Mum's visit

After a non-stressful week of testing a small group walked Kent Ridge to Vivo City through the haze. 

We passed through Hort Park, a one-stop gardening resource centre that brings together gardening-related recreational, educational and research activities in a park setting. They have a number of themed gardens within the park, each containing quirky re-use of everyday items. One area is arranged as a series of rooms. There is also a delightful little cafe with an eclectic collection of furniture where we refreshed our dry throats before tackling the second part of the walk.

The haze seems to be on an upward trajectory and the picture shows a comparison of the usual view and the hazy view!
In the evening Robert, Maria and I went to the airport to meet Mum, who was arriving for her annual visit...her 5th so far. Finally I was in the terminal that has the super slide the kids often talk about in class. Changi Airport is so remarkable we often have  families who go there for an outing! Mum was looking remarkably well especially considering her doctor only gave her permission to travel on Saturday (we didn't know about that until she arrived). After dinner, and champagne, she was ready to sleep after a long day so it was not a late night.

The plan had been for the family dinner in the lady cave on Tuesday but as both Kathy and Helen were unwell it was decided that Mum should stay away. This meant instead of spending the day cooking I used the morning to finally buy a shirt for the annual dinner, theme Shanghai Nights! Robert and Maria took Mum for an outing before we all had dinner at their place.
Both my housemates were still unwell but at this point Helen was improving, not so Kathy.
On Thursday I met up with the family at the Aquarium on Sentosa. We began the journey by travelling back in time to discover Asia's maritime heritage before we entered the Typhoon, a 3D experience of being on a sailing ship during a typhoon. After surviving the typhoon, you find yourself in the Aquarium, home to more than 100,000 marine animals of over 800 species, across into 49 different habitats, including fish from the Bay of Bengal, the Straits of Malacca & Andaman Sea and the Great Lakes of East Africa.

The week ended with at trip to the dentist for a more permanent denture followed by lunch with Robert, Maria and mum to see if it made eating a little easier...it does.
On the home front, Helen was back at work, although still not totally recovered and Kathy was being tested for dengue!

Bali

After work on Sunday we went directly to Changi and flew to Denpasar. We stayed at Villa Horizon in Nusa Dua. June was on the same flight and we waved her goodbye at the airport as she headed off to Ubud. Our driver Janie met us and we  soon arrived at the villa only 15 mins later. To our pleasant surprise it was huge. First impressions were very good with a lovely pool, very adequate kitchen and comfortable airy bedrooms. In no time at all we were tucking into our duty free and congratulating ourselves on what a good decision this was. 

Having made a good start on the duty free we then all slept well. How nice to have the place open to fresh air, we could even see the stars.
In the morning we awoke to blue skies and all had a dip in the pool. Of course then we needed to fill our hungry bellies so we had Janie drive us downtown for breakfast. On the way home we called into Hardy's Supermarket for a few groceries. It was a mini version of Mustaphas and we know next time we go to Bali to skip the duty free alcohol as it was cheaper here.   It was time for another swim then. We are in a neighbourhood surrounded by lovely homes, many of them for rent. The streets around us are quiet except when someone takes their dog for a walk and that upsets all the other dogs.
After lunch with a bottle of wine, Syd and Kym went for a massage and not long after the 3 of us went for a walk with our binos. Well, it was too early to open another bottle of wine. We spotted a few birds in our own garden amid the bamboo and frangipani.

 We also had a resident little bat roosting in the bamboo stand beside the pool. On the walk we saw a number of birds but all common sightings. An ice cream on the way home up the hill was the biggest reward.
We refreshed ourselves with a swim and snacks before Fathma put a fabulous spread of food on the table for us. She is Janie's wife and they live in a tiny little one room apartment attached to the villa. Their role involves maintenance, cleaning and security but we can book them up to be driver, cook or make bookings for us at our expense. Her English was quite good, he could do with some sessions at Morris Allen. They had a baby girl named Anzhani, who was just on 2 weeks old. We just asked her to produce a meal of traditional dishes and gave her 300,000 Rp to spend on ingredients. She produced chilli crab in coconut sauce, baked fish, sweet prawns, chicken Kang Kong and long beans and fried tofu. We finished with watermelon. The table was overflowing and it was all delicious for just $70 total, not per head. We solved all the problems at Morris Allen and had music challenges using both Eric's and Kym's iPods. Both have a very eclectic interest in music so between them they were able to match our requests.

