” Um no.
There were also things like fried silkworm and crickets. Hard no. However we did find some interesting things to eat: tamarind pods (sticky mess but ok), seasoned river seaweed (not bad actually), beef jerky, coconut waffles (the best), coconut pancakes (custard texture inside), sapodilla fruit (not very good but Sit said it wasn’t yet ripe so not sweet enough), steamed bamboo (meh), steamed spring rolls with a spicy sauce (really good), grilled egg-coated sticky rice (blah), egg bbq (interesting and tasty), grilled honeycomb (surprisingly not sweet).
The night food market was huge and busy, and probably half of the people there were tourists/expats/foreigners. There was a super festive vibe and I noticed quite a few beer “towers” on the tables- Luang Prabang beer was really quite good, and I don’t usually drink beer.
There was also a huge goods market - clothing, purses, jewellery, tapestries/fabrics, trinkets etc etc. It was blocks long and very busy. A few of my fellow travellers bought multiple purses – knock offs of Tori Burch and Chanel to name a few- and silk scarves for under SGD$10. Some people would barter, but I just didn’t have it in me as these people are not rich by any means. A few dollars make more of a difference to them than to me. What I appreciated the most, aside from the prices and beautiful fabrics, was that they didn’t harass us as we went by. That’s unusual for SEA markets.
The next morning at 0530, we jumped in the van, ensuring that our knees and shoulders were covered, and headed across town to a quiet street. The 6 of us were lined up on a rug-covered stretch of sidewalk, provided with a stool, a traditional prayer scarf to wear, a plastic glove and a rattan container packed with hot sticky rice. By 0600, the first of approx. 200 monks started coming by for alms giving.
Alms giving is a sacred Buddhist ritual that has gone on for a very long time. You silently give money (in a plastic bag so it doesn’t stick to the food), sticky rice and other local food items to the monks. They eat twice per day. Once back at the temple, they divide their goods among each other, taking what they will consume, and giving the leftover to the neediest in the community.
Our tour guide, Sit, was a monk from the age of 13-20, so he provided us with a very detailed history of monks and their practice. Some of these children that came by looked so young and sweet. He said the youngest you could send your child is 10 years old. Most villagers send their children as they will be better fed, housed and educated at the temples. They need to learn to follow 10 precepts, like commandments. If you move on to become a full-fledged monk, there are 227 precepts. Some of the precepts are crazy ie. not to sleep with an armed troop for more than three consecutive nights; not to accept a floor carpet that is, for more than half of it, made with black sheep wool and a quarter in white wool; not to tickle. That one made me giggle. Look them up- the basics make sense, then they go off the rails a bit IMHO.
Other interesting facts as told by Sit- they aren’t allowed to wear sunglasses so they would be seen if they looked at a woman; they aren’t allowed to look at a woman for longer than 5 seconds to prevent them from developing “desires”. During alms giving, we lay people were to sit below them while providing the alms and avoid eye contact as a show of respect. One of my fellow travellers blew it as you’ll see in my photos below. But it’s such a cute picture.
One last activity we were able to participate in was traditional fabric dyeing (batik) at a place called Ock Pop Tok – which means East meets West; founded by a British woman and Lao woman. We were educated about the life of a silkworm- about 45 days start to “finish”; they kill the moth in utero so it doesn’t burrow out and break the silk threads- sad.
There were some local Laos women who were weaving rugs, scarves, tablecloths and other beautiful pieces. Then we were taught how to dye our own scarf and 2 table napkins. Using things like Annatto tree seeds, ground with mortar and pestle and then boiled, would give you the monk robe’s orange colour. Wood from the sappan tree, cut into smaller slivers and boiled, would give you pink, purple, red, depending on if you soaked it in ash, lime or alum water before you boiled it. It was a fun activity to do together, and the place was right on the Mekong River so the views were amazing.
At the end of the day, our tour guide took us to the Luang Prabang visitor centre. This was a sobering time as it focused on how the country continues to recover from the years of war. There was a chart documenting the number of unexploded bombs discovered and disarmed, and how many injuries/deaths by year of the many bombs that are missed. There were a lot of incidents mainly due to children digging in the dirt, which is what children do….dig. Then they lose their lives or limbs or vision/hearing. It was sad- and maddening- these poor people are still paying for the war between other countries, just because they live next door. I’m sure there’s more to it than that, but I’ll move on.
After 3 nights in Luang Prabang we headed for the train station to return to Vientiane. At the station, a lovely young lady approached us and asked if we would mind watching her bags while she went to the bathroom. It turns out she’s 22 years old and a recent university grad from B.C. She’s backpacking for a year through Asia, Australia/NZ. We had a lovely chat with her; she said she was comforted to see all of us moms as it reminded her of home. Her plan was to finish up Laos and Thailand, go through Singapore on her way to Australia then NZ where she has applied to work at a ski resort for their winter months (to provide her with some additional funds). Eventually, she’ll return to Canada to start working.
After a brief discussion, she decided to come to stay with me for the 2 nights she’ll be in Singapore (instead of the hostel that she booked), and us ladies will take her out for dinner and show her the local sights- basically mother her for that short time. We all have young adult kids who we miss terribly, so she’ll be smothered whether she likes it or not 😊
Overall, Laos was an amazing country to visit, although I blew it on our last night. We were so good for the days we spent there. We avoided raw vegetables/lettuce and tap water/ice. We all stayed healthy…. until I ordered a pina colada at the roof top bar at our very nice hotel. Most of the other ladies ordered beer, one ordered a bottle of water. Within about 10-15 mins I was projectile vomiting in the bathroom. It wasn’t a pretty flight home the next morning either. Lesson re-learned. Bottled or canned ONLY when traveling to some of these countries. Ugh.
That’s it for now. I’m heading back to Ontario for a while; my SEA travels will resume with a trip to Vietnam at the end of August.
Be safe, stay healthy and know that I treasure any connection that I have with you and appreciate the time you take to keep up with my shenanigans. I hope it’s somewhat interesting.
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HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR!
Year of the Rabbit
Officially, this was celebrated on Jan 22, 2023. Chinese New Year (or Lunar New Year) begins on the date of the second new Moon after Winter Solstice. There was a lot of preparation going on prior to this big celebration, starting directly after Christmas. Chinatown was elaborately decorated with lots of rabbit structures. Bank ATM lines were long as people obtained cash for their red envelope gifts. Remember that from my very first blog last year? Crisp brand new bills go in each envelope. Money inside should not total to an odd number because odd numbers are related to funerals. And you must avoid the number 4 because the pronunciation is the same for the word “death” (The address of the house we rented for a time in Oakville was 444- good we got outta there).
There are lots of “best practices” surrounding the red envelope and gift-giving traditions.
During NYE day, I was fortunate enough to volunteer with a few ladies from AWA to serve lunch to a community of seniors who don’t have local family here to celebrate CNY. These lovely people were over 70 years old (a few were in their mid 90’s), lower income and live alone. There were 120 seniors and over 40 volunteers from various organizations. They were all seated at round tables covered with red tablecloths. A photo booth was set up so they could get a polaroid picture of themselves holding various signs and lucky symbols. During lunch each table had 2 volunteers. It was family-style service, and we were invited to sit and visit with the seniors, then serve them and eat ourselves. I felt honoured to be a participant in this coveted experience.
Every table participated in the Yu Sheng, or Prosperity Toss. This consisted of a large mound of various thinly sliced vegetables, with other toppings placed on the side of the mound. Each ingredient represents a certain auspicious symbol ie. carrots mean blessings of good luck; sesame seeds- flourishing business; peanut crumbs- gold and silver or eternal youth. When the emcee said “go” or whatever he said in Mandarin, everyone at the table took their chopsticks and we all tossed the salad together as high as possible. It’s to ensure a lucky, prosperous and healthy year for all.
There were multiple courses during this lunch, as well as the emcee who would involve the seniors in singing traditional Chinese, Malay and Singaporean songs. Each senior was given a gift bag and a red envelope with cash. It was a beautiful celebration.
Late that evening, Mark & I went to Chinatown for the NYE celebrations. It was very busy of course. Over the 2 weeks of CNY, there were many opportunities to see the lion dancing performances. Apparently, this is done to bring good luck and drive away evil spirits. I was especially interested in the ones done on the high poles, which I did see at Funan Mall by our condo.
The final weekend of CNY, myself and 2 friends from my AWA group went to the Chingay Parade which was held at the F1 pitstop. Again, this event hasn’t happened in 2 years, so the energy and excitement were palpable; the event was sold out early.
There were many different groups of all ages performing dances, singing in traditional costumes in between the prerequisite parade floats, and randomly about a dozen Harley bikes did some circular laps. There were fireworks, sparklers, bubbles, and even man-made snow that was blown into the crowd. Reminded me of home …. sort of but not really.
Speaking of precipitation, it has been quite heavy lately. We seem to have one to two huge downpours daily, then it clears out and dries up quickly. During CNY, we had 4 days of rain in a row, which I’ve not seen since moving here a year ago (although I was gone for 4.5 months over the worst of the rainy season, so I’m no expert).
For those of you who like information that won’t change your life in anyway, the average annual precipitation in Singapore is just over 2 metres (6.5 ft), while precipitation in Toronto is 0.8m (2.6 ft), Colorado is 0.36m (1.2 ft) and California is about the same as Colorado. By comparison, the Amazon rainforest receives an average of 4m (13 ft) annually. So, we’re not quite there yet but some days it feels like it.
On Feb 5, I went to observe a Hindu festival, Thaipusam: one of the most insane experiences of my life so far.
Thaipusam
“Hey Murugan, I’ll pierce my back if you do me a solid”
This Hindu ritual happens every year, however it had been much more subdued and restricted due to the pandemic. This year though was full on with over 30,000 participants.
The word “thaipusam” is a combo of the name of the month, Thai, and the name of a star, Pusam, which is at its highest point during the festival. This is a day of prayers and penance; dedicated to Lord Subramaniam (Lord Murugan), who is a major South Indian god, the deity of youth, power and virtue.
Devotees wear bright orange and yellow colours while they chant and walk about 4km from the first temple in Little India to Sri Thendayuthapani Temple (Murugan Temple) which is near our condo. The colours orange and yellow were apparently Lord Murugan’s favourites.
The highlight of the celebration is the kavadi pilgrimage. The kavadis are elaborately decorated structures that some male worshippers carry on their shoulders. Apparently, Thaipusam was the day that Lord Muruga appeared before his devotees mounted on a peacock, which would explain why most of the kavadis had peacock feathers attached to them.
There are various degrees of “commitment” or penance shall we say. Some of the kavadi carriers just wore them on their shoulders stabilized with a weight-lifter type belt around their waist. The very intense worshippers practiced self-mortification. They had them attached via multiple piercings through their skin (think kebabs), and one guy had the kavadi attached through his abdomen as well. Some had milk pots hanging from their skin using hooks (more on that below). It was crazy to watch them being “dressed” - family members or volunteers were the ones attaching the hooks/spikes. No professional piercers or medical personnel in sight.
Our tour guide, arranged through my AWA group, was very knowledgeable regarding this festival. She said that for about a month before this ceremony, these kavadi men ate only a clean vegetarian diet, had no alcohol or sex, slept on the floor- basically there were none of life’s luxuries. They would fast for 24 hours prior to this pilgrimage. This is done as a penance, or to give thanks, or to request something like if a loved one is in hospital or if they are struggling with something. They also had offerings to Lord Muruga like rice, coconut etc placed near where they were preparing their kavadi men.
