Breathtaking Bali!

We just got back from a trip to Bali, Indonesia - a short 2.5 hour flight from Singapore. We wanted to stay away from major tourist areas, especially the ones filled with Aussie travelers, so we headed to the "Art Centre" of Bali called Ubud. Ubud Village is located on the hillside of Pengosekean Ubud and we stayed at the very lovely Ubud Village Resort & Spa.

Darin and I both agree that our room at this resort was by far the most spectacular, most spacious AND best value for money at any resort we've stayed in the world. Each room has a private plunge pool (left), two outdoor lounge gazebos, and outdoor shower and outdoor bath tub and is surrounded by lush foliage with a splendid view of rice paddies. We stayed in Villa Banjar Kanging #222 on the edge of the resort and it felt like we had the entire resort to ourselves.

The rest of the resort is very nice too - there is one restaurant that serves good food, a coffee shop that offers complimentary high tea in the afternoon and we indulged in a 3.5 hour spa treatment session (in our villa) including a facial, massage, body scrub and flower petal bath for only US$50 each! Pure bliss!

In Ubud we went to the Sacred Monkey Forest. This was what Darin has been waiting for for a long time - to see and feed monkeys. And there were thousands of them everywhere - they aren't scared of people at all but come right up to you and take bananas (that we bought at the entrance for $1) right out of your hand.

One day, we hired a local guide called Nengah Polos to drive us around and show us some sights. He took us to an art village just outside of Ubud where we bought 3 paintings. Then we went to a very spectacular temple called Gunung Kawi set amidst rice terraces, and we also saw a huge volcano that is still active.

Bali must be one of the cheapest destination for Americans - everything was incredibly affordable and we will definitely go back there soon!

View more pictures of our Villa, the resort, monkey business and the tour of Bali

Welcome to our new Online Journal!!

Farewell to the old journal where popups and unwanted ads abound! Welcome to the new and improved version that is easier to use, and less cluttered.

I am working on transioning all the content from the old blog into this one, including the pictures.

Enjoy!

Repeatedly approached by Indian men - Posted by Maggie

Ok, the first time it happened, I was caught off guard a little. I was walking along in Plaza Singapura - 'n huge shopping mall not far from where we live when a friendly looking indian man approached me and started talking to me. I was a bit weary of him and tried to get away but didn't want to be rude, so I listened to him. I thought he was probably going to try and sell me something but instead he said (or this is what I heard) "grid on forehid means you heff goo luck and bring goo karma". I said "excuse me?" and he said again "grid line on forehid mean you heff goo karma". I smiled and thanked him, trying to be polite and he continued with a monologue of what the lines on my forehead meant, sort of like an impromptu palm reading (instead he was apparently reading my forehead!). I didn't listen to everything he said because I could hardly understand his thick accent and politely tried to get away from him as quickly as possible. When I got home I told Darin about it and we both laughed.
The second time it happened was right in front of our townhouse. Another random Indian man approached me and pointed at my forehead exclaiming loudly "you are lucky lady, the line on forehead means good luck to you". This time I was speechless. Two men randomly approaching me in Singapore saying the same thing? Darin and I thought that perhaps *they* had let loose some indian guys in Singapore and gave them instructions to approach random western woman and talk about their foreheads. The odd thing was they really did not want anything in return, they weren't trying to sell me anything and they were really friendly.
I had forgotten about all of this until yesterday. I was walking around downtown in the business district carrying my cousin's teddy bear to take pictures of it with Singapore sights. (To make a long story short, my cousin has a school project where they send their teddy bears all over the world, and the 'hosts' have to take pictures of the teddy bear in foreign locales so that the kids back home can learn about different countries and cultures etc). I set up Bob the bear in front of a famous sculpture by Salvador Dali and felt rather stupid, standing amongst people in suits and high heels holding a teddy bear (me, not the men and women in suits). When suddenly I heard a loud voice behind me saying "You are very lucky woman!". I turned around and there was another indian man walking toward me saying "your forehead means you are very very lucky woman" all the while pointing to my head. I thought it was rather rude, and I immediately avoided eye contact with him, threw Bob into my purse and tried as quickly as possible to disappear into the faceless mass of the business lunch-going throng of people. I did not look back.
One time is really odd, two times is definitely weird, but three times is really freaking me out. I am wearing a hat from now on!

