Trek in Singapore - Kusu Island

expatbrian


The pics are up at World Gone Mad. Again, I apologize for the quality as I had only my cell phone camera that day. But you'll get the idea. Enjoy.

Trekkin' in Singapore - McRitchie

expatbrian

I've posted some pictures of my trip to the rain forest at McRitchie reservoir over at World Gone Mad. See the post here.


















I didn't post it here because blogger makes it almost impossible to post a sequence of several pictures and I'm not going to struggle with it again. You'd think Google could do a better job. Wordpress does.

A Sunday Trek in Singapore

expatbrian

As small as this island is, there are many nice places to go exploring and hiking. Dense rain forest still covers most of the center of the island and surrounds the natural reservoirs that stay full due to the abundance of rain. So with lunch and plenty of water in our backpacks, Pearl and I mounted up on the Honda 200 and set out to see a few sites and maybe meet a few new friends along the way. (click to enlarge)

We started out at Pierce reservoir, a beautiful, quiet and serene area known for it's crystal clear water and wildlife. Signs along the narrow road leading into the area warn against feeding the monkeys or even letting them see that you might have food. They can be very aggressive.

The modern meets the primitive in the backgound of the first shot showing a golf course butting up to the jungle. And this is not a "man made" or even visitor friendly jungle. There are few if any trails and much of it is impenetrable without a machete. On the near side however, is a nice little park where one might net a few shrimp or catch a few fish. The lake is also teeming with turtles.

Along the road I came across this not so friendly male macaque. He bared his teeth at me so I kept my distance. There are thousands of these in the thick trees and they usually hang around in family groups of as many as 20. A few more of this guy's brood were sunning and grooming across the road. Unfortunately, some end up as road kill.

We stopped for a bite, looking for a shady spot in the grass but found it full of very large, very nasty looking black ants. We also spotted this monitor scrounging in the grass for a meal. He was about16 inches and a little weary of this old man.


Later, on our way out of the park, we found his big brother, right out in the open, digging in the grass for his own lunch. He allowed me to get within a few feet before sauntering up the hill. He climbs much better than I do.




Pearl was startled when she almost stepped on this little guy. But he got away clean before we could do him any harm.

From Pierce we drove over to East Coast park. This is a long stretch of beach that extends for several kilometers along the southeast coast of the island. It is from here that you can watch the hundreds of ships that line up each day to come into port. Unfortunately, the air was a little misty so they are hard to see.

This is also an ideal spot for windsurfing and they have a launch area and even lessons for newbies. You can rent boards or bring your own.

After a tough day fighting the snakes and the monitors and fending off the monkeys, we were famished and so we stopped for a little of Singapore's famous Steamboat. Here you pay for a plate and its all you can eat. You select meats, veges, fish and whatever else they have from long counters of raw food. Each table has a round platter with a bowl in the middle. Its all over an open fire and you simply boil or cook what you want right at your table. Nice way to end the day.

Cross posted at World Gone Mad

Sampling Singapore's Epicurean Delights

by expatbrian

I'm all Bushed out and thought I would lighten up for this Sunday post. So, just in case you were under the impression that this is not a cosmopolitan blog, I'm going to introduce you to a little international cuisine, Singapore style.

Eating is an art form in Singapore and there are those who might go out on a weekend just to move from one eating place to another sampling the fare. There are literally thousands of places to eat here and that doesn't count the restaurants which are generally very expensive and certainly do not serve the best food.

In each of the eating venues, you seat yourself and you often will end up sharing a table with strangers if the place is busy. No prob. Food is cooked fresh when ordered but because of the nature of the food, it is done quickly. (Click the thumbs to enlarge)

The largest of the restaurant alternatives are the hawker centers. These are open air, covered rows of food stalls with tables in the middle of the rows. A hawker center may be as small as 20 stalls or as large as 100 or more. Each stall serves a specific type of food while some are just for coffee and drinks. Typically the fare consists of Chinese, Muslim and Indian food with variations including Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, and mainland China. Prices for a meal will range from US$1.50 - $3.50.

Coffee shops are smaller than hawker centers but the same principle applies. Usually 5-10 stalls serving a variety of dishes. These are found on nearly every street corner and at the bottom floor of many of the residential blocks. You're never more than a block away from a coffee shop of some kind. Prices in the coffee shops are about the same as in the hawker centers.

Food courts are also multiple stall set ups but they are indoors. Most malls and shopping centers will have, in addition to restaurants, a food court. Here you may find some additional types of food such as Thai, Korean, Vietnamese and maybe even Cambodian or Lao. The prices are slightly higher. You might pay as much as US$4.50 for a meal. (LOL)

There is western food available of course but its expensive and not very tasty. And there are Macs and Burger Kings all over. But who needs that when you have stuff like this available everywhere?

Chinese Laksa is one of my favorites. I like to create my own by choosing my own ingredients. I find a good Yong Tau Foo stall like this one at Bras Basah Complex. It will have a variety of fish, bean curd, vegetables, spices and meats to select from. That is added to boiled yellow noodles and a special hot, spicy curry sauce with a hint of coconut. The first bite will clear my nose and make my eyes water. And if you happen to have a slight hangover, Laksa is Bloody Mary in a bowl.

Here's the finished product. A piping hot bowl of Yong Tau Foo Laksa. My favorite place is Bras Basah and at Block 301 at Ubi 2. Cost is about US$2.20. (chop stix & spoon). BTW, ingredients for all dishes are typically sized so as to not require cutting. Good thing because knives are not available except in restaurants. But if the need arises, Singaporeans all know how to cut food with chop stix and a spoon.

Here's some of my other favorites.