Many other worshippers, both men and women, pierce their faces with metal spikes including their tongues. Some looked like they were in a trance, however they were still able to perform short dances at various times while they were walking between the two temples.
The men were issued numbers to wear on their kavadis indicating that they had registered for this pilgrimage. The colour of the ticket told them whether they were walking in the morning, afternoon or evening because many of the kavadis are shared as they are expensive to make.
I witnessed the morning pilgrimage, however one of the ladies went back to watch the evening procession as we were told the kavadis would be lit up at night. She reported back that one of the men was wearing wooden “slippers” with nails in the top instead of soft padding - another level of sacrifice offered to Lord Murugan. The other kavadi carriers were barefoot.
Worshippers carried pots of milk, on their heads or hooked onto their bodies, for the 4km journey. Some also had fruits and flowers. The milk is poured over the statue of Lord Murugan at the end of the procession.
As most of you know, cows are very sacred to Hindu people as they are fully vegetarian and therefore pure and clean. Not only is the milk sacred but followers take cow dung, burn it down into ash and give the worshippers some to put on their bodies. The kavadi carriers use it to cover their puncture wounds. Someone kindly gifted me some cow dung ash, so I feel very blessed 😊
It was the most interesting celebration that I have ever seen- like a train wreck that you can’t stop looking at (all the piercings), but beautiful in the intensity of devotion and festiveness of the Hindu people.
***Warning: Some of the photos/videos below may be triggering.***
I apologize in advance- I might have gone overboard with the amount of pics/vids- sorry but this is only a small sampling of my album. I was so fascinated, and us ladies shared them with each other so I have LOTS.
Also, I had to switch to another laptop, so my video editing is non-existent at this point- I’m working on it. Feel free to cut them off early- I won’t be offended.
Feb 6-9 we went to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia- Mark for work, and me to explore for the first time. In March, I’m off to Laos for a girls trip. More on that stuff later. Stay tuned….
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AND…..I’m back in Singapore.
Happy New Year!
After a longer than expected stay in Ontario, I returned to Singapore late in October. The sun still comes up at 7am and goes down at 7pm, the weather is still warm and humid with periods of rain, so essentially not much has changed since I left early in June.
However, one new thing since I’ve been back is that I joined the AWA Singapore (thanks for that recommendation Donna!) I finally felt ready to get involved in this community and meet some people. The American Women’s Association costs $150 SGD annually and they offer activities, events, volunteer opportunities and support for ladies of any nationality, not just American.
Since joining at the end of Oct, I’ve met ladies for the weekly Newcomers tea/coffee, volunteered to pack staple food bags for lower income school children and their families, received a group tour of the American embassy (very cool!), joined their walking/hiking and mahjong groups (that game is crazy confusing!) and attended the Holiday luncheon which was really fun. The ladies I’ve met so far have been very welcoming and friendly, and it’s been interesting hearing about their expat lives, families, challenges and joys. I feel much more part of a community which goes a long way to minimizing those lonely moments when you’re so far away from family/friends.
Two of the ladies did invite me to join them on a free walking tour of downtown Singapore (“free” being the guide works for tips) He was born/raised Singaporean and was very happy to share his own experiences growing up here, as well as history of his grandfather who moved here from China so many years ago to make a better life for his family. Interesting tidbit- he mentioned that one of the reasons that Singapore is so stringent about it’s cleanliness and having a litter-free environment is because the city put in a dam (Marina Barrage) at the mouth of the Singapore River in 2008. Prior to that they had a river clean-up campaign in the late 1970’s to early 80’s. Due to these efforts, the Singapore River has significantly changed from one that was busy with trade, people and boats, and heavily polluted, to one that is freshwater clean. The re-emergence of monitor lizards and otters in the Singapore River has been attributed to the success of the river's cleanup. I’ve seen multiple otters, fish and turtles, but no lizards in that water so far…. I’m not looking too hard for them though.
And it is certainly clean here. Singapore has adopted fines since the 1968 Keep Singapore Clean campaign in an effort to curb littering. Reportedly, authorities issue tens of thousands of fines per year for littering with the minimum fine being SGD$300 (USD $225).
During my “investigations”, I read that Singapore isn’t clean because locals fear fines. It’s clean because there’s an army of workers scrubbing it. “Singapore is not a clean city. It’s a cleaned city,” a local official declared.
What about some of their crazy laws, you ask? Singapore famously banned the import/selling of chewing gum (it’s not illegal to merely possess small amounts for personal use). There are fines for bringing durian (a pungent smelling tropical fruit) on the train/public transit, and for not flushing a public toilet (a moot point, given that most toilets flush automatically now).
The sale of chewing gum has been illegal in Singapore since 1992. It was noted that gum was causing maintenance problems in high-rise public housing apartments with vandals disposing of spent gum on mailboxes, inside keyholes and on elevator buttons. Gum left on the ground, in stairways and on pavements in public areas increased the cost of cleaning and damaged the cleaning equipment. But the last straw was when the new MRT (Mass Rapid Transit; subway) was completed in 1987. Vandals had begun sticking gum on the door sensors of the trains, preventing the doors from functioning properly and causing disruptions to the train services. This was becoming a costly issue, hence the new law. A few people who could have found something more productive to do ruined it for all. Typical.
Since 2004, an exception has existed for therapeutic/medicinal gum, dental, and nicotine chewing gum, which can be bought from a doctor or registered pharmacist who then must keep a record of the names of buyers.
When first introduced, the ban caused much controversy and some open defiance. Some people took the trouble of traveling to neighboring Malaysia to purchase chewing gum. Offenders were publicly "named and shamed" by the government, to serve as a deterrent to other would-be smugglers. (They did the naming/shaming thing with people who flouted the COVID rules too, and kicked about a dozen non-Singaporean residents out of the country who didn't follow the rules.)
Improper disposal of gum and carrying large quantities of the banned product will cost a hefty fine of $500-1000 for first time offenders, $2000 for repeat offenders. And yes, I was a huge gum chewer before moving here last January. I miss it. Mints just don’t cut it. So yes, I did bring a pack or two back with me…. but Mark has consumed most of it. Note to those that may want to travel here, bring me gum! (Small quantity; I will deny knowing you if you get caught... lol!)
There are also fines for spitting or for using someone else’s wifi without permission. In 2009, a taxi driver was fined for being naked in public view in his own home. Vaping e-cigarettes are also banned, and you can’t eat or drink on public transit.
However one thing that has escaped any bans in this country is noise. It is common practice here to play your cell phone videos, movies, music as loud as you want- on the bus, the train, as you’re walking/biking. People FaceTime on the bus/train or while in a shop. Maybe I’m just getting cranky in my old age, but it’s super annoying and disrespectful of those around you. I even saw a guy plucking his guitar on the bus one day- luckily I wasn’t getting on that one- maybe he was exceptionally good but I didn’t want to risk it. What if he started singing too??
I could bust out my old accordion...if I still had it (yes, I'm the daughter of Dutch parents who loved a good polka). But no that would be torture. Respect the peace!
Switching gears entirely, have I mentioned the amount of food options out there in the Singaporean community? Aside from grocery stores, markets and 7/11-type marts where you can buy ingredients to cook your meals, there are a plethora of restaurants and hawker centers (mentioned in one of my previous blogs) where you can buy cooked meals. I was speaking to a local woman here who I’ve gotten to know over the past month. She asked about my activities etc. and I described what a typical week looked like for me, including the fact that a few days during the week I don’t leave our condo. She said “oh, like except when you go out for food.” And I said no, that I don’t leave the condo at all. And she looked at me incredulously and asked “well what do you eat then?” Lol! Like NO ONE COOKS HERE! (Unless you have a helper that is.) She laughed and noted that it’s cheaper to eat out than buy the groceries, and then you still have to cook. So yeah, that’s essentially the mentality here and why there are SO MANY restaurants and hawker stalls. Even when we were sitting in the emergency room one day some fellow patients, while waiting their turn, were having meals delivered by Grab (similar to Uber Eats) They eat constantly here. Oh, and by the way, there’s no tipping….for anything (aside from our free tour of course). I feel that’s reflected in the quality of service as it’s hit or miss, mostly miss. But Mark doesn’t agree. I guess I'm cranky AND impatient.
While our kids were here over the Christmas holidays, we had a lot of downtime and did a lot of fun activities. Maddy and I went for pedis, hair cuts (and color for yours truly) and went to high tea at the Goodwood Hotel where they had a smorgasbord of food for us to feast on for hours on end. Jake & I went to the movie theater to see the new Avatar (Maddy saw it already; Mark had no interest) We went biking again but this time for a much longer ride of 40 km (3.5 hours with lots of stops).
We took public transit about an hour northeast and rented the bikes. Starting at Changi beach we rode south along the boardwalk, then turned west, past the free Changi Jurassic Mile dinosaur exhibit, and biked all the way through East Coast Park to downtown, past Gardens by the Bay and Marina Bay Sands hotel, leaving the bikes at the shop under the Singapore Flyer ferris wheel. It was a gorgeous day, sun, clouds, a nice breeze, and pretty flat the whole way. With so many people living in condos/apartments/multi-family dwellings, the parks were pretty busy with crowds having picnics, playing on the beach and on the playgrounds- lots of outdoor time which is always good to see.
Free-pour brunches also seem to be quite popular around here. On recommendation by Mark’s cousin, we went to Garibaldi's which is an Italian restaurant near Little India. Arriving at noon, we ate multiple courses over 3 hours, and had access to bottomless wine, beer and prosecco. Jake & I had oysters for the first…and probably the last time. I’m a chewer (refer back to gum notation above). You don't chew those slimy things.
The feast cost us about a million dollars but was really a nice treat on New Years Eve day.
Needless to say we rushed home by 4pm to recover for the New Years Eve festivities. Around 10:30pm we walked along the river down to the bay, across from Marina Bay Sands hotel. Right before midnight, they had a huge clock in the sky (drones) that counted down the last minute, then it exploded in an array of fireworks. It was spectacular, and very busy as it was likely everywhere on the planet after the past few years of being minimized due to the pandemic. We went to a bar near our condo afterward where Maddy & Mark played pool, and Jake babysat his mother. Hey man, I don’t drink very often so yeah that happened.
During the second week of their visit, after a very quiet recovery New Years Day, the four of us joined another walking tour and this different guide had some new interesting information for us. We went into the Fullerton Hotel which is a huge historic building down by the mouth of the river/bay. It used to be a post office and housed government offices, among other uses over the years. We saw one of the two remaining red pillar post boxes (you can still post mail in it). It’s a beautiful building…now an expensive hotel.
On the tour we also tried durian ice cream. Let’s just say that we were happy to have the mango one as well as some water, so we could wash that taste away. Gross. As noted earlier, it smells and tastes bad- like really dirty rancid feet or, as some describe it, sewer water. The fruit is sold everywhere so someone must be eating it. No wonder you can’t take it on public transit. There’s an actual sign on the bus/train that has a picture of durian on it and a line through it- beside the ones for no drinking or eating or smoking. It’s that pungent.
