http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1072034/1/.html
Six deer escape from Night Safari
SINGAPORE: Six deer escaped from the Night Safari at the Singapore Zoological Gardens on Wednesday morning.
Five have been found but one is still missing, although it is believed to be within the Night Safari park.
The fifth deer was caught in the evening at Mandai Lake Road. It had to be sedated. It took about one and a half hours to bring the deer back to its enclosure.
The Sambar deer are all female and were found missing during a routine check by a zookeeper.
One of them had managed to get out of the Night Safari's perimeter fence. A tree had fallen on the fence, allowing the deer to walk out of the park's boundaries.
Kumar Pillai, director of zoology at Wildlife Reserves Singapore, said: "(At) the Deer Park, we've got the primary enclosure and if for some reason the animals do come out of there, we have a secondary fence to keep the animals in. But it's the secondary fence that got damaged by the fallen tree and they got out of the park."
It is the first time the deer have escaped from their enclosure.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
"Kiasu" Update!
In the midst of my drafting my ranting blog at work during my "lunch break" my always fabulous office mate came in so I took the opportunity to discuss the concept of kiasu with her. Wendy is a native Singaporean, although she prefers living in Tokyo- cannot blame her there- so she has plenty of experience in kiasu behavior.
Me: Wendy, do you know what kiasu means?
Wendy: *giggles* Of course- it is as Singaporean as the Merlion.
I. could. have. died. laughing.
She is right of course, it has somehow become an intrinsic element of Singapore culture. And it was encouraging to know that it irritates sensible natives as much as sensitive expats. She confirmed that contrary to popular assumption, they do not in fact teach repetitive elevator button pushing in school. She also confirmed my suspicion that the worst offenders of basic subway etiquette are smallish old ladies with a deep running mean streak.
Some of the nagging questions of the world solved, by Wendy.
Me: Wendy, do you know what kiasu means?
Wendy: *giggles* Of course- it is as Singaporean as the Merlion.
I. could. have. died. laughing.
She is right of course, it has somehow become an intrinsic element of Singapore culture. And it was encouraging to know that it irritates sensible natives as much as sensitive expats. She confirmed that contrary to popular assumption, they do not in fact teach repetitive elevator button pushing in school. She also confirmed my suspicion that the worst offenders of basic subway etiquette are smallish old ladies with a deep running mean streak.
Some of the nagging questions of the world solved, by Wendy.
"Kiasu" and other gripes about Singapore
It has been one of those weeks. OK, let's be honest, it sort of feels like it has been one of those MONTHS. While I find many things about Singapore to be irritating on a daily basis, it is not surprising that a few 70 hour weeks in a row will escalate things from irritating to "I-am-going-to-kill-you" on the annoyance scale. I have often thought that if I wrote about everything in Singapore that rubbed me the wrong way, we would have to change the name of the blog to "Erin Hates Singapore" and that might get me deported (maybe not the worst thing in the world?). And I assume no one wants to hear my daily internal diatribe about the ridiculous behavior of the natives. However, while I was frantically googling for some inside advice on how to get my hands on an iPad tomorrow (must. have. one), I did come across an entire blog that is dedicated to railing on the annoyances and inefficiencies of Sing Sing. Maybe I should get together with this fellow and we can form a support group. Until that happens, I have decided to share with you some highlights of irritating things in Singapore. Enjoy.
1) ELEVATORS (a.k.a. Lifts): While there are more than a few things wrong with the way people ride elevators here (some of which will be covered subsequently in the MRT section), I am going to focus on the incessant button pushing. Elevator usage is pretty standard in all countries. You push the call button, the elevator comes, you get on, the doors shut, the elevator takes you to the floor you requested, the doors open, you get off, the doors close. Its not magic, and I have never encountered an elevator that didn't follow this basic premise.
However Singaporeans seem to think that unless you push the door close button 100000 times, the door might fail you and you would be stuck for eternity in an open-doored elevator, just waiting. It would be irritating enough if it was a single impatient push. But its repetitive. Incessant. Obsessive. There is probably wide spread repeated stress injuries to the index finger in this country. What is also great about this is that this act is most often perpetrated by the first person in the elevator, not the last. So as Joe Singapore, or should I call him Cho Singapore, (who has no doubt pushed and shoved to be the first in the lift- see next section) hops on, he starts ramming his fat little fingers against the close button while the rest of us (being not fast enough to elbow Cho out of the way- and those of us with manners) are left to try to sneak in the elevator while the doors are slamming shut. It would be irritating if it was occasional. But it is MINDBOGGLING that it is every. single. time. It must be something taught in elementary school here, because it is an epidemic condition. You can be assured that if find yourself riding the elevator in Singapore, you will get to experience this truly annoying phenomenon. Also, should you try to be polite and hold the elevator door for someone who is obviously just steps behind you and also seeking to use the lift, instead of being thanked, you will be given a look of not just pure shock but also scorn for violating the national code of elevator usage. There is probably a fine for that.
