Changi Chapel Museum

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

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

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...

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

KL

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...

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)...

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

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

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

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.

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...

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

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?

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

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...

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....

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

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

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!

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.