Libby and I got a lift out to the Nusa Dua Water Treatment Plant and Bird Sanctuary on Tuesday morning. When we first got up it was raining and Eric went back to bed and couldn't be moved. It fined up before long and we had a lovely few hours at the lagun, as it is known here. A bit on the nose of course but well worth it. We racked up over 20 different sightings including a few new ones: yellow bittern, small blue kingfisher, bar winged prinia and scarlet headed flowerpecker. Oh if only our cameraman had been there! 

We got back in time to join the others for a late breakfast. We whiled away the rest of the morning by the pool then went for lunch at Bumbu Bali, a traditional Balinese Restaurant that also runs a cooking school and supports a number of environmentally sound projects. It was located in the resort end of Nusa Dua so we wandered through to the beach to check it out. Very disappointing in  comparison to Aussie beaches. Syd and Kim then left for the airport while we lingered over coffee. 

Janie returned to collect us and when we got back we had another swim, as you do. We went to Jimbaran Bay Seafood Grill for dinner. This is a famous strip of fresh seafood restaurants right on the beach where we have eaten before.

 We had to be home by 9 for the massage Libby  had booked. Our villa has a massage room and Lea  came to us. After a nightcap we all headed to bed ready for an early start in the morning. Our flight back to Changi was uneventful and we all agreed that it was certainly worth looking at a repeat weekend next year!

Haze worsens

Due to the hazy conditions the walking group was small this week and we decided to cut our walk a bit shorter. Instead of going from Bishan to Ang Mo Kio, we walked through Bishan Park to the Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery, the largest Buddhist temple in Singapore. As a compromise this was more indoors than walking around Lower Peirce Reservoir as we usually do. As well as the impressive 4 storey memorial hall, prayer halls, crematoriums, columbariums the monastery has a fabulous outdoor statue of Buddhist deity Guanyin Bodhisattva, the Goddess of Mercy. She is surrounded by a lawn featuring statues of novice monks.

Despite the haze we still managed to see a bit of wildlife in the form of scaly breasted munia, changeable lizard, dragonfly and turtles, amongst others.

After a clean up at home I met up with Chris and Pam to say farewell for the time being. Robert, Maria and Elizabeth joined us at Wine Mansions in Chinatown, an old favourite. They have free flow drinks for 4 hours for $35++, which by Singapore standards is pretty reasonable. After doing my best to get my moneys worth I was very happy to see my front door!

On Tuesday I went into Orchard Rd to see Everest at the 3D Imax Shaw cinema. It is based on the real events of the 1996 Mount Everest disaster and the survival attempts of two expedition groups, one led by Rob Hall and the other by Scott Fischer. The scenery was amazing and reinforced my decision not to go to Everest Base Camp last year. Some of the Landscapes and swing bridges that those who did go crossed would have had me a quivering mess. 
After the movie Libby, Eric Bev and I had dinner at Jamie's Kitchen in Orchard Rd. Unfortunately I felt the meal was not as good as at Vivo, with the starter of roasted vegies being very tasteless.
By Thursday I had had enough of the haze and the likelihood of spending another weekend inside so I put out a little feeler to see if the Smiths would be interested in getting out of here for the weekend. Before I could blink we had airline tickets for Bali and a villa booked in Nusa Dua. Syd and Kim Pink were also happy to escape with us. The prospect of a relaxing weekend away gave me the encouragement I needed to get through the weekend.

Michael and the Youngs part 2

As Thursday was a holiday in Singapore it provided an opportunity for 'The Three Amigos' to have a whisky tasting at the Smith's on Wednesday...no-one had to work on Thursday. Peter's daughter Katie joined in as well, while Libby and I watched from the sidelines. Apparently they all decided that the 17 year Hibiki was the winner. The first part of Thursday was spent in the recovery position for Michael!
The plan had been to revisit the Buddhist Temple on Thursday night but as the haze worsened as the day progressed, up to 'hazardous' levels most people decided they didn't want to venture out in it. So instead we met with Chris and Pam in the air-conditioned comfort of Vivo City...it appeared that most of Singapore had the same idea. We had a very tasty meal at Jamie's Kitchen and caught up with Chris and Pam's adventures of the last 2 days.

On Friday I had to deliver some paperwork to head office in Bishan so we decided to have lunch over there. As we entered the shopping centre we encountered our first 'haze vestibule.'...not sure that it would be very effective so the residents of the lady cave tried a different form of protection!

Chris and Pam joined Michael for an explore of our local area while I was at work on Saturday before we met up with Robert, Maria and Elizabeth at Kovan for dinner to farewell Elizabeth and Michael. As we arrived back at Rio Vista we investigated the loud music we could hear coming from our 'ámphitheatre' area. Celebrations for the Autumn Festival were in full swing...not sure of the significance of the characters on stage, especially singing that old 'goodie'...YMCA!