2) THE MRT (the Subway): A novel could be written about the daily drama of riding the MRT. Maybe a trilogy of novels. Maybe a boxed set. First you have the illogical manner in which the one-way gates are set up during rush hour so you have to risk life and limb navigating from the entrance through hoards of people exiting from the first 10 gates because they have only made the very last gate in the row, farthest from the entrance, available for entrance. I get that there are business establishments near my home stop- but as the massive condo and apartment buildings imply, there are also homes- and people who would like to have a morning commute that doesn't involve body slams.
But sadly, this is not my biggest complaint. The bigger issue is really the overall entrance and exit skills of the locals. And, lest you think it is MRT specific, this same irrational and sometimes hostile behavior plays out in elevators, escalators, taxis, grocery stores- anywhere that is possible or necessary to enter and exit. There seems to be a Chinese mentality that "first is best." But, before I get attacked, this mentality and conforming behavior is not at all limited to the ethnic Chinese of Singapore. Like all good things in Singapore, it has managed to cross the deep divides of race, gender and ethnicity. People here (or maybe everywhere in Asia?) call it "kaisu" which is a Hokkien Chinese word meaning some mix of rude and greedy. There are entire blogs lamenting the daily exhibitions of kiasu behavior on the perfectly manicured streets of Sing (http://kiasusingaporean.com/). Its a problem in more places than the subway. But how this manifests in the MRT is that despite clearly marked lanes, and frequent broadcast announcements to allow people to alight, people cannot manage to wait their turn to board the damn train. As soon as the doors open you can expect that someone in the impatiently waiting crowd will immediately start shoving and pushing to get on while people are simultaneously pushing and shoving to be the first to exit. It gets better. Once Cho Singapore is on the train, he or she is exceptionally unlikely to move past the area immediately in front of the door (unless there is a seat open (unlikely) in which case he or she will leap over strollers, kick the elderly and usurp a pregnant woman for the right to sit for one stop). No, even if there is plenty of space in the train, Cho will park himself RIGHT in front of the door, no matter that others are still getting on. Just this morning I got on the train behind a middle aged Chinese woman who took one step on the train, stopped, grabbed the handrail and refused to move. I tried the evil eye intimidation tactic to no avail and was forced to use brut force against my fellow passengers to board a train that had room for 50 more people. I used to feel bad about pushing, but I am wayyyyyyyy over that.
The tale of disaster and despair continues. For some unknown reason, people feel the urgent need to prepare for their exit from the train car as soon as the announcement for the next station is made, which is always at least a few solid minutes before the train comes remotely close to the station. This generally results in people pushing and shoving past you while the train is in motion and coming to a stop and resulting in more than a few uncomfortable stumbles and grabs. Now there is no harm in preparing for your exit in a crowded subway car- no harm at all- sometime But its generally unnecessary when approaching a station where 99% of the train will exit. Our commute is only one stop in the morning, so there is no need to sit or make inroads to the middle of the train so we often find ourselves crammed against the door, and our destination, Raffles Place, is the equivalent of Grand Central or Times Square- everyone gets off there. But I cannot tell you how many times I have been standing near the door of the car when someone tries to push past me to get ready to get off the train. Sooooo kiasu.
3) ESCALATORS: You are sensing a transportation theme here. I will be brief about the escalators, I swear. Singaporeans have a slavish dedication to the following escalator behavior concept: Standing to the left, walking to the right. This makes sense. This provides order. This I am sure is something taught in schools. Singaporeans hate stairs, so there are escalators everywhere and it makes sense to have unified behavior norms- for safety and efficiency.......
OK- but what DOESN'T make sense is that no Singaporean in their right mind is going to use the walking side. Kiasu aside, these people are not fans of physical exertion. The amount of times I have seen perfectly able bodied people take the elevator one floor or wait for room on the escalator when the stairs are totally empty is astounding. This lack of desire to walk up the moving stairs results in massive lines for the standing side of the escalator every morning, and a lot of jostling and line cutting. It can be best described as the typical traffic situation when merging to one lane. There is always some a-hole that waits until the lane is totally closed before forcing a merge. Same theory applies to the escalators. Its hilarious though to look up at the escalators on a typical morning and see a wide open right side, just waiting for someone adventurous enough to walk up it, while the masses are duking it out below for a spot on the left.
4) RAIN: Singaporeans hate it. I am convinced that they are all made of sugar and there is a real threat of melting. This abhorrence of rain is a problem on this tropical island where it rains. It rains a lot. Sometimes everyday. The burning hatred of rain, specifically being IN the rain, is so strong that it forces hundreds of rain-intolerant folks to crowd under overhangs, clinging to the last dry spot in a world of wetness. This is fine- until the overhang happens to be the exit from the subway or the only entrance to your office. Then you are back to the pushing and shoving and looks of incredulity that you, you- tall white woman, are silly enough to walk 10 feet in the rain.