Most Hawker Centers and coffee shops will have an Indian stall serving biryani (usually pronounced briyani). Its a spicy rice served with mutton or chicken and a great gravy. Usually there will be a vegetable with it and maybe a hard, crispy, thin prata. I like the Henderson hawker center for this but there's lots of great biryani around. Cost is about US$2.50. (fork and spoon)

Mutton soup is green, hot and spicy. Chunks of mutton and vegetables in the soup plus bread squares for dipping. The very best place is at the Block just north of and within veiw of the Kallang MRT station. Unbelievably good. Price is US$2.00. (fork & spoon)

Yew Mee or minced meat noodle is a special lunch treat for me. Thin noodles, minced pork, chives, a couple of fish balls, in a spicy vinegar and soy sauce mixture. There's a few variations to this and it's found everywhere. Usually comes in three sizes and varies from US$1.50 - 2.50. (chop stix & spoon)

Fried Carrot Cake. Not like your mother used to make. This includes white carrots, and, I don't really know what all is in this stuff. But it's great for breakfast! About US$2.00. (chop stix & spoon)

Fried Kway Teow is a Malay noodle/vegetable dish with sprouts, maybe a potato slice or other additions. Every old uncle has his special recipe. About US$2-3.00. (chop stix & spoon)


Last but not least, for breakfast, a snack or to accompany another meal, you can't beat a roti prata. you can get it plain, with egg, or lots of other ways. It is an indian dough spread very thin then folded over any ingredient and fried. Served with a hot sauce for dipping. Cost ranges from US$0.40-1.00. (fork & spoon)

Watch as this prata uncle makes a plain and then an egg roti prata.



If there's any interest, I will do a future post on what the locals eat and where they eat it.

Singapore Awarded 1st Summer Youth Olympics

by expatbrian

This city went crazy last night with the announcement that we had beaten out Moscow to host the first Summer Youth Olympics in 2010.

Yup. We bad.

Oh, that quirky Singapore

by expatbrian

It's Sunday, my significant other is out playing Mahjong and I'm sitting downstairs in a nice 80 degree breeze with my laptop and wifi. Life is good.

I've heard a lot of misconceptions about Singapore since I've been here, many of them in comments on my blog. I thought I might clear up a few.

Probably the most common complaints I hear have to do with the caning of a 16 year old tourist for vandalizing with spray paint. Yup, that happened. I could never figure out what possessed this young man to do such a thing in a foreign city in the first place, especially one with the rep Singapore has. But he did, and like anyone else who did the same, he suffered the consequences.

The government here frowns upon folks who intentionally deface this beautiful city. The result of this policy is, unlike American cities where graffiti is everywhere, there is none here. Seems there is a certain deterring effect when one faces the possibility of being beaten with a bamboo cane.

It's also well known that it is illegal to buy or sell gum here. It's an offense punishable with a fine. I suppose that's an inconvenience for some. I don't miss it much. I also don't miss stepping in someones discarded gum and trying to clean it off my shoes. and I don't miss the black splotches all over the sidewalks. Works for me.

Spitting is also a finable offense here. Same result. You don't have to worry about stepping in someone elses snot everytime you go for a walk. I can live with it.

Drugs are a big no-no here. This fact is very well publicized all over the world as is the diligence and thoroughness of the customs folks at the borders and airports. Yet some still decide they simply have to try to enter the country with illegal drugs. If they get caught with enough to sell, they get hung. It doesn't matter who they are or where they're from. They get a necktie party and they get it quickly. Personally, I think if they are that stupid, they deserve to be hung. Makes more room for the rest of us.

I've talked a lot about guns here and on my blog. Guns are allowed here for target shooting and many make use of those facilities. But when they are done, they leave their gun locked up at the range. Even the police turn in their weapons at the end of their shifts.

I know, I know, that's terribly repressive. On the other hand, because no one else has a gun either, you don't need one to "protect" yourself. The result of course is very few killings here and none with guns. But if someone cheats, if someone manages to have a gun and uses it in a crime, its another necktie party. The result of this repressive policy is safe streets for all the little uniformed school girls to walk home on at night.

I had a comment yesterday from a guy complaining that Singapore doesn't have a free press. It's true that the government owns the newspapers. But there are still articles and editorials every day complaining about one government policy or another. It doesn't really matter anyway because you can read any newspaper you want online and the internet, unlike places like China, is not censored at all....for anybody.

Car ownership is very expensive here. The tiniest compact from Korea runs about 50,000 sing dollars (about 35,000 US.) With 4.5 million people living on this tiny island it would be 24 hr gridlock if everyone drove.

I've been here 4 1/2 years so far and have never driven a car here. I don't have to. The rapid transit and bus systems, considered by many to be the best in the world, are cheap and go everywhere. If you're in a big hurry you can flag one of the 20,000 taxis which cost about 3 or 4 bucks to get you where you need to go.

There are no jury trials here. That works for me, too. Now, I'm sure that it was a good idea back in the old days when the founding fathers envisioned fair trials by a jury "of your peers". That was back when justice was valued and attorneys were respected and acted accordingly.

These days, justice is purchased by those who can afford the most expensive attorneys and guilt or innocence is no longer the most important issue. Those who succeed are those who can most effectively manipulate the court proceedings and influence 12 lay people who know absolutely nothing about the law except what they see on TV. OJ is the perfect example. "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit". What kind of horse shit is that?

No, I think I prefer judgement by someone who is an expert in the law and who understands all of the legal techniques that lawyers will try to use to win their cases.

In a future post I will compare the election process and why votes are not bought by industrial lobbyists. But for now, it's Miller time.

Look for me over at World Gone Mad