1º22´ north, 103º48´ east

Updates

2008-01-27T10:29:00.000Z

Wow - over three months since my last post. What have I been doing? Well, quite a bit actually. I changed jobs last Autumn, although I'm pretty much doing the same kind of thing. The one big plus is that my office is now on Orchard Road, and there's better shopping there. There's also more options on food, although no quick n cheap kopi tiams.

And this is primarily the reason I have not blogged for a while - work. I started at the end of October, and within a few days was of to Oz for some induction for a fortnight. Back in Singapore for a week, and then off to Manila to meet my new team fro a fortnight. Back for a few weeks, then off to the UK for Christmas. Things have started to settle down now, but for a while it was pretty busy. Just as a little aside, we're right in the middle of the rainy season here in Singapore, so rain most of the time. It usually starts at aorund 3-4 in the afternoon, and can continue for most of the evening. Just so as you know it's not all fun in the sun here. Only 9 months of the time.

What else have we been up to? Well, in October we went to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon for you romantics), which was great. Food was fantastic, with serious French influence. Coffee was the best I've had, and the buildings were interesting too. We only went for a few days, but would recommend it.

Some of you may know that we're going back to the UK this week. Guess we'll catch up with most of you then. I'll try to keep blogging, although it may not be as frequent as before. Fear not, I'm still here, although gaining in girth by the day...this may have something to do with the fact that I have not jogged much since I bought my expensive new "running shoes". This will (hopefully!) change now, as I'm signed up to do the JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge in Singapore in April, along with my office colleagues. How will I fare? That kind of depends on the amount I have to drink between now and then...

adidas Men's adizero LT DC Trainers (sorry, Running Shoes)

2007-10-08T05:59:00.000Z

Having started to jog (for jog, read collapse in a forward motion) regularly, I thought it time to buy some trainers more suitable. I had been jogging in my more than respectable adidas trainers (similar to these ones, bought when trainers were more colloquially known as “pub loafers”, and worn by all, everywhere). These were fine for looking good at le discothèque (or is it la discothèque?), but were a little too heavy for jogging. So, we headed on down to the Queensway Shopping Center and ended up with a pair of adidas adizero trainers (sorry, running shoes). Sticker price $180. We pay $136. Not bad.

As excited as a small boy in a sweet shop with a pocket full of change and a brand new set of dentures, we headed out for a test-jog yesterday. What a difference! The trainers (sorry, running shoes) were incredibly light. And, I can prove that they help me run better, faster, longer, higher (well, maybe not the last one). I normally last for 15 minutes before collapsing. Yesterday, we ran for 17 minutes. That’s a little over 13% improvement, just from a pair of trainers. Who knows what a new pair of socks could do…

Red Arrows

2007-10-03T03:16:00.000Z

So it would appear as though the Red Arrows are too British to fly at the Olympics. I sometimes have difficulty in considering my position on this - is it too jingoistic to call it ridiculous, and allow the Pride of Britain to fly (especially if the BNP seem to be outraged – but then so were The Times), or is it just a ridiculous decision? I have to say, that, although I can perhaps see what the organisers are trying to achieve, this is a bit of a PR disaster, and actually a bad call on their part. There’s a petition to sign, and by Jove I’ve gone and signed it.

- - - - - - - - - -

UPDATE: Erm, having signed it, I've just read on the petition that "The organising committee of London 2012 will decide what to include in the celebrations - but with five years to go, decisions are yet to be made on what the celebrations will look like, although you can be assured that they will be a spectacular showcase of Britain's best." Hmm, well, could have put that up top, right? Or did you really want the address information first?

The land of the shiny green suit...

2007-09-29T08:01:00.000Z

Earlier this month I was in Hong Kong for a quick visit. Hong Kong is perhaps one of my all-time fave cities (although maybe Shanghai has overtaken in…), so it’s always great to go back. The weather was quite cool at this time of year (at least for the first few days), so it was also nice to escape the heat of Singapore! The flight itslf is only three and a bit hours, so its a fast hop (for anyone who wants to visit next time they're in Singapore...)

When I first arrived, my colleague form HK was feeling a little under the weather, so I had a whole Sunday night to kill. I remembered that the walk along Nathan Road was quite a nice one, and as it was around 5pm when I set off, I figured that if I started at one end, by the time I reached the Causeway it would be dark, giving me a nice view of Hong Kong Island at night. I took the MTR to Prince Edward, thinking it was a short walk to the causeway. Wrong. I had underestimated the length of Nathan Road, and ended up pretty damn far from where I wanted to be. Nonetheless, it was a nice (but tiring) walk that night, finished off with some Sichuan noodles with bubble tea (left). Not sure how Sichuan the noodles were (they seemed to be mostly carrots), but nice enough.

Next day I was off to Lan Kwai Fong in the evening. I was pretty beat after work, but I figured I should venture out a little to soak up the nightlife. Being a Monday night, LKF was a little empty, but was still as I remembered it, the hang-out for expats and local businessmen. Full of bars and pubs, it looked like an ideal place to have a beer after work. Only I was too tired. I wanted to eat, and sleep. So I found a neat little noodle bar in Central and had some beef noodles. Some of the best noodles I’ve ever had, although maybe a little too much tenderiser in the beef. I had a Tsingtao beer as well (well, I’m in China, right?). Apparently the chef made noodles in Macao for years, and even knocked up a bowl for the Portuguese president some time ago. Now, this sounds good in theory. But it’s a bit like saying that m fish and chips are great because I cooked them for the Japanese premier once. How is the Portuguese president to tell good noodles from bad? Maybe he does, and I’m doing him a disservice. All I’m saying is that if he had made noodles for the Chinese premier, I’d have been impressed…;-). Anyway, they were good. The couple in front of me took a pic, so I thought I would as well.

Left: Lan Kwai Fong
Far left: Beef Noodles & Beer

Tuesday night I had dinner on the Peak, which was lovely. It’s so much cooler up there than down at sea level, you can see why the rich and famous make their homes in the clouds.

Then, time to come home. And buy duty free at Changi Airport. This is a ritual that all locals (and foreigners who live here) partake of, give that booze is so damn expensive here. The staff at duty free are very helpful (I think they’re on commission), so the whole experience is very easy (and costly, if you buy the regulation 3 bottles of beer, one bottle of spirits, one bottle of wine).

The one thing that strikes you after visiting HK for a few days from Singapore is that you have just used two of the best airports in the world. Seriously. You can tell the organisation and thought that went into them, and their design. The airport train from Lantau Island to Hong Kong Island is wonderful, the airport itself in HK is beautiful – and shopping is not bad either. But Changi is great, with the efficiency that it prides itself on. Which one is better? I’m not sure. But I do know that they are more enjoyable and relaxing than Heathrow!

Colbar

2007-09-18T02:26:00.000Z

I didn’t get around to posting about one of our new favourite places to go makan – the Wessex Estate and OneNorth in Singapore. The whole estate is very close to the new Biopolis that has been developed in Singapore. Biopolis was developed to attract genetics engineers and scientists to Singapore, and I think that the chap who cloned Dolly the Sheep might even have been here at one point. The whole estate felt very much like the Little Kent area we have visited before – lots of colonial bungalows (many named after outposts of the British Empire, or major battles in the history of the Empire). Some of these bungalows have been converted to allow space for small business to grow, giving the whole estate quite a relaxed and quirky feel. Therew as a lot of redevelopment going on, and it would seem as though the Estate is getting quite a makeover. Nonetheless, there were quite a few classic cars around, lending a feel of Enid Blyton-esque Britishness.

However, the real standout was Colbar. An old bar frequented by expats for years, it was almost pulled down for good recently, when a new highway was built. However, a petition was gathered, and the bar was actually relocated (brick by brick) to its current location. The food here is absolutely fabulous (think old English pub foods, real brown sauce & ketchup, and vinegar…), and there is even a bring and borrow library there as well. You’ll see from the pics that I had the fish n chips – best on the Island. The bar also sold other pub favourites (sausage & chips, burger & chips - you get the idea), and pickled eggs. Not sure how popular they were, but there they were on the counter. The bar also stocked a decent selection of British real ales in the chiller. All in all, a great place.

Far Left: Bungalow with suitably exotic name
Left: Me on Woking Rd

Far Left: Research Lab
Left: Colbar

Colbar
9A Whitchurch Road, Wessex Estate Tel: 6779-4859
Opening hours: 11am-10pm; closed on Mondays

Batman!

2007-09-04T02:38:00.000Z

Okay, weak pun. Again. I've only just got around to posting this, but a few months ago we were regularly visited by a bat. He hung around outside the house, and on one occasion ventured inside, hanging on the light. I prodded and poked, but he was quite happy where he was. Eventually he got the message, and went to find Robin. We get lots of animals around the house, including a few geckos (my favourite has been called Gordon), who entertain themselves watching us watch them.

We get a lot of bats here in Singapore, and it seems as though there are more than when I first came here a few years ago. Mostly fruit bats, you can hear them call at night, and they swoop over your heads like the Red Baron if you are out walking in the evening, conducting guano bombing raids.

It's raining again...

2007-09-03T06:32:00.000Z

This week seems to herald the coming of the wet season in Singapore. It’s been building up over the last few weeks but it appears as though the rains are here. How do I know this? I walked out for my lunch, and half way to the food court felt the pitter patter of raindrops – 15 yards later and it was the not so faint clap of thunder, 10 yards further and I was drenched. I waited an hour for the rains to subside but to no avail. No choice left, I ran.

The Rainy season is characterised by sudden and thunderous rain. You can be walking along in bright sunshine one minute, the next you are looking for a life raft. Waiting it out is futile – the rains can go on for days. The only solution is to carry an umbrella with you wherever you go.

It is important here to distinguish between British rain (“is it raining? Not sure, let’s try”), and South-East Asian tropical rains (“Why didn’t we buy a house on stilts? Is that my car floating away…”). Rain in Singapore and the region is ferocious, never giving you a minutes respite. Whereas (ordinarily) British rain spreads out the water over a three hour period, South-East Asian rain gives it to you in about 10 minutes, throwing rain down with force.

Except in the rainy season, where it rains for days, months even.

I'm back!

2007-08-28T00:48:00.000Z

Okay, okay, okay, so I know you all got a little scared there. I asked if anyone actually read the blog, and only two people replied. I know for sure that I have one full time reader (hi mum), so I shall rekindle the flames of writing creativity, and bang out some more posts. Later.