Our guide also said that if you are Singaporean, you likely qualify for subsidized housing. Here it’s pretty much the norm for a good chunk of the population. However there are a few stipulations: you have to be older than 21; you must include another Singaporean or Permanent Resident to form a family nucleus which could include you and your parents, your spouse, your siblings, your fiancé, or, if divorced, you and your children under sole care/control. There’s other instances that would be considered as well ie. divorced with shared custody. Or you could apply under a joint singles option: single and at least 35 years old; divorced/legally separated and at least 35 years old; widowed or orphaned and at least 21 years old.
You can also apply as a single and then a flatmate will be assigned to you :)
Oh and you won’t be eligible if any of your children are able to house you in their home, or if they are financially able to provide you with housing. (Hear that kids??) All of this is based on your income but as I understand it, this is a very common way of housing for a lot of Singaporeans. “Why?” you ask? Because housing here is astronomically expensive and getting worse by the month. When Mark signed the 2-year lease in Nov 2021, we obtained a rate of $5700 monthly plus utilities- 3 bedroom, 2 bath condo built in 2009- approx 1200 sq ft. (including helper’s suite and “yard” that houses the washing machine/dryer) We do have a pretty large balcony as well, an extension of our living area which we really enjoy.
However, apparently there are a lot of people coming from Hong Kong and China that are driving up the property costs (this is all hearsay but sounds plausible). Now an equivalent unit in our building is renting for $8500/month as per the realtor website (there's no cap on rental increases like in Canada); our sized unit is on the market for SGD $3 million. It’s insane.
Ok enough about laws, penalties, and financial stresses.
On the travel front for me, I haven’t been outside of Singapore since we went to Thailand in May (aside from my time this summer in Canada/US). I looked into us going somewhere for part of the kids’ visit over the holidays but everything was triple the price, so we decided to stay local. Mark is putting together his work travel schedule for the year ahead, so once he’s got that figured out, we’ll plan for those times when I can tag along. My goal while we’re living in SEA is to explore some of Vietnam (Saigon/DaNang), Indonesia (Bali), Malaysia and Australia. Time is a ticking….
I’ll end things there. Locally right now, the bigger hype than Christmas and NYE is the upcoming Chinese New Year festivities. This will be the first year that events will be live since the start of the pandemic, so everyone is gearing up for a good week of events and celebrations. I plan to be right in the thick of it all….so stayed tuned!
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SPRING IN SINGAPORE
It’s been some weeks since this site has been updated as it seems that I’ve settled into a routine, as will eventually happen when moving to a different country. Initially, with everything new and exciting, it feels like a fun vacation exploring all of the sites, smells, and different cultural experiences. Then, it becomes home-ish. The mundane routine tasks fill your days- cleaning, running errands, grocery shopping and trying to find items to make your house feel more homey. I’ve found that last part particularly challenging as there is definitely not the wide selection of options, and what is available is crazy expensive. There’s no Home Depot, Lowes or Walmart to run to for basic necessities or to find shelving or bins or the shampoo that we’re used to. We have more than what we need of course but it definitely takes the fun out of shopping when what you want costs 2-3x as much, or isn’t what you’re used to buying.
On that note, I found my mall! VivoCity- single 30 minute bus ride. Lululemon, LaSenza, Levis, Bath & Body Works, interesting department store called Tangs. Despite having access to many, many shops here in Singapore, the bigger challenge for a “western-sized” gal is that most sizes are XS and S; very rare M or L, even rarer XL. I found a really cute dress- there were about 7 of this item on the rack- but as it turned out 6 were XS and 1 was small. You can order bigger sizes on their website but I’d prefer to try it on first. Oh well. There’s horribly worse things happening in this world aside from my shopping angst.
My next personal challenge has been to conquer lizard droppings in our condo. Seriously, these guys are cute and all that, but they will poop anywhere- half way up the wall, on a counter, middle of the floor. It’s annoying. I know all the reasons why they’re good- bug and mosquito control, blah blah blah, but we’re up high enough in our condo that mosquitoes aren’t an issue. It’s like having mice in the house- who wants that? We went from dog hair pre-pandemic to lizard poop post.
The newest strategy has worked to alleviate about 75% of my problem- and I say “my problem” as Mark doesn’t give a crap, so to speak. Lizards like heat, humidity and darkness; they hate garlic, hot spices and egg shells. My latest approach is to turn the bedroom A/C down to 20 degrees - hence no heat so they at least won’t be skulking around my bedroom while I’m sleeping. I have garlic cloves scattered all over the condo which I change out every 2 weeks to keep them fresh- costs about $3 with each turn-over. Lol! Yup, I’ve officially lost my mind. But if anyone is having a problem with lizard poop, I’ve just saved you hours of research for about 75% return on investment. You’re welcome!
Back when I last left you, I mentioned that Mark & I were going to take a cooking class. Well, it was really fun and informative. Mary was our instructor at Food Playground. She explained quite a bit about Peranakan history and cooking methods/recipes. Peranakan are an ethnic group of people who are descendents from the first waves of southern Chinese settlers who came to maritime Southeast Asia. The word Peranakan is of the Malay and Indonesian word anak, meaning child or offspring; also meaning of “locally born but non-indigenous”.
Peranakan cooking involves a lot of boiling or wok frying. Mary explained that it’s rare for them to use an oven; and if they do, they generally use it as an extra place to store pots/pans.
There were 3 couples participating in this 3 hour cooking class where we made 3 dishes: Coconut Curry Chicken with made-from-scratch curry paste, Ondeh Ondeh and Roti Jala. Interestingly, each couple had different looking Curry Chicken dishes- like the 3 bears- the German couple put very little red chili peppers in their curry, Mark & I put a medium amount in, and the Indian couple put A LOT of red chili peppers in their dish. There was quite a lot of muscle put into the grinding of the spices to make the paste using a mortar and pestle- good thing we were working in teams of two so we could have rest periods.
Ondeh Ondeh are little dessert balls that were like mochi rolled in coconut- they had a lightly sweetish earthy flavor due to the use of pandan leaf paste.
The last dish was Roti Jala which were lace-like crepes that you ate with your curry chicken. It was all very tasty and we got to take home our leftovers. They emailed us the recipes and pictures of us hard a work. It was really well done and an enjoyable few hours.
This cooking class inspired me to make two local dishes here at home: Clay Pot Rice (minus the clay pot) and Fried Kway Teow which is basically a stir fry. I didn’t make my own curry paste (store bought) but it was very tasty with lots of good Asian flavors and scents.
Mark & I had been looking for some small patio lounge furniture, and found some potential in a FB post. In order to see it, we made the hour-long trek via train/subway to Ponggol on the northern coast. This area is considered the suburbs as rents are much more manageable than in the urban core. There were a ton of apartment buildings/condos. We walked along the coast and had lunch. Then went to this lady’s condo to look at the furniture. It was new- she’s a dealer for a company out of China. We bought it. How do we get it back to our apartment without a car/truck, do you ask? You hire an Uber-type moving van on the spot to pick up the furniture. It’s called LalaMove. Booked him via the app, ten mins later the guy showed up, loaded the pieces into the van. Then Mark & I jumped in and he took us all the way back to Robertson Quay, helped bring the furniture up to our condo, all for S$30. What a steal and hassle-free. This kind of delivery service is essential as there are so many people here who don’t drive/can’t afford a vehicle.
And this is for good reason.
The per-capita car ownership rate in Singapore is about 170 cars per 1000 people (versus 816 in US and 685 in Canada) as per my go-to bible Wikipedia. You have to be 18 years old to get your license and pass classes/exam. You do get demerit points for offenses, ie. if you get 12 demerit points and you’re over 80 years old you are subject to early termination of your driver’s license. Ouch, they don’t mess around. And get this- they do random medical screenings for those drivers over 62 years old, which doesn’t seem that old now that I’m in my mid-50s.
In Singapore, they use right-hand drive cars that must meet safety/environmental standards and use a speedometer marked in km/h. Our old Taurus X that we imported from Colorado to Canada (miles/h) would have been a no-no. Although you can get special permission to import left-hand drive cars, it’s rare.
The average age of cars in Singapore is 5.5 years old, compared to the US at 11.6 years. This is partly due to incentives to deregister your car before it hits 10 years of age, although apparently an increasing number of people are now holding onto their cars a bit longer.
To own a car here is very expensive. Before you can even buy a car, you need to go through a public bidding process for a Certificate of Entitlement (COE)- this is your permit from the government to own a car. There’s a limited number of these certificates issued each year as this is an island and they want to discourage people from driving. Due to this factor, the price for a COE can run you anywhere from S$55,000-100,000. That’s just the permit. Then you need to actually buy the car, pay for insurance etc etc. AND the COE is only good for 10 years, then you need to renew it. If it’s not renewed, your car is disposed of.
So let’s review: Costs (SGD)
COE (on the lower end): $55,000
Cost of car (common one here is Porsche Cayenne- base price): $344,000
(Comparison: Toyota Corolla is over $125,000 so why not go luxury?)
Annual Insurance: $1600
Annual Road Tax: $750
Fuel is currently at $3.06/L or roughly USD$9/gallon
All of this to say that they really want you to use their fabulously efficient and inexpensive public transit, which I happily do every day.
Speaking of which, last weekend, I took a one hour bus ride to East Coast Park where I rented a bike- 2 hours for $10. It was a beautiful day- not too sunny- although it’s always hot but you just get used to being sweaty here 100% of the time- like seriously, everybody but the locals walk around with sweat-dripping-down-your-back soaked shirts. The bike path followed the beach for a good while, then cut up through some green spaces with lots of trees and plants. I finally saw my first 2 monkeys sitting in a tree- no, not jumping on a bed- sorry, couldn't resist. They were cute, but I’ve read that they can attack. Lol! I’ve become such a chicken for an ex-farm girl. My dad would be so disappointed but not surprised…..
Let’s briefly go back to my childhood on the farm for a quick second. I have a clear memory of myself and a bunch of my siblings being out in the field with my dad turning hay or straw, whichever. I was doing my job, turning and turning, probably daydreaming of being on the beach with my friends, when all of a sudden I turned and…..a nest of mice! Eeek! I started jumping around screeching and freaking out (I’m sure this is not a surprise to any of you due to my previous blogs about critters and reptiles). Well, my dad promptly and calmly walked over- I’m sure he rolled his eyes many times on the way- and pitch-forked the poor little mice (I know- sob!), threw them in the ditch, said “get back to work” and went back to his lane. Omg, how traumatic. I’m sure he was thinking, “Damn how did I get stuck with 6 girls??” We also had a mouse under our kitchen sink once too (at least once- it was an old farmhouse). I stood on the kitchen table yelling for my poor dad who was already in bed. Looking back, I sort of feel bad for him, but he really should have just bought a house with no cracks for the little buggers to get through. Simple.
Anyway, back to my bike ride. Past the monkeys and a beautiful golf course, the path took me to the harborfront skirting Gardens by the Bay, Marina Bay Sands Hotel and the Art Science Museum. It was a beautiful ride and not too busy as it was a Friday. I ended up returning the bike to a location under the huge ferris wheel, the Singapore Flyer. Then I walked back to Marina Bay Sands via the Helix Bridge, went into the mall which has mostly expensive stores like Chanel and a little river in which you can ride a gondola-type boat, and took the subway (MRT) home. It was a fun day for $10 bike rental + $0.95 public transit!
