My To and From Work

This is my typical day when I'm walking out to the bus stop to get to work!

This is my most favorite mango tree in Singapore (the only one that I've seen) in the center of the picture. Hooray mangoes!

Sidewalk shot. I see that motorcycle parked all the time. There is a big downward slope around the motorcycle, and I call this the valley of the ants. I don't know why, but there are SO many ants around there.

Picture of a typical, residential street lined with cars on one side.

This place went up in less than 9 months. It was done so efficiently!!

Some neighboring flowers

More neighboring flowering trees.

East Shore hospital (getting closer to my bus stop!)

Prawn (Shrimp) Mee (Egg Noodle) Shop on the left side of the picture, East Shore hospital on the right. This is the only intersection that has seen my face too many times. There is a bus stop near the Prawn Mee that takes me to the train station when I need to travel more than my 2 mile radius ["bubble"]. It's next to that little green tent thing.

A 'ghetto' convenience store (mostly selling crackers, chips, and drinks) and an out-of-place bike repair shop.

And now, into the PM

This is a shot of the playground in the plaza (Marine Parade Promenade) next to my office building with a McDonald's to the right.

This is my office building "Parkway Parade" with a few bank signs below it.

This is a shot from the overhead bridge when I'm walking to my bus stop to go home. 

Wee Fast car!

Why are the cars on one side white lights and the other red lights?

Haha, just kidding.

Another shot of the 'mall' part of Parkway Parade (the office side is to the left). This is the entrance and taxi stand of Parkway Parade. Don't worry. Bus 76 isn't mine.

Well, that's just a glimpse into my daily travels in Singapore. Finally, it has become a routine thing. 

Oh yeah, and a big Happy 200th Birthday to Abraham Lincoln! 

If I Only Had Three Days in Singapore...

My friend will be accompanying his mom for a business trip to Singapore sometime in March, and since he's only going to be here for a few days (though I probably will be working during the day), I'm thinking about the things that would be essential to a trip.

So to put this into a semblance of an itinerary:

Day 1

• Morning bike ride/stroll through East Coast Park
• Katong Laksa for lunch
• Stroll through Raffles Hotel, Raffles City and City Hall area (spy on locals to hear Singlish)
  
• Dinner: Arab Street
• New Asia Bar to see Singapore at night (Swissotel)
• Prata Time! at Bencoolen for Supper

Day 2

• Stroll through Vivocity
• Hawker Center Chicken Rice or Bak Kuh Teh
• Go to Sentosa for a few hours (look at construction of IR)
• Sunshine Burger for Dinner near Queenstown MRT
• Check out Mohammad Sultan Road

Day 3

• Visit the Asian Civilisations Museum, National Museum of Singapore or Singapore Art Museum
• Lunch at Amber Restaurant in Little India
• Stroll through Orchard Road and Botanical Gardens
  
• Chili Crab for Dinner at Ban Leong Wah Hoe Seafood
• Stroll through Clarke Quay/Boat Quay

Note: this is for adults only! There are obviously more kid-friendly things to do, like run through the fountains at Marine Barrage or Clarke Quay, have a picnic in Botanical Gardens or Sentosa, or exploring Arab Street a little bit more.

Year of the Ox

I was shopping in Giant and came across this. I furtively took a picture and ran away!!!

that is, before anyone could yell at me. :)

Cyling Sunday

On Sunday, I went cycling with Charlene at East Coast Park - and it was SO much fun! Weather permitting, I'm going to plan to go out there.

The deal with the bicycles was great! It was $6 for an hour - you buy an hour, and hour free. Awesome!! So it was only S$12 for both of us (US$9).

We went pretty far....from ECP to the Sailing Club. I don't know the distance exactly, but maybea total of 10-14 km. The breeze was so nice, and it was only sunny for a little bit (don't worry, Mom, I put on sunscreen). There were so many almost-accidents because people like to whiz by and expect you to know that they're coming without them ringing the bell. Or there are people not paying attention that walk through bike trails. Or there are kids who are super slow and taking up the opposite direction lanes. Sigh. Or pedestrians who don't know that there is a PARALLEL trail meant for them.