But for now, here's a blog that states what's pretty much obvious to almost anyone I studies with recently "...pretty much anything else is more absorbing than writing a 400-page Ph.D. thesis". It's true. PhD students will feign interest (to others, or themselves) in most thing in order to put off writing that concluding section that ties together the chapter. Or write that damn introduction that is on v1.17.

Hubris

2007-08-13T05:34:00.000Z

It would appear that hubris, like energy, cannot be created or destroyed. Six months ago the world's financial markets were incredibly easy places to make money - anyone could throw a dart at the board and enjoy the upside. Many investors who did so told the rest of the world as much. Now, as markets slide, it's the slow and cautious tortoise (or the squirrels depending on you choice of fable) that are having the last laugh.

Maybe there is a lesson here, that excessive hubris coupled with an unfortunate turn of events is often accompanied by proportionate amounts of schadenfreude.

Happy Birthday...

2007-08-06T04:59:00.000Z

Happy Birthday to my blog...

I was going to write the lyrics for the whole song that we all know and love, but it appears that the are, as it has been rumoured, copyrighted. Technically, whenever you sing that song, you should pay royalties.

So I am not going to.

Anyhow, my blog is one year old. I promised in my first post that this might be the first of many - I have thus far posted 67 times. An overage of over one a week. Should I continue? Does anyone read it? Comments please...

Template

2007-08-02T06:55:00.000Z

Blogger asked me to update my template, so I did - and promptly lost me all of my previous settings and links et cetera. I had to do a quick rescue and pull together what I could remember. I've altered the font and the link colours slightly, but hopefully it looks okay.

Revision is going okay, I have been trying to crack Econs this week. In a good way, the CFA has forced me to actually learn a lot of the stuff I skipped during my U/G studies. I never really mastered mid-point elasticities; I knew they existed, and could broadly explain them, and that was enough. However, I now have to do worked examples, and I suddenly realise that there was quite a lot of stuff I had not really mastered at U/G level that I need to know now.

Next week comes a personal favourite (not) - comparative advantage in the terms of trade. I never really knew that one, it was much like magicians trick to me. However, I have to crack it so no choice.

On a separate note, we tried to watch the Simpsons movie last night, but could not get a seat that did not involve detaching out head to see the screen, so we stayed in and watched Syriana. We did manage to watch Harry Potter last week - who would have thought that the order of the phoenix was two Lamb Bhunas and an onion bhaji? Maybe he should try something a little less spicy, and then he won't keep catching fire...

Back to the grind...

2007-07-30T08:45:00.000Z

The dust is settling following the wedding (and so is my stomach after all that food!), and things are getting back to normal. We had a wonderful Brazilian dinner last night with a few friends from the wedding that helped us during the day, and our wedding photographer was in attendance to capture some of the happy moments. Too much meat has left me feeling slightly peaky today, but I should be right as rain tomorrow.

As for the CFA study, I am in week two now, having looked at Ethics last week. Ethics provide to be a little tricky, but not too challenging. Most seemed to be almost common sense, but there are parts where a candidate needs to learn to think like the CFA Institute wants you to, not as you might intuitively think. Nonetheless, Ethics accounts for quite a large chunk of Level I, and I need to make sure I get it licked to stand any chance of passing the exam.

I started on quants yesterday, only to find that my shiny new calculator kept giving me rather odd answers. The Stalla guide is fairly idiot-proof, and I was following the key strokes to calculate annuity payment, but was getting vastly different answers to those that the book was suggesting. Them, I just got a few error messages. So, quick as a flash, I switched to Economics (micro) to make the bets use if the remaining day. I sat the mock exam I have on CD, thinking that, given that I used to LECTURE micro-economics, I should be okay.

No such luck.

No study or revision, and I managed a measly 57% on the multiple choice. But several of the questions were fairly ambiguous, and given that my calculator wasn’t working I estimated many calculations involving elasticity and marginal product/revenue/cost et cetera. I’ll hit the books again tonight, and try to remember some of the formulas for elasticity.

Just as a final sign-off, if you need a laugh on a Monday, tale a look at this article. I should stress that the subject matter is not funny – but look at the author of the piece…

As a final note, I see that we are under 5 months from Christmas.

CFA briefing cum Information Session

2007-07-02T05:12:00.000Z

So, my parents and extended family are here, ready for Saturday’s big day. That doesn’t stop the clock as far as the CFA goes, and on Friday evening I attended a CFA briefing cum Information Session, run by CFA Singapore. The evening was interesting inasmuch as I found that many members at the session seemed to be university students. Others were I guess drawn from a large cross-section of the usual suspects (I-Banking, consulting et cetera). We also learnt that the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation is the largest employer of CFA charter-holders in Singapore. GIC employs 89, whilst the next employer - Citigroup – employs 72). Finally, we also learnt that Singapore has the largest amount of CFA charter-holders per capita in the world.

Unsurprising, given that even the CFA brochure recounts that, in relation to one charter-holder “… the head of the Government Investment Corp. (GIC) in Singapore, whom she highly respected, strongly recommended the CFA Program to her. “I felt that if I could be anywhere near as successful as he is I had to get myself a CFA [charter].” You go girl.

But we did learn some interesting stuff as well. Like the fact that whilst the pass rate is kept secret these days, it sued to be 70% of the top percentile. So if the top dog gets 100%, the pass rate is 70% and so on. Yikes! Well, the CFA is essentially an American certificate, and that is a very American way of grading. At University you often hear rumours of Harvard et al. failing the bottom 10%, and giving distinctions to those in the top 10%.

The exam day itself is two 3 hour exams (one in the morning, and one in the afternoon), and we should get the results 6 weeks after the exam.

This looks tougher than anything I’ve done before, and I do wish I’d paid more attention to Financial Analysis at Uni (youthful exuberance and a devotion to qualitative methods…)

We'll, they're not that worried, are they?

2007-06-20T06:59:00.001Z

The BBC reports today that:

"Australia has already started a wider A$40 defence procurement programme, amid concerns about growing instability in the Asia-Pacific region."

What are they doing, shopping on eBay?

How much?

2007-06-20T06:02:00.000Z

So Singapore is the 14th most expensive place on earth to live (up from 17th last year). Mercer's Worldwide Cost of Living Survey for 2007 has shown that Moscow is the most expensive city, and Algiers (in Algeria) is the cheapest. I could have told you that. How do I know? Well, paying anything like what we do for booze is unseemly. But, interestingly, there are comparisons of objects that are seemingly incomparable.

One such ranking is for coffee. The Mercer survey tells us that a cup of coffee in London had an average price of £2. £2!?! And what exactly do they mean by an average cup? Do they man a cup that is neither good nor bad, decidedly average in fact, will cost you £2? Or do they mean that the mean cost of a cup of coffee (taking into account all cups of coffee available in London) is £2?

Moreover, how valid is this as a comparator? Are they comparing Lattes from Starbucks globally (probably not, given the £2 quote for London), which in any case might not be comparable? Or are they comparing different types of coffee from different outlets of different chains?

Nonetheless, here are the coffee shorts (espresso facts, if you like):

Moscow: £3.14
Tokyo £2.33
Copenhagen: £2.55
Dublin: £2.00
New York: £1.93
Beijing: £2.32
Sydney: £1.41
Vancouver: £1.42
Johannesburg: £0.98
Buenos Aires: £0.91

Source: Mercer Human Resource Consulting

All well and good, but is the coffee in Buenos Aires any good?

CFA

2007-06-20T01:16:00.000Z

Okay, so I have signed up to the CFA. It was a big decision, not least in terms of cost. Cost in a financial sense, and also opportunity cost of studying. The enrolment for the Level I exam (for fees received on or before 15 August 2007) is US$390, whilst the one-off registration is US$455, making a grand total of US$845 up front moolah. The opportunity cost comes in when you consider that the advised study is 250 hours, (around 10 hours per week) for the Level I exam. So, all in all, a big commitment. However, the RoI of the CFA is large, and is a pre-requisite for most jobs in fund management. It's possible to see why when you look at the curriculum:

Ethics

Quantitative Methods

Prelim readings for Economics

Quantitative Methods

Micro Economic Analysis

Macro Economic Analysis

Global Economic Analysis

Corporate Finance

Prelim readings for Accounting

Financial Statement Analysis: Basics, Cash Flow Analysis and IASB GAAP

Financial Statement Analysis: Ratios & EPS

Financial Statement Analysis: Inventories, Long term Assets

Financial Statement Analysis: Deferred Taxes, Off Balance Sheet Debt

Securities Markets & Equities

Derivatives

Debt Investments

Alt Investments/ Portfolio Management

What to do? Well, suck it up, hit the books, and keep fingers and other extremities crossed. CFA Singapore has a study timetable for the December exam (December 2nd, by the way), and although I won't be joining, I do know that I should be starting Ethics on June 30th, and finishing with Alternative Investments/Portfolio Management on November 3rd.

I would hope that Econs will be okay, given that I used to lecture Econs, but the rest I haven't really touched since my Masters degree. And the one stand-out is Quants - a subject that I hated at Uni. So much so, that my PhD was quals-based. Suddenly, doing a quants-based PhD looks more attractive!!

Anyway, I've got the books, and I've got the schedule. The rest, as they say, is up to me.

PhD over and out...

2007-06-19T04:33:00.000Z

Some of you will know that I recently re-submitted my PhD thesis, following some corrections that were suggested as part of the Viva. Well, I recently heard back that my corrections have been accepted, and I have passed. Finally. Almost 5 years after I started the thing, it's over, and I can graduate. But not yet. Whilst we had tried to look for flights to the UK for July (after the wedding, I might add), they were just too much money, and the time-frame just too tight to get a thesis bound and submitted in order to graduate. So, we have postponed my graduation until December this year, when hopefully we can return and graduate in the snow.

Time, then, to open another chapter (or Textbook) as it were. I have signed up to sit for the Chartered Financial Analyst exam this December. Why the CFA? Good question. There has been a bit of a debate on a frequently visited careers page about the relative benefits of a CFA as compared to an MBA.

Much of this debate boils down to the same arguments we once trotted out in the playground, talking about football teams. "I support Tottenham, ergo they are the best". "No, I support Liverpool, ergo they are the best" (although I may not have used ergo when I was 5 years old). And so on. Replace the teams with CFA and MBA, and “support” with “have completed”, and you get the idea. My own rationale? For a career in fund management (and that’s what we are all after, after all) a CFA is probably the best bet. More focused than an MBA on financial markets (and a hell of a lot cheaper), the CFA is demanding but rewarding. Hopefully. I’ll use his blog to comment on my preparations for the Level I CFA exam in December.

