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Hey from Singapore.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
and a big gong xi fa cai to you, too!
Happy Chinese New Year! The festivities kick off this weekend and everyone is having their hair cut and buying orange trees and getting ready for some celebrating. It's a big deal in these parts, though Singapore is a little less gung-ho about it than China. For starters, they only get two days off here -- not a whole week. But some of us (ahem, me) have decided to stay true to our Chinese roots and just take the whole week off. (Though, really, is it "taking off" if you're not working much in the first place? Don't worry, though: Several very cool assignments have been lined up, so I'm back to work as soon as I'm back from Bali.)
I'm off to the airport shortly, so this is the end of the updates until my return, as I've decided (gasp!) to leave the laptop at home. (Instead, I've packed four bathing suits, six books, and an iPod full of NPR podcasts. I'm hoping they will keep me fully distracted during the anticipated Internet withdrawal period. However, if anything crucial happens -- you know, like Brad and Angie's baby sex is determined, or a major celebrity break-up -- be sure to e-mail me, okay?) I should have a slew of photos to post on my return next Friday. And! I'll be back just in time for the Chingay parade, Singapore's famous New Year's finale, which I'm really looking forward to. There appears to be a lot of feathers and boas and neon and glitter involved, which pretty much makes it perfect, in my opinion.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
yes, this is me with a Backstreet Boy (it's Kevin, in case you were wondering. i told him we should make crazy faces.)
So we were just hanging out, enjoying this week's trivia competition (in which we did not come in first, but in which we did not come in last), when we got a text message. Some friends had been to the Backstreet Boys concert in Singapore tonight, and they had a Reliable Source that said the Boys were going to be partying at a Local Neighborhood Club. So, once the trivia was over, off we went to check it out. (Mike, it should be noted, was somewhat ambivalent, but I was all for it, since I've always had a thing for pop boy bands. Upon arrival, I even regaled the group with stories about my one TRL appearance, circa 2000. They were appropriately impressed.)
We hung out with some lychee martinis for awhile, and sure enough, several Backstreet Boys showed up (specifically, Howie and Kevin, who are the cutest ones, in my opinion). We managed -- through some fine finagling (if I do say so myself) -- to get into the VIP area, where we partied with the Backstreet Boys and their Backstreet crew for most of the night. And now: How much greater can Singapore get? I can't even imagine.
and this is howie, who is totally cool.
prior to our VIP entrance, i thought i would have to amuse myself from afar (that's howie in the background).
just hanging out in the VIP room, naturally.
Monday, January 23, 2006
people heart so much random stuff.
Are you -- that is, all nine of you -- enjoying these frequent updates? (It's my New Year's resolution #4: to take, and post, more photographs. Unlike New Year's resolutions #1-3 and #5-8, this one actually seems to be off to a good start.) I'm really starting to embrace Singapore life. It's just so ridiculously pleasant here all the time, which makes it easy to get out of the house and go exploring. On the surface, Singapore seems sort of sterile and somewhat unexciting, but if you just poke around a bit, you start to find really cool streets and shops and neighborhoods. And when you get tired of that, then you can just take your frosty beverage and go sit by the pool. I may never work again.
The highlight of the weekend was hooking up of cable, Internet and my new cell phone (it's so cute and tiny!). And lots of errands. And lots of sunshine. Here you go:
little cats roam around everywhere here. most of them have these stumpy little half-tails, apparently a common trait of the singaporean cat. this little guy lucked out with the whole tail.
orange trees are for sale everywhere this week. they're good luck for the chinese new year.
i heart pretty tropical plants.
on sunday, we took ourselves to an art-y party at this cool rooftop bar.
and today, i took myself out to see this very cool art/design exhibit.
I also got Mike to agree to be the guinea pig to try the Imperial Burger, Burger King's Chinese New Year specialty. It's a basic burger with teriyaki sauce and a slab of pineapple. The ads -- which are all over the place -- actually make it look kind of good.
this is what it looks like in the ad.
but this is what it looks like in real life. (all together now: ewwwwww.)
just in case you had any doubts: our tester gives it a big thumbs down.
Up next! Pizza Hut is offering the "Prosperity Pizza" for the Chinese New Year. Here's how they describe it: "Sweet BBQ chicken slices, tasty chicken floss with black and white sesame seeds on a cool lime mayonnaise base sauce." How could we possibly resist?
guess what my favorite bus is so far?
and guess what my favorite name for a food stall is?
see you soon...
Friday, January 20, 2006
oh, yes, i did.