Darin & Maggie Visit the Cinema - Posted by Darin

Maggie's parents told us that "Little Miss Sunshine" is a must-see, so last night we met at the Plaza Singapura shopping center to our first movie here. Theaters in Singapore have assigned seating, so after we purchased our tickets, we were free to relax until the electronic sign-board indicated that the theater was ready for seating.
We wandered into the arcade see what it was all about and found it to have a distinctly different feel from American arcades. For one thing, the patrons were mostly in their 20s. Few teenagers were seen, and competitive fighting games far outnumbered the racing games that tend to dominate American arcades. Three games in particular caught my eye:
1. Photo Y2K. Two young men played this game on a large touchscreen. Two seemingly identical photos are shown side-by-side, and you must identify the diferences in the picture by touching them. I was shocked that two young men paid money to play this game.
2. Master Drummer - This game is similar to Dance Dance Revolution. A large screen displays six tracks of drum scores. The player sits in front of six drums and must play the exact arrangement for the song which is playing. For each drum beat on each of the six tracks, there is immediate feedback as to the accuracy of the player's rythm. The player's friend looked on as if anxious to take his turn.
3. Master Guitar - Yep, this game is almost identical to Master Drummer, except you play a guitar along with a soundtrack and get rated on the accuracy of your notes and rythm. An adoring girlfriend accompanied the man on this game. The man appeared to be in his early 30s, and was taking the game quite seriously. He was extremely accurate according to the display, and held himself with the confidence of a seasoned professional, playing yet another gig in another city on a long tour.
There were few patrons inside our theater. Partly because Little Miss Sunshine is not a new release; partly because it's not a horror film (The Sinking of Tokyo is big now); and partly because it's an English language film. When my colleague at work, Zhang Hua, asked about my weekend plans, she seemed excited when I told her we would see a movie. When I told her the name of the movie, her excitement waned and she said: "Oh, an English movie". Her favorite movies are those where it starts with about six main characters, and "each gets killed one by one".
The movie was great. There are some great actors and I recognized some of the scenery as being filmed in the desert of Southern California where I grew up. The family in the movie drives an old VW Van that winds up having two mechanical problems: a burned out clutch, and a horn that honks at random times. They have to travel from Arizona to California without a clutch, which means getting a rolling start and easing the van into 3rd gear.
This might have seemed a bit contrived to most of the movie patrons, but I distinctly remember our VW van having the same issues when I was growing up. The horn would honk randomly when the key was turned either on or off. Once, my dad was in his Los Angeles Deputy Marshal uniform and needed to serve a summons to a bar owner. The bar was on Dad's way home from work, so he drove our VW Van to the bar. As he parked the van, an old bar fly was walking from her car to the bar entrance. The VW horn honked just as she passed in front of the van, and the lady looked to see who was honking. When she saw the uniform, she perked up and gave Dad a very friendly smile. He was horrified by the episide and vowed never to work from his personal vehicle again.
Another time, Mom was driving the van when the clutch cable broke. She was so flustered that when she got a ride home, she told Dad that the brakes were out. Dad and I arrived at the van to find it with working brakes, but no clutch. Dad said we could push start it in first gear and I could drive it home in first. It was easy to start, but first gear was very slow, so I pushed my luck and attempted a shift to second (with no clutch). There was no grinding at all, and the shift went without a hitch. Believe it or not, I worked all the way up to 4th and back down to 1st by the time I reached the house. Those Germans know how to build a transmission. It was perfectly synchronized, as long as you kept the RPMs at the right level.
Anyway, we had planned to eat at our favorite Thai restaurant after the movie, but there was a long queue, so we went to the outdoor Vietnamese place. Our appetizer was shrimp ball on the end of the stick of sugar cane and some dipping sauce. It was fantastic. I ordered the chilli and lemongrass chicken for my main course, and found myself faced with chicken parts that I could not identify. They were all knurled and twisty bits of chicken, alternately chewy or melt-in-your-mouth fatty, with splinters of bone throughout. Meals like this one have forced me to eat largely vegetarian food during our stay here.

Weekend in Bintan, Indonisia - Posted by Maggie

This past weekend we went to an island called Bintan, Indonesia. Resting in the warm waters of the South China Sea, Bintan is just 55 minute ferry ride from Singapore. The ferry ride itself was a bit choppy at first. The ferry bobbed up and down so much that I thought there would definitely be some motion sickness action happening. Luckily I didn't see anyone grab for their barf bags, conveniently located in the seat back pocket in front of you.
After arriving at Bintan, we were greeted by a friendly staff member of Angsana Resort who escorted us to our air conditioned bus for the transfer to the resort. Then we were whisked off on a short 10-minute ride to the resort, remotely tucked away on the north east corner of the island, and lovely situated right next to the renowned Banyan Tree Resort (we could use all of Banyan Tree's facilities, including restaurants, spa and swimming pools, which was very nice considering that nightly rates there range from US$500-US$700!)
Angsana Resort was pretty nice, but a bit run down for international standards. Spotlessly clean, the rooms are neat and comfortable and very scpacious - we had a 1 bedroom suite with kitchenette overlooking the pool and beach. It also had a balcony that ran the length of the living room and the bedroom with access to it from both. Yet the furniture was a bit scuffed, the drapes a bit frayed and the walls definitely needs a lick of new paint.
The resort is situated in a lush rain forest and the sparkling olympic sized pool with water features definitely made up for everything else. The beach was also very nice with white powdery sand, but unfortuantely, we were there the weekend when the haziness was really ad, due to the fires in Jakarta. We were warned about sand flies on the beach, but luckily the resort offers bug repellant as you walk out onto the beach.