It all really comes back to the pushing and shoving. I was pushed and shoved very infrequently in New York and understandably less so in Colorado. I guess sometimes the 6-train was a little crowded at rush hour...and sure, I have pushed a tourist out of the way in Times Square once in a while, but the constant need for physical attack to get through my day can be exhausting. You would think that my relative size to the average Asian would give me an advantage in the hand-to-hand combat that is commuting and existing in this city, but you would be surprised the power that a well placed elderly Chinese elbow packs.
While there are a plethora of other complaints, I feel refreshed after sharing this vent with you and will save some rage for another time.
Toodles.
1) ELEVATORS (a.k.a. Lifts): While there are more than a few things wrong with the way people ride elevators here (some of which will be covered subsequently in the MRT section), I am going to focus on the incessant button pushing. Elevator usage is pretty standard in all countries. You push the call button, the elevator comes, you get on, the doors shut, the elevator takes you to the floor you requested, the doors open, you get off, the doors close. Its not magic, and I have never encountered an elevator that didn't follow this basic premise.
However Singaporeans seem to think that unless you push the door close button 100000 times, the door might fail you and you would be stuck for eternity in an open-doored elevator, just waiting. It would be irritating enough if it was a single impatient push. But its repetitive. Incessant. Obsessive. There is probably wide spread repeated stress injuries to the index finger in this country. What is also great about this is that this act is most often perpetrated by the first person in the elevator, not the last. So as Joe Singapore, or should I call him Cho Singapore, (who has no doubt pushed and shoved to be the first in the lift- see next section) hops on, he starts ramming his fat little fingers against the close button while the rest of us (being not fast enough to elbow Cho out of the way- and those of us with manners) are left to try to sneak in the elevator while the doors are slamming shut. It would be irritating if it was occasional. But it is MINDBOGGLING that it is every. single. time. It must be something taught in elementary school here, because it is an epidemic condition. You can be assured that if find yourself riding the elevator in Singapore, you will get to experience this truly annoying phenomenon. Also, should you try to be polite and hold the elevator door for someone who is obviously just steps behind you and also seeking to use the lift, instead of being thanked, you will be given a look of not just pure shock but also scorn for violating the national code of elevator usage. There is probably a fine for that.
2) THE MRT (the Subway): A novel could be written about the daily drama of riding the MRT. Maybe a trilogy of novels. Maybe a boxed set. First you have the illogical manner in which the one-way gates are set up during rush hour so you have to risk life and limb navigating from the entrance through hoards of people exiting from the first 10 gates because they have only made the very last gate in the row, farthest from the entrance, available for entrance. I get that there are business establishments near my home stop- but as the massive condo and apartment buildings imply, there are also homes- and people who would like to have a morning commute that doesn't involve body slams.
But sadly, this is not my biggest complaint. The bigger issue is really the overall entrance and exit skills of the locals. And, lest you think it is MRT specific, this same irrational and sometimes hostile behavior plays out in elevators, escalators, taxis, grocery stores- anywhere that is possible or necessary to enter and exit. There seems to be a Chinese mentality that "first is best." But, before I get attacked, this mentality and conforming behavior is not at all limited to the ethnic Chinese of Singapore. Like all good things in Singapore, it has managed to cross the deep divides of race, gender and ethnicity. People here (or maybe everywhere in Asia?) call it "kaisu" which is a Hokkien Chinese word meaning some mix of rude and greedy. There are entire blogs lamenting the daily exhibitions of kiasu behavior on the perfectly manicured streets of Sing (http://kiasusingaporean.com/). Its a problem in more places than the subway. But how this manifests in the MRT is that despite clearly marked lanes, and frequent broadcast announcements to allow people to alight, people cannot manage to wait their turn to board the damn train. As soon as the doors open you can expect that someone in the impatiently waiting crowd will immediately start shoving and pushing to get on while people are simultaneously pushing and shoving to be the first to exit. It gets better. Once Cho Singapore is on the train, he or she is exceptionally unlikely to move past the area immediately in front of the door (unless there is a seat open (unlikely) in which case he or she will leap over strollers, kick the elderly and usurp a pregnant woman for the right to sit for one stop). No, even if there is plenty of space in the train, Cho will park himself RIGHT in front of the door, no matter that others are still getting on. Just this morning I got on the train behind a middle aged Chinese woman who took one step on the train, stopped, grabbed the handrail and refused to move. I tried the evil eye intimidation tactic to no avail and was forced to use brut force against my fellow passengers to board a train that had room for 50 more people. I used to feel bad about pushing, but I am wayyyyyyyy over that.