Mark has been traveling quite a bit. He went to Vietnam for 2 weeks, then had to go back for a golf tournament the following weekend. I was supposed to go with him for the second trip, however the last minute flight tickets were quite expensive, so we decided to wait until we can plan it a bit more ahead of time. So no Vietnam…yet.
The weather has taken a turn. We’ve been getting more rain…and when it rains, it POURS! You have to bring an umbrella wherever you go as you could be fine and only sweaty one minute, and rainwater drenched the next. But local people don’t seem to pay much attention to it. They all carry umbrellas and just get on with their day.
Something else that’s changed (for the better) is that they’ve lifted the outdoor masking mandate and now there’s no limit to how many people can gather together. What a huge relief! As an observation, seemingly 99% of locals continue to wear masks outdoors and 100% of expats do not.
Once these new rules took effect, I met up with some ladies (from a FB group that I belong to) at a little cafe, Le Jardin, in Fort Canning Park. It was so nice to meet people in person, and the cafe was really cute. I had a lovely pot of snow jasmine tea that cost me $12. Yup, for tea. But the ambience was well worth it.
The next few months will be very busy. The kids are coming early in May- I cannot wait! Added bonus- as of April 26- they no longer require a PCR/ART test to fly into Singapore OR Thailand which will make travel so much easier and less expensive.
We have many things planned for their stay- one of which is a 5-day trip to an island in Thailand- yes I’m going back- like riding a bike- gotta get back on it after that last fiasco. Koyao Island Resort is a 75-min longtail boat ride off the coast of Phuket. We’ll be staying in a beachfront 2-bedroom villa. Mark wanted some quiet chill time at the pool/beach. The kids and I will take advantage of some excursions- snorkeling, exploring the island on bikes or by the resort-provided tuk tuk.
Early June, Maddy & I fly back to Canada. Jake is staying in Singapore with Mark until early July, then will be flying to Sweden to stay with our good friends, then on to Madrid to start his Masters program in Sept.
So my blogging may be sporadic but if there’s anything exciting to share, I’ll be taking notes.
Stay healthy…and stay tuned!
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LISA IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
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THE FIRST WEEK
Being new to blogging and IT challenged, I will attempt to do this justice.
As you all know, with our move to Singapore, there are new adventures and challenges ahead. This is not our first move, but it is definitely our biggest, furthest and with the most noticeable cultural differences.
This was initially apparent on the flight- Singapore Airlines- 14 hours 50 mins, 13,204 km from Vancouver. The flight was long and cramped as we were fortunate enough to travel in economy, however the food was pretty decent. It was the flight attendants who caught my eye. All of the ladies were dressed in matching sarong kebaya 2-piece outfits with a top and long ankle-length skirt made of Asian batik and worn with matching “slippers” or sandals. They were friendly, smiling and kind. When they passed by, there was a lovely scent of rose water left behind. It was soothing and pleasant. Mark didn't notice.
Upon arrival at Changi, the Singapore airport, we made it through immigration and to our apartment by cab to serve our 7-day Stay at Home. It was midnight when we arrived, so I didn’t see much of the city during that 20-min drive, but the cab too smelled divine. I must be an olfactory sense type of person.
Our apartment is on the 8th floor, spacious with sweeping views of the city. There are 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths and a large balcony with floor to ceiling patio doors that open almost the entire length of the balcony. Off the kitchen, and in an outdoor space, is a laundry area as well as a ‘helpers’ suite complete with a tiny bathroom/wet shower and itty bitty bedroom which we are using for storage. With the windows open, and the kitchen door to the ‘helpers’ suite open, there is a strong breeze that generally keeps the apartment quite comfortable. The breeze is so strong at times that we can’t leave any papers on the kitchen counter as they’ll blow right out of the patio doors. And there’s no littering in Singapore!
When we initially arrived in Singapore, our furniture and other household items had not yet been delivered as it had arrived in port just after Christmas and we were still in Canada. So the first night, I slept on a twin-sized 2” mat that Mark bought from Ikea for the first two weeks of Dec. when he moved in prior to his trip to Thailand and Canada. He slept on a very thin yoga mat that first night with me. We had nothing to sit on aside from one office chair that he also purchased in that first two weeks. We fought over butt time in that chair all day! I’ll tell you that sitting on the tile floor for a day, just one day, was awful. Getting up was the challenge. Every. Single. Time. I don’t have the best knees or the strongest quads, so yeah. It was pathetic. But at least I know if I fall down, I can still get up. Maybe not too elegantly but I’ll get the job done.
There are a few notable differences in Singapore apartments versus my previous apartments in Canada and the US. Everyone leaves their shoes outside their doors. People use various shelving units, shoe caddies, bins or just leave them in small piles. There’s very quiet air conditioner units in the living room and each of the bedrooms. The kitchen, laundry room and all the bathrooms all have a bit of a lip down as you step in the door, and they all have a floor drain- not sure why but I'm guessng I'll find out eventually (monsoons anyone?) Any room that has a sink has a switch outside the door that you need to flip on to heat that room's individual water heater. It takes minutes to heat the water, you just have to remember to turn it on/off. Our kitchen appliances include a fridge (obviously), a built-in microwave and small oven (will never use as you too will bake if it's on), a two-burner ceramic electric cooktop and a one-burner gas cooktop (strange combo yes). Above the microwave and oven is a small hidden panel that holds the switches to turn on/off the appliances (all but the fridge). The other oddity is that there is no electrical outlet in any of the bathrooms. Guess I’ll just have to wash-and-go with my hair until we move to our next country.
Speaking of electricity, the power voltage is 220. We have blown our small clock radio and the pump for our Sleep Number bed. Our vacuum cleaner blew a fuse- twice- had to make sure ;) So we are currently looking at obtaining a step up-step down transformer so we can confidently and safely run the few small appliances etc that we brought from North America. Luckily Mark knows a local electrician (already he’s thankfully making his connections) who rewired our Sleep Number pump so we’re now back to sleeping in our own bed.
Mark has an office set up in the first bedroom. Eventually he’ll look for an actual office space for him and his employees to use, which will free up more space for guests - yes YOU!
The weather so far has been beautiful. No rain- yet- I know it will come. There has been little humidity, and the temperature sits at around 27-33C (80-90F). The apartment faces SW so we do get the later afternoon sun that beats in the patio doors but there are curtains, fans and, if I’m really wimping out, we put the a/c on for a few hours.
Did I mention there are NO BUGS here! I’ve seen one tiny ant and a very small (maybe 2-3”) baby gecko. That’s it. No mosquitos, no flies, no roaches (thank goodness!). Unless they’re easing me into a false sense of security and will come at me with a vengeance once I’m out of quarantine, I’m really quite happy about this fact.
We’ve ordered food through Grab (UberEats equivalent), groceries from Amazon Fresh (same day delivery), and an online store called Lazada (website is awful but they’re a bit cheaper than Amazon, and offer next day delivery). Everything is smaller here- smaller jar of peanut butter, smaller heads of romaine, smaller block of cheese. I’m looking forward to getting out of quarantine so I can go explore the grocery store aisles and malls. So far for pandemic rules: mask inside and outside, 5 person maximum inside. That's all I know about that.
The sounds of the city have been pretty easy to adapt to. There’s not many horns or annoying loud cars. Every night/early morning there’s a very noisy bird called a Koele that calls out, apparently looking for a mate. We also have a neighbor one floor down and one unit over who plays the guitar and has a really great voice. I enjoyed an evening sitting on the balcony with a glass of wine listening to him sing songs by Oasis and Chris Isaac, to name a few. Overall this early retirement thing has been working out ok so far.
We were ‘allowed’ out of our apartment on Thursday to have a PCR test done at a local elementary school. In the 20-min cab ride (Grab), I caught glimpses of the Marina Bay Towers (Crazy Rich Asians anyone?) and tried to wrap my head around driving on the right side of the car, and the left side of the road. It’s so odd. There is no way I’ll be driving here. It’s apparently quite expensive to get a certificate to purchase a car (S$80,000) let alone purchase the actual vehicle. We saw mostly BMWs, Mercedes, Lambos and Bentleys in our travels. No familiar Fords, Chevys, Dodges, or any cheap or old cars for that matter. Not one.
The current exchange rate is S$1 to USD$0.75, and CAD$0.98.
Mark and I are doing ok living together again. He works in his office quite a bit which affords me the rest of the space to do what I need to do. I’ve read one book, watched A LOT of Below Deck (with Mark) and we just purchased this last season of Yellowstone from Prime so I’m pretty happy about that. I've been unpacking, cleaning and organizing, and started a puzzle. We also have our home gym set up complete with the rower on the balcony. Mostly we just go out onto that balcony and enjoy the sights, views and, yes, the scents of the city. We will likely be ‘released’ from quarantine today, so more to come including some pictures if I can figure out how to add them :)
Stay tuned.
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WEEK TWO- FREEDOM!
We were finally allowed out to explore after 6 days of quarantine and a negative PCR test. Keep in mind that masks are required outside unless you’re eating/drinking or “vigorously” exercising. It’s not so great. But we were lucky that first day out that it wasn’t too oppressive with humidity. I’m hoping they drop that rule soon, but I doubt they will. Everyone seems to accept it so I guess I have to adjust. I’ve learned to go with the thinnest medical mask that I have as the cloth ones become wet (humidity) and the heavier medical ones are suffocating. If I’m outside I feel relatively safe so the thinner mask is fine (I say that now, but don’t hold me to it if I end up with COVID)
Our apartment is located in Robertson Quay which is a popular neighborhood for expats. There are A TON of restaurants, coffee shops, bakeries, wine bars- every kind of food you can think of. It’s amazing that they can sustain enough business to stay open but, when I think of all of the apartment/condo buildings in this area, I guess there’s enough people to keep up the demand. This was evident just last night when we walked over for dinner- the area was swarming with people. It had a very festive feel which was nice- twinkling lights, warm breeze and the buzz of conversation and laughter.
Speaking of cooking, so dudes, this 'helpers suite' in our apartment is ridiculously small. It’s approx 52” x 67” in size; there’s a window and a door that you can sort of lock, but no a/c. The electrical panel is in there too. Yikes. It’ll work great as a storage room for us, but I could not in good conscience put somebody in there to live. As much as having someone here (preferably male and hot) to cook, bring me beverages and apply my sunscreen by the pool, I would have to give up a guestroom to make that happen- so it’s not off the table yet.
Apparently, helpers are quite common here. They are essentially live-in nannies/housekeepers from what I understand; usually from the Philippines or Indonesia. And I’ve been told by one of my coworkers (I miss you, Arlyn!) that the expectation is that you hire one or two so they can send money back to their families. Yeah, I might need a manny just to do my part. Hmmm.
Sorry, back on track now-
We finally were able to explore our apartment building once we were allowed out. It’s a 13-storey building (we’re on 8), has a 50m pool, separate wading pool, small playground, 2 separate gym rooms with cardio machines and weights, spa and sauna (really??). There are also BBQ stations near the pool area. They do offer recycling but there is no noticeable composting at all which is disappointing. I’ll have to look into that further one of these days.
We were also able to finally empty out our mailbox and were surprised to find that we had 7 Christmas cards which was awesome. Thanks to those people- you know who you are :) Mail is always nice to receive especially when you’re moving around the globe and feeling a bit disconnected.