The staff is very very nice - sometimes to the point of making you uncomfortable because they are so apologetic about everything. At the spa, Darin's masseuse started EVERY sentence with "...excuse me sir...". Even if she said two sentences in a row. "excuse me sir, you may sit here, excuse me sir I now wash feet, excuse me sir and then we begin massah". It got a bit annoying.
At this spa, we didn't get any paper panties. No sirreee, they gave us instructions to "take every thing off". During the massage, when they yank open the sheet to reveal your leg, at times I felt a bit, um, exposed due to the lack of the paper panties. It was pretty weird. But the massage was good, though, I almost feel asleep, until the masseuse asked me to turn around. (They also stare at you while you turn around, unline in the US when they turn around while discreetly holding up the sheet).
Ok, I have never had anyone at a spa massage my belly. Much less my chest. But yep, that was part of the massage. It was a bit awkward, but the masseuse was luckily very professional (didn't linger) and obviously does that every day. Weird, how they have no inhibitions in the spa, but topless tanning is prohibited!
Basically, we just relaxed the entire weekend. We would go to breakfast and then immediately after head to the pool to read. At lunch time we'd order a few cocktails and lunch, and in the afternoon we'd nap, go for a walk and read (not all at the same time) till dinner time. It was fabulous!
The Banyan Tree Report next door is very swish compared to Angsana. All the villas are private and tucked away on the lush tropical hills, guaranteeing complete privacy. Their two pools had breath taking views and the last day, Darin and I spent the afternoon lounging on a treetop platform with nobody else around.
Treetop lounging on a double chaise. I know, we have it real rough out here!
--> View more pictures of Angsana and Banyan Tree (Photoworks will open in new window)

Darin Gets a Haircut - Posted by Darin

My first haircut in Singapore was a couple months ago at the IMM Mall near the Dell office. There's a place called $10 for 10 minutes. Nobody in the store is allowed to handle money. You buy a haircut token at a vending machine just inside the door (it only takes $10 bills) and sit on the lowest numbered chair that's open. As the person in chair #1 is taken to get a haircut, everyone shifts over to the next lower numbered chair. I left the establishment with a $10 haircut that made me look like a neo-Nazi. My friend Wallace would have been afraid of me.My second haircut was last weekend at a shopping center near our apartment. It looks like a "normal" hair salon you'd find anywhere. It is run by Japanese women and the receptionist spoke little English and appeared to be frightened of me. Luckily, the stylist spoke English well enough to understand my instructions: "Number 3 on the sides and scissors on top". She walked over to a closet and retrieved a small cookie sheet from the top shelf. This sheet contained "the clippers". Apparently there is only one set that is shared by all four cutting stations. And nobody is responsible for cleaning "the clippers". I had always imagined Japanese people to be obssessed with cleanliness, but the amount of hair clippings on the old steel tray and stuck all over the cutters and to the power cord forced me to reconsider this stereotype. Should I have demanded that she at least perform a cursory "wipe" or blow off the majority of the clippings from the device before pressing it against my head? I didn't.The scissors were equally covered in little black hairs (straight hairs, thank God). The good news is I looked like a million bucks afterward. Was it worth it? How much is a good haircut worth to you??

Will the real "Derek" please stand up - Posted by Maggie

This past weekend Darin and I decided to go see a live stand up comedy show at Clarke Quay's premier comedy club called "The 1 Nite Stand". There was a show on with 3 UK comedians, so we knew without a doubt it would be good. I checked the website to make sure the show started at 8pm and verified that there was a full service restaurant. Since Darin usually works till 7pm, there wouldn't be any time for us to grab dinner before the show.
We got to the comedy club at 7:15pm and it was already rather full. Usually in a club like this (that seats around 50-60 - pretty small) in America, the seats would fill up from front to back, so if you came late, you'd have to find a seat waaaaaaay in the back by the kitchen door. Not here, the place filled up from the back to the front, so Darin and I stolled in and took seats right in front to the microphone, not believing our luck. The act would literally be 3 feet away from our table. Big mistake.
But let me tell you about the food situation. By this time I was starving and asked the dazed looking running waitress (who'd been ignoring us for 15 minutes) for a menu. She hastily replied that there was no menu, and that all they served was the list of appetizers ('bar food") on the little list on our table. Things like chicken wings, pizza and potato skins . Huh? No real food? The website said....full menu? I asked her again and she explained that there was no cutlery allowed in the show area (my imagination went wild with thoughts of angry audience members and their fork weapons). You could eat outisde, but then you'd lose your table. Oh, and last orders are in 5 minutes. Huh?? No drinks served during the performance, not even at the bar? Yep, she said. We ordered immediately.
So, I ordered the "vegetable pie" (the only vegetarian dish on the menu) dreaming of a tasty home made pie filled with delicious and healthy steaming veggies in a crispy light and flaky crust, and Darin ordered some samosas and spring rolls. My veggie pie came - it should have been called "soggy pie", it was that gross - like they flung the thing into the microwave and pressed defrost instead of cook in their haste to serve the last rounds. Darin said his food was ok, but I saw him chewing on his samosa for a very long time.
As soon as the show started I had a feeling that there must be a good reason why nobody else wanted our prime seats. My suspicions realized when the first comedian put his glass of water on our table and started asking Darin questions. He asked his name, where he was from etc, and then exclaimed "Derek, the Texan"! Ohboy, hilarity ensued, American and Texas jokes were flying around and poor Bush definitely got wacked. But the whole time the guy kept calling Darin "Derek". It was almost as bad as my mum calling Darin Bryan on our entire first vacation together!
It was hilarious, we had a really fun time. 3 different british comedians were part of the show - each introduced by the same MC funny guy who started giving Darin a hard time, and each next act kept picking on poor Darin. But he was great, and a good sport about it, and even answered a tricky political question very cleverly. During the last act they asked him what his name was again and he was fed-up with being called Derek, so he said "My name is Sam Houston". Nobody got the joke. Except maybe for Derek.