Haji Lane

2007-06-18T04:21:00.000Z

Whilst I posted recently about the joys of dérive (note: this is not the same as getting lost), we ourselves did some exploring recently. We had heard a rumour about an interesting street in the Kampung Glam area of town called Haji Lane. Off we trotted form some exploration, and reportage. We had also heard that this was the narrowest street in Singapore. The lane itself did not disappoint. The lane did have some pretty cool shops, including one that sold vintage clothes and ice-cream (Pluck). No, we didn’t try the ice-cream yet, but yes, we will definitely post about it when we do!!! (the toils of service...)

Haji Lane also has one very small theatre. Pitch Black claims to be "...the only boutique screening room, art gallery and café featuring High Definition Blu-Ray Projection and 6.1 Cinematic Surround Sound.". More importantly, we were told that screenings were free, provided that you bought a certain amount of booze and food. When we go, we'll let you know what it's like.
The lane felt like a small back street in any city, and the mix of trendy labels and boutiques was a welcome diversion. We even had time to stop and have a chat with a wedding photographer that we almost went with for our wedding.

Pluck, 31/33 Haji Lane, Tel: 6396 4048
Pitch Black, 63 Haji Lane, Tel: 6392 3457
39 East Photography, 39 Haji Lane, (S)189232, Tel: 9740 8317

Something else we did recently was visit the main Singapore Train Station (Tanjong Pagar railway station) Built in 1932, the station is reminiscent of those that we see in the UK, with art-deco architecture of the period. the station is a working station, with regular services between Singapore and the western seaboard of Peninsula Malaysia, with stops including Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur. Inside, main attractions are some huge freezes and tile pictures. Interestingly, and as far as I know, the station And the tracks in Singapore are Malaysian state land, with the land on which the station and the Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) railway tracks in Singapore are situated held by KTM on a 999-year lease.

Well worth a trip, and quite interesting. There's even a signal box that wouldn't look out of place in the UK.

Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, 30 Keppel Road (S)089059

2007-06-08T07:43:00.000Z

Whilst I love being in Asia, there are a few things that make me wish I was able to visit London, just for a weekend. One of the things that we used to do a lot when we lived in the UK might be termed dérive, [literally: “drifting”], a term made famous by Parisian philosopher-insurrectionist Guy Debord. In essence, dérive involves wandering around a city without the usual rationale for proceeding in certain directors, allowing yourself to be attracted only by the terrain that confronts you. You might like the look of a certain street – if so, go down it. You might get lost, but that’s part of the intrigue. I think you get the idea. I used it as a metaphor in my PhD methodology for semi-structured interviews, but I think that that is a post for another day…

Anyway, I think one of the things that we miss about London is just wandering around little known (to us, anyway) back-streets and markets, scouting out shops selling anything from curiosities to cheese, and often simply curious cheese. London is a town that allows you to do that, and you can walk from one end of the city to the other and move through several very, very different districts. One of the areas we discovered just before we left was Old Spitalfields Market – well worth a trip, just for the wonderful British gourmet chocolate shop. Whilst you're there, why not try the famous S&M cafe (that's sausage & mash) if you're hungry.

Most of our wanderings began at St Pancras station.

I read to today about the re-developments of St. Pancras station in the UK, and its transformation from dank fume filled shed to a beauty of engineering. St Pancras station (and the attached Midland Grand Hotel) has been designed designed by William Barlow in 1863 and were very nearly demolished in the 1960s (a dark period for British architecture), were it not for the intervention of Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman (yes, he who wrote of friendly bombs on Slough). The original structure was a tremendous achievement (the arch spans 240 feet and is over 100 feet high at its apex), and was an icon of London.

Now, the station has been redeveloped. I remember walking through the station fondly whilst I was working in London. Whilst I hated the diversions at the time, the new station looks to be a wonderful achievement. The Foster-designed extension of the glass roof adds a new dimension to the station.

Those of you who are still in London, you can take a guided walk around the St Pancras area and learn more about its history.

2007-06-05T07:57:00.001Z

Here you go, a non-food post.

Another place we visited recently was TK Pottery Jungle, located way of into the midst of Singapore’s greenery. We were on a hunt for a large pot to put some plants in, and a pot to put some fish in, and this place fitted the bill.

Although it’s a little off of the beaten track, (closer to Malaysia than it is to many places in Singapore) it’s well worth a visit. They have all manner of pottery there, including vases, and kitchenware. They even seemed to have a Commie Corner, with all kinds of Marxist memorabilia. The day was a hot one (aren’t they all), and seemed popular with ex-pats. We wondered if some my family would appreciate it (the carrot-cake expert, and Marty, to name two), and thought we’d stick these pics up to entice….

Far Left: Lots of Pots

Left: You could fit a-lad-in there (weak pun)

Far left: A kiln

Left: Another kiln

Thow Kwang Industry Industry Pte Ltd
85 Lorong Tawas (off Jalan Bahar)
Singapore 639823

t: 6265 5808
e: pottery@thowkwang.com.sg
Open: 9am to 5 pm daily

After visiting the place, we took a drive round the coastal regions to check out the wildlife. To drive around these often empty country roads is to forget that you are in Singapore, sometimes. The area of Singapore on the West Coast is home to a diverse range of industries, from chicken farming to furniture making. Trucks get lost here, and we saw a dead dog once. Still, it’s a great adventure, and the coastal area is definitely a visit worth making. When we got there we saw were a handful of fishermen wading around in boats setting off to try their luck. Out in the straits we could see a couple of Kelong, an offshore platform built with wood to fish from, although larger ones can be used as homes. These are increasingly rare in Singapore, but there are a few around.

We stayed on the jetty, and looked in amazement as we saw clams, crabs, and other stuff that I don’t know but comes under “fish”. We also saw a crab – not sure what it is called, but it looks like a Horseshoe Crab. Its popular in South-East Asian food, and in life the male and female stick together (literally), and both die if they are separated - how sweet. Anyway, thee area is quite tranquil, and makes for a relaxing diversion from pounding shopping streets in the centre of Singapore. You know you have reached the end of Singapore, because there is a bus turning circle - they drive up to the end of the road, cannot go any further, and then the bus turns around.

After tiring, we did indeed go and eat ice-cream (at the Island Creamery, no less). I got some food mention in at the end, phew.

Far Left: A mysterious fruit

Left: The crab - any idea?

Highlander - They may take our lives, but they will NEVER take our FREEDOM!

2007-06-04T08:55:00.000Z

Or was that Braveheart? Apologies to Maris for confusing my movies (Highlander, Braveheart, same thing, right?).

For our anniversary Elena and I went to a new Scottish bar/restaurant (called Highlander, if you needed prodding) for some makan. We’d seen reviews of it as being rather decent, and I had hoped for something a little like Lock Fyne in Nottingham. When we got there, there were some rather confusing conversations about beer (We've run out of beer. No we have some, but it is warm. Shall I make it cold for you?), and were ushered to the furthest corner in the place. Did I small that bad? It was after a long day at work, I guess. We did manage to negotiate a window table in the end.

Anyway, the place looked quite decent, and there was a healthy smattering of ex-pats there for the beer (that which they did have) and the food. But what was the food like...

I had the Highlander Game Pie (a mixture of game meat in season in a rich red wine sauce topped with puff pastry and served with chive mashed potato), whilst Elena had Smoked Kippers (fresh herring smoked over smouldering oak chips; the result of which is a delicately flavoured, thick, fleshy fish). We shared some Tattie Scones (potato scones with a melted cheddar cheese dip), which were excellent, and reminded me of Irish potato cakes. Did my grandmother make them for me when I was younger? I think so, but I might be delusional. My game pie was fabulous, although the butter content in the pastry was rather high, and Elena's kippers were commendable. Beer was not bad, including an array of exotic Scottish ales.

Please please someone find out if my grandmother did make potato cakes for me in the past - if so, maybe she can bring some more over when she comes, along with the carrot cake (hehehe)...

Highlander. Bar + Restaurant
Block 3B. The Foundry
#01-11 Clarke Quay
River Valley Road
Singapore 179021

t: 6235 9528
w: http://www.highlanderasia.com

Click here for the menu.

Far left: Maybe I did smell

Left: Tattie Scones

Far left: Smoked Kippers

Left: Game Pie

Island Creamery

2007-06-04T08:39:00.000Z

Recently, I posted about the donut craze that has hit Singapore. People are still queuing for those donuts, and there is even a new donut shop in Vivocity that is attracting similar queues - even though the donuts look pretty bog-standard to us. And now, time to post about ice-cream. Do we do anything other than test deserts? Yes, of course. Are they as much fun? No, probably not. That's why you hear about ice-cream and donuts, and not about other more mundane aspects of life...

Anyway, the Island Creamery is a fantastic place to scoop some ice-cream. Flavours include the usual suspects including Reverso (chocolate with chocolate chunks, mmm), Very Berry and Cookies and Cream, as well as more local twists, including Pulot Hitam, Teh Tarik, Tiger Beer sorbet, Horlicks and Chendol. We tried teh tarik, chendol, horlicks, a praline-type flavour, and another one that I can't remember. All were fantastic.

The store has a self-service water dispenser for customers (some places charge), and a bluetooth photo printer for printing pics you took at the shop. Well worth a trip, and the prices are quite reasonable as well - $2.50 a scoop and $4 for a double scoop, I think.

Island Creamery
10 Jln Serene #01-05
Singapore 258748
258748
Singapore

t: 64688859

Clustrmaps

2007-06-03T16:15:00.000Z

Okay, so some of you may have noticed that I have been trialling a new widget on my blog. You can see in the side-bar a small map (yes, you can click on it to make it bigger) that tracks the IP addresses of people who visit my blog, developed by Clustrmaps. Cool or what?! Anyway, by my rough geography, I reckon that I have got someone visiting my blog from these countries:

* US
* Scotland
* England
* Italy
* Switzerland
* India
* China
* Hong Kong
* Australia

which is pretty cool. But who are you? Do I know you? Please leave a comment and let me know if I do know you? Is it really Italy, or is my geography that bad?

Anyway, what a great widget - hours of fun, and all free.

Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor...

2007-06-03T08:09:00.000Z

Some of the guests coming over to the wedding have looked into getting trousers made whilst over here. We went down, and snapped the tailor in question (under Far East Plaza) for your viewing pleasure.

What were you doing in 1992???