I do count us as very fortunate to have access to Whatsapp, FT and technology overall. It was quite a different experience when we moved from Canada to California back in the early 90’s- not even cell phones back then.
From our balcony we can see Alkaff Bridge. It’s a pretty pedestrian bridge which spans the Singapore River. It was painted by internationally acclaimed visual artist Pacita Abad (she died in 2004 of lung cancer, the same year that the bridge painting was completed). It’s also known as The ArtBridge. (pictured on next page, during the day and lit up at night)
We did make it to the Great World Mall which is about a 15 min walk along the Singapore River. It’s a 4-storey mall, which sounds big but it’s in a compact space so not the sprawling mall like Toronto Eaton Centre or Parkview Meadows in Colorado. Quite a few of the vendors catered to kids- clothing stores, toy stores, kids books, tumbling establishment (where parents sat outside and watched other people play with their kid), academic learning center, a place where you could learn to play the violin. There were only a few adult clothing stores; many, many food places including Krispy Kreme, and a decent sized grocery store. They have a HUGE cheese selection at this grocery store (pictured below- and that was only one side!). I don’t know why there’s so many varieties of cheese but it’s insane. And I did note that the blocks of cheese were larger than the home-delivery ones, probably less expensive too. I’ll touch on food at a later date once I’ve had a chance to try the fish balls (??), beef tongue and icky stuff like that. The mall also had a bowling alley and a movie theater.
Some familiar businesses aside from Krispy Kreme were: Starbucks (of course), Levis, Zara, Lego, Guardian Drugs, GNC, IKEA, MAC, Uni Qlo and The Body Shop. We also have a 7-11 about one block over from us. It’s sort of comforting to see these brands so not Every…Single….Thing…. is new and unknown to us.
When you go in and out anywhere you need to scan your TraceTogether app which confirms your vaccination status and will alert you if/when you have any COVID exposure. Green light and you’re in. So far, so good. I don’t watch much local TV so I have no idea what’s happening in the COVID department here. I just pretend it doesn’t exist minus the mask and app tracing crap.
Before we moved, we were repeatedly told how clean Singapore is, and it’s true. I’ve seen a few cigarette butts, and a few pieces of trash here and there, but overall it’s really pretty clean. There are trash bins located along the pathways, and they seem to be frequently emptied, not overflowing to allow said trash to pile up on the ground and blow all over the place. What a concept.
On Sunday, using Google Maps to guide us, we took the local city bus to Little India (pictured on next page) where there’s a huge shopping centre called Mustafa. Mark compared it to Walmart and he wasn’t wrong (he LOVES this place!) It's bursting with everything from clothing, to shoes, health and beauty, electronics, appliances, canned goods, sporting gear. It’s obscene really. Some of the quality looked ok but mostly it appeared cheap. Be prepared if you need to use the bathroom there too- you have to put coins in a dispenser to get toilet paper- it’s weird not to have toilet paper in the stall, like wth? So I passed on that to wait until I got home. Geesh. Guess I’ll carry my own tp. I’ll not likely be going back to Mustafa (it's too overwhelming) but it was an interesting outing and we took the subway back home, so it was nice to have both the bus and MRT experience in one day. I did get an MRT (subway) card which you tap on/off just like the GO/Lightrail. Fares ranged from S$0.95 to S1.70. The bus and train were on time, newer, clean and smelled really good. There seems to be some common floral scent that gets piped into these vehicles, and I’m digging it. It certainly beats the scent of sweat.
Most people speak English although the accents make it a bit difficult to understand at times. So far everyone has been very nice although you don’t hear “good morning” or “hello” when you pass people on the pathway- everyone seems to keep to themselves. I might need to work on that. Yes, I’m THAT person.
The first rain since we arrived came on Monday Jan 17. I walked to the mall and on the way back I noticed quite a few ladies with umbrellas opened up even though it was still dry at that point. Big red flag! It started to spit and I made it home, then the heavens opened up. Holy crap there was A LOT of rain! Lesson learned- carry your umbrella EVERYWHERE unless ‘soaked’ is the look you’re going for.
On Thursday, I walked about 10-12 mins to Fort Canning and Jubilee Park. Fort Canning sits on a hill approx 156 ft in elevation and on 44 acres; Jubilee Park is just in front of Fort Canning. The total length of the park trail is about 2.5 km. All through the park you can hear the cicadas who create a very loud constant buzzing sound. There’s a ton of foliage, flowers, trees and a few historical buildings including Hotel Fort Canning, Raffles House, and Fort Canning Centre; as well as an old Christian cemetery. The ficus trees are enormous and produce aerial roots from their branches that grow down towards the ground. After they root into the soil, they develop into strong woody prop roots that provide anchorage and support for the tree. (pictured on next page).
There were a few different gardens within the park:
Sang Nila Utama Garden
This garden is named after the legendary founder of ancient Singapore, a prince of Palembang from the Kingdom of Srivijaya. He is the one of fabled fame who landed in Singapore and named it the “Lion City”.
A reflective pool provides a meditative location and the garden features plants such as magnolias, gardenias and fruit trees.
The garden is divided into three further sub-gardens. These are the Flower Garden, the Meditation Garden and the Perfume Garden. There are pillared entrances to each garden, with a pair of small lions, monkeys and boars figures at the foot of each pillar (pictured below).
Pancur Larangan (Forbidden Spring)
In the past, a freshwater spring used to flow down from Fort Canning Hill and, in ancient times, it was the bathing place for the ladies of the palace. This spring has been recreated on the western slopes of Fort Canning Hill in 14th century Javanese style. A mural, carved from natural volcanic rock, decorates this historic spot (pictured below).
Raffles Garden
Named after Sir Stamford Raffles, modern founder of Singapore, the Raffles Garden showcases plant species that Raffles, who was a naturalist, encountered while in Southeast Asia. The garden also has features such as the Fort Canning lighthouse, flagstaff and timeball (all pictured below). Apparently, according to the posted sign, timeballs were a common device used to signal the correct time to the public in the 19th century. At Fort Canning, the ball was raised at 12:55 each day, and dropped at exactly 1pm. People living and working downtown could then set their clocks to the correct time based on the moment the timeball was dropped. This facilitated accurate time-keeping in a period when radios and other means of communication did not yet exist. Cool, huh?
On my return walk home from Fort Canning I passed by the Hindu temple Sri Thendayuthapani (pictured on next page). Earlier in the week, Mark and I had noticed a whole crowd of people during our early morning walk- men with newly shaved heads, women in very decorative bright orange and yellow dresses, and signs about getting your “milk pots” for offerings.
Thaipusam- this is a festival in the Tamil culture which celebrates the defeat of the evil demon Soorapadman at the hands of the Hindu god of war, Kartikeya. Celebrated during the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai (January/February), which was January 18 this year, it's a time to ask Lord Murugan, son of Lord Shiva, for forgiveness, good health and peace in the new year. As part of the festival's rituals, many participants engage in various acts of devotion and control over their senses -- including piercing the skin, tongue or cheeks and/or shaving their head. Some walk over burning coals.
It’s considered a national holiday in countries who have a substantial number of Tamils ie. Malaysia, Sri Lanka, the Republic of Mauritius. In Singapore though, this was removed from the list of national holidays.
A total of 14,000 devotees were expected to visit Sri Thendayuthapani Temple on Tuesday, including 7,000 who would be carrying milk pot offerings called paal kudams into the temple.
Ok, hopefully I haven’t lost you. There’s just so much new and interesting stuff here in Singapore!
I will note that the humidity has kicked up a notch (averages 68-72%), or actually I think it’s just more noticeable at ground level versus up on the 8th floor where the breeze is quite strong through our apartment. Exercise time is best done first thing in the morning before 8am unless you want to lose some pounds in water weight. It’s sweaty business. I DO NOT have the right clothes to live here. Cotton flowy sundresses- please send.
My plan is for us to attend the Light To Night Festival at the Asian Civilizations Museum this weekend, and we’re booked for dinner out with Mark’s cousin and her husband for Sat. evening. It’ll be nice to talk to someone in person other than my hubby, as great as he is as a conversationalist. I'm sure the feeling is mutual.
Chinese New Year is ramping up for Feb 1 too.
Stay tuned!
(See next page for pictures- if you click on them most have a little description. The last two are videos- turn up the volume :)
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WEEK THREE
I’m starting to settle into a bit of a routine. The weather has been pretty nice overall- at times quite humid with a few bursts of rain- but overall I can’t complain (especially knowing what those of you in Canada are dealing with right now).
Saturday evening we had a really nice dinner out with Mark’s cousin Nora and her husband Kamil. She’s been living here working as a teacher at an international school for about 10-11 years. Kamil came from the Czech-Republic by way of Sweden and he works in IT. We went to a restaurant in Little India called the Meatsmith which advertises modern Indian BBQ. They had amazing food! I’m willing to try anything-ish, so we left it up to Kamil to order his favorite dishes. We each had a large ‘cracker’ with salmon roe on it (very fishy tasting of course; not my favorite), smoked duck cigars (like egg rolls), lamb meatballs, mango salad, the most tender beef brisket, seasoned cauliflower and fish tacos. It was really tasty, and not too spicy. It was great to reconnect with Nora as I hadn’t seen her since she was a young girl at our wedding in 1995. We’ll be meeting up with her sister Molly next week during Chinese New Year.
Early in the week, I did nothing exciting but clean, grocery shop and look for health insurance which is a huge task as we’re not so young and easily insured anymore- oh and I went and got fingerprinted for my Dependent’s Pass so I can stay here for a few years.
Thursday was my adventure to Gardens By the Bay (irrigated by Rain Bird, as per Mark-gotta get in some advertisement lol!) It was a full day experience starting with my first solo trip on the MRT (subway). It was super easy- 10 min walk to the MRT station, loaded and tapped my card, 4 station stops, and boom I was at my destination. As an aside, it's necessary for me to use Mark’s bank card as, until my Dependent’s Pass arrives (5-7 business days), I can’t be added to our bank account. So far this hasn’t been an issue as I just use his card or cash. They have the usual paper bills and coins like we do in North America, although the paper bills are all different sizes. The exchange rate is pretty much equal to CAD so no math required.
Back to my adventures this week. Gardens By the Bay is on 250 acres of reclaimed land in the central region of Singapore, adjacent to the marina reservoir. Anyone can walk/run through the gardens for free. There's an admission fee to enter some of the exhibits but it was not expensive (S$5-10 each). We’ll probably get an annual membership if available as I can see us visiting this place often. They did recommend signing up in advance for specific times to attend each exhibit due to COVID capacity restrictions, but it was so quiet that they didn’t care that I was early for all of them. Once inside- WOW!- the pictures do not even come close to doing it justice. Some highlights below (pictures on next page)-
Cloud Forest- has the world's largest indoor waterfall, as well as Orchid Haven- gorgeous!
Supertree Grove- 18 tree-like structures built at a height between 25 to 50 meters with large canopies, they provide some shade during the day, and transform into a beautiful display of light every night (I’ll have to go back for the light show). Some of them have solar panels that store energy for the light show. Some others have air exhaust receptacles to cool the surrounding conservatories. All the Supertrees collect and use rainwater for irrigation (Rain Bird remember?) and fountain displays. The core of the Supertree is concrete with a steel trunk attached around it. The ‘living skin’ or the plants on the trunk are attached via planting panels. Supertree Grove has over 158,000 plants with over 700 species and varieties of orchids, bromeliads, ferns, and tropical flowering climbers. They’re breathtaking!