Shiatsu Massage for Darin - posted by Darin

Maggie and I have enjoyed massages of all kinds, but until this past weekend, the closest I had ever come to a Shiatsu massage was one of those chairs at Brookstone. But before I talk about my recent massage, let me tell you a bit about my massage experiences so far.
In Austin there are a variety strip-mall locations that offer aromatherapy massages. They typically show you to a room and tell you to disrobe to your level of comfort and get under the sheet on the massage bed. You disrobe while alone in the room. When the massage "therapist" returns, they uncover various parts of your body and rub your cares away with scented oil. They leave while you are still on the table under the sheet, and meet you outside the room after you have dressed to greet you and collect a tip.
In Costa Rica, we had a similar massage experience, except that the massage table was located in an outdoor gazebo back in the rainforest between several rushing streams of natural hot water from the nearby volcano.
In Thailand, we were given "sample" massages while visiting the King's residence in Bangkok. If you liked the sample, you could write your hotel name and room number on a piece of paper, and someone would show up later that day to give you the full treatment. Maggie and I signed up for this and two middle aged Thai ladies showed up at our room later that day. A Thai massage involves rythmic pressing, rubbing, and stretching, with no oil. We kept our undergarments on. The ladies talked to one another in Thai the whole time, sometimes giggling (no doubt at my fat hairy body). During the course of the massage, the ladies climbed onto the bed, straddled us, and bent our arms and legs into various poses. I enjoyed it and it was very cheap (about $10 US for an hour). Maggie thought there was too much "pressing" and stretching, and didn't like the fact that the ladies' hands smelled of onions (when they touched Maggie's head).
The Swedish massage we had at a spa here in Singapore was more like what you get in Austin, except the person climbs onto the bed and straddles you for part of the massage. They use scented oil. I wore the supplied paper "panty" that looked much like an adult diaper.
Now to the Shiatsu massage. Maggie booked us a couples massage at a spa in a nearby mall. They have a huge facility, with separate jacuzzi, steam baths, saunas, cold plunge pool, etc for men and women. After changing into the spa-supplied shorts and robe, I met Maggie in the common lounge for a fresh carrot juice while we waited for our "therapists". Soon we were shown to a room with two massage beds, each of which had two parallel black bars hanging down from the ceiling directly over the bed. Maggie requested an aromatherapy massage and I got the Shiatsu. The tiny Chinese lady looked at me to confirm my request: "Step on you?". I confirmed: "Yes. Step on me".
She unfastened my robe and removed it without knowing what was underneath. She left my shorts on me. I lay face down on the bed with my face in the donut. She laid some thick towels over the length of my body and started squeezing and pressing my shoulders while she stood at the head of the bed. As she worked her way around my body, the pressing and squeezing became more intense. Mostly it felt good, but there were times when I tensed up a bit from the pain. She eventually climbed on top of me and started working her fists into my back. I was glad she could not see my wincing and grimacing.
Finally, she stood on my back and walked up and down my spine. She did some things that were so painful I began to wonder if anyone has ever been paralyzed from a massage. Although I had promised myself I would not make any noises, regardless of the pain, she caught me off guard. What I thought was a gentle walk around my upper back, was in fact, preparation for a pounce. She jumped twice, quickly on my upper back and I heard and felt more things snap than I thought possible. I let out a combination of a grunt, cough, and startled cry. I expected her to jump off and ask if I was OK, but she was undeterred by my noise-making. (incidentally, she kept her balance by hanging onto the black bars that were above the bed). I became equally fearful that one of two things would happen: 1) she would hurt so badly that I would scream; 2) she would squeeze a very loud fart out of me whilst walking on my lower back. Thankfully, neither happened.
My final whimper was induced when she had me sit up on the bed and she got behind me with her knees in my back. She laced my fingers behind my neck and told me to relax. As soon as I started to relax, she pulled me backward and up onto her knees to elicit even more cracking from my back. I was amazed that I had any cracks left in me. It was the only time I heard her make a noise, which was a determined grunt as she pulled my massive weight off the bed and up onto her knees. I felt humbled that such a small lady could handle a man my size the way she did. She offered me some delicious ginger tea and then put my robe on me and tied it. That part was the most uncomfortable for some reason. She was standing behind me, reaching around and tieing my robe. I felt very awkward.
The biggest surprise is that I was not sore at all that day, nor am I sore today. I guess she knew what she was doing. I think I'll get another Shiatsu massage someday. Now that I know what to expect, I might enjoy it more the next time.