The tale of disaster and despair continues. For some unknown reason, people feel the urgent need to prepare for their exit from the train car as soon as the announcement for the next station is made, which is always at least a few solid minutes before the train comes remotely close to the station. This generally results in people pushing and shoving past you while the train is in motion and coming to a stop and resulting in more than a few uncomfortable stumbles and grabs. Now there is no harm in preparing for your exit in a crowded subway car- no harm at all- sometime But its generally unnecessary when approaching a station where 99% of the train will exit. Our commute is only one stop in the morning, so there is no need to sit or make inroads to the middle of the train so we often find ourselves crammed against the door, and our destination, Raffles Place, is the equivalent of Grand Central or Times Square- everyone gets off there. But I cannot tell you how many times I have been standing near the door of the car when someone tries to push past me to get ready to get off the train. Sooooo kiasu.
3) ESCALATORS: You are sensing a transportation theme here. I will be brief about the escalators, I swear. Singaporeans have a slavish dedication to the following escalator behavior concept: Standing to the left, walking to the right. This makes sense. This provides order. This I am sure is something taught in schools. Singaporeans hate stairs, so there are escalators everywhere and it makes sense to have unified behavior norms- for safety and efficiency.......
OK- but what DOESN'T make sense is that no Singaporean in their right mind is going to use the walking side. Kiasu aside, these people are not fans of physical exertion. The amount of times I have seen perfectly able bodied people take the elevator one floor or wait for room on the escalator when the stairs are totally empty is astounding. This lack of desire to walk up the moving stairs results in massive lines for the standing side of the escalator every morning, and a lot of jostling and line cutting. It can be best described as the typical traffic situation when merging to one lane. There is always some a-hole that waits until the lane is totally closed before forcing a merge. Same theory applies to the escalators. Its hilarious though to look up at the escalators on a typical morning and see a wide open right side, just waiting for someone adventurous enough to walk up it, while the masses are duking it out below for a spot on the left.
4) RAIN: Singaporeans hate it. I am convinced that they are all made of sugar and there is a real threat of melting. This abhorrence of rain is a problem on this tropical island where it rains. It rains a lot. Sometimes everyday. The burning hatred of rain, specifically being IN the rain, is so strong that it forces hundreds of rain-intolerant folks to crowd under overhangs, clinging to the last dry spot in a world of wetness. This is fine- until the overhang happens to be the exit from the subway or the only entrance to your office. Then you are back to the pushing and shoving and looks of incredulity that you, you- tall white woman, are silly enough to walk 10 feet in the rain.
It all really comes back to the pushing and shoving. I was pushed and shoved very infrequently in New York and understandably less so in Colorado. I guess sometimes the 6-train was a little crowded at rush hour...and sure, I have pushed a tourist out of the way in Times Square once in a while, but the constant need for physical attack to get through my day can be exhausting. You would think that my relative size to the average Asian would give me an advantage in the hand-to-hand combat that is commuting and existing in this city, but you would be surprised the power that a well placed elderly Chinese elbow packs.
While there are a plethora of other complaints, I feel refreshed after sharing this vent with you and will save some rage for another time.
Toodles.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Asian Fruit Basket- Guava
One thing that has provided endless fascination in our 4 months in Asia is all the new crazy unidentifiable fruit! We have a 24-hour outdoor fruit market one block from our condo building and they have literally tons of fruit that we cannot name and haven't tried. We once bought a dragon fruit, because it looked cool, but quickly realized we weren't to sure on how to open it, so it quickly rotted in the tropical climate before we made serious efforts to crack that baby open. We have tried rambutan, which is tasty...and, well, that may be all so far. Due to some unusual fruit allergies, its difficult for me to be too crazy with my foreign fruit exploration, but I have decided to be more adventurous in trying out-of-the-ordinary fruits.
My recent trip to KL provided the perfect chance to get down to crazy fruit eating business.
My recent trip to KL provided the perfect chance to get down to crazy fruit eating business.
I figured if they offer it at the Mandarin Oriental it was unlikely to kill me, and if it did try any funny business- I could get fabulous 5-star service on the way to the ER. Luckily for me, they thoughtfully provided a card explaining that a guava is related to the pear and apple, and as far as I know I am on good terms with the entire apple family. It turns out that the Mandarin may have not done their homework entirely because wikipedia informs me that the closest relative of the Guava is the pomegranate. Luckily I have never been treated poorly by one of those either.
Now some of you are thinking "Guava- that's not *that* exotic." But I don't remember seeing too many Guavas at Whole Foods in Union Square and although I think its probably one of those hip-sounding ingredients that Snapple tries to throw in their drinks to make them sound exotic, I doubt too many of my US friends could pick a Guava out of a line up.
This thing was BIG.
But hey, it looks like a giant apple...and I like apples. So it's probably cool right?