OCBC Skyway- located 22 meters high, this cat-walk type pathway loops around the Supertrees. I could see for miles, including the harbor and port (lots of container ships, it’s the world’s second-busiest port in terms of total shipping tonnage), and a few cruise ships (sadly who’s cruising these days??) Also very prominent is downtown Singapore including Marina Bay Sands Hotel which is reportedly taller than the Eiffel Tower and wide enough to accommodate 4 jumbo jets (yes, I’m going there some day soon!)
While walking through the gardens, there was frequent rustling in the bushes. I really didn’t want to know what it was, but there would be the occasional quick-footed little lizard that would run across the path. I pretended that they were as equivalent and harmless to the little chipmunks back home, until I saw a monitor lizard. Yikes. That was no chipmunk. I made a pretty wide swath to get past him but he had no interest in me. Side note- Mark kindly mentioned that during his conversation with a local the other day, this man informed him that it was good that we were up on the 8th floor as the 1st and 2nd floors are the ones that deal with mosquitoes, cockroaches and snakes. Yes, snakes. That’s a hard NO for me. If I wake up and there’s a snake in my apartment, I am out. Out of Singapore. Out of Asia. I also read about 2 rogue wild monkeys that climbed up the wall of a condo building- lol! Can you even imagine that? Needless to say this week I started locking our patio door at night. I’ll deal with all the critters/reptiles and other things that end up in my nightmares in another blog. Yuck.
I easily achieved almost 20,000 steps on the Garden day- my foot was screaming at me. As I mentioned earlier, it was pretty quiet at the Gardens however they were busy putting up the ‘human corralling’ fences I assume in preparation for Chinese New Year. Apparently, everyone is off next Monday afternoon, Tues and Wed. for this national holiday. Schools are out for the week too.
On Friday evening, Mark and I walked downtown to the Light To Night exhibit. There were light shows set to music on multiple city buildings like the former Supreme Court as well as museums and the Victoria theatre where the symphony is located.
On the way home, we walked through Chinatown to see their lights. They went all out to decorate for this annual event, and a lot of people were out to enjoy the festivities. It was fun just to stroll along and take it all in- such great energy. The restaurants and bars do close at 10:30 pm d/t COVID, but we're long in bed by then :)
Next week- Chinese New Year, and maybe I’ll make it to a wet market- take me home some live bull frogs and freshwater eels to eat! Yum.
Stay tuned!
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WEEK FOUR
This week’s focus was around Chinese New Year with festivities running for about 2 weeks. It’s a public holiday on both Feb 1st and 2nd, so stores have been hit or miss, some are open and some are not. Restaurants are all open- so many restaurants!
We headed to Chinatown on the weekend, and I went on my own during the week. They had decorated the streets and shops with red lanterns (red everything really), and tigers and cubs which signify strength and vitality. I did end up purchasing some traditional pineapple tarts called ‘Ong Lai’ from a recommended bakery named Kele; pineapple tarts symbolize good luck. They’re like a small shortbread cookie with a dollop of pineapple jelly on top, and they were delicious!
As I haven’t been here too long, it was hard to know if it was busier than usual, but it definitely seemed busy in Chinatown after about 11am. There are multiple Hindu temples in the area where you take your shoes off to enter, pray then make your exit. The temples are very ornate and beautiful. The oldest one in Singapore, Sri Mariamman Temple, was unfortunately under renovation with scaffolding and sheeting up, so it was difficult to really take in the exterior details which are usually spectacular. However there was a placard out front: constructed in 1827; best known for the fire-walking ceremony (or Theemithi) that is held every October or November; devotees would walk on the hot coals as a test of their faith and devotion. I’ll have to revisit this place when renovations are done...just to observe of course.
As you walk along the streets here in Singapore, there are many businesses that have potted mandarin orange bushes on their door stoop for Chinese New Year. The Chinese word for mandarin—kam—sounds similar to the word for gold. So, having mandarin oranges around the home/business at New Year is said to bring riches into your life, and the more fruit on the tree, the better.
It’s also traditional for older generations to give mandarin oranges to children, and for families and friends to bring them to each other’s houses when they visit over the holiday.
Last week while I was out at the mall, I decided to look for some pretty blank cards at the stationary store. I found some beautiful ones with ornate flowers and Chinese gold lettering (I have no clue what it says- could say ‘go to hell’ for all I know but not likely) that were only S$2- what a great deal! Got them home and opened one (they were each wrapped in cellophane so I didn’t actually open them in the store) and oops, they were envelopes. So, I inadvertently learned about red envelopes and now you will too!
A red envelope is a gift of money (new bills only please) inserted into an ornate red pocket of paper (aka an envelope lol!). They are given on important occasions, such as Chinese New Year, birthdays, and weddings in China and some other Asian countries as a way to send good wishes.
The color red symbolizes energy, happiness, and good luck in Chinese cultures. The custom of giving red envelopes originates from some of the oldest stories of Chinese New Year. As the legend goes, there was a demon named Sui that came out to terrify children while they were asleep. To keep children safe from being harmed by Sui, parents would light candles and stay up for the whole night of Chinese New Year’s Eve.
One New Year’s Eve, a child was given eight coins to play with to keep him awake. The child wrapped the coins in red paper, opened the packet, rewrapped it, and reopened it until he was too tired to continue, and fell asleep. Then his parents placed the packet with eight coins under his pillow. When Sui tried to touch his head, the eight coins emitted a strong light and scared the demon away. The eight coins turned out to be eight fairies. From then on, giving red envelopes became a way to keep children safe and bring good luck.
Traditionally you give out red envelopes to children and unmarried adults if you’re married and older; and you’re to avoid giving amounts such as 40 yuan or 400 yuan. The number '4' in Chinese sounds like 'death', so this is considered bad luck.
Ok, so to educate myself on Chinese New Year traditions, I came across this list of DON’Ts (the DO’s were obvious: give money, be nice)
DON’Ts:
DON’T start any arguments or bring up any negative topics. No profanities or swearing on Chinese New Year’s eve and day (wtf!)
DON’T cry on Chinese new year. Try to avoid sad memories! (that’s a toughie for me)
DON’T clean on the day of Chinese New Year, as you may sweep your luck and good fortunes away! (check that box…easily)
DON’T do laundry, wash or cut your hair on New Year’s Day (the day before is fine) as you don’t want to wash away your good luck!
DON’T break any dishes or glasses! Be extra careful not to break anything, because it is bad luck on Chinese New Year’s day. (Mark broke the last of our favorite drinking glasses and the glass in one of our framed pictures while trying to hang it in that one day- anyone that knows him would not be surprised by this.)
DON’T eat or make porridge or congee, because it sets an inauspicious tone, foreshadowing a poor year for you. (no brainer)
DON’T borrow money, because it’s a sign that you will need money and be in debt in the new year.
DON’T give any unlucky gifts! Clocks or watches, knives or other sharp objects, shoes/slippers, mirrors, scented candles, cut flowers, and anything in a set of four (an unlucky number in Chinese culture) should never be given as gifts! (how about no gifts- take no chances)
Final note, the annual local Chinese New Year Chingay parade turns 50 this year, but is sadly only available on Feb 12 via live webcast due to the rotten pandemic.
So it can’t just be about the fun and festivities in Singapore. I need to divulge the darker side of life here- the animals, mammals and REPTILES. All of these I would just prefer to see in a zoo. I know, they’re entitled to share the earth with us in their own habitat, but only the cute ones….
First is the Pangolin- it looks like a scaly anteater which is nocturnal (good that I’m mostly diurnal). They’re very shy, which is also good for me. Reportedly, they are the most trafficked mammal in the world for their meat and scales, including in the US for their leather used in boots, bags and belts. Who knew? I’d never heard of or seen these creatures before so I’ve added a picture below- disclaimer- I'm never out after dark and would never get close enough to take these photos as I’m too chicken so they’re all off the web (except for the monitor lizard- lucky me, that photo is mine).
During our meet-up with Mark’s cousin Molly and her family on Tuesday, we walked through the Botanical Gardens which were lovely. We had 3 children in the group so there wasn’t a lot of time to sit, ponder and take pictures (I’ll go back there soon), however we did see 2 monitor lizards and the cutest group of wild otters. The park staff were strategically positioned to block anyone from getting too close to these frolicking slick critters as they can bite, but they were fun to watch.
So, I read this online and it gives me absolutely no comfort whatsoever:
“Singapore has lots of snakes and around 70 species. Human casualties are low (well thank goodness for that), but there are some impressive pythons and cobras out there!” Lol! Impressive? Nope.
Razor-back python- just no. If I suddenly turn up back in Ontario, this would be why.
A few others to avoid:
King cobra: the largest venomous snake in the world; it can grow up to six metres. No.
Equatorial spitting cobra: also referred to as the black spitting cobra, this snake has a highly venomous bite; it will also spit venom at a perceived attacker’s eyes. Charming.
The reticulated python is the longest snake in the world, and there are plenty in Singapore. Apparently, Wildlife Reserves Singapore receives around 50 captured pythons every month. While this snake can grow up to 10 metres in other places, in Singapore it averages a more “modest” 2.3 metres. Modest? No.
Pythons like eating rats, so they do encroach on urban areas – drains and parks, for instance (I will avoid these at all costs, although wth? parks? that presents a big problem for me)– and you’ll occasionally read a newspaper report of a public sighting. One example from a couple of years ago featured a python fighting a king cobra on a trail in MacRitchie Reservoir, in front of onlooking walkers and joggers. The python lost. (This location was immediately removed from my list of fun places to explore.)
The last report of a death was an 80-year-old man killed by a cobra bite in 1995. Comforting.
Ok enough about snakes (and I didn't include any pictures of them- you're welcome!)
In Bukit Timah Nature Reserve you can see wild monkeys- long tailed macaques.
I couldn’t resist adding this recommendation from the Singapore National Parks website (this is serious people!):
What To Do When You Encounter Monkeys At Home (omg- really??)
If monkeys enter your house:
Stop whatever you are doing immediately.
Remain calm and quiet. Do not make sudden movements and do not maintain direct eye contact with the monkeys.
Look for an exit for the monkeys.
Without cornering the monkeys, keep hitting the ground with a stick OR direct a strong jet of water at the monkeys to lead them towards the exit.
Alternatively, move to a safe place and wait for the monkeys to leave.
Do not try to hit the monkeys.
If you have a child with you, put him/her on your shoulders. This will increase your perceived size, which could deter the monkeys from approaching you and your child.
Something you don’t worry about so much in North America- be thankful.
There is a section on what to do if you encounter a snake in your home but “Be on the next plane!” would be the only acceptable recommendation for me.
Estuarine Crocodile. Also known as the Saltwater Crocodile, it is one of the largest crocodile species in the world and can grow to more than 5m in length. Takes visiting beaches off my list.
Mark’s cousin mentioned that a while back there was a huge python trying to climb up the wall of the Singapore River too, so I guess swimming is also off my list. I may be through all of my adventures here pretty quickly at this rate. I should stop reading/listening to locals tbh.