Phi Phi Islands, Thailand - Posted by Maggie

Phi Phi island is not far from Singapore, but the trip is rather inconvenient: a 40 minute cab ride in Singapore to the airport, short 90 minute flight from Singapore to Krabi, a 30 minute cab ride to the pier, a 90 minute ferry from Krabi to Phi Phi Island and a 30 minute long boat ride along the coast of Phi Phi to our resort. But well worth the hassle is being comletely transported to a tropical paradise where fine, white sandy beaches suround you and breathtaking rock formations rise from the vivid turquoise waters that surround Phi Phi islands.
The Phi Phi Islands are located in south Thailand, just south of the island of Phuket and the mainland (Krabi Province).
The resort, Zeavola, is the newest - all suite boutique resort and spa on Northern tip of Phi Phi Islands and is absolutely gorgeous. It is a member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the world, and has also made the Conde Naste Traveler's Hot List 2006. The resort it is a wonderful combination of rural Thai charm and five-star comfort, with 52 suites made almost entirely of wood and glass, furnished with a very successful combination of traditional and contemporary pieces. The 'living area' is open on three sides with motor-driven, floor-to-ceiling bamboo blinds replacing the walls with splendid seclution.
One day we rented a "long boat" and a boat man to take us snorkelling on the smaller island of Phi Phi Ley, about 12 kilometers to the south of Zeavola resort. Despite h is limited english, Boat Man was very capable in the sometimes choppy waters, and took us to several lovely coves and sights, and used hand signals to tell us where the best snorkelling areas were.Contrary to Phi Phi Don the islet is uninhabited, not only because it is banned but there are no long stretches of surrounding beaches. The island descends abruptly into the sea on all sides. There are small secluded little beaches along the cliffs and we stopped at one to have a picnic. Unfortunately, within seconds a black cloud of mozzies (as I call mosquitoes) surrounded and attacked me. I had to slather myself from head to toe with anti-mozzie-stuff. Of course, they ignored Darin entirely!
Darin on the long boat. Boat Man in backWith its emerald crystal sea, secluded beaches wooded cliffs and mountains, colourful coral reefs and undersea life-Phi Phi really is a paradise in the Andaman Sea.
Maggie getting ready to go snorkelling:
>> View more pictures here on Photoworks (no account required).

Lisa's visit! - Posted by Maggie

My friend Lisa from Austin came to visit for a week! We had loads of fun. Darin was away in Italy the entire week she was here, so it was ladies week, and we painted the town red.
We did a lot of shopping (of course) but other hightlights include Arab street bargaining for hookahs, steam boat dinner, dim sum disaster and the Singapore zoo.Steam Boat dinner in Chinatown!
Dim sum disaster: Dim sum here is very popular and there are alot of good restaurants in Chinatown. One in particular called Yum Cha advertised a special running Monday - Friday till 11am for a dim sum buffet for a fixed price of S$9.80 (about US$6.50) per person. Dim sum buffet here means unlimited orders from the little carts that the servers push around. Sometimes you don't know what the dish is, but for the most part it is steamed buns, spring rolls and potstickers - eaten for breakfast/brunch. One server offered us chicken feet, but we declined.
Anyway, so Lisa and I arrived at 10:30 am at this place. We were the only westerners in the establishment and subsequently we were completely ingored for about 15 minutes! When the server finally stopped at our table (after walking right by us 10+ times) we asked for the fixed price buffet. He exclaimed: "Buffet finish! You pay a la cart" and shoved an ordering list onto our table. The next thing we know, one server with a cart comes along and starts unloading items onto our table (things we didn't necessarily want) and then she proceeded to check off the items on our list. At around $3-4 per small plate, things can add up fairly quickly (this is why the fixed price option is a good deal).
Lisa and I started looking around and saw that none of the other customers had an order sheet like we did. We were miffed. We asked one waiter why we had to pay a la carte, but all the other diners had the fixed price option. He claimed that we "had to say fixed price when we came in". We said we DID say that, and that we arrived at 10:30 when the buffet was not supposed to be over and that we feel this is unfair. We called the manager to complain and got into a bit of a tif. After stomping off, and a bit of huffing and puffing (the manager, not us), he came back and said that we could pay the fixed price. He immediately said "last order!" which ended the buffet anyway.
I won't go to that establishment again. Just because we are westerners and women doesn't make us stupid! We just want to be treated like everyone else.
If you'd like to see pictures of Lisa's visit and of all the fun things we did, you can view them here