I was sincerely hoping it would be pink inside, a crazy deep pretty pink. But alas, its white. (Further wikipedia investigation proves that my hopes were not totally off base as *some* guavas are indeed radiantly pink in the middle- just not the one I got...) And it sort of tastes like an apple. You can eat the skin like an apple. Its a similar consistency. It was ... alright. Certainly not mind blowing.
But it turns out that Guava is quite good for you, being rich in vitamin A & C with edible seeds high in omega-3s. So despite its underwhelming first taste we may have to consider further investigation.
Pros: Yay for Vitamins! And doesn't have a ridiculously complicated exterior.
Con: A little bit tasteless, maybe this one wasn't ripe yet.
Rating: B
Next time on Fruit Basket... Dragonfruit- how does one open one?
Welcome to the Gong Show
After endless hours of work, I finished my first IPO and when the company listed on the Malaysia Stock Exchange, I got invited to go watch! This may have been the first thing that I have been legitimately excited about at work- finally something completed.
So off I went to Malaysia, to see what everyone kept referring to as "the Gong show." Now I was thinking- that is a funny name- those crazy Asians, surely its metaphorical. But really, there was an actual GONG instead of a boring western bell.
Thats right, I am a Bursa Securities VIP. Clear the way for my creepy dilapidated Malaysian taxi to slide in next to all the Mercedes parked at the entrance....
Front of the Bursa building with the fake Seattle Spaceneedle in the background. If I had any free time on one of these trips I might venture up there- but based on what I have seen of KL and surrounding areas, there wouldn't be much of a worthwhile view.
Pretty cool building. Wish I had a better picture, but it was 10000 degrees and on a steep hill, which prohibited my wool suit and heels wearing self from treking down the hill to get a better angle.
My first IPO Company!
THE GONG!
I have to admit that it was a bit anticlimactic. There was however a New Years Eve-esq countdown at 10 seconds till 8am, which was spirited and thankfully in English. Then the Gong was hit by two representatives of the company. And....that was it. The rest was filled with somewhat awkward attempts at networking and being one of three non-Asians in the room. It was also a bit of a let down that the Gong show doesn't take place on the trading floor like at the NYSE. The Bursa has its own little reception room where the Gong business goes down- which allows for a full buffet of strange Malaysian food, but no fun traders and tickertape to gawk at. I tried to con the guards in to giving me a tour to the floor- but failed miserably. All in all it was a fun, but short, trip to KL and I am glad to have put my first deal to bed!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Not Sure What This Means?
We saw this sign in MacRitchie.... not entirely sure what goes on here...but we are pretty sure its not normal
Hmmmm.
In the News....
If you thought there were a lot of news worthy events happening in Singapore, and South East Asia generally, you would be wrong.
Part of my job is to keep current on local news and news for countries that we frequently work with like Malaysia and Indonesia. So I frequently peruse the various national and regional newspapers for anything that we might need to know about when working with clients in the area. I recently started reading the Jakarta Post, which I had been forewarned is a treasure trove of unintentionally hilarious news pieces. Take this one on the front page of today's paper for example:
Headlines:Minister denies sleeping during Cabinet meeting
Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto denied Tuesday media reports which said he fell asleep when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono inaugurated the Situation Room at his office on Monday
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/07/13/minister-denies-sleeping-during-cabinet-meeting.html
Must be a lot of big things going on over in Jakarta if this is what the people really want to know. It turns out there was actually an earthquake in Papua- but it got significantly less coverage.
Singapore is a small place, so it is understandable that it doesn't produce a lot of really important news. But this article caught my attention:
Giant monitor lizard causes stir in HDB estate
The highlight of the article is as follows:
The lizard, which was about two metres long, was tied up by residents.
Rescuers from the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) removed the rope and tape. A spokesman from ACRES said the creature appeared to be very tired and upset.
http://news.xin.msn.com/en/singapore/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4212972
I would have been upset too if a bunch of tape wielding Singaporeans with stir-fry recipes on the mind attacked me! Don't worry though, the article happily reports that the lizard has been released to a suitable habitat that is approved by the National Parks.
Other important news in the Straights Times today:
S'poreans love bibimbap!
BIBIMBAP, a Korean dish of mixed rice and vegetables, is popular with Singaporean foodies who adore Korean food. In fact, the dish is so hot that organisers of the second annual Korea Foodstuff Fair created one of the largest bowls of bibimbap in Singapore.
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_553314.html
As you can see from the link text- this was filed under "Breaking News"....
This is a personal favorite- the headline is not that good, but the text is a winner.
Jail term reduced to $1k fine
WAS it intentional or not?
Two years ago, Patrick Loo Shun Wen reached across the mattress where his girlfriend and her friend were sleeping and touched the latter's breast.
The 27-year-old sales executive later pleaded guilty to molest and was sentenced to six months jail.
But on Tuesday, during Loo's appeal hearing, a High Court judge questioned whether he really intended to molest the woman, then 18, at all.