2007-06-03T07:58:00.000Z

Recently, we went to eat in Serangoon Gardens. The food was okay, service a bit slow, but the best part was the reminiscing. Why reminiscing? Because we were provided with a browsing copy of Her World from 1992. Yes. A 15 year old magazine left for customers to leaf through. What a great idea. I'm sure they didn't mean it (I think), but imagine what a great talking piece - you sit down and look through newspapers from 1996 (that Blair looks shifty), or a fashion mag from 1997 (that Liam Gallagher's hair looks funny -it'll never catch on), or even sports mag from 2003 (Rooney - he won't amount to much, he looks like a boxer).

Far left: Spandex was odd, wasn't it?

Left: Really, I'm not kidding. 1992! People don't have cars that old.

Yee haw cowboy

2007-06-03T07:44:00.000Z

One thing that we have noticed since coming back here is the proliferation of public line-dancing. Taking this further is a weekly power line dancing work out underneath UOB plaza in the CBD. We noticed it the other day as we went for a beer at Molly Malone's. Lot's of sweating (and mostly female) dancers worked out whilst I concentrated on toning my right arm muscles. Lift - sip - down. Lift - sip - down. Careful not to overexert. Repeat...

Far Left: Molly cooks some great bangers 'n' mash

Left: And she also pours a mean pint of Guinness.

Pasir Ris Park

2007-06-03T07:34:00.000Z

One of the more picturesque places we have visited recently was Pasir Ris Park, on the east coast of Singapore. Whilst we weren't there for long, the sunset was quite stunning, and the place had quite a Brighton-esque feel to it. It even had a prawning pond (so close to a cafe you can yell over and order beer), and as an added bonus was right under the flight path of Changi Airport, allowing much fun plane spotting (for those who like that sort of thing. Not me, oh no). Definitely a place worth visiting, and perhaps having a BBQ at...

Far Left: A Mills & Boon moment

Left: Prawning at Pasir Ris Park

You do look familiar...

2007-05-24T13:59:00.000Z

As you may have seen on Elena’s post, last Saturday was pretty busy. Time is marching towards the big day, and there are loads of loose ends to tie up. Why am I writing about this? Good point – I just wanted to talk about something, and make my blog look as interesting as Elenas (is Banality a legitimate Technorati tag?)

The day started with a trip to the Driving Centre to convert my driving license – you will remember that I passed my theory test some time ago, it had just taken quite a while to get round to it. The process is quite simple: 1) turn up, 2) take passport photos 3) fill in form, 4) argue with lady about having not worked in Singapore before, and 5) pay $50.

Step 4 was fun:

Auntie*: When did you come back to Singapore?
Me: Err, August (come back? How did she know I had been here before?)
Auntie: Have you worked in Singapore before?
Me: No.
Auntie: Are you sure?
Me: Yes.
Auntie: Are you sure? (Becoming frustrated)
Me: Yes. (Becoming even more frustrated)
Auntie: Perhaps you were here as a child, and a dependant of your parents?
Me: No.
Auntie: Are you sure?
Me. Yes.
Auntie: It’s just that your FIN number (i.e. my employment pass number) looks like you have been here before.
Me: Oh.
Auntie: Oh.

After that, it was a simple case of giving over the moolah, and getting my temporary license. The full license will be mailed to me soon, I think.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Wikidavidia

*Auntie is a term of respect to older ladies in Singapore, a form of address for any woman of its mother’s generation, and/or a polite term of address for) a middle-aged or elderly woman who may or may not be a relative. It does not mean that you are related to her. Let’s try it out (at a food court):

Auntie: Yes?
Me: 1 bottle of Tiger Beer please Auntie
Auntie: Okay, $5 please
Me: Thank you, Auntie.

There, wasn’t that easy. You can all try that out when you get here. It’s a great Lesson One, with a real bonus that you get beer at the end of class (although you do have to pay for it). Lesson Two involves ordering food, and a gender change (not literally), from Auntie to Uncle.

Uncle: Yes?
Me: One bowl of Bak Chor Mee please, Uncle
Uncle: You want Chilli?
Me: Yup
Uncle: What noodles?
Me: Mee pok.
Uncle: $3 please
Me: Thank you, Uncle.

Be wary though. It is for people of an older generation. If I called someone my own age Uncle or Auntie, they might be a little upset.

You have been warned.

Alan Johnston

2007-05-11T07:23:00.000Z

Just as a quick heads up, I have added a small link to the sidebar of this blog that provides information on Alan Johnston when clicked on.

Alan Johnston is a BBC correspondent who disappeared on his way home from his Gaza City office on 12th March this year, and is feared kidnapped. So far, efforts have failed to secure his release. Click on the link and learn more, and perhaps sign the online petition.

Thanks

mmmmmmmmmmmm, donuts.....

2007-05-04T03:34:00.000Z

Every now and again something bits Singapore that causes a mild wave of excitement, and frenzied queuing. Such a thing has landed, and its name is the Donut Factory.

Started by a chap called Gunter Rahim, 44, a businessman of German-Pakistani descent, this donut shop opened at the back-end of last year to very long queues. Queues so long, you could actually queue, and take it in turns to go and have a sit-down three course meal whilst your friend waits, and then switch roles. And you would still be in the queue. We decided that we would wait it out, and that the queues would die off in a few months. Well, it’s May now and the queues were still going strong.

Our friend Jane kindly queued for us last Saturday. This was above and beyond the call of duty, but what do you expect from a Liverpool fan? Jane was in the queue for around 4 hours, and we are very grateful. Even more grateful when we tried the donuts. They were certainly worth the wait, and were absolutely delicious. There were quite a few varieties to choose form, including the standard double-chocolate, strawberry, blueberry, and the not-so-standard-but-actually-quiet-good wasabi and cheese. Now, I know that queuing is a British art form, so when the family comes overt in June, you can perhaps take it in turns to queue early in the morning, and keep us in supply of donuts – just a thought…

Donut Factory
B1 - 61 Raffles City Shopping Centre
250 North Bridge Road
Singapore 179101
T +65 6337 6268
info@donutfactory.com.sg

Sausages? Sausages? Sausages!

2007-05-04T03:18:00.000Z

Success to speak of. Yesterday was a bit of a double-whammy, and getting it our of the way ahs been a weight off of my mind.

First, I resubmitted my revised PhD thesis. This had taken three months to revise, based on suggestions I was given at the February Viva. Many of these were pretty minor, although some represented a reasonable amount of work. Hopefully the corrections will be okay, and that I can finally put the thing to bed.

But the big news?

I’ve passed my driving theory test. As a foreigner here, if I wish to convert my driving license to a Singapore license, I have to sit the basic theory test which serves to introduce me to local traffic rules and Singapore's Highway Code pertaining to traffic related issues peculiar to Singapore. When I originally applied (in February) I was fairly nonchalant about passing, and considered that if I could drive on the UK for years, I should be fine. I put the book to one side, and metaphorically laid back and waited for the test. However, I met up with some friends recently, and one chap’s wife (American) was most concerned, and suggested that it might be very hard actually, and that I may have an out of date book, and that I had better get studying.

Cue panic.

Not enough panic to make me actually buy the new book, but enough to make me wonder if I would pass. Nonetheless, the day came and I swotted up in the car on the way to work, and at the test centre, only to find that the test was, actually, as difficult as beating Chelsea in the semi-final of a cup competition. In fact, quite easy.

So, we celebrated in the only way we know, and went off to eat German sausages, and drink German beer (I had a Paulaner Weissbeer). The place we chose was a fairly new German beer-cellar type place at our favour shopping mall. The beer was reasonable ($13-ish for a half-litre), and the platter of sausages you can see below was around $30. The pretzel was $2.50. Overall, smashing fun. The sausages were top-class (I recommend the lamb), and the sauerkraut was commendable.

Far Left: Me with comedy Pretzel beer goggles

Left: Me with beer

Far Left: Our lovely Pretzel

Left: Our lovely sausages

Malacca revisited (quite literally)

2007-04-24T06:37:00.000Z

As some of you will know, last weekend we headed off to Malacca. This was my third trip, and I never get bored of the town. It’s what the guidebooks might call rustic, but it certainly has loads of charm. The architecture is interesting (although I think I have covered that in a previous post), and the food is tops.

We went to Malacca primarily for Elena to choose her Kabaya (she covers this in her post on the topic), but it’s always a nice getaway for the weekend. It’s a three-four hour drive depending on the road conditions and other drivers, and I slept through all of the drive. I tried the old “resting my eyes” excuse that always worked for Granddad, but I guess I don’t have his honest look – no-one believed me. Perhaps the snoring gave it away…

Anyway, once there we dealt with the business at hand – we ate. I think I mentioned before that the Wan Tan Mee in Malacca is the best around, and we stopped off there again. It didn’t disappoint, and I was left split between sharing another bowl, and making the most of the other food on offer in the town. I got the better of my greed, and we wondered of to deal with Elena’s Kebaya (on a separate note, one day I’ll perhaps compile a list of the best Wan Tan Mee stalls in Singapore. It might include the Mei Ling food court, the one in Toa Payoh, the one at Cambridge Road….hey, I’m a researcher – what can I say!)

Something else we had that day was Chendol(left), a desert that includes a lot of brown sugar, coconut milk, and ice. On a hot day, there’s nothing like it. The brown sugar is the Gula Malacca I mentioned before (although it was in beer in a previous post), but here it was in its pomp, holding together ice. The secret is not to mix the ice, milk, and sugar together too much – if you do that, you get a sweet goo. If you leave it fairly unmixed, you can appreciate the finer flavours of the desert in their own right…!

We headed into the night market later that evening. Interestingly (and I only just found this out, the same way you did if you cliked on the link I kindly provided), Pasar is a Malay word derived from Bazaar in Persian. So now you now. Anyway, you’ll see from the pic on the left that the night market is usually along one street, with stalls either side selling all manner of things. Usually toys and trinkets, they are quite fun, and they sell a lot of stuff to tourists. They call out to people as you pass by, enticing you to buy anything from a platsic gun, to a barking toy dog, and so on. The streets are usually quite busy but it makes for a great atmosphere, and certainly something that everyone should see when they are in this part of the world.

We stopped off at a shop along the road to take a look at some of their paper-cutting art. This isn’t as odd as it sounds, and is a traditional art form in China. Using just paper, scissors, and perhaps a knife, some artists are able to create incredibly intricate pictures or landscapes. We were amazed by a TV show in China about a very old women who did this for a living. She was around 80 years old, but was fantastically talented. Anyway, we fell in love with the technique then, and were lucky enough to find a paper-cutting of the Chinese symbol for double happiness, a traditional feature of Chinese weddings.