To be fair, both of his cousins have denied seeing any big snakes, just one very poisonous one that looked like a black garden hose (you know, the ones with the narrow yellow line on it?) Needless to say, I’ll carry my long handled umbrella with me wherever I go, not just for the rain but to assist with any snake wrangling that might happen in the next 2-5 years. THAT would be worth a million dollars on youtube! Great financial support for my widowed spouse and motherless children.
Next week: I’m not sure yet, but the trauma of the above creatures may have turned me off of my wet market adventures for now.
Stay tuned!
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WEEKS 5/6
An interesting thing about time- two weeks seemed like it went slowly while I was in the middle of them, but now that they're behind me, it feels like the blink of an eye. During that time, aside from completing the mundane daily activities/chores, Mark and I went to Sentosa Island for our Saturday Valentine adventure. On his work days, I went to the most expensive shopping district I've ever been to, the National Museum of Singapore, Tiong Bahru wet market (which was described by nail salon owner Hazel as a “mild” experience for a new expat- I was on the receiving end of a lovely pedi at the time :), and I continued to wander by foot/bus/subway/cable car/monorail.
One of my adventures took me to the National Museum of Singapore, which is a 13 minute walk from home on the other side of Fort Canning. Dating back to 1887, the nation’s oldest museum has 2 floors of exhibits with 2 additional temporary exhibits. After 5 hours of reading about the history of Singapore since the 1400’s, including the Japanese occupation (during WWII) and Singapore's independence (Aug 9, 1965), I felt much more knowledgeable about this little island’s history. I also learned about rickshaws which for whatever reason fascinate me. This two-wheeled vehicle was a popular mode of public transportation from 1880-1930’s; fares were about 6 cents/mile, and the rickshaw pullers covered most of the island, working at least 10-12 hours shifts for about 30-40 cents/day (must have lost some of their pay to union dues if you do the math). Imagine- they hauled hundreds of pounds of people around all day, either in barefeet or sandals. They must have been in great shape, but with really rough feet. Apparently they could only manage this job for 5-7 years due to the toll on their bodies. In this museum, they also had a fake drive-in that was pretty cute- you could actually sit in the vehicles and watch a movie that was playing.
The wet market at Tiong Bahru was a fun outing. I took my mom along on FaceTime one morning and showed her all of the flowers that are sold there- I purchased a small bunch of orchids for $3. They had a ton of stalls- all in a covered but open-air building- vegetables, fruits, flowers, clothing, shoes, spices, eggs, fish, chicken, beef, pork. It was so overwhelming. No crazy weird stuff at this "mild" wet market- a pile of sea cucumbers and whole fish, heads and beady accusatory eyes intact- I'll have to work up to the more authentic locations. The markets are generally open every day from early morning until around noon. It’s noisy and busy, but has a fun festive feel, almost like we were back to pre-COVID living, though we're still having to wear our masks outside (unless vigorously exercising remember?) so that kinda kills that good vibe a bit.
We spent Saturday on Sentosa Island which is 7km southwest of us. It was a 30 minute bus ride, then a 10 min cable car ride. The island can be accessed by bridge, monorail or cable car. We chose to take the cable car there, and ended up on the monorail coming back. The island is quite large (relatively speaking) and has A TON of activities- Universal Studios, a water park, various resorts, golf course, a few beautiful beaches, bungee jumping, a luge, ziplining, paddle boards, kayaks, S.E.A Aquarium (we viewed a shark tank from the cable car), walking trails, Madam Tussauds, the Trick Eye museum (optical art museum from Korea; I’ve got to go back for that one!) We went on the newly opened (Dec 2021) SkyHelix which took us up about 35m above ground- our feet dangling, open air with just a flimsy seatbelt keeping us from falling to our deaths :) Anyhoo, it slowly spun us around so we could see 360 degrees way above the treetops, from downtown Singapore to the many shipping barges that were waiting to load or unload their wares. After the SkyHelix, we found the Imbiah Trail. I let Mark lead to scare off any ill-mannered legless creatures- there were none thankfully as honestly we all know who would outrun who. I would be most determined to survive and scared out of my mind, but his legs are much longer than mine- although he might just hang back to watch my attempted escape. Flashback to 1992 when we were on our Target beach cruisers coming down Big Bear Mountain in California (flatland Ontarians who were ill-prepared as usual; everyone else there had hardcore light-weight titanium mountain bikes and all the safety gear- "Safety third!"- has always been Mark's motto to living). I was riding my brakes all the way down, jostling and bouncing on my seat due to the huge potholes, with my helmet sliding off my head, yelling hysterically at people to get out of my way as I was out of control, while he stayed behind me to watch the train wreck. Boy, he was entertained. Great day for him. I was not happy and could not fully open my hands all day as they were painfully frozen in brake-death grip. We did that trip once. It’s obviously still a traumatic memory for me.
Back to Sentosa-
The trail took us into a tropical forest with a few waterfalls, lots of trees and lush bushes and the very persistent sounds of the cicadas. At the end of the trail, we found Fort Siloso. This fort sits at the western tip of Sentosa Island and was built around 1879 to protect the western part of Singapore from the bad guys. The fort was bombed by the Japanese in 1942, but after the war it was rebuilt over time. We spent quite a lot of time walking around the fort. Then we hit the beach- walked along the boardwalk and found Rumours Beach Club for some drinks and appetizers; watched some beach volleyball and listened to the screams of the bungee jumpers overhead. It was a really fun afternoon, and we almost made it to the bus before the heavy rain fell- almost. We did have an umbrella, but we were soaked from our waists down. An umbrella can only do so much.
Off track again just a bit:
For those of you who are curious about the cost of food here in Singapore, let me enlighten you. It’s shocking, and we’re only feeding the two of us.
From our local grocery store bill (shopped in person and online; Singapore dollars which is only 2 cents different from CAD; about 75 cents USD):
Large head of romaine lettuce- $7 (very hard to find)
Small broccoli heads x 2- $7
Bell peppers x 3- $4.50
English cucumbers x 3- $6.25 each!
Bananas x 3- $2.00
Small bag of shredded cheddar cheese 170 g- $11
Russet potatoes x 3- $2.85
Block of butter 250 g- $5.60
Frozen skinless, boneless chicken 1 kg- $9.95 (Amazon Fresh online)
Frozen minced beef 500 g- $6.95 (Amazon Fresh)
Frozen salmon 9x150 g- $39.95 (Amazon Fresh)
Eggs (10- no dozens here that I can find)- $2.95 (Amazon Fresh)
A small jug of Tide- $28 (I ended up buying a local brand instead- good grief!)
Cost of gas is S$2.62/litre- even more reason NOT to own a car.
There's also a 7% GST here, which they're talking about raising to 8%.
So some things are outrageously expensive and a few things are not too bad. We seem to mix buying in person at a local grocery store (Cold Storage) and ordering from a few places online that deliver- just for the convenience. Sometimes we can’t find what we want in either instance so we look somewhere else. Getting what we want has had it’s challenges on occasion, and can be a bit time-consuming- but I’ve got the time so I can’t complain. Ultimately, I should get myself more familiar with the wet markets as they are much cheaper overall.
Eating out is another story altogether. Happy Hour is the way to drink here- my $20 glass of wine is half price. As mentioned in my previous post, they have A TON of restaurants- everywhere you look. It’s insane. Italian, Mexican, Thai, Chinese, Greek, pubs, wings, tapas, burger joints, gelato/ice cream, coffee shops, pizza, Japanese- and that's within just a few blocks. It’s too much. I don’t even know where to begin. And they’re BUSY EVERY EVENING! You pay at least S$15/plate, usually over $20, some beef dishes are upwards of $50-70. I will add that they can't make a London Fog at Starbucks here even if I tell them EXACTLY what's in it. That is tragic and is causing me unnecessary distress.
Another option for dining is a hawker centre. This is an open-air complex that contains many stalls that sell different varieties of affordable meals. There are tables/chairs/picnic tables available. Hawker centres replaced mobile carts that were previously selling food on the streets. They changed this up due to unhygienic food preparation by unlicensed street vendors. The hawker centres are owned by 3 government bodies- NEA (National Environment Agency), HDB (Housing and Development Board) and JTC Corporation. They’ve implemented licensing requirements where a sufficient standard of hygiene is required for the stall to operate, and rewards exceptionally good hygiene, as well as a low grading option for those that want to use risky hygiene practices. These grades are required to be displayed on the hawker stand. They also assign demerit points and fines for food and personal handling hygiene. Interestingly enough, as of 2019, more than 40 hawker stalls have been awarded Michelin Star and Bib Gourmand rating (as per the ever knowledgeable, and accurate I’m sure, internet).
I’ve been to two hawker centres at this point- I’ve not actually eaten at one yet, just walked through. They were insanely busy and seemed like the neighborhood social scene. It’s noisy and chaotic, and smells divine! They’re also very inexpensive. A meal might run you about $2.50 up to $10/plate depending on meat options. Remember they use a lot of noodles and rice here, so inexpensive fillers.
Btw, speaking of expensive- a local realtor sent out flyers proudly announcing their success in selling a unit in our building in Dec (same size as ours- 3 bedroom; approx 1200 sq ft) - for $2.7 million. Can you believe?? It’s craziness.
Back to my shopping or lack thereof.
I went to the Takashimaya Shopping Centre (15 min bus ride) as that’s where the biggest bookstore in Singapore is located. What a mistake. Yes, they had the lovely bookstore where I lost myself for at least an hour just wandering around looking at everything, but the rest of the stores were: Chanel, Cartier, Prada, Tiffany, Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga, Rolex. I didn’t last long. I’m guessing there had to be some “regular” stores for gals on my budget, but I wasn’t in the mood to root them out. That will be for another day.
I will say that one of the bigger pains along with wearing a mask in the hot, humid outdoors is having to scan our TraceTogether app every single time we enter a new space. So imagine you go to a mall- you scan to get in, no biggie. Then you go in a store within the same mall, scan. And another store, scan. Grab a bite, scan. All in the same mall! Like what's happened to you in that short a distance that you need to scan again? And no, it's not hard. But you have to have your phone out, keep opening the app, scan the QR code on the door, show the attendant, then proceed. It makes no sense and is just annoying. Obviously not annoying enough for me to stay home...just sayin'.
At Kinokuniya Bookstore, I purchased a few novels and travel books for Mark and I, and a basic cookbook with some local dishes which will be fun to make- hopefully tasty too. We also booked a 3-hour cooking class in which we make 3 different Singaporean dishes. If it goes well, I’ll look into taking more substantial courses to expand our culinary experience here at the condo, although the cost of groceries makes cooking at home a bit of a turn off.
On one of my walks, I decided to go toward the waterfront where they have a fountain/statue of the Merlion. This is exactly what it sounds like- it has the body of a fish and the head of a lion. The tail symbolizes Singapore’s origins as a fishing village. The head represents the city’s original name of Singapura (lion city in Sanskrit). According to legend, many many years ago (like centuries), a prince who landed near the mouth of the Singapore River spied a strange creature which he identified as a lion. Although there is no history of any further lion sightings, there were tigers here at some point (same difference I guess- they can both take an arm off).
Speaking of traveling, we’re flying out on Saturday to spend a week in Bangkok, Thailand with more exploring on the menu (well Mark will be working). I think it’s quite different from Singapore so….stay tuned!
