Skating in Singapore

So when we first arrived here I was taken to view Singapore's ice rink. It turned out to be a studio rink (like the one we had behind the other two rinks at Minto that one really used) and it's inside a shopping mall. Since I haven't been in the country long enough at a time to have a normal schedule I just never got around to going to check it out again.

I did attempt to contact skaters here but I couldn't find any. There were no schedules on any of the skating club pages and no contact information either (and most of their links to anything were broken). The skating rink itself has a site with operating hours and again no schedule. I decided to write to them and ask what sessions I could drop in on. They did not understand what I meant by a "session." Nobody books ice. There are no hockey sessions, figure skating sessions, tot skates.... nope. Just one big long public session. Even if you are in lessons, they still let the public on the ice. They refused to put me in contact with any skating clubs. Fine, I said, I'll just rent the ice. They said that would be $800 an hour and would come with a birthday party room [headesk].

No wonder skating isn't popular here, it's a royal pain in the ass.

Identifruit

We just went through a market stall in Little India and grabbed a few things we were unfamiliar with and looked them up when we got home. This little guy we are still unsure of. Once cut open we couldn't even figure out what part to eat as the flesh is not really soft and "fruity." Any ideas bloggers?

Roti Prata mi amore

Parantha is a South Indian dish which was introduced in Malaysia and Singapore. It's known as Roti Canai in Malaysia and Roti Prata in Singapore. There are few foods that produce the levels of sheer bliss of a freshly fried prata.The pure unadulterated version is just feathery layers of butter soaked and almost pastry-like bread. In the picture above the plain one is in the front on the left. You can also have egg, cheese, onion or mushrooms folded into the dough while it cooks like the egg prata on the back left of the platter. On the right side of the platter are the typical curries served with prata, lentil dahl in the front, fish curry in the middle. This particular vendor also served up a dollup of his own special masala sauce on the back left. This meal is $2.00USD at our closest hawker centre. I also buy whole wheat prata from the grocery store which is sold in stacks in the freezer section. It's not as fluffy as the fresh but it does make a great quick breakfast with an egg and cup of iced coffee.

Back to 'normal'

Joel is home from his month abroad (that makes [cough] three this year... not that I'm counting) and my family have all gone home now. My mother and brother were here for two weeks. During that time we did a whirl wind trip to Penang and saw lots of stuff in Singapore. My mother decided to stay on for three more weeks. We traveled to Bali and finished off her bucket list of things to do in Singapore. It was a great five weeks but it's nice to have Joel home and be back to another version of normal.

Will we stay put for long? Probably not. I'm looking at flights right now actually... Thailand and possibly Bali part 2 are on the horizon. In the meantime I've got three more weeks of a history class left. I decided to bite off a big research paper that has me tracking down out of print type specimen books from a 16th century typographer and having them couriered to Singapore. I'm in heaven.

You're probably wondering what the image above is all about. Yes, that's my kitchen table set for dinner and that's Joel's new Lego train. He has been visiting this train in Lego stores for more years than I can count so while he was in Colorado I went and bought it. It was such a hit! I can't quite bring myself to ask him to take it off the table so for now we're eating with our plates in our laps watching the train go around. Choo choo!

Awesome bike trip in Colorado

After New Zealand I flew to Colorado to do the Triple Bypass ride through the mountains with friends. We stayed in a really nice place in Vail and psyched ourselves up by watching le Tour in the mornings.

Triple Bypass was a pretty fun ride to do. The first hill was 11,000' the second hill was 12,000' and the final hill was 10,500'. 120 miles in total with no flats but the hills were extremely gradual. We were worried about rain but it held off until the last ten miles.

-Joel

Singapore Expats poll

Most of us really don't know how long we'll live here but just for fun, I made a poll. Do you think you're in for the long haul or just passing through?

Cheers and happy Friday!

How long do you think you will live in Singapore?
1 year or less 1-3 years 3-5 years More than 5 years (but not forever) Indefinitely Forever, no question about it
	Results

Jurong Bird Park

 

We are back from Bali and back into Singapore things again. I took my mother to the Jurong Bird Park today as this was one of the last attractions on her bucket list before she leaves Singapore. We arrived at about 2:30 but found by 6 we'd run out of time to see all we wanted to see. Lesson learned, arrive earlier.

The birds and buddies show in the Pools Amphitheater (11am, 3pm) is meant for younger kids but the birds they bring out are amazing and it's your only chance to see some of the breeds up close. Not a show for anyone afraid of birds swooping over their head as this is what most of the show is made up of.  The trainers stand out in the audience and send the birds back and forth to the host on the stage to give everyone a chance to have wings beat a couple of inches from their head. It's pretty thrilling.

The Lory feeding is fun and fairly low key. If you buy the main entrance and the monorail pass you get this thrown in for free. The picture above gives you a pretty good idea of what these guys look like.

I was a little disappointed by the all the caged aviaries. Very few of them have a plexi-glass area where one can take a photo. The cages are very tightly made so you really can't get much of anything. Bring a long lens and go to the shows if you want a shot of any of the cool hornbills or birds of prey.

More from Ubud, Bali

Meanwhile in Wellington NZ...

Just finishing up a three week work trip here. I miss Singapore!

-Joel

Bali: where have you been all my life?

I'm sitting on the steps outside our guest house to catch the feeble waves of wifi from the other end of the courtyard. They probably can't quite make it around the shrine of stone statues who are casually guarding us from bad spirits. Stray dogs, crickets and roosters make up a din in the distance reminding me I'm definitely not in Singapore. Throw in the heavy perfume of whatever flower is blooming by night here and you have a perfect night.

The past two days are a blur of temples, iridescent green rice fields, lush jungle and the most warm genuine human beings. Ubud, while full of tourists is also pretty laid back and easy. It reminds me of every single one of my favorite places in the world. It's a little of the tribal atmosphere of Ilha Grande, some of the hippi hold out of Fairfax and a smattering of the off-beat art and surf culture of Venice Beach and Santa Monica all rolled up in one delicious Balinese sandwich. It's the kind of place you want to hold onto, to own a piece of and never let go. Though that's not what's good for Bali which has been experiencing rapid development due to folks who just want to be part of this place. I plan to return and keep supporting the cool places we've discovered so far. Bali might just be the antidote for all the little things that drive me mental in Singapore. Cheers!

Tips: Stay at Tirta Arum Guest House in Ubud for some local cultural immersion. I don't suggest Matahari Cottages which we fled from after one night. Cabins in the woods sounded great until we crawled into damp sheets on a moldy mattress and spent the night with mosquitoes circling our netting. Funky yes, not in the way we were hoping.