What the also sell is food. Street markets in Asia usually sell loads of food at small stalls, often cooked up in front of you, and usually inexpensive. This was the case in china and Thailand, and is the case in Singapore and Malaysia. I love eating this kind of food, and can’t resist trying a few things. Something that caught my eye was deep-fried ice-cream. Take a slice of bread, wrap it around a ball of ice-cream, and then drop in super hot oil for about 15 seconds. The bread is crispy and fried, and the ice-cream is still frozen. And all for only 499 calories. But it is great, and I’d recommend it to anyone. I also ate a curry puff and a char siew puff. Fantastic. However, I was quite full the next day, and still am rather full today (Tuesday).

What else? Well, the next day we headed down to Tesco. Malacca has an enormous Tesco shop, and we often stop in on the way back to Singapore to pick up some groceries. It’s a little cheaper than Singapore, and Singapore doesn’t have Tesco. Here’s a pic of me outside Tesco, just to prove it. It’s always exciting to go into a shop like this abroad; we used to have the same experience going to Carrefour in China last year. The Tesco was hugely busy, and there must much coming together of trolleys. In the end, we didn’t stay for long, although I bought some cereal (note: the Handbag belongs to Elena's mother; not me. Mine is in the car).

Whilst we were there, however, I had time to inspect at first hand a car "built in a jungle clearing by people who go to work in shoes made from leaves", according to Jeremy Clarkson. The Malaysians were (understandably) unhappy about his comments. However. he was referring to the Perodua Kelisa, whereas I got to sit in the Perodua Myvi. And actually, it wasn’t half bad. It was small, but it looked kind of fun, and was only around £4,000. It reminded of the Mitsubishi Colt, which can’t really be a bad thing. There were loads of them on the highways in Malaysia, and I actually quite liked it.

The Good Husband...

2007-04-20T03:51:00.000Z

Time for another joke....

Jack wakes up with a huge hangover after attending his company's Christmas Party. Jack is not normally a drinker, but the drinks didn't taste like alcohol at all.

He didn't even remember how he got home from the party. As bad as he was feeling, he wondered if he did something wrong.

Jack had to force himself to open his eyes, and the first thing he sees is a couple of aspirins next to a glass of water on the side table. And, next to them, a single red rose! Jack sits up and sees his clothing in front of him, all clean and pressed.

He looks around the room and sees that it is in perfect order, spotlessly clean. So is the rest of the house. He takes the aspirins, cringes when he sees a huge black eye staring back at him in the bathroom mirror.

Then he notices a note hanging on the corner of the mirror written in red with little hearts on it and a kiss mark from his wife in lipstick:

"Honey, breakfast is on the stove, I left early to get groceries to make you your favourite dinner tonight. I love you, darling! Love, Jillian"

He stumbles to the kitchen and sure enough, there is hot breakfast, steaming hot coffee and the morning newspaper. His son is also at the table, eating.

Jack asks, "Son...what happened last night?"

"Well, you came home after 3 A.M., drunk and out of your mind. You fell over the coffee table and broke it, and then you puked in the hallway, and got that black eye when you ran into the door.

Confused, he asked his son, "So, why is everything in such perfect order and so clean? I have a rose, and breakfast is on the table waiting for me??"

His son replies, "Oh THAT!... Mom dragged you to the bedroom, and when she tried to take your pants off, you screamed,

"Leave me alone, I'm married!!"

Broken Coffee Table $239.99
Hot Breakfast $4.20
Two Aspirins $.38
Saying the right thing, at the right time . . PRICELESS!!!

Read all about it....

2007-04-14T06:25:00.000Z

There’s been a lot of inactivity on this blog for a while (if there can ever be a lot of nothing), so I thought I’d take this chance to update you all on what we’ve been up to. The answer: not much, really. We’ve been out and about, and taken advantage of the nice weather to stroll around town. The pic on the left was taken the day I signed up for Mandarin lessons, something I’ve been meaning to day for q while now. I wanted to go for the basic option, but the teacher tested e on the Mandarin, and signed me for intermediate. Intermediate!. She obviously hadn’t herd me speak at length, because my mandarin is not only lousy, it is also worse that it used to be in China!! Ho hum. At least they didn’t sign me up for the beginners course (which admittedly was rather basic), and just take another few hundred dollars from me for no reason.

One of the fun things that we have done is go to the newly opened Café del Mar in Singapore (on Sentosa). Café del Mar is a famous chill-out café/bar in Ibiza, and the opening of an Asian branch was much heralded. It’s part of a big development of the night-life scene in Singapore that’s seen Ministry of Sound and such like open here over the past year or so. Café del Mar is actually quite nice, and although you don’t really get to see the sun go down late at night here (roughly 7pm every day) as you might in Ibiza, the bar was cool, and included a pool outside. The day that e went (a spur of the moment decision), it happened that Pete Tong (yes, it’s all gone Pete Tong for Singapore) was spinning his wheels of steel, so it was pretty packed. The place was on the beach, which begged the questions that you must be able to walk along the beach and listen to the music without paying?

This brings me onto a thought that’s been bugging me – I really am a southerner. Although I love gravy (ooh, Northern boys love gravy), I am also a bit tight when it comes to things like this. I am always reminded of the joke about Northerners and Southerners going on holiday. The Northern goes away with £100 and comes back and exclaims “I went away with £100 and come back with nothing. I spent it all – brilliant!”; The Southerner goes away with £100 and comes back and exclaims “I went away with £100 and come back with £45. I spent hardly anything at all – brilliant!”.

I digress….

We’ve done some research on where we may want to take wedding photos, including arduous research trips to the Irish pub that is my new favourite watering hole. Real bar food, and real shabby walls, and real Irish men (no, really), make for a decent atmosphere. We wandered in a few weeks ago on a Saturday afternoon to take a butcher’s, and liked it so much we stayed to watch the football 4 hours later. The bangers and mash were decent enough, but the Guinness was the best in Singapore so far. That doesn’t mean that I won’t stop looking, of course…

Preparations for the wedding seem to be progressing well. Everyone seems to be very concerned with preparations in general, and seem surprised when we are relaxed and say that we haven’t had any problems so far, which we haven’t Apparently, wedding planning is supposed to be a complete nightmare, only to be rescued by last-minute dashes to florists and so on. And maybe we will have that. But so far, everything has fallen into place quite nicely. Perhaps that is because we started planning almost a year ago. We have still to nail down our cup cakes (although following our testing yesterday we are a little closer), and decide on a few other things. But on the whole, we are more relaxed than we should be, or so it seems!!

You can see our testing of cup-cakes at the Raffles on our wedding blog. You can also see my new pair of wedding shoes on our wedding blog. Don’t we provide a good service?

What else has been happening on this fair isle?

Singapore has decided to build itself a version of the London Eye, so that’s what they have done. We watched this wheel – the Singapore Flyer – go up with amazing speed in only a month or two. It’s quite big, and the views promise to be spectacular. As the nice people at Wikipedia tell us, the wheel itself has a 150 metre diameter, and is built over a three-storey terminal building, giving a total height of around 165 metres. The London Eye comes in at 135 metres, so the Singapore Flyer has one over the Eye on that count!

It’s right next to where the casino will be, so the night views will be impressive, I’m sure. I’m doubtful that it will be open by the time the family come and visit (early 2008, apparently), but you should certainly be able to see it, and probably as you fly in! Perhaps we can arrange a day trip for the family the next time you all visit.

We saw some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles down Orchard Road last month – I think that they were promoting their new film. I remember that when they were out in the UK they weren’t allowed to be called Ninja – they were “Hero Turtles”. Not sure if that still applies. It was certainly an odd sight, but given the large volumes of tourists/shoppers you always get on Orchard, a couple of Ninjas to fight the ladies out of the way should come in quite useful…

We also found some really rather good Chinese food – just like we had in China ast year (or was it the year before?). Bei Fang Feng Wei, at 18 Smith Street had all manner of Northern food, including – as you can see form the pic – some Harbin Beer. One of the best things about China was the diversity of beers there. Hundreds of littler breweries, with each province (roughly country-size, usually), having its own beer. There are quite strict laws on moving beer between provinces, which mans that ordinarily you can’t get Beijing beer in Shanghais, and so on. Which meant that travelling around the country was fun inasmuch as you got to see what the next provinces beer was. Would it be more than 2% proof? Was it a former German concession? (Incidentally, history is important here, and you learn a lot about the various treaties and so on. In essence, if it was a German town previously, the beer would be good – take Qingdao beer, for example). Back to the restaurant, and we had shredded chilli potatoes, some Zha Jiang Mian (a specialty of northern China), and some Xioa Long Bao again. You may be realising that this is a favourite of mine!

Phew. That’s it for now, and you’re up to date with my movements (and food). More exciting tales next time, so stay tuned…….

Carnies? Here? In Singapore?

2007-03-07T07:14:00.000Z

We were walking through town the other day when I felt something that tingled all along the back of my neck. Yes, we'd come across some travelling Carnival folk, here in Singapore. We assured ourselves they were harmless (they were Belgian after all), but for a few minutes we though that the week-long crime-wave had made its way to Singapore, and that Singapore's reputation as crime-free had been taken as a challenge.

Happily, they were Belgian (no beer on offer, tho), and there were no dogs randomly tied up or cars burning. They were in town for the Chinese New Year Celebrations, and had freighted all of their rides from the low-lands of Belgium for our entertainment. In the end, it was kind of a shame that we missed the fair - some candy floss would have been very nice thank you very much, although perhaps the Belgian versions of fairs don't have candy-floss? Anyway, it marked pretty much the end of the Chinese New Year festivities for us here, with the last day last Sunday. We had dinner at home on Sunday, and then steamboat (see post a few weeks ago for more on steamboat), so that's the celebrations over and done with for another year.

Finally, we watched the football on Saturday night at an open air bar area, full of Man Utd fans. This was the first time I'd watched football in Singapore with such a big crowd (perhaps 200-300 people), and I had no idea that people would cheer and boo so loudly, it was rather fun. Until the 90th minute. I was a little under the weather all evening (I have had flu since Thursday), and I couldn’t really cheer, or boo for that matter. Well, only a little cheer, when Paul Scholes tried to punch Alonso. I’m still smiling at that one…

On a happier note, we watched the football this morning as well, through to the last 8 and more glorious days thanks to Rafa.

Adios.

Did the ground move for you, too?