Eat, drink and feel like a complete idiot - Posted by Maggie

Yesterday's lifestyle and entertainment section of the newspaper boasted a huge article entitled "Eat, drink, and be merry", claiming "the restaurant scene is hot-and-hoppin' and LIFESTYLE presents the country's top 50 choices." Lifestyle asked 16 food critics (who are obviously not on any sort of budget since they get to expense all their meals - you see where this is going?) to vote for Singapore's top restaurants, based on consistent quality of food and service.
Darin and I studied the list and under the Japanese section and found 2 restaurants claiming to do "Shabu Shabu". I don't know exactly what Shabu Shabu is, but Darin has been looking for a restaurant preparing this ever since he got back from Taiwan 2 weeks ago. He describes it as a sort of Japanese fondue - but instead of cheese, you cook the veggies and meat in a fragrant and savoury clear broth. So naturally we were very excited to finally find a place doing Shabu Shabu in Singapore - and the restaurant was somewhere we knew how to get to - in Shaw Centre near Orchard Road!
We took the MRT to the Orchard station and walked to Shaw Centre. Looked at the building map and located the restaurant named "Aoki" on the second floor. Finding it on the map was much easier than finding the actual place! Took the elevator up, but the first stop was the 3rd floor. Heh? How did we go from 1st to 3rd floor? Where is 2nd? Down we go again, look at map again. Ask information desk who points outside of the building, he says turn left "and keep walking". "How far? What exactly should we be looking for?" I think but didn't ask. We walk outside, turn left and up a small hill on a narrow road and come to the end of Shaw Centre. No restaurant. Go back into Shaw Centre and walk around, look at map again, go back to where we were last. Everthing indicated that the last shop we saw must be the restaurant, but there were no signs, lights or hours of business or any indication that this was in fact a restaurant. On a whim, Darin tried the door. It opened! We went inside and were greeted in Japanese by the chef shouting from the open kitchen below, and by waitressed scurrying about in half dressed japanese outfits (you know, the ones where they wear socks with flip flops, and a little square backpack on their lower backs over their kimonos). Looking around quickly, I was pleased that the place looked very elegant with authentic shoji screens dividing the booths, very Feng-Shui decorated - tres chic! The chef told us to come back at 6:30pm -another 30 minutes or so. Darin made sure they do "Shabu Shabu" and everyone one nodded solemnly, and we confirmed our reservation.
After spending 30 minutes browsing books in a nearby Barnes and Nobles, we returned to Aoki, filled with anticipation of a big Shabu Shabu feast awaiting. The server showed us our own special booth where one person enters on one side, then the shoji screen has to slide over so that person number two can enter the opposite end of the booth. Bamboo behind frosted glass made enigmatic patterns agains the wall and ceiling. The waitress smiled and brought us some tea and a very little dish with a few strips of what looked like jellyfish to me. I've had jellyfish before and don't like it at all. Luckily, this was cabbage - very tart and very chewy raw cabbage. Then she gave us the menus. We quickly scanned the menu to locate the Shabu Shabu choices, and my stomach fell when I saw that there was only one choice - sirloin steak, for $120!!! (Yes, one hundred and twenty dollars per person - about $90 US). So, first of all, I don't eat meat, and second of all I especially don't eat $120 meat, Shabu Shabu or not! So I looked at the other items on the menu and found no entree below around $36. It was very disconcerting. At that point it was way too late for us to get up and leave either.
I ended up ordering some edamame ($12 for 9 edamame beans - I counted them!) and "Seafood and Vegetable Soup" (for $18 . It came in a teapot as big (small) as a coffee cup. It was a clear broth that looked, smelled and tasted exactly like the water in which one has just boiled hotdogs. I swear, it was very salty and a bit oily, and just generally nauseating. Darin ordered the "Sole in Black Soy Sauce" and got an entire fish - about 2 inches long, with little fins, head and skin still attached. (BTW - Darin hates this - please see his entry on July 9th) He had to scrape that fish with his chopsticks to get a bit of meat off of the bones - I would say he got about 2 teaspoons full of meat all-in-all.
Our entire bill was $104 - this was for 2 teas, 9 edamame beans, one soup, one fish and one small bowl of rice. No dessert, no wine, only one entree. I felt so ripped off, disappointed, angry and frustrated (AND STARVING), yet I wanted to giggle hysterically. I also had vengeful ideas of writing a very stinky letter to the editor of the Straits Times because all we did was (not even) eat, (didn't even) drink and we felt like complete idiots (for following the advice of food critics). Next time we'll ask to see the menu up front.

Things I really really miss from home - Posted by Maggie

Here are some of the things I miss the most from home:
The dogs! I miss Beanie and Basil, my 2 little buddies terribly!
Our garden and outdoor room, grill and water feature. Tranquil bliss! Here we don't even have a balcony.
My kitchen. Especially a dishwasher, all the counter space and the oven!
My washer and dryer. The one here doesn't really dry the clothes, it just makes everything VERY wrinkly so I have to iron everything!!
A good margarita. As scarce as chicken teeth here, and if you find it you will pay around $15 US for a not-so-great watered down one!
Ebay. Even thought I can browse Ebay US from here, shipping costs are detrimental and makes it not worth it for me to sell or buy stuff on Ebay. Singaporeans don't really believe in Ebay (or shopping online in general) - the entire island is a perpetual shopping mall, why would they buy anything online if they can just duck into the nearest shop to buy it?
My closet. (think lots of space...ahhhh)
Meeting my girlfriends for lunch. Lisa, this means you! And others of course =)
Chewing gum. It is illegal to buy or sell chewing gum here, but if you brought it with you, it's ok. I did not know that so we ditched all my gum at the airport in fear of being caned upon setting foot on the island.
Ruxi and Adi's swimming pool. They throw the best damn pool parties ever. Period!

Curried Fish Head! - Posted by Maggie

Our friend Corrina took us to the Banana Leaf restaurant in Little India for some authentic curried fish head. You probably wonder why it is not calle curried fish headS - but this is because there is only one. A giganitc fish head (about twice the size of a grown man's palm) "swimming" in a bowl of fragrant curry gravy with vegetables.
There is a lot of fish meat on the cheeks, and you can order different sized fish heads depending of the number of people in your party. The meat is very tasty and flakes off of the bones easily. The fish eye is a delicacy (not recommended for everyone) and you often see locals sucking on the bones of the head, and some, they say, eat the teeth too. I liked it a lot, thought the curry was delicious and the fish very tender. If you can get over the fact that the poor fish's identity will forever be lost due to the person who ate it's dental records.
At this restaurant all the food is served on a banana leaf - no plates. Locals eat everything with their fingers and hands, but we used our knives and forks. Side dishes were rice, cabbage and some brinjals

Adventures in Kampong Glam, Singapore - Posted by Maggie

I recently went on a walking tour of Kampong Glam - one of my very favorite areas in Singapore. I particularly like the bright colors of the beautifully restored shophouses that sell traditional handmade batiks, clothes, artefacts, handicraft, furniture and jewelry. I also love the restaurants here because all of them are Halal and most are vegetarian.
Named after the Gelam tree which used to grow in the area, Kampong Glam was the historic seat of Malay royalty in Singapore. The buildings and architecture has been meticulously restored to retain its flavour and authenticity.
A key building in Kampong Glam is Sultan Mosque (or Masjid Sultan) at Bussorah Street, the largest mosque in Singapore with the capacity to accommodate up to 5,000 Muslims in congregational prayers. Built in 1928, the mosque features a massive golden dome and is one of Singapore’s most imposing religious institutions.Nothing beats Arab Street for (bizarre) bazaar-style shopping with true ethnic character. The goods spill out onto the pavements, anything from baskets, incence, shishas and floor mats to serving trays, shoes and handbags. I love it!
--> View more pictures of Kampong Glam (link will open in new window)