So on our little adventure, we went by a (ROFL) remote control race (yes...there was an intricate speedyway AND a crowd) and some random gardens! The garden was sweet and in bloom. I'll take pictures next time I go cycling. People were windsailing, and tents were up all over the place. It started to sprinkle around 5:15, and since the bikes had to be back by 5:30, we dropped them off and took a break in McDonald's.

We took a cab to Bugis Junction to look at some clothes. 

This is the view from our table at NYDC 

(I had to ask for this seat or else they would have made me look at another restaurant...why do you have to ask? Shouldn't they know to make customers feel special?!)

Then we ate at NYDC and had an oven baked penne pasta with mozarella, sweet corn, and bacon (delicious but I'm glad that we split it!!). 

Then we across the street to the National Library. 

I like to run around here sometimes and pretend I'm on a CIA mission. Hoho!

The lobby of the Singapore National Library.

I got lost in Michael Crichton's The Lost World, and Charlene was running around checking out books. :D I have to finish it, but I feel a bit guilty that I didn't read Jurassic Park first. Oh well! I love his books (except Next) because they are filled with humor! I know my Tinky would enjoy reading them.  

Then I went home and just talked to family. My bum still aches. :(

Seafood Birthday Party

After work yesterday, I went all the way to Casuarina Rd for some Ban Leong Wah Hoe Seafood for a friend's birthday party. It was SO delicious. It worked out to about $30-35 per person, but the guys were very kind and paid for the girls. 

So here is my tale of a fabulous seafood dinner.

I arrive on time: 7:15 PM. We're all here by 8:10. Yes, I waited for a very long time, and I had time to buy a small tiramisu cake (which was delicious!!) from Chocz. I could seriously eat one cake by myself. DELICIOUS. 

Apparently "pineapple" in Chinese sounds like "bring in luck"

...so this explains the hanging of pineapples everywhere

Before the showdown....while I was waiting.

Having fun with macro focus :p

Being totall American and drinking Coke

Lou Hei before we got to it.

Oh dear, the Lou Hei after we attacked (I mean.....mixed) it.

Oh look. Vegetables. Put sesame oil on just about anything, and I will eat it.

My short little arms meant that everyone helped me reach for food. It's a mixture of dried and thinly sliced fish and vegetables - plus some crunch fried bits of dough and heaven seeds (oh I'm sorry. I mean sesame seeds).

WHAT? WHAT IS THAT? Yes, yes.......yes it's venison. Deer meat. Lovely. Yum. 

Baby corn makes every meat dish better. 

This restaurant offers "drunken prawn" (what a lie), but we opted for the fried prawn instead (prawn = shrimp). Unfortunately, I don't eat things with eyes still in them. Except crab because crab trumps eyes.

Fried chicken wings. Delicious, but a bit too oily for me. 

Most delicious fish ever!! The sauce was surprisingly similar to nuoc mam.

Chili crab (Singaporean specialty) was SO DELICIOUS. OMG.

It might have taken me about 20 minutes to get through the shell, but I have major weakness for crab.

Fried pau (bao) that you're suppose to eat with the chili crab sauce. 

They tried to get me to try fried calamari. I told them I don't eat fried spiders. :)

I fed it to Hanying instead. Heehee

Yam cake.......they also tried to get me to eat this. They failed. Again.

Tiny Tiramisu Cake that was delicious and full of yummy coffee liquor!

Happy Birthday Hanying!

Group photo!

Ingredients of the Lou Hei

A cute pair of oxen. How auspicious. 

Afterwards, we went to "Happy Daze" in Serangoon Gardens for some quality friend time and then went home. I couldn't fall asleep right away, so I bothered a bunch of my cousins in LA. :)

Much love,

M