Hey from Singapore.
Monday, June 24, 2006
Well, hey! Things have been slow in the picture-taking category these days -- really, it's been raining a ton and that ususally ends up thwarting all photo outings I try and plan. (Of course, today is nice and sunny -- and I really need to stay in and do a bunch of work-y type stuff. [Sigh.])
I've also been devoting a ridiculous amount of attention to the new fashion blog, which gets updated daily with lots of cute clothing and design suggestions. If you start to miss me terribly, you can catch me on the site from time to time modeling some of the picks.
Mike dragged me away from the computer on Saturday afternoon and we went to Chinatown (for cute shops, homemade noodles and pattern-making paper) and then joined our friend Jason (visiting from Beijing!) that evening at Singapore's famed Night Safari -- kind of a Disneyland meets the zoo in the dark. It's incredibly well done, and I do think I declared it my very favorite Singapore attraction. I also really, really want a bushbaby. So. Cute!
Okay, back to work. Happy Monday!
chinatown was hopping. we found a terrific noodle shop too!
the rains set in -- again -- just as we were checking out this outdoor market
taking pictures at the night safari was tough, but i do dig these flamingos
Monday, June 19, 2006
Today's rainbow of photos is brought to you by my birthday, which always makes me a little giddy. Thanks for all the well wishes this weekend about getting a little bit older (physically older, at least. My mental age is still somewhat debatable. Have I mentioned that my main birthday gifts included stuffed animals?)
I thought I'd do the grown-up thing this year (unlike, say, 2004's now-infamous birthday scavenger hunt, the pictures of which I never get tired of looking at). I gathered a small group for the big Sunday brunch at the Grand Hyatt, which has the most incredible dessert section I have ever seen. It also has all-you-can-drink champagne. Yay! At the end of the brunch (four-and-a-half hours after arriving), we adjourned to the hotel bar, where a very funny Aussie was celebrating her birthday as well. Hilarity and shots ensued. Then pizza and Spinal Tap. I don't think anyone was suprised when I snuck off to bed around 9pm.
The rest of the Birthday Weekend was also quite fun: Mike took me out for a terrific fancy French meal on Friday night (nothing says "29!" like a big plate of foie gras), and Saturday we roamed around the city eating ice cream and seeing art shows and doing other fun stuff. Saturday night we watched Ghana cream the Czechs in a little World Cup action, and I have to tell you, I think I could really get into this soccer thing. It's so fun! Except that many of the World Cup games are shown after midnight over here, which is rather exhausting. I'm old now, after all. My late-night stamina is not what it used to be.
A few more random pics from the weekend:
a "street attack!" -- part of singapore's art fest this month
i'm still very obsessed with the older neighborhoods of singapore
here's to another good year!
Friday, June 16, 2006
all my sewing loot, from yesterday's mega-shopping tour of the city
Happy Friday! It has been another great week of bopping about Singapore, signing up for some classes in the spirit of Summer Camp (photography and yoga) and going on field trips with my sewing teacher. I've also been toying with a new fashion-related blog, to write about the kind of things I don't get to write about in my normal work. You can check it out over here, though be forewarned that it is really for the fashion-minded only. (As in, Dad, I really don't think you're going to care about how to make your own Lanvin-esque extra-wide belts. Ryan, this probably goes for you, too.) I'm still playing around with it and working out some tech-y kinks, but it's been a fun distraction.
(It's probably worth noting that the fashionisspinach site only works some of the time at the moment. So if that link isn't working at the moment, it's not you, it's me.)
Have a good weekend! See you back here next week, with new pictures and stories and (rumor has it) the arrival of some brand-new Ugly Dolls. How's that for suspense?
Monday, June 12, 2006
mike actually took this, but i stole it so you'd have something pretty to look at.
I know I've been quiet this week. I've just been hanging around Singapore, enjoying some quality downtime and also doing important things at home. For example, today I spent some time plotting how to get tickets to see Teddy Geiger play at a local bar on Thursday without having to a) actually buy any Teddy Geiger merchandise, or b) admit to too many people that I am a Teddy Geiger fan (or at least a fan of that one song. So catchy!) So far, I have been unsuccessful, but I'm sure it will come to me. Also, there has been an ongoing debate in our household over whether we should buy tickets to see Coldplay next month. (Thoughts?) And, I am working quite seriously on my pizza dough recipe (it's coming along nicely, thank you). So, you see, I've been busy with very important things, mostly involving puttering around the house. I do enjoy a good putter.