In the end, Justice V. K. Rajah set aside the jail term and fined Loo $1,000 instead, with the judge describing it as a bizarre case.
'Despite the fact that you have pleaded guilty, it's unclear to me what had actually taken place because you were in bed with your girlfriend with whom you wanted to get intimate with,' said Justice Rajah.
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_553326.html
Also "Breaking News" but it does reassure me that although the case was prosecuted, the judge admits its totally bizare.
Thats all for today!
Part of my job is to keep current on local news and news for countries that we frequently work with like Malaysia and Indonesia. So I frequently peruse the various national and regional newspapers for anything that we might need to know about when working with clients in the area. I recently started reading the Jakarta Post, which I had been forewarned is a treasure trove of unintentionally hilarious news pieces. Take this one on the front page of today's paper for example:
Headlines:Minister denies sleeping during Cabinet meeting
Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto denied Tuesday media reports which said he fell asleep when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono inaugurated the Situation Room at his office on Monday
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/07/13/minister-denies-sleeping-during-cabinet-meeting.html
Must be a lot of big things going on over in Jakarta if this is what the people really want to know. It turns out there was actually an earthquake in Papua- but it got significantly less coverage.
Singapore is a small place, so it is understandable that it doesn't produce a lot of really important news. But this article caught my attention:
Giant monitor lizard causes stir in HDB estate
The highlight of the article is as follows:
The lizard, which was about two metres long, was tied up by residents.
Rescuers from the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) removed the rope and tape. A spokesman from ACRES said the creature appeared to be very tired and upset.
http://news.xin.msn.com/en/singapore/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4212972
I would have been upset too if a bunch of tape wielding Singaporeans with stir-fry recipes on the mind attacked me! Don't worry though, the article happily reports that the lizard has been released to a suitable habitat that is approved by the National Parks.
Other important news in the Straights Times today:
S'poreans love bibimbap!
BIBIMBAP, a Korean dish of mixed rice and vegetables, is popular with Singaporean foodies who adore Korean food. In fact, the dish is so hot that organisers of the second annual Korea Foodstuff Fair created one of the largest bowls of bibimbap in Singapore.
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_553314.html
As you can see from the link text- this was filed under "Breaking News"....
This is a personal favorite- the headline is not that good, but the text is a winner.
Jail term reduced to $1k fine
WAS it intentional or not?
Two years ago, Patrick Loo Shun Wen reached across the mattress where his girlfriend and her friend were sleeping and touched the latter's breast.
The 27-year-old sales executive later pleaded guilty to molest and was sentenced to six months jail.
But on Tuesday, during Loo's appeal hearing, a High Court judge questioned whether he really intended to molest the woman, then 18, at all.
In the end, Justice V. K. Rajah set aside the jail term and fined Loo $1,000 instead, with the judge describing it as a bizarre case.
'Despite the fact that you have pleaded guilty, it's unclear to me what had actually taken place because you were in bed with your girlfriend with whom you wanted to get intimate with,' said Justice Rajah.
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_553326.html
Also "Breaking News" but it does reassure me that although the case was prosecuted, the judge admits its totally bizare.
Thats all for today!
Monday, July 12, 2010
A Return Trip to East Coast Park
This weekend, when we were not in the office, we decided to take Dave's parents to see one of our favorite places in Singapore- East Coast Park. Its really only when you are riding a bike on the beach that Singapore is a pretty great place and you remember that yep- we live on a tropical island.
Downtown in the distance.
Linda, taking a video of the coastline.
We rented bikes again, and I managed to get a bit fit for a real sized adult, however despite appearing to have a gear system, we all quickly found out that it was really just for show.
Taking a break to enjoy the scenery.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Practice Makes Perfect
I guess technically here it would be "practise" but I try to eschew as much ridiculous British influence as possible. National Day in Singapore is August 9th- but these folks have been practicing for the celebration and show of military force (gotta show Malaysia who's boss) for MONTHS. This involves jets, like serious massive airplanes, buzzing downtown and more recently F-16s flying in formation directly over the IR casino. I cannot usually see these fly-overs- since my office window faces....a wall, but I hear them and feel them shaking my building almost every afternoon for the past month.
This weekend I happened to be in the office during such a military show drill and sprinted to the good side of the office in time to see some pretty impressive aerial moves. Things unlikely to ever happen in Manhattan include close-up views of fighter jets outside your office window. All of this is ridiculous for a few reasons: 1) Singapore is tiny- I am not sure they really need so many legit fighter jets and 2) How many times do you have to buzz downtown to prepare for 1 day? We don't plan to stick around for National Day anyways, but even if we did, I think we have already seen the highlights. And this is just the build up- the week before the holiday, they will apparently ramp up operations and do multiple full scale parades and fireworks show!