Nature Reserve (MacRitchie Reservoir) - Posted by Darin

I once said there is no such thing as a nice day in Singapore, but that's not completely true. There have been a couple of days where the sky was blue, clouds were white and fluffy, and there was enough of a breeze to keep you comfortable is you stayed in the shade. Today was one of those days.
We visited a nature reserve that is anchored by a large reservoir: http://www.nparks.gov.sg/nparks_cms/display_level2.asp?parkid=8&catid=9
We arrived around 2pm and walked for two hours through the rainforest to see the Tree Top Walk, which is marketed as a "canopy tour" but is more like a suspension bridge across a valley.
When you first enter the park, you walk past the main part of the reservoir:
The walk through the rainforest was nice and shady, with lots of strange sounds and interesting looking trees. We saw the largest bamboo stalks imaginable. Probably six inches across and 50 feet long.
At one point Maggie thought she heard something in the dense undergrowth along the path. She screamed and jumped to my side, when she realized it was a monkey looking at her from about three feet away.
As we paused to look at the monkey, we were literally surrounded by about five other monkeys who suddenly appeared from out of nowhere. Maggie freaked out, certain that we would be attacked by the monkey who were rapidly invading our personal space. I was too excited to be scared. They were very small monkeys and they seemed more curious than angry or hungry. There was even a momma monkey with a little baby held close to her chest.
Maggie was clinging to me, dancing around, and loudly announcing that she was "skaid". I was torn between shooing the monkeys away and trying to reason with Maggie that we were perfectly safe. Luckily, at that very instant, a "local" came jogging along the path and clapped his hands several times to shoo the monkeys away. After the jogger passes, only about three monkeys came very close to us, and only one was close enough to touch. He was very carefree. He sat in the middle of the path and groomed himself, yawning and stretching.
He didn't even care when I walked behind him so Maggie could take a picture of us together.
The "canopy tour" is a suspension bridge, where you are only allowed to walk in one direction. A guard at the end of the bridge prevents you from walking the wrong way.
The section of the trail that leads to and from the suspension bridge is made from nice decking, and is sponsored by a popular bank in Singapore, HSBC.
While walking away from the reserve and looking for a taxi to take us somewhere with cold beer, we ran across some bushes with the biggest leaves I've ever seen.
It was a great trip to the nature reserve, topped off by some mediocre tex-mex in Holland Village and a refreshing swim in the pool at our housing complex.

New durian lover!! - Posted by Darin

Today I was introduced to the King of Fruits. One of my colleagues at work turns out to be a durian connoisseur. Early this afternoon, Hai Seah stopped by my desk and said, "Tonight at 5pm we leave". He made a gesture as if smelling the sweet fragrence of fresh durian. I knew what it meant. I was going to have a new experience.
You see, even durian of the same variety but from different trees have their own unique flavor. Hai Seah has a relationship with a supplier who monitors specific trees. (You never pick durian, you wait for it to drop). When durians drop from specific trees, Hai Seah gets a phone call from his supplier.
At 5pm, we hustled down to the parking deck to Hai Seah's car and drove to a parking lot near the Botanical Garden, where a very, very old Chinese man has a fruit stand. He sells only durian and mangosteen. Wee Han met us there and we admired his new car before walking to the fruit stand.
Unlike the stinky, red-onion odor I had smelled when locals smuggled durian onto the bus, the aroma around the stand was fresh and sweet and reminded me of road-side fruit stands in central California.
Inside the spiky fruit are large yellow-white pods. They are actually a sweet creamy coating that encases each seed inside the fruit. The consistency is like warm cream cheese and the flavor is about as close to flan as you can get from a fruit. Mind you, this is premium durian. The taste and smell is quite different from what you get when you order durian pudding at a food court.
After enjoying the flesh from two different durians (one with a stronger flavor than the other), we cooled our palates with mangosteen. (durian is a "heat" food, while mangosteen is a "cool" food). We achieved proper yin and yang by balancing our fruit intake.
You open a mangosteen by lacing your fingers together and creating a cradle for the fruit. Then you gently press your palms together until the skin of the mangsteen breaks open. Inside are small white pods that resemble cloves of garlic. They are very juicy and flavorful with a slight acidic content. They were the perfect compliment to our durian.
By this time, I had done my best to lick all the stickiness from my fingers, but was worried about how I would make it home without touching anything. That's when Hai Seah walked us over to a large bucket of water that had a lime floating in it. There was a cup for dipping out the water, and we took turns pouring lime water over each other's hands to remove the stickiness and durian smell. Maggie can testify that my hands have no odor tonight, but my breath is another issue.
I'm so glad I got to taste "the good stuff" today and learn the ropes from a master durian eater!