After dinner at Grapevine on Sunday night it was farewell to Michael for a couple of weeks.

A Hazy week

I was welcomed back to a very hazy sky...Indonesia is burning off again! The girls assured yesterday was worse as they couldn't see the buildings in the distance. We caught up on our holiday news over a tasty corned beef cooked by Kathy. 

Work resumed on Wednesday with the haze improving slightly but everyone is pre-occupied with the PSI levels.
Michael arrived in to this on Saturday afternoon, quite an adjustment from the clear blue skies of the North Coast. 
On Sunday night we introduced him to Saturdays, a recently found establishment where we can find a good meal and a cooling beverage to finish our week.
This weeks walk was through Tao Payoh beginning with the Lian Shan Shuang Lin Monastery, Singapore's oldest Buddhist monastery. It was decorated with colourful silk lanterns for the Mid Autumn Festival, a traditional Chinese festival on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, which this year falls on Sunday. It was originally an autumn harvest festival celebrated by farmers in ancient China and is now considered a time for reunion and renewal of friendship and kinship as well.  

The only birds we saw today

On the walk we passed the oldest surviving Dragon playground, apparently the only one that has a sand base. Another highlight was The Lam Yeo ("Nanyang" in Hokkien) Coffee Powder shop in Balestier Road which has been in operation since 1959, opened by the current owner's father. A couple of the walkers purchased original style coffee cups to add to their collections.

Along Balestier Road many of the old buildings have been beautifully restored and preserved,including an Opera stage at a tiny Hokkein Temple. It was built in 1906 and is one of only 2 still surviving in Singapore.

Opera Stage

 We also visited the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall, also known as Wan Qing Yuan, in Balestier. He was the revolutionary who helped to overthrow the last imperial dynasty of China and is regarded as the founding father of the modern People’s Republic of China.  We also visited his home in when we went to Macau in 2013. In the early 1900's he spent time in Singapore (then known as Nanyang) raising funds and working for the revolutionary cause and stayed at this beautiful two-storey, colonial-style villa a number of times. It is set in beautiful grounds and opposite a park named after him that opened at the end of 2013. A highlight of the villa's grounds is the 2m tall bronze wall mural which spans 60m along the fence line.  It depicts Singapore's history from the 1840s as a fishing village to the 1940s and the Sook Ching Massacre in 1942, the  "purging of Chinese" by the Japanese after the British colony surrendered. 

Unfortunately we were unable to go as the site is closed on Mondays, so thanks to Libby for her previously captured images.

After the walk an invitation was issued to any interested parties to return to the monastery on Thursday night to see the lanterns lit up, and as it is a Holiday it seemed like an Opportunity not to be missed.

After a quick clean up back home we headed in to town to meet Chris and Pam at their hotel in Orchard Road. 

We began their Singapore orientation with drinks at Kinkis bar, overlooking Marina Bay followed by dinner at Lau Pasat. As we wandered through Raffles Place, Pam lost her balance and took a nasty fall banging her head on the ground. She managed to pick herself up pose on the sculpture before we had a nightcap at Altitude 1, where despite the haze we were able to catch the laser show over the bay.

By Tuesday morning Chris and Pam had got the hang of the MRT and managed to join our carriage as we passed through Dhoby Ghaut on our way to Chinatown. As the haze was showing no signs of going away we decided indoor pursuits were the order of the day so our first stop was the URA building for a bit of an overview of Singapore. Then it was over to the Maxwell Centre for lunch, and a wander through the wet market. I'm not sure that Chris was quite ready to add frog to his next BBQ but we managed to convince him to let some fish nibble on his hands and feet. 

After a wander through Mustafas, where Pam was pleased to see some products named in her honour, we felt it was that time of the day so we found a table at SQUE Bar. Michael was warmly welcomed back, although disappointingly his old pal, Joe, was on a night off.

Chris and Pam were ready for an early night so on our way home we dropped in to Plonk at Serangoon Gardens where a number of MAE staff were having their 'back to work' drinks.

Bangkok

By the time I settled into my room and checked out the swimming pool...I could actually use this one...Duncan had finished his days work and so we met up for dinner. He seems to have settled into his 3 month stay quite comfortably.
As he had to work the next day I used the book I had bought to wander around the Kho San area. I felt quite comfortable here as I had stayed in this area twice before. I visited the area around Phra Sumen Fort, built in 1783 to defend against potential naval invasions. There were 14 watchtowers around the city and this is one of the two which remain today. There is a small garden area around it where I saw a pied fantail doing its thing.