From our living room window we did see the following, which was pretty cool:
This weekend I happened to be in the office during such a military show drill and sprinted to the good side of the office in time to see some pretty impressive aerial moves. Things unlikely to ever happen in Manhattan include close-up views of fighter jets outside your office window. All of this is ridiculous for a few reasons: 1) Singapore is tiny- I am not sure they really need so many legit fighter jets and 2) How many times do you have to buzz downtown to prepare for 1 day? We don't plan to stick around for National Day anyways, but even if we did, I think we have already seen the highlights. And this is just the build up- the week before the holiday, they will apparently ramp up operations and do multiple full scale parades and fireworks show!
From our living room window we did see the following, which was pretty cool:
Here is a close up:
This is a massive helicopter trailing a massive Singapore flag.
These guys just flew around off the coast for a while, hanging out.
Ben's Pictures of Singapore
Thought I would borrow some of the pictures that Ben took while he was in town. People say we don't post many pictures of what Singapore looks like- so here is a little glimpse what we see everyday in the little red dot.
Chinese temple near our house.
Wall of the Hindu temple, also near our house.
Looking in to Maxwell Road Hawker Center- one of the largest hawkers in Singapore.
Boat Quay and downtown in the distance.
The completed Sands Casino and Merlion.
The "Durian"- the Esplanade arts center, downtown.
The Fullerton Hotel, downtown.
The Anglican Cathedral of Singapore
Dave's office building (brown one on the right)
Do Not Feed the Monkeys- MacRitchie Reservoir (A belated post)
While all of our friends in America were celebrating their American-ness over Memorial Day we attempted to celebate Buddha's birthday with our own three day weekend. There is great dissent in Asia over the actual day of Buddha's birth, with different countries celebrating it at different times- which sort of takes the fun out of it. Oh yea, and we are not Buddhist- which also takes the fun out of it. But, we are never going to poo-poo a free day off work. We originally planned to bounce off to the nether regions of Australia in search of kangaroos, but work intervened- so after my dear husband pulled his first overnighter at work, we set out to entertain ourselves in Singapore. And since all normal Singaporeans and expats get the hell out of town on long weekends, we basically had the city to ourselves.
To be fair, the entertainment options in Singapore are minimal, but since we haven't had much time to explore the island yet- there are quite a few things on our to-do list. At the top of this list was a "hike" in MacRitchie Reservoir. The draw for Dave was a very neat canopy walk over a suspension bridge in the jungle- and for me it was the potential for monkeys, of course. One serious flaw in the Singapore transportation system is that most of the nature spots, parks and reserves and the like, are not easily accessible to those with out cars. I suppose this gives it a feeling of being set off from the hustle and bustle- but this is only an illusion, since the imposing skyline of downtown and the many soaring towers of the prolific residential skyscrapers can be seen from practically any vantage in the island. It struck me as odd to take a taxi to a nature reserve, but taxi we did.
The reservoir is beautiful, and if you look in certain directions, you can almost forget that you are in fact in the middle of the city. The national championship of canoeing was happening when we showed up, which we can only assume is the same thing as the city championships (city-state), which makes it ever so slightly less exciting.
We set out for the Tree Top Walk- which we were kindly reminded by repeated signs, was brought to us by the good folks at HSBC, who never miss an opportunity to self promote- even in the rain forest.
The walk in the forest was great- it was nice to be outside- an occurrence which happens rather infrequently for us due to a passionate aversion to the overwhelming heat- and since we were under tree cover most of the time- it was not quite so scorching, although still plenty humid.
We eventually approached what- to two corporate crusaders with declining physical fitness resulting from long hours in rolly chairs indoors- can be called a frigging massive hill. We attempted to channel our strength from times past when we actually had time to work out- and began the assent. Dave quickly realized that his only chance was to keep moving since if he stopped, he might not be able to get going again. We had a flash back to people we had passed earlier pushing a stroller in the opposite direction and thought that surely they must have seen this monster hill and decided that the tree top walk was going to have to wait until Jr. could walk himself up there to see it. A little out of breath we made it to the top- only to be faced with some pretty serious downward stairs. Did I really huff and puff my way up here to have to go down stairs?
It turned out that having to face my own athletic inabilities on the hill and subsequent stairs would be worth it when we arrived at the HSBC Tree Top Walk, which we had only to share with one other adventurous couple. The bridge is really sturdy feeling given that it is a suspension bridge hovering 25 metres above the ground. We don't have any idea what a metre is, crazy European measuring, but we know the bridge was high.
We saw the sights and feeling exhilarated left the bridge only to realize that we what laid ahead was a never ending set of stairs. And I really do mean never ending. What seems like hours later, the stair madness ended and nearly flat ground was ours again. At which point we came to a observation tower. I thought- well, we just saw the whole damn rain forest from the bridge, why would feel compelled to hike more stairs to see it again? But my husband felt a deep rooted need to climb more stairs for a dramatic view of more trees. With my legs thoroughly beat, and a thunderstorm looming in the distance- we pushed to cover the last 4k with visions of the headquarters cafe dancing on our heads. Nearly exhausted, sweating profusely and already bemoaning how sore we were going to be the next day- we were put to shame by the plethora of runners calmly jogging towards us and past us on the rocky bumpy trail. Even small children ran past us. Its really good for my self esteem to get left in the dirt by a 10 year old girl.