I promise some exciting pictures should be happening soon. For example, Teddy Geiger on Thursday! No, seriously -- for starters, we've got some very fun guests arriving in the next few weeks, including my cousin Nate, and today he and I booked tickets to hang out in (new country alert!) Cambodia for a few days. So, there's an end to this dry spell just around the corner. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some Teddy Geiger posterboard-making to do. You know how I love doing anything involving markers and glitter.
Friday, June 2, 2006
I think this may be the greatest picture of me ever taken. It's from our Western China trek in October (when I decided I did not feel like walking up to a summit and paid a pony to do so, which was infinitely more terrifying and difficult than walking). I just received it yesterday and thought it would give you all a good Friday chuckle at my expense. You're welcome.
Have a great weekend! I will be busy plotting my Summer Camp adventures. Seriously, I think it's unfair that only children get to go to summer camp, so I'm devising my own activity calendar for the next few months. Sewing class, for example, starts Tuesday. With any luck, you'll all be getting pillowcases and tea towels for Christmas this year!
Thursday, June 1, 2006
a preview of things to come...
Still with me? Good. Sorry about yesterday's brief interference by the Turkish hackers; I think the site is all sorted out again. Let's just pick up from where we left off yesterday, mmmkay?
these are the little huts where we slept during our night on the river. goodbye, huts!
our next stop was a little village where they make whiskey
as you can see, our small group of tourists documented everything.
giving yesterday's kids a run for their money, cute-wise.
everyone was a little curious.
when we left, they stripped down and swam out to bid us farewell
our next stop: caves filled with buddhas
back on the river: can you spot the rainbow?
and then we reached the end of our river trip. goodbye, river!
And hello, Luang Prabang.
every morning at dawn, the monks walk through the city collecting alms of sticky rice in their little baskets.
if you look down the main streets of town at about 6am, you see these ribbons of orange monks lining the sidewalks
the local market also gets started early.
it's where you can buy your lizards!
and beetles!
and frogs! yum! just kidding.
have to get the pineapples to market somehow.
rice cakes, drying in the sun.
even monks require mid-morning naps.
is this not the cutest thing ever?
the night market was terrific, full of fun finds
like slippers!
and pillowcases!
the monks collect alms even the rain
scenes around luang prabang...
hey, look! it's me, and a monk. fun times.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
There's a good reason for my silence. Sort of. In fact, I had meant to write a little update a week ago, and talk about how it was my first weekend in Singapore in a really long time, and how I was busy working and catching up with friends over vast quantities of wine at fun new restaurants and cute-ifying the apartment. (Still a real lack of furniture, but there are new pillowcases and silverware holders and a sewing table! Those things are fun too!) After so much time away, it was nice to be home for a change.
Or, at least, be home briefly. This past week, we packed up again and headed back to Thailand, stopping off in Bangkok long enough for a nice dinner at the super space-agey Bed Supperclub before heading up to the northern city Chiang Rai and then on to the Thailand-Laos border. We boarded a very cute boat and drifted for two days down the Mekong River to Luang Prabang, Laos, an amazing little French-Lao town. The Lao part meant there are hundreds of Buddhist monks who live at the beautiful temples around town. The French part meant that there were pots and pots of delicious strong coffee. Monks and coffee: how could you go wrong?
don't you just love thai script? it's like art.
slight detour into chiang rai market, where they grill up bananas
and! long before it combines with delicious coconut milk to make your stomach happy, curry is a paste
these are like lychees and they are gooood. and cute!
in case it was not clear, buddhas will be featured heavily for the next few days
looks like someone bought themselves one of the gold, plastic-wrapped variety!
then we boarded a skiff and crossed the mekong river. goodbye, thailand!
and hello laos...
where we boarded a much bigger boat, where you could lounge and read and watch the countryside pass by.
the boat even had a bar, which provided ice cold cans of beerlao to be enjoyed along with the mekong scenery.
we spent two days on the boat (though we slept at a town along the way). our first stop: a hmong village along the river.
it was populated by many cute children (and parents, but i like the kids more).
and some cute pigs.
they gave us a proper sendoff. goodbye, village!
back on the mekong, where we continued to next town for the night
though they lack some, er, basic amenities, at least they get good tv.
sort of like a jungle gym, no?
a local restaurant
the kids just want the peace. and maybe a few dollars.
the next day: back on the beautiful mekong
So that was just days one and two. Phew. Tomorrow's installment will bring more children and plenty of monks, I promise. And now, if you'll excuse me, I have about 400 e-mails to catch up on.
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