2007-03-06T06:13:00.000Z

Well, I’ve done it all now. I’ve survived not one, but two earthquakes. Not real ones, of course, but the ones that are safely several hundred miles away. Years ago I felt one at University in Wales, and this morning we felt some tremors in Singapore following a magnitude 6.3 earthquake in Indonesia that was felt here in Singapore. Apparently, the quake originated around 30 miles from Padang, a city on the western coast of Sumatra (430 miles from Singapore).

As I said in my earlier post, I am suffering from flu these days and am usually a bit dizzy as a result, so originally I thought nothing of it. But once my water started to ripple (just like on Jurassic Park), and my bag straps started to sway, I realised my inner ear hadn’t been playing silly beggars and that this was the real deal. We’ve been getting a few aftershocks this afternoon, so it could be fun!

General updates from the orient

2007-03-02T01:47:00.000Z

I’m feeling decidedly under the weather today – I seem to have come down with a dose of the ‘flu again. I seem to be quite susceptible to flu these days, and I spent most of last night either very hot or very cold. I’m at work now, and I seem to be feeling a bit better, although there is still a leprechaun with a flamethrower sitting on my head giving me cold-sweats. I had a banana for breakfast, which seems to have worked. What I’d really like, though, is a nice English fried breakfast…..bacon, eggs, sausage, beans, fried toast…..

I’m reading Darryn’s blog at the moment, which is making me crave a lot of the yummy food we used to eat in China, like xiao long bao.

We’re still absolutely obsessed with watching Silent Witness, which I had never given a chance in the UK but is actually really very good. We can catch that on BBC Entertainment, and it is usually followed by the Cathy Tait show, something else I’d never seen before coming here, but has had us crying with laughter.

I received confirmation in the post yesterday of my Viva pass, along with the official comments, which was good. I’d waited a few weeks for it, and when the envelope arrived it looked as though someone had been dragging it through mud. It arrived in a plastic bag apologising – which was nice. The long and short of it is that I have 3 month to make some reasonably minor corrections, including chapter structure and the inclusion of some tables. All being well, we I should be able to get that done fairly soon, and send it off to the UK. It seems to have take a long time (actually, it has – 5 years almost, including employment gaps), but it is only now that it is starting to sink in that it is almost over.

Changi Chapel Museum

2007-02-21T01:50:00.000Z

Yesterday we took advantage of my day off - due to Chinese New Year - to take a mini tour with some Singaporean friends from Nottingham who are here for a few months. There were a few places that we wanted to go, and that we wanted to scout out for operation 777, so first up was the Changi Chapel. We had intended to visit the Istana - the presidential palace - but the queues were eye watering, so we went ahead with plan B - Changi Chapel.

The museum and chapel is tucked away next to the main Changi Prison, still used as a penitentiary today. The museum was very well put together, with a lot of eyewitness accounts of the PoW camps and the events surrounding the fall of Singapore. What was most interesting was that there were plaques donated by the various battalions that served in Singapore, and the one that you can see to the left is that of the 5th Beds & Herts. It's sideways now, but I'll try and put it the right way round soon! What amazed me was the sheer diversity of regiments (India, USA, Australia, Malaya and so on), and the age of the men who were fighting. Many were younger than me, and that is something that hits home when you go to something like this.

The museum also includes a lot of information on the Burma/Thailand railway, and loads of artefacts, including a lot of things that were made by the men who worked on the railway. What astonished me is that in the Changi PoW camp, within 3 weeks they were putting on plays, and after a while were giving lectures at the "Changi University", on anything from Maths to Egyptology.

Chinese New Year Steamboat

2007-02-21T01:40:00.000Z

One of the traditions of Chinese New Year is the reunion dinner, when the whole family gets together. Having had one for the maternal side of the family previously, last Saturday the paternal side of the family came over to our place for steamboat. Steamboat is often referred to as Chinese fondue, and that's about as accurate a description as I can think of. Generally, a pot of soup/stock is placed in the middle of the table, and surrounded by plates of meat, seafood, tofu, vegetables and s0 on, and you dip them in the soup to cook them. The bonus being that at the end of the evening you get a delicious soup to drink! As you can see, we had two tables up, and loads of food - with the highlights being a type of fishball that has other meat inside, and a chilli sauce that was fantastic!

Chinese New Year

2007-02-17T13:44:00.000Z

This time of year Singapore (and a lot of Asia) is alight with festivities, as people get ready to welcome in the New Year - the year of the pig. Last year we were here for CNY, and had seen the heart of Chinatown clogged with people on New Year's Eve, so this year we went and had a look a week early.

You can see from the picture on the left that it was still packed with people doing some last minute shopping, much like we would do for Christmas. Visiting relatives is an important part of Chinese New Year, and people buy snacks that they can offer to people when they receive visitors. Much of the preparations are very similar to what we do for Christmas, with everyone dashing out at the last minute to stock up, and shops shutting on Chinese New Year's day itself, and the day after.

Some of the most interesting stores are the dried meat stores, that have all kinds of Chinese sausages, chicken, and other meats hanging up to be eaten during the holidays. Peanuts, sweets, barbequed pork, and other such things are crammed into shopping bags, ready to be distributed to guests. Apart from food and snacks, people buy decorations to hang around the house, fake firecrackers (real ones are banned), and generally come to walk around and enjoy the atmosphere.

Something else that people do is stock up on flowers at home, and we went down to the garden centre on Sunday night to do some stocking up ourselves. Unfortunately, so had everyone else. Here’s me with a tree - related to the kumquat tree, I think. These type of trees are very common at Chinese New Year, and businesses put them up in the lobbies and so on. The oranges signify luck, which we can all use from time to time! One thing that was pretty cool (forgive the pun) was a cold room that had roses and other flowers (lilies, tulips, eustomas, gladiolia, etc) that need a cooler climate. The room itself was a cold enough to give brass monkeys a shock, but the flowers were nice and it was almost like going round a garden centre back home.

Who's been a naughty boy...

2007-02-12T16:23:00.000Z

Here's me coming out of the cake shop after more testing - more info on our wedding blog. See you there!

KL

2007-02-06T07:47:00.000Z

My blog is starting to take on a Dr Who type of feel – I whizz around in time when I come across photos to post. Now, let me take you back to last year in my TARDIS…whoosh….

(Left: Me in Dunkin Donuts in KL.)

Some of you may remember that, last December, our friend from Nottingham came and visited us. Mona’s in China now, and popped over to Singapore for some warm weather and a quick break. We had tried to visit another country whilst she was here, but the looming Christmas holiday meant that everywhere was fully booked. It seems as though everyone in Singapore had the same idea – to make the most of the holidays that were next to weekends, and get away from a long break. KL it was, then.

There are three ways of getting to KL. You can take a bus, drive, or you can fly. The flight is around 45 mins, but can be quite expensive. The coach trip itself is not too bad, taking around 5 hours to get there. There is a stop along the way (much like a trip to Malacca), and the scenery can be quite stunning. The hotel we stayed at did a reasonable cooked breakfast buffet in the morning, including some rather tasty waffles.

(Left: the Petronas Towers.)

One of the best things about Malaysia is the food and, like true tourists, we spent most of our time eating. We sampled some Dunkin Donuts and KFC, the former of which you can’t get in Singapore anymore. It was a tough assingnment, but one we carried out purely in the name of research. Result? Yes, they were good.

We visited the Petronas Towers (alas, no Catherine or Sean), and spent some considerable time on the shopping centre underneath. Right now, there’s a guy sitting in a spa in KL rubbing his hands with disbelief that we all entered his shop. He’s retired since, and lives the life of a king.

We also took some time to go see the Merdeka Square in central KL, where independence from the Brits was proclaimed. There is a couple of notable buildings on the square, one of which is the Sultan Abdul Samad Building. Built at the tail end of the 19th Century, and originally known as "The New Government Offices", it now houses the Commercial Division of the High Court of Malaya.

KL is a very pretty town, and one of the key attractions is just walking around, and taking in the architecture. It can take a while (and requires a decent map), but is well worth the trip.

Gold! Always believe in your soul, you've got the power to know, you're indestructable...

2007-02-05T08:39:00.000Z

As I have just posted, we've just retuned from Blighty. The land of fish & chips, gravy & chips (ooooh gravy), and online petitions to the PM.

The Prime Minster’s Open Petitions website has some commendable petitions (ensure that inheritance tax is scrapped in this year's Budget, for example), but others must be questioned. Tim Ireland and David Kitchen prove that the internet is truly a force for democratic good. More so, Tim Ireland’s signatories include "God, Creator of Worlds", which proves that broad-band access is really quite good these days.

I thought that the petition on parachute training was a joke as well, but apparently it's not. Which makes the cut in parachute training for the parachute regiment quite a joke, if it's true.

I'm feeling empowered today. Together, we might be able to change Britain. The question remains, tough; how many signatures do you need before Blair does what’s asked? 5000? 10,000? I challenge everyone who reads this to register at least one petition. Just let us know, and someone will sign it (perhaps). It could be for anything; scrap Arsenal and merge them with Spurs, for example. Let’s see if we can make Blighty a better place.

Back (again)...

2007-02-05T07:57:00.000Z

So we’re back in Singapore now. After a short week (i.e. 6 days) back in Blighty, it was time to leave. Emirates did their best to delay us again, though. An hour on the runway on the way to the UK was bested by an hour and a half on the runway on the return leg; apparently there was a passenger who had not made the onwards sector of his flight, and his luggage was off-loaded, meaning we lost our slot for take-off. We finally got under way, and reached Singapore at around 9:30pm last night (Sunday).

The food was good, though, and the Thai Chicken Red Curry was well worth the trip. The in-flight entertainment system is working much better now on Emirates, and they are currently rolling out the ICE product. This is similar to that which Singapore Air has, where you can choose you movie from a catalogue and start, stop, and pause as you wish. It’s not on all aircraft yet, but will be soon.

For those interested in that kind of thing, we watched The Queen (excellent), Things to Do Before You're 30 (Dougray Scott, Brit-flick, also excellent), Stormbreaker (Ewan McGregor, fun), and I watched Wall Street (Sheen team, classic).

New header

2007-01-24T09:18:00.000Z

I've put up a new header for the blog. It's not taken by me (picture courtesy: J Smith Holiday Images), but it is at least of Singapore. This is the view of Boat Quay in Singapore, with the statue of Sir Stamford Raffles standing at what is believed to be his landing spot on the Singapore river. The pubs weren't thereat the time, of course, but this area has become a favourite landing spot of tourists and bankers in the business district. Across the water s the Penny Black pub, where we bought t-shirts and drank beer at midnight.