I've been stuck at home all day while the housing people removed every stick of colonial-style-cherry-wood-with-gold-accents furniture from the apartment. And now it is simply, somewhat blissfully bare -- which is sort of exciting for me, because I've never been able to fully decorate an apartment exactly the way I (and, okay, Mike) would like it to be. Give me a few more days to organize the things we do have, and I'll post some pictures of the place. I know how you all like to see what your guest accomodations will look like.
Luckily, our budget restrictions (and a lack of cool furniture thus far, because you can only buy so much at Ikea) mean that we're probably going to be without some key pieces for awhile. I say luckily since the dining room now makes a perfect roller rink. And yes, I do own my own pair of red-and-white Puma skates. Because if you can't listen to "Rollerskate Skinny" every once in awhile wearing actual rollerskates, what's the point?
Sitting at home all day (practically hanging out the window, because that's still the only way I get Internet) means we also managed to book our Chinese New Year's trip for the end of next week, and we're going to Bali. We're on different flights, on different days, but that's how scarce tickets are. (Note to self: Next time, plan much, much earlier.) Mike will get four days off, and I'll go down for a whole week, because right now, I sort of just feel like surfing and walking around the rice paddies and being kind of still. I realize that is kind of a ridiculous statement since I already live on a tropical island, but if not now, then when?
just in case you had any doubt that this is something i would do. which you probably didn't.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Things that make me happy:
1. Blue skies and no rain and sunshine! A whole weekend's worth!
2. The triumphant return of Amy to the interweb, after a hiatus due to technical difficulties. (And! Only 24 days left in the countdown!) Really, I'm just happy to have another website to click on throughout the day. Because yes, I do know most of the Web is sleeping when I'm awake over here, but I still have to check, just in case.
3. Little India, my favorite neighborhood so far. Because you can get cheap, delicious dosas and great Bollywood films and sugar cane by the bushel.
4. The fact that Tuesday is trivia night in bars all around the world, depsite the fact that our tiny team (Peter, Sara, and I) did not do so well (dead last). But it was a respectable attempt, sort of. Er, at least in the movies catagory. And we learned new things, like the one country that has a solid color flag.
5. The following wonderful things:
waving cats. (and, in a new twist, dogs!) always a personal favorite.
the wetmarkets of little india.
the younger guschl boy, who celebrated his birthday this weekend in fine style.
twisty bamboo.
adorable rainbow buildings.
the amazing "Singapore's OK!" sculpture park, which was stumbled upon this weekend and which features such important works as Man Flushing Toilet, along with a big brass caption that says "Keep Public Toilets Clean. Keep Places Clean and Free of Pests." (works not pictured: Man Emptying Garbage, Man Taking His Temperature, Man Washing Hands With Soap Frequently. i kid you not.)
great signage.
more great signage. (note that this one was in the middle of a plot of open land on a busy street. no fence, no barrier, just an empty space of grass and this sign smack in the middle. also note that this picture was taken from the apparent safety of the sidewalk.)
bright, shiny bangle bracelets.
big, green banana leaves instead of plates.
random meats. (for looking at and trying to identify, but not eating.)
neon!
this building that i pass almost every day, because it looks like it is covered in big bathtubs.
happy punks, uniting at last.
palm trees!
hawker street food, a staple of singapore cuisine. $2.50 gets you a big glass of fresh watermelon juice and a bowl of creamy, spicy laksa noodles, which are amazing and coconutty and absolutely delicious.
laundry day. underpants everywhere.
the public transportation system, because its abbreviation is SMRT. so every time i take the bus, i can't help but channel a little homer simpson and sing, "i am smart! S-M-R-T!" sometimes, i may amuse myself too much.
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
umbrella casualty count: 2 (one was left in cab, one has already developed hole due to excessive use)
Thankfully, the rain has stopped. For now. After pouring for most of the weekend and early this week, today was warm and (so far) rain-free. Right in time too, as I've just finished the end of Arrested Development season two and really needed to get out and do some walking around. (As an aside, can I just say that if that show gets really, truly cancelled, I will be a sad camper. I can't stop laughing when I watch it. It's so genius!)
You'll note that I've added an umbrella casualty count above. At this point, I'm going through one every two days. Ridiculous.
The past few days have been spent trekking to all ends of the island (mostly in search of non-hideous furniture), and exploring the never-ending maze of malls (there are dozens and dozens -- all completely crowded, all the time), and sitting in outdoor cafes drinking sangria under palm trees (when it's not raining, that is -- luckily, the dinner hour has been pretty dry). Now that's what I call getting settled. Everything here is so pretty and properly British: It's all about alighting and queueing and minding gaps, which makes it seem much more fun than it actually is.
a durian is an extremely stinky fruit that some people think smells like rotting flesh. naturally, they love 'em in asia -- just not on the bus, it seems.