After lunch at the Green House, another previously visited spot, I moved on to Wat Bowen Niwet, a major Buddhist temple, where many royal princes have studied and served their monkhood. Apparently the black substance around the mouths on the doors is due to opium being rubbed as an offering to the gods.

After returning to the hotel for a cool down I wandered through the back lanes for a while eventually finding my way home. Before Duncan came over for a swim I had a relaxing pedicure...I felt I deserved it after all that walking. When we headed out for drinks/dinner we saw a Thai cultural performance with some very official looking people in the front row. This was one ladyboy past his/her prime! Dinner was a very authentic pad thai in a back lane eatery that I would have been reluctant to eat at without Duncan's ínsider' knowledge.

 We had breakfast of mango sticky rice at one of Duncan's favourite spots on Saturday morning. The little boy there is very interested in the games on the phone and happy to have his photo taken. We began a trip to Chatachuk Market with a walk along the canal to the other remaining watchtower, where we boarded a canal boat for a trip to meet the above ground train. One of the bridges we passed under is known as The Crying Bridge. It was built in remembrance of King Chulalongkorn following his passing in 1910. It features two main sculptures depicting a couple of crying women carrying children to illustrate the people’s grief at the loss of their beloved king. 

Beside the market area is Queen Sirikit Park, built in 1992  to celebrate her 60th birthday. It contains many fountains and pools where lotus flowers bloom so we spent an hour wandering around it. We saw quite a few birds including magpie robins, zebra doves and tailorbirds, and were inevitably approached by the ever-present group of students doing a survey... this time it was Duncan's turn.
Then we took a deep breath and entered the labyrinth market area. Remarkably the vendors were not at all pushy and it was not a bad experience although we weren't really interested in buying much.

After a cooling swim and a bit of a rest we ventured out to dinner to a place, called Steve's, (very Thai sounding?) Duncan had visited for a farewell dinner. It wasn't a place you would ever find without assistance as the entry was past a temple, then along an alley, finally ending hanging out over the water with a view towards the bridge. It was a very pleasant spot as we could see the lit up party boats cruising by and the food was delicious...highly recommended.

On Sunday morning we decided to vaguely follow one of the walks along the second moat. This took us past a number of old bridges, each of which seems to have been built by one King or another to honour birthdays. We also passed the  Pig Shrine, a memorial, which was built in 1913 by three members of the Siamese royal family to honour Queen Sri Phatcharinthra’s 50th birthday. It might seem like an unusual idea for a sculpture, but the queen was born in the Year of the Pig as were the three people who sponsored the memorial including the man who designed the cast metal sculpture, Prince Narissara Nuwattiwong.

 We continued on to Saranrom Park which was originally a royal garden in the Saranrom Palace. At the south end of the park is a marble monument dedicated to HM Queen Sunantha Kumareerat.  The queen and her daughter drowned when the royal boat capsized while on the way to the Summer palace. Despite the presence of many onlookers, they were forbidden on pain of death to touch the queen – not even to save her life. Her grief-stricken husband, Chulalongkorn, later erected a memorial to them and his unborn child, a son.

Despite the sadness associated with the park it is a lovely space with quite a few birds, including magpie robins, tailorbirds, wagtail and olive backed sunbird. I have just discovered it also a gay haunt!

Wildlife of Saranrom Park

By this time we were both ready for a rest but as we were just across the road from Duncan insisted that I should see it. He had visited it before and told me how impressive the soles of the feet of the reclining buddha were. Imagine my disappointment when we discovered they were surrounded by fences, undergoing renovation. The rest of the complex was amazing and I am sure one could spend hours there but a couple were enough. It was my turn for the student survey here!

We continued along the moat walk, passing the original flower markets, reaching the river at a newly opened, refurbished shopping area where we found a nice air-conditioned spot for lunch.  

After a tuk tuk ride back to the hotel we had a leisurely afternoon swim before dinner at another small back lane eatery.

After breakfast on Monday, and farewells to Duncan, I taxied over to Siam Square for a look around...not really my thing but there were a couple of interesting sculptures. 

After queuing in the taxi rank to return to the hotel my driver wouldn't turn the meter on and wanted to charge me more than double what I had paid on the forward trip. After a very short discussion I got out and returned to the rank where the queue organiser got me another taxi which returned me to the hotel for the same cost as the outward journey!

While filling in time in the foyer the good news came through that there was to be a leadership challenge for the Australian Primeministership...by the time I boarded my flight it was done and dusted and hallelujah...Tony was gone!