Like I said, of the big draws of MacRitchie- besides the simple chance to get out of the city grind- was the promise of Monkeys. And monkeys we found. Lots of them. Lots of very cute baby monkeys. And not the least bit bothered by the hikers.
After a wonderful, albeit exhausting hike, we eventually stumbled in to the cafe at the entrance to the park, downed multiple bottles of water and then like any good city residents, hailed ourselves a taxi back to reality.
To be fair, the entertainment options in Singapore are minimal, but since we haven't had much time to explore the island yet- there are quite a few things on our to-do list. At the top of this list was a "hike" in MacRitchie Reservoir. The draw for Dave was a very neat canopy walk over a suspension bridge in the jungle- and for me it was the potential for monkeys, of course. One serious flaw in the Singapore transportation system is that most of the nature spots, parks and reserves and the like, are not easily accessible to those with out cars. I suppose this gives it a feeling of being set off from the hustle and bustle- but this is only an illusion, since the imposing skyline of downtown and the many soaring towers of the prolific residential skyscrapers can be seen from practically any vantage in the island. It struck me as odd to take a taxi to a nature reserve, but taxi we did.
Arriving at MacRitchie
Rules of the park. I particularly like the no grabbing birds.
And this one.
I really like the explanation in #3. I might have otherwise been confused.
The reservoir is beautiful, and if you look in certain directions, you can almost forget that you are in fact in the middle of the city. The national championship of canoeing was happening when we showed up, which we can only assume is the same thing as the city championships (city-state), which makes it ever so slightly less exciting.
We set out for the Tree Top Walk- which we were kindly reminded by repeated signs, was brought to us by the good folks at HSBC, who never miss an opportunity to self promote- even in the rain forest.
The walk in the forest was great- it was nice to be outside- an occurrence which happens rather infrequently for us due to a passionate aversion to the overwhelming heat- and since we were under tree cover most of the time- it was not quite so scorching, although still plenty humid.
Little friend we saw along the way up.
We eventually approached what- to two corporate crusaders with declining physical fitness resulting from long hours in rolly chairs indoors- can be called a frigging massive hill. We attempted to channel our strength from times past when we actually had time to work out- and began the assent. Dave quickly realized that his only chance was to keep moving since if he stopped, he might not be able to get going again. We had a flash back to people we had passed earlier pushing a stroller in the opposite direction and thought that surely they must have seen this monster hill and decided that the tree top walk was going to have to wait until Jr. could walk himself up there to see it. A little out of breath we made it to the top- only to be faced with some pretty serious downward stairs. Did I really huff and puff my way up here to have to go down stairs?
It turned out that having to face my own athletic inabilities on the hill and subsequent stairs would be worth it when we arrived at the HSBC Tree Top Walk, which we had only to share with one other adventurous couple. The bridge is really sturdy feeling given that it is a suspension bridge hovering 25 metres above the ground. We don't have any idea what a metre is, crazy European measuring, but we know the bridge was high.
Looking down off the bridge.
View from the bridge.
We saw the sights and feeling exhilarated left the bridge only to realize that we what laid ahead was a never ending set of stairs. And I really do mean never ending. What seems like hours later, the stair madness ended and nearly flat ground was ours again. At which point we came to a observation tower. I thought- well, we just saw the whole damn rain forest from the bridge, why would feel compelled to hike more stairs to see it again? But my husband felt a deep rooted need to climb more stairs for a dramatic view of more trees. With my legs thoroughly beat, and a thunderstorm looming in the distance- we pushed to cover the last 4k with visions of the headquarters cafe dancing on our heads. Nearly exhausted, sweating profusely and already bemoaning how sore we were going to be the next day- we were put to shame by the plethora of runners calmly jogging towards us and past us on the rocky bumpy trail. Even small children ran past us. Its really good for my self esteem to get left in the dirt by a 10 year old girl.
It is lovely.
Like I said, of the big draws of MacRitchie- besides the simple chance to get out of the city grind- was the promise of Monkeys. And monkeys we found. Lots of them. Lots of very cute baby monkeys. And not the least bit bothered by the hikers.
After a wonderful, albeit exhausting hike, we eventually stumbled in to the cafe at the entrance to the park, downed multiple bottles of water and then like any good city residents, hailed ourselves a taxi back to reality.
Loved this little guy. Not so sure the feeling was mutual.
Friendly 3-legged turtle in the reservoir.
There were some great signs and explanations in the park- but this one is my favorite:
I really think they don't want you to feed the monkeys.
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