Question: who's that in the picture with me? Hint: he was looking for chicken wings.....

boats and cars

2007-01-14T10:48:00.000Z

This weekend saw us head off to Vivocity for a gentle stroll around the madness that is shopping. We had heard that a tall shop had docked in Singapore following a journey from Sweden, so we were intrigued. Could a tall ship make it this far? Of course, they did it in the spice trade days…could a tall ship make it to Singapore now, in the middle of busy shipping lanes and the South China Sea? Apparently so.

We were amazed when we turned a corner at Vivocity to be greeted by the suitably majestic Swedish Ship Götheborg. It was quite an impressive sight, and had been docked in Singapore since New Year’s Eve, when they arrived. Inside Vivocity there was a small exhibition on Sweden and famous Swedes (no mentioned of Graham Taylor, funnily enough, although I guess technically he was a turnip), and some nice pictures of Götheborg in days of yore.

Later that day we headed over the Bugis to test out some carrot cake (we devised a whole series of criteria, actually – all very scientific – and the results are on Elena’s blog). Whilst we were there we saw a few cars for sale. Cars in Singapore are traditionally very expensive (the New Mini goes for around $120,000), so when I saw that the Chevrolet was on sale for $21,000 I had to sit in it and check it out! Quite a nice car, and ideal for a small country like Singapore. However, I would fear for anyone over 5’6”, as I was in the back when I put the seat back far enough to be comfortable (listen to me; I’ve come over all Jeremy Clarkson).

Rain...again

2007-01-12T08:53:00.000Z

It’s raining in Singapore again. It seems as though the rainy season is well and truly upon us, and there have been flash floods in quite a few places around the island. To be honest, I have never seen rain like it; I waited in the office for the rain to subside before I took my lunch today, and dashed out when it stopped. However, it started again after about 2 minutes, and I am wet to my knees now!!

Incidentally, the Korean superstar Jung Ji Hoon (aka 'Rain') is coming to Singapore to perform, amongst other Asian countries. Korean Air have agreed to sponsor the trip, and a plane with 'Rain's Coming' painted on the side will ferry him around. That’s all we need: a plane advertising the monsoon season flying around…

Thos who are interested in these kind of things will be delighted to know that I had bak chor mee for lunch today.

2007-01-01T15:46:00.000Z

Some of you may recall that last autumn saw Singapore host the World Bank/IMF meetings. The level of security around the island was immense, and we al felt very safe as we went about our business. Here's a picture of me taken around that time, in front of some solid-looking crash barriers. Off-picture are several Ghurkhas, and a whole platoon of policemen.

Christmas turkey...

2007-01-01T13:14:00.000Z

We had our postponed Christmas dinner on New Year ’s Eve here. Elena and I (and you will know who the emphasis is on) cooked up a treat in the kitchen, having scoured the island for turkey (we brought a pre-cooked one t hint end, for a third of the price), stuffing mix, potatoes, bread sauce (cooked from scratch),and so on. We even produced a puff-pastry apple pie for pudds (that’s us on the left watching the pie cook in the oven).

Again, thanks to all who sent us cards, and a happy new year to all.

Far left: Dinner; near left: pie

Malacca

2007-01-01T12:39:00.000Z

I've finally gotten around to uploading the pictures I have taken over the last few months, hence the the prodigious level of posts. Now, time to turn attention to our trip to Malacca at the end of November. Malacca is a pretty, interesting town about half-way up Malaysia, one of those towns that various colonial powers have fought over in the past couple of centuries. Some of you may remember that the last time I went to Malacca I was sick for a few days, so this was a chance to see the town and actually take in sights other than public conveniences. The journey itself is a 5-6 hour drive along Malaysian roads, although there is always a stop for some fantastic food at the equivalent of our petrol stops along the motorway. (Number one being the Ramlee Burger.The scenery along the way is great, and always serves as a reminder of how rich Malaysia actually is in natural resources, with Palm Oil plantations all along the road.

As a result of its strategic position in the eponymously titled-Straits, Malacca was home to the Dutch, the Portuguese, and the Brits. Places like the red church are a testament to this, and have left an interesting tapestry of architecture.

The food in Malacca is also pretty interesting, and again reflects the history of the town. Ice Kacang s perhaps one of the more famous, although the wonton mee is also tip-top. Another thing that you will see (and hear) in Malacca is the army of cycle rickshaws that pedal around the town, ferrying tourists to and fro. A recent addition to these traditional bikes is a loud-speaker stereo, so you can hear them coming a mile off! They're also pretty heavily decorated, covered in colourful garlands and other eye catching dangly things.

Is it a bird, is it a plane, or even a moth?

2007-01-01T12:32:00.000Z

Here's a picture of the moth that we found on the wall a few months ago (yes, it took a while to post). It was about 12 inches across, and just seemed to sit there for a while.

We're not sure if it is a moth, or a butterfly, so any suggestions greatly welcomed.

A Really Bad Day

2006-12-28T02:04:00.000Z

Time for another joke...

There was this guy at a bar, just looking at his drink. He stays like that for half of an hour.

Then, this big trouble-making truck driver steps next to him, takes the drink from the guy, and just drinks it all down. The poor man starts crying. The truck driver says, "Come on man, I was just joking. Here, I'll buy you another drink. I just can't stand to see a man cry."

"No, it's not that. This day is the worst of my life. First, I fall asleep, and I go late to my office. My boss, outrageous, fires me. When I leave the building, to go to my car, I found out it was stolen. The police said that they can do nothing. I get a cab to return home, and when I leave it, I remember I left my wallet and credit cards there. The cab driver just drives away."

"I go home, and when I get there, I find my wife in bed with the gardener. I leave home, and come to this bar. And just when I was thinking about putting an end to my life, you show up and drink my poison.

Boom.

Boom.

That time of year...

2006-12-08T09:25:00.000Z

Thanks to everyone who sent me birthday cards recently. It can be an odd experience having a birthday away from home, but this is the second year, so I am getting a but more used to it now! Here’s a picture of me in Shanghai last year for my birthday, sampling the German beer at Paulaner in Shanghai:

This year, my nearest and dearest took me to Brazil Churrascaria for a treat. Brazilian churrascaria restaurants are great, because they just keep coning round with meat, meat and more meat! The only downside is that you tend to eat far too much, and get full very soon. We managed to stumble home, but we’re still full, one week later. And we smell of meat. Another great surprise was Elena’s family getting a birthday cake for me last week. Candles and everything! I’ve got photos somewhere, so keep and eye out and I will upload it soon!

Next up is Christmas, and we shall be going to KL later this month with a friend from China, returning just before the big day itself. Christmas in Singapore is an odd occasion, because I always associate Christmas with the cold. It’s unusual as a Brit to hear Christmas songs whilst you are wearing shorts, but I guess that that’s life in the tropics! Thanks to all who have sent Christmas cards as well, we love receiving them.

PS: Pictures of Malacca to follow, never fear.

How many chickens....

2006-11-24T09:26:00.000Z

This is best done in an Irish accent, for obvious reasons.

Two Irishmen met walking along the road; one was carrying a bag.
“What have you got in their?”, says the first.
“Chickens”, says the second.
“Will you give me one if I can guess how many you have in your bag?”, says the first.
“Hell, if you can guess right I’ll give you them both”, says the second.

Boom.

Boom.

Singapore Motor Show

2006-11-13T05:05:00.000Z

Yesterday (Sunday) we visited the Singapore Motor Show for the first time, at Suntec City. All manner of cars were on display, from the faintly ridiculous, to the actually quite nice. One of the actually quite nice cars was a Malaysian-Australian TD 2000, a replica of a "The T-line-up of MGs, which ran from the MG TA Midget in 1936 through to the MG TF in 1955". This one's for Dad:

On top of that, there was also a rather cute Suzuki LC, apparently based on its first model back in the 50s, the Suzulight. I think that it's quite reminiscent of the Fiat 500.

What's more, there were also a few Ferraris and Lamborghinis there:

Lexus also showed off the technology behind its new RX 400h (h for hybrid):

That was pretty much it, although there were plenty of other interesting cars, and a lot of the mundane SUV types. I managed to blag quite a few freebies, of course, so I'll be spending the next few weeks digesting magazines.

Dragon Boat Racing

2006-11-12T15:35:00.000Z

As we were walking through town on Saturday, we happened upon a dragon boat racing tournament. The teams were furiously paddling against the wakes creating by a few speedboats, but we were in awe of how fit they were. There were a lot of teams representing schools and so on, and a few from multinational companies with offices here in Singapore. Then we pitied them, as a tropical rainstorm blew in for the day. But we got a few nice pictures, as you can see.

A new mall!

2006-11-09T10:15:00.000Z

I have to say that there just seems to have been no time to catch up on my poor blog! Anyway, there’s not actually a great deal to report, only a few other pictures to add, and some general chit-chat.

One of the big things that has been happening here is the haze. Indonesian forests seem to get burnt every year, and the resulting haze drifts over to us in Singapore, as well as Malaysia. It makes it quite difficult to breathe properly sometimes when it is bad, but it does allow you the opportunity to blame everything on the haze. Can’t do your work? It’s the haze. Feeling tired? It’s the haze. Not hungry? It’s the haze and so on. I might be the only person in Singapore actually doing this, but I’m getting away with it so far, so why not. Actually, you now the reason I haven’t been blogging for a while……..

I haven’t been watching as much football as I might have liked, but what with having to work some ungodly hours like 9 to 6, I don’t get much chance. Luckily, the highlights here are quite good, and we seem to catch most of the goals. We watched a few matches recently on Star Sports, and I have to say I have been almost impressed with the Reds. Especially the game against some team from the Midlands….

On the subject of the television, we have just subscribed to a new package over here that includes a channel called BBC Entertainment. I had never seen an episode of Silent Witness before, but now Elena and I are hooked. Hustle is on as well, as is The Office. I can get my fix of the UK from this channel, without having to leave the house!!!!

Talking of UK culture, there is a new shopping mall opened here in Singapore called VivoCity. Ordinarily I wouldn’t get excited about a shopping mall so much. Our first visit was a bit of a disaster, given that it had only just opened and was flooded with people. But we went again on Saturday, and paid real attention to what shops were actually there. There’s a load of ‘firsts’ there. River Island? Check. GAP? Check. Ted Baker? Check!!! Marks and Spencer’s? Check (not necessarily a first, but a bit bigger, and with better food than the others!). Also, one of the supermarkets here has a deal now to carry Waitrose food!!!