In order to add some excitement to the site, I embarked on a little eating adventure today at the local McDonald's (if by "local," I mean the 30th one that I passed in the period of an hour, which I do). Apparently, McD's has just launched a new sandwich in Singapore: the Fan-tastic. It's your choice of beef or chicken sandwiched between two sticky rice patties that approximate a bun. (Fan means "rice" in Chinese, which I can only guess is how those marketing geniuses came up with the name.) Anyway, by the amount of advertising they're using to promote this sandwich across the city, you'd think it was the greatest thing ever. So I went to check it out.
here we have the wrapped sandwich and the tasty-looking tray cover picture. i hope you appreciate the sacrifices I make for you kids: the other diners must have thought i was nuts for taking pictures of my food.
i won't draw out the final verdict: it was decidedly not Fan-tastic. not even good, actually. of course, that didn't stop me from eating it all. um, except for the parts that fell in my lap -- rice as bun is messy!
Next, I'm totally going to try the Burger King burger with the slab of pineapple that all the kids seem to be eating.
And now that I've conquered the Fan-tastic sandwich, I can focus on my other local interest: this massive outdoor photography show by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, on display along Orchard Road not far from my apartment. A few pictures:
the photos suck me in every day and i always stop. i'm going to be pretty sad when it closes next week. boooo.
damp, disheveled, surrounded by ridiculous new year decorations.
Sunday, January 8, 2006
greetings from singapore! wish you were here.
It is so weird to get on a plane and travel for awhile and then wake up and live in a completely new city on the other side of the world. But here I am: Welcome to Singapore! Let's review: It is 3:30am and I am wide awake (ah, jet lag). I have no Internet yet so I have to use a pirated wireless signal (which can only be picked up in random pockets of the bedroom -- still, thank you, sthanz). It is warm and humid and very, very rainy.
Whenever I arrive in a new place, I try to acclimate myself by walking as far as my flipflops can take me and trying to get somewhat lost and then finding my way back. (You'd think that would exhaust me enough to help get over the jet lag, but no.) I've spent the past two days just wandering for hours, which is pretty easy to do in Singapore. I'm not exactly exploring unchartered territory: You can basically head right down the hill from the apartment and find yourself at the city's hub of Orchard Road, which is best described as an enormous, shiny, miles-long string of fancy shopping malls. The Singaporeans love their shopping. Case in point: I have passed by three Louis Vuittons in the past two days, but still have not located a grocery store.
This city could not be more different from Beijing, which is both great and disappointing. The good: Everything here is really easy, you can find anything you would ever want (including Topshop, quite possibly the best store ever), and it is clean and green and pretty and walkable. No one has even come close to hitting me with their car. I think the other shoppers in Borders yesterday must have thought I was crazy because I was giggling with giddiness at their massive magazine section. (Though that may have been the side effects of too much caffeine: Have I mentioned there is a Starbucks or Coffee Bean approximately every 20 feet? This is not an exaggeration.) The bad: There are no crazy signs, or shocking antics, or flocks of bicycles, or incredible sights. (Unless you count the Merlion. Half merperson, half lion! Those of you who can't get enough of him can find more pics on my flickr account here.) The camera and I traveled for two days, and all we've got are a few lousy pictures. Right now, I'm starting to miss those little baby-butt split pants. (But! Today's adventure involves Little India, so I have high hopes.)
everything is so gray because it won't. stop. raining! (or possibly also because i haven't quite figured out the new camera yet.) apparently, the very wet weather will continue for another few weeks.
yes, this baby is gnawing on a pack of cigarettes. tobacco-licious!
one of singapore's most famous buildings looks like a big prickly melon
ridiculously nice 7-11 kiosk with built-in misters, so you can weeze the ju-ice without getting too sweaty
chinese new year is coming!
can you ever get enough of the merlion? i submit you cannot.
And oh yeah! I'm experimenting with a new look. (Or, at least, some new colors until I can figure out a more fancy-pants web design.) It's still being worked on, but it will do for today. Also: Despite vehement objections (ahem), the name of this site is staying the same -- for now, anyway. BetsygoestoSingapore.com is just too much of a mouthful, don't you think? However, I am taking suggestions. Please note: Singaporewhore.com (ahem!) has already been suggested and rejected. Let's keep this family friendly, mmmkay?
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