Some observations so far - Posted by Darin

Sorry I haven't been updating the journal much. There's no time when I'm at work, and before our shipment came, Maggie usually hogged her laptop at night with emails in Afrikaans. Now that I have my personal laptop at home, there should be more time for me to contribute.
Two things that I have never said so far:

"Wow, it's a beautiful day. I think I'll take off early today" (it's always hot and humid)
"What am I going to do with all of these napkins?" (food courts have no napkins here)

Other observations:

Many of the local and commuter buses have digital satellite television (one channel). I've seen AsiaNet news (similar to CNN) and Singapore Idol (exactly the same as American Idol) while riding on the bus.

Lots of public service signs encouraging good behavior, but they never use the word "you". It's always "us" and "we". For example, "Public toilets can be clean. We can make a difference".

We have VOIP phones at work. I can take my phone from my desk to a team room and plug it in. After it boots, I can make and receive calls just like I'm at my desk. Haven't tried it from home. Yet.

Our apartment has a washer/dryer that's all one unit, but there's no vent for the dryer part. Don't know how well this will work. The spin cycle is broken so we haven't done any laundry yet.

At restaurants, they never bring the check until you ask for it. When they bring the bill, they wait right there for you to give your form of payment. If you pay with a credit card, they stand over you while you sign it, instead of just leaving it on the table.

At a bar near our apartment, the price of beer changes depending on the time of day. It's cheapest at lunch time, and most expensive after 8pm.

Things that have gone wrong so far - Posted by Maggie

First of all, I must say that many things have gone right for us, but unfortunately we have had a few bumps during this trip:
1. Our shipment arrived safe and sound. It was a small (5 cubic ft) shipment of personal effects that was shipped via air freight. Unfortunately, Darin's red camera bag, containing his video iPod, Digital SLR camera, Digital handy cam video recorder and other memory sticks did not make it. Somewhere between Round Rock and Singapore, it was taken out of a carton and put in someone's hand other than their owner. Now it sucks going through the schlepp or filing claims etc.
2. Our credit card company has been charging us 10% service fees FOR EACH FOREIGN TRANSACTION! Ok, this is bizarre - we are world travelers but we have to pay 10% to use our credit card?? I called them and they shrugged and said it was in our initial agreement that we signed. Naturally, I am closing this account faster than you can say rip-off.
3. Opening a local bank account has been a big challenge. First, you have to have proof of your address - they will only accept a utility bill showing your name and address on the same page. Since the relocation company is paying the apartment directly, there is no such paper with our name on it. So figuring out what other proof we can bring is a hassle.
4. Darin's work permit has been severely delayed. It should have been done by now, but apparently the Ministry of Manpower doesn't have any manpower to make it happen! This is particularly problematic because Darin has to travel to Taiwan next week, on the date that his temporary permit expires. We are keeping our fingers crossed that eveything will come through in time.
5. Order newspapers for delivery has been very confusing. I have been sent online to fill out a form, then asked to fax something, then I had to mail something and once I was told to call the delivery guy at his home phone and pay him directly for the paper. I honestly don't usnderstand why something this simple is so very hard!
Anyway, this is just a short list of things that have gone wrong. Luckily there is a much longer list of what actually went right too... more later!

Meanwhile, back in Florida....

Beanie and Basil are in heaven! Just look - happy dogs. I miss them so much!

Darin's birthday weekend - posted by Maggie

Today, Monday July 31st is Darin's 40th birthday. So the entire weekend was a celebration, packed full of new adventures.
Cultural Training - Singapore 101The weekend started off with a local Singaporean named Keith that came to out aparment to train us in Singaporean culture. It was a lot of fun and we learned so much about the culture here as well as some interesting historical factoids. Here are a few examples:
4 million people live on the island of Singapore
1 million of those are expatriates (25 % of the population)
Singapore is only 41 years old
Only 10% of Singaporeans hold a university education
Always present your business card with two hands, and accept someone elses with two hands (don't bend it or place it quickly in your pocket or wallet!)
You feet are considered unclean - never use your foot to move an object or touch another person.
Your left hand is also considered unclean. Never hand anything to another person using your left hand.
Later on, Keith took us for authentic Chinese Dim Sum in Chinatown. Dim Sum means "small pieces going straight to your heart". The servers push little carts around containing small dishes (like "tapas") and you just nod when you want something. We had spring rolls, salad, shrimp dumplings, fried fish and more. It was delicious! For dessert they offered us a dish made from bird saliva! I declinedand had the mango pudding instead.
Sentosa Island:On Sunday, Darin and I went on a special excursion to Sentosa Island, described in magazines as " an island resort that's just minutes from the Central Business District, yet a world away from the bustle of the city!".
We arrived via cable car (that moves horizontally for the most part, not up or down) from Mount Faber (which isn't really a mountain but a hill covered in rain forest - very pretty). The island is full of entertainment and attractions such as Underwater World, The Merlion and Cinemania. But we mainly wanted to go walk on the beach and go to the famous Spa Botanica at the Sentosa Resort and Spa.
The had a nice lunch on Siloso beach and then headed to the Spa. It was absolutely breathtaking. Set amidst the lush rainforest, we were led to an outside pavillion where we could hear peacocks and falling water whilst enjoying obscenely indulgent pampering with a 90-minute massage. After that we had a mud bath where you cover your entire body and face with mineral mud. We felt relaxed and rejuvenated, and went back to the city to have dinner by the river (yes, we washed the mud off before going back to the city).
See more pictures on Photoworks.com (link will open in new window)