It seems that we will be retuning to the mall a few times…

Finally, Elena and I have been going to see a few films this week at the German Film Festival. For those interested, we watched No Sweat, Rhythm is it, and at the weekend we’ll see Elementary Particles Great films, and for only $6 a seat! Al we need now is some very cheap German beer and some Bratwurst, and we are set.

All for now.

Part One

2006-10-08T06:50:00.000Z

It's been a while since I posted, so this is going to have to be quite a monster blog, a "mlog" if you like. There's quite a lot to report and show so go get a cup of tea.

Line Dancing

The first thing that we noticed since we arrived here was that line-dancing in public seems to have taken off in a big way. We had seen a few small gatherings, but were amazed when we stumbled on a real barn-shaking, rootin' tootin' fest in town one night.

There was actually very little rootin', and only a smattering of tootin', and the night seemed to involve line dancing slowly to Chinese songs for the most part. Nonetheless, the people there (young and old) seemed to enjoy themselves a lot, and there were quite a few people sitting nearby to watch. We did the same, and were pleasantly surprised to find that the beer at the nearby coffee stall was cheap and cold.

Mid-Autumn Festival

Another big event since we got here was the Mid-Autumn Festival. There's an interesting story behind the festival, with one of the upshot being that mooncakes are given a gifts at this time of year. Wandering through China-Town, we came across these guys making moon cakes in a shop by hand.

Just around the corner we saw a store that sells Bak Kwa, a kind of barbequed meat that you buy in small strips. Its difficult to explain, but it has a smoky flavour, and is a great snack. Most of the stores have window through which you can watch the guy make it, which is quite fun.

Pedant Society, Vol 2

2006-09-13T13:54:00.000Z

Seen at a cafe in Singapore. What exactly do you think happens at a "flee market"? Everyone runs away as fast as possible? Or they buy people who can run away very fast? The mind boggles...

Pedant Society, Vol 1

2006-09-13T13:51:00.000Z

Seen at Borders, Singapore. Do you think that the first piece of advice in the "Smalll Business" section is that they buy a decent word processing package?

Little Kent and a little hungry

2006-09-02T13:36:00.000Z

We went on a tour of Singapore last weekend, and one of the places that I had read about and was keen to go was Little Kent. Now, I knew that Singapore had China town, and a Little India, so I was eager to see what Little Kent was like. Tens of middle-aged ladies talking about butter? Men growing hops and barley, and sitting on tractors?

As it turned out, it was not quite like that, but was a lovely (cue Kent-terms) place to visit, and all of the street names were named after towns in Kent. Mainstone, Folkstone, Deal etc, so it felt a little like home. I've even looked at the street directory here, and there is a Lambeth Walk, and a Bedford Road, so more exciting road name pictures to come. Where's little Bedford? I think thats coming next July.

Some of the houses around that area were lovely, and it was quite nice to see that they were in really good condition. And loads of the people there were British, and one nice British chap even said hullo, Famous Five style as I walked past his house.

This was strange, because I had just been standing in the middle of the road like a crazy man taking a picture of a street sign, with cars going either side of me. He must have thought that a cross between Evel Knievel and an amateur photographer had just stepped off of the plane.

After exploring Little Kent, we had a bit of an exploration trip. One of the places we went was the site of one of the last battles of Singapore before it fell in WWII. Right on top of a hill, with spectacular views of Singapore, it seemed to be the ideal place for a last stand.

There was a tank there, and a nice plaque to tell a bit of a story. There was a class full of kids there as well, which was a poignant reminder to us all; never visit anything of any interest when school holidays are on. Ever.

We were a little peckish after all this excitement, and headed off to get some food. Here's a pic I took of an Indian chap flinging some dough to make roti prata, whish those of you in Singapore earlier this years will know and love!!

肉骨茶

2006-09-01T07:06:00.000Z

Today we had Bah Kut Teh. This is one of my all-time favourite dishes in Singapore. It's a kind of pork dish, served in a soup with rice and other vegetables. There's also a kind of fried dough that you can dunk in the soup. The soup itself is quite peppery, and herbal (unfortunately, I can't think of anything in the UK to compare it to, except a peppery kind of meat broth soup. Sorry!). It's meant to be quite good for you, and usually does wonders for my newby flu. Alas, I am still struggling today. But the Bah Kut Teh was good, as always.

The Youtiao (fried dough) is a popular kind of breakfast dish in different parts of Asia, and we used to have it in China quite a lot for a snack (served with warm soy milk). Its's also popular in Hong Kong, where I think I had the biggest (and most unhealthy) version I can remember for breakfast. I was full for nearly a day after that!!

Yes, very nice, I buy from Bangkok.....

2006-08-30T05:42:00.000Z

I have a cold today, I always get one when I first return to Singapore. I think I caught this one from a smaller Liverpool fan. Spent a night bunged up, and then went to the gym to feel even worse!

Later, we are going to try to take a bus from the house here to my office. It looks like it is going to be a bit of a task, but I guess the commute is no longer than that which I might have had in London. And at least the buses here have air-con!!

Yesterday something very odd happened. A total stranger approached me in Ya Kun Kaya Toast in Toa Payoh, and complemented me on my t-shirt. Then asked me if I was a tourist. Then asked how I like Singapore. And then gave me his name-card. I'm not sure why I seem to attract such oddities, but the same kind of thing has happened before. So, I just make nice, leave a reasonable amount of time, then run for my life.

So tell me again: which one did I order before?

2006-08-29T14:43:00.000Z

Elena and I found a new microbrewery in Singapore, quite by accident. Unlike Brewerkz and Paulaner, this one serves beer that is quite Singaporean in flavour, with the lager having lemongrass in it, and the bittter having gula melaka, the brown palm sugar tapped from the coconut tree. Even got free bar snacks. And, even round the corner from the Penny Black pub.

Corporate sponsorship of the Smith Jones and the odd Barham trip next year? Already on it.....

Merlion seeks development for friendship, company and long walks

2006-08-29T14:32:00.000Z

Visited an old friend today. He's still there, but he is going to be getting a lot of company soon when the IR and Marina Bay developments really get going.

Also in today's news: Bought shoes, had shoes resoled. Looked at more shoes. Elena gets blister.

What time's our connection....?

2006-08-29T14:23:00.000Z

We've arrived in Singapore finally, after a mammoth flight from Gatwick to Singapore, via Dubai. Miles of checking in, endless queues, and overweight baggage, but at least we got a couple of free food vouchers, heh heh! Emirates managed to delay our flight from Gatwick, meaning that we had a very tight schedule for the connecting flight on to Changi. I reserved the lamb before we flew for my main meal, and Elena got the airline-ubiquitous chicken and mash, but it's all good.

We managed to run through Dubai airport, spurning the opportunity to buy a Lamborghini (again), and made the flight to Changi with a few minutes to spare. A few bumps later, and we are here in Singapore. Hot as hell, but in one piece.

Shangers and Singers......

2006-08-18T12:14:00.000Z

The more erudite of you will notice that the pic at the top is not Singapore. Aha! Caught! Well, I've been playing around with the title to the blog, and have settled on this picture from Shanghai. I'd hoped to use one from Singapore, but I don't have one quite as clear as this one of Pudong.

What's key is getting the sky in so that the blog title shows up. And anyway, I love this picture for two reasons; one, its a great picture on a clear day in a town i love, and; two, it was taken by my better half. So there.

George, George...George of the Jungle

2006-08-17T13:05:00.000Z

It's amazing how much George has grown; from a stroppy ball of fur to a stroppy big ball of fur. But at least she doen't keep her claws out now, and we have donated far less blood to the carpet than we used to.

Leaving the Bosom of Academia

2006-08-16T22:08:00.004Z

I left Nottingham today, not for the last time - I still have my viva - but I pretty much moved out. Most of my stuff had been moved out before we left for Ningbo, but there were a few odds and ends to be tied up, forms to be signed (of course), and one last beer at the Sir John. All in all, another frantic day.

I'm not sad to be leaving - I've had five great years there - but there were one or two moments when I remembered some of the fun times I have had there. After all, it was where I met my future wife! But now we must look forward, and into employment, and beyond the warm bosom of academia, and those long mornings and late lunches.

Boxed Up

2006-08-15T15:44:00.000Z

So we have only a few days left before we fly out to Singapore. There's lots to be done, but we are getting there, we think. We've nearly packed up our boxes to send to the freight company soon. We might even be able to do it tomorrow.

Then there are issues of tax to clear up, various accounts to cancel, handphone contracts to cancel (done), and so on. We've done most of it, and my car has been sold (and insurance cancelled) et cetera. It's a frantic period for both of us, because we both have work to do on our PhDs as well.

There are a lot of loose ends to tie up, but we are both looking forward to the BBQ on Sunday, and eating lots of nice sausages!

The Uncharitable Shield

2006-08-14T14:49:00.000Z

It always feels good to beat them. And it's a feeling we're getting used to as well. Thanks Jose for another enjoyable Sunday afternoon. And thanks Rafa for another piece of Silver at Anfield South. YNWA.

Brownies!

2006-08-11T17:24:00.000Z

Went to our favourite deli today, we just can't get enough of the brownies there. The nice man was even kind enough to let us take a picture.

Elena had the Brownie (although I helped quite a lot!!).

And, for me, the sticky date fruitcake. I guess that you just can't escape your nationality.

It's hard to describe the Brownie; melt in your mouth gooey, and the kind of richness that makes you wish you had a bigger mouth. But there are Brownies elsewhere, and half of the fun is doing Brownie research. I think that that can be a recurring theme of the blog; the quest for the perfect Brownie. Watch this space!

Air Travel

2006-08-10T11:01:00.000Z

Dreadful and scary news coming out of the UK at the moment, with serious threats to trans-Atlantic flights. Let's hope that this is resolved soon.

We fly out to Singapore in two weeks; it's a little unnerving, but you have to have faith in the security folks at our airports.

Up To Date with 07/07/07

2006-08-06T09:02:00.000Z

I forgot to add...you can also stay up to date with our wedding plans; the link is on the right ------>

We'll try to put pictures and other exciting links on there as well, so you can see what we've been up to.

The First of Many....?

2006-08-06T08:32:00.000Z

I've decided that I'll keep a blog whilst in Singapore, to allow everyone to stay in touch whilst I'm away. I'm not sure how often I'll update it, but I'll try my best!

I might even try to do a podcast if I learn how, but I'll try to walk before I run.

Just to start us off, here's a pic of Elena and I a couple of years ago, having a beer at Paulaner in Singapore. Great place for a beer, nice and warm outside, as long as Christian fundamentalists don't grab hold of you!