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WEEK 7/8
THAILAND + COVID
Yes, that’s right. We enjoyed more than just a fun adventurous trip to Bangkok. We got COVID.
The trip started off innocently enough with a 2 hour flight. I did note to Mark that there was a kid two rows back that was coughing up a storm, but with our KF94 masks on for most of the flight, aside from drinking/eating, I felt like we were fairly well protected.
We traveled to Bangkok on Thailand's Test & Go program- we had to do a PCR prior to departing Singapore (of course), on arrival at the hotel Day 1, and then again on Day 5. For our Day 1 PCR we had to wait in our room until the result came back which was about 0800 the next day- negative- we were allowed to leave.
We initially stayed at the Westin Grande Hotel in Bangkok which was right on the skytrain line. There was a really nice mall, Terminal 21, across the street. We explored the neighborhood on foot, noting a lot of small Buddhist shrines scattered on people’s properties/businesses. On Sunday, we took the skytrain to the huge market just northwest of us, also noting a lovely gentleman coughing up a lung standing behind us on the train. BUT we had our masks on (mandatory inside AND outside) so I was hopeful we would be protected. The market was extensive and reminded us of the huge swap meet in southern California. Many streets with intersecting lanes, stall after stall, covered but open to air. They sold everything- candles, clothes, spices, shoes, leather goods, paintings/artwork, even services like massages. They had many food stalls as well. For a Sunday, it wasn’t too busy which was nice.
Monday/Tuesday were pretty laid back. I helped Mark with some of his work, walked around a lot, went to a few malls (both were pretty empty... and expensive). I took the subway to Chinatown and walked around there for a few hours. It was quiet as apparently the crowds come out in the evening.
On Wednesday (Day 5) we took our PCR test and I had just started feeling a scratch in my throat. BUT with a/c on all the time, I chalked it up to dryness, figuring the PCR will discount COVID so I could move on with my plans. We were allowed to use the hotel facilities on Day 5, but we couldn’t leave the property until our results came back. I pretty much stayed in our room just in case. Sure enough, Thursday morning we got the call from the nurse at the hotel that we tested positive. By that time, I had a stuffy nose and full blown sore/scratchy throat, Mark had the throat issue as well. So as much as it was shocking to have that diagnosis after successfully avoiding it for almost 2 years, with our symptoms I was already prepared to hear the bad news.
In Thailand, if you test positive and are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, you are required to go to the hospital for bloodwork and a chest x-ray, then they transport you to a “hospitel” which is a hotel that’s been converted to a COVID quarantine space. So Mark & I packed up our suitcases and were whisked out of the Westin through the back hallways and elevators, guided by staff who were geared up to the max in PPE of course. It was all very covert. That’s how celebrities feel, I guess lol! We were picked up by a medical transport van and taken to the hospital. This process took about an hour or so- it was pretty streamlined and quick. Everything was done outside even the x-ray; they did have a small trailer type office where they took our temp etc and I could change into the cute brown gown for the x-ray. Then we were driven to Hope Land Hospitel. We learned through our 10 day experience that there was minimal hope of any kind coming from this location. There’s a nurse on duty, and the rooms have been stripped down of all of the comforts. Bare bones. Don’t get me wrong, a hospital would have been a million times worse with just as bad food, and it was fine really- clean, had a/c, towels, a small fridge and kettle, toilet paper, TV (all channels in Thai so not too helpful as far as entertainment goes), concrete-hard twin-sized beds which had plastic coverings on the mattresses (noisy, slippery and sweaty), the balcony and windows were screwed shut, and there were no dishes. But hey, it wasn’t the hospital.
Every day, between the hours of 7-8, 11-12, 5-6 we would hear the clanging of the food cart and the swishing of the PPE coming down the hall when the “prison guards” would come to drop off our meals and supplies. I would say it worked like Pavlov’s experiment except that the food was nasty so did not trigger any salivation or excitement by either one of us. They would sometimes ring our doorbell when meals were delivered, sometimes not. Trash was picked up outside our door once/day or sometimes not. No linen service or cleaning. On a daily basis we requested rolls of toilet paper (no kleenex for our noses), water bottles and fresh towels.
They delivered 3 squares a day, like in prison, and it was probably on par with prison food, maybe worse but I don’t have any recent prison experience to say for sure. White rice with all three meals, some kind of meat or dried up fried egg, minimal veggies. Did I mention all meals were cold? We finally clued in and asked for a microwave on Tuesday which still wouldn’t help with their food- once you’ve cooked it to death, a little heat just warms up the mess but doesn’t make it any more edible. They did send up fruit and yogurt which was nice, as well as juice boxes which I didn’t touch.
Thankfully, we could order for Grab delivery once/day which we did a few times- pizza, Mexican and burgers- we also ordered some groceries to be delivered to sustain us when the main meals were unpalatable ie. protein bars, oatmeal (I had some protein powder to add), chips and tea. Mark choked down powdered Nescafe that they sent from the basement. BUT they only delivered during meal times, so we had to be strategic with timing of delivery especially if we wanted the food warm when it finally made it to our room.
A doctor did call within a day to review our lab and chest x-ray results- all were fine thankfully. Also part of the medical piece included that we text the nursing staff with our temp, pulse ox and HR 3x/d (at specific times of course; and they were quick to text us a reminder).
Within a few days, our symptoms dissipated and we were back to normal, just left to fight the boredom and wait out the rest of the week. Luckily (?), we had each other. I’ve never binged so much TV in my life- Mark brought the cord to connect with our laptop so we could watch Netflix and Prime on the TV. While Mark worked, I watched the Jeffrey Epstein story, finally watched Breaking Bad, a lot of Friends episodes, finished Inventing Anna and watched the two Dirty John seasons. My bum was so sore from sitting on the concrete bed that I was starting to worry about a coccyx ulcer…lol!
We managed to get some work-outs in and walked in circles for 10,000 steps so we’d be able to function when we finally got released. But that lack of fresh air really takes its toll on your spirits. Oh well, the price of travel right now can be really high, and considering we came out healthy on the other side, I can’t (but will) complain. I did try to remind myself that during the start of the pandemic my 90+ year old mom was quarantined in her 1-bedroom retirement home suite for 7 WEEKS and she kept her act together so we could certainly do 10 days.
One bonus to this situation is that we don’t have to do any PCR testing with travel for a few months :)
Another bonus is that we booked a different hotel for the Friday and Saturday nights after quarantine and that hotel was great! We stayed at the Royal Orchid Sheraton in an upgraded room, cuz we damn well deserved it after that hella 10 days. The hotel is right on the Chao Phraya River and all the rooms had a beautiful view of this river. They also had a free little ferry we could take across to the fancy mall which we took multiple times.
Right after we arrived at the Sheraton, we took this ferry to the mall, ate REAL food and had a nice icy beverage, then took the ferry back and laid by the pool. That evening we took a cab to the Moon Sky Bar which was at the top of the Banyan Tree hotel (63 floors up I believe). The view was AMAZING!! The restaurant up there is called Vertigo and that’s a very appropriate name. We each had a $40 glass of wine, yes glass, took in the views and then went back to the hotel to have a restful night’s sleep in a nice comfortable bed. Ah, the things you appreciate after these types of negative experiences.
On Saturday, the hotel doorman hooked us up with a private boat taxi to take us on a 1.5 hour tour up the river, past a lot of temples, various government buildings, a hospital and a wide range of homes, from the rich to the impoverished. We went down a narrow canal, through a lock system and to a floating market. It was pretty interesting- lots of locals cooking their various foods on little side tables, in their boats or squatting on the ground; vendors selling toys, clothes, fruits, veggies and juices, even some fresh live eels and baby catfish for those adventurous eaters. On the way back down the river, we had our guide drop us off at the pier by the Grand Palace so we could take a tour.
The Grand Palace was built in 1782 and was the home of the Thai king for almost 150 years, until 1925, as well as the royal court and the administrative seat of government. By the 1920’s, a series of new palaces were built elsewhere, because why not have more palaces, right? By 1925, the king, royal family and the government were no longer permanently settled at the original palace, and had moved to other residences- for example the “more modern” Dusit Palace, constructed in 1903, and the Phaya Thai Palace in 1909.
The original palace is a combined area of 218,400 sq.m. and is surrounded by 4 walls. Over time, there was some rebuilding done, including that of the royal chapel, that now houses the Emerald Buddha. We went into the chapel- no shoes, no pictures/videos, no talking, and when you sit on the floor you are not to point your feet toward the Buddha. It was very ornate with tons of gold, and the walls were covered in murals. It was beautiful. The palace is a famous landmark in Bangkok, and is still used for some official events/ceremonies.
Ok, so here’s where things can get a bit more challenging if you’re not prepared. To enter the palace or any temples, men and women have to cover their knees and shoulders. Luckily, we knew this and Mark wore some long pants and I brought a traditional long Thai wrap skirt to put over my shorts (Mark got it for me last summer) and a sweater. BUT man it was hot. I was dripping sweat the entire time. We walked around the property and into the temple/chapel there. The opulence of the buildings was like nothing I had ever seen before. Every single building was intricately bejeweled or had details on it that would have taken forever to complete. The property was huge and packed with a lot of buildings, so it was difficult to really take pictures that would show how ostentatious it all was. And the stark difference between this Palace property and the gut-wrenching poverty that was just outside of it was really pretty sickening. Opulence on one side of the wall, moldy falling down shacks on the other side.
An additional detail that I learned is that, as the current king has had some very negative behaviours over the years, he has strict laws that forbid citizens and the Thai press from insulting and reporting on embarrassing details about the family (sounds like just him really).
King Maha Vajiralongkorn, officially known as King Rama X, was crowned in May 2019, almost three years after the death of the previous king, his father Bhumibol Adulyadej. The king, age 69, currently lives in a swanky hotel in Germany and reigns his country from there, which pisses everyone off in Germany as well as in Thailand. But hey, he’s the king.
After the palace, we took a boat taxi back to the hotel, hit the pool bar, and had dinner at the hotel. We ended up taking a tuk tuk to the Lebua Hotel Sky Bar, however that place also had pants/closed shoe requirement for men, and we didn’t do the necessary preparatory research ahead of time, so we walked over to the Yao Sky Bar and had a drink there (no dress code). One thing to note: directly outside of the Lebua Sky Bar and the palace there are many vendors that will approach you to tell you about the dress code requirements and try to sell you some fun billowy Thai pants. I’m not sure of the cost but there were quite a few men at the palace who were donning these printed gems- an unexpected souvenir I guess.
We flew back to Singapore on Sunday- no PCR test required. It was actually really nice to walk into our place and just reflect on how different that Thailand trip ended up being from what we expected. I think I’ll stay grounded for a bit :) However Mark is heading to Vietnam at the end of March with one of his guys who recently used to live there. My plan is for him to get these other countries all sorted out, then I’ll go with him next time. I can’t let COVID get the best of my plans to explore SEA while I’m out here.
This weekend, we’re booked for a 3-hour cooking class- Singaporean dishes. Should be interesting!
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LISA
Thanks for your interest in Lisa in Southeast Asia. I'd love to hear from you so feel free to get in touch and I will get back to you soon! Whatsapp: Lisa Dono
11 Arnasalam Chetty Road, #08-06 The Inspira, Singapore 239949
+65-8168-3267
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