Arts and Culture in Singapore

John and I have found ourselves occasionally discussing or analyzing places we will or won't consider living and what criteria matters to each of us. For me, one of the things that I find always enriches a place is its arts and culture scene. I'm an enthusiast, not a connoisseur but I do find there is something extra special about places that pay attention to their artistic offerings. It adds more depth, more fun, more joie-de-vivre!

Symphony Theatre - Botanical Gardens

To that end, I'm finding Singapore top-notch in the category. There is a constant array of music, dance, theater and other performing arts at hand. And the venues too are top-notch. I wrote last year about a concert we attended in the Esplanade - an aesthetically beautiful stage with outstanding acoustics. More recently we attended a free symphony outdoors at the Botanical Gardens (itself a world class site) where we witnessed orchestral students from AudioImage Wind Ensemble play a mix of John Williams movie scores including favorites from Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter and Home Alone (you can see and listen to a sample here).

Esplanade

Later this month I plan to attend a Sting concert in an indoor stadium and near Christmas John and I will both return to the Esplanade to hear Regina Spektor, a Russian singer/musician we first learned about while visiting my sister in Colorado!

Regina Spektor

Here also are a few samples of various theater performances currently on or scheduled to begin in the near future:

• JERSEY BOYS - “TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE!” raves the New York Post for JERSEY BOYS, the 2006 Tony Award®-winning Best Musical about Rock and Roll Hall of Famers The Four Seasons: Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi. 
• J Lo Dance Again Tour - International superstar Jennifer Lopez has added Singapore as one her stops in the Asian leg of her ”Dance Again World Tour 2012”. She will make her debut in Singapore for a one-night-only concert at The Meadow, Gardens By The Bay on Tuesday, 4 December 2012.
• Sleeping Beauty - One of the most famous ballets in the world, Sleeping Beauty tells the timeless tale about a beautiful princess, a spell of 100 years sleep, a charming prince and a true love’s kiss which undoes the spell and awakens the kingdom’s slumber.

There are also a number of good if not great museums providing insight into Singapore's history and ethnic culture. And we haven't even begun to explore the assortment of art galleries, music or comedy clubs! Even CNN attests here to Singapore's cultural revival though yes, some activities strike me as too quirky for my taste.

In the end, the message I'm wanting to convey is that, if you didn't already know or realize it, Singapore is indeed a very modern, world-class city and their art scene helps to put it right up there!

Jenny the Taxi Driver (in Penang)

A few months back I jumped on a Groupon coupon for a boutique hotel in Penang, Malaysia with the charming name of Chymes that I thought would make for a nice weekend away. John agreed and we booked a long weekend near the end of July; then bought air tickets so that we would arrive early on a Saturday and leave late on Monday. That way we would get 3 full days there on our trip.

I had read about Georgetown in Penang while we still lived in Hong Kong and had long wished to see it. It's a World Heritage site considered historic from the days when Malaysia was under British control. Beyond that I only knew of a hill that offered a certain degree of hiking and views of the city below plus we both felt a good massage at a spa would add to our pleasure and relaxation for the weekend.

With that little bit of information at hand, we got underway and realized only at the last minute that we hadn't made any arrangements for getting around the city. There is only bus service for public transport and taxis of course. Luckily John remembered that another friend of ours had been in Penang and mentioned a taxi-driver that was great for not only serving as a dedicated driver but could help us find local services and other sites of interest as a tourist. We managed to reach her just in time to arrange for her brother to meet us at the airport and take us to our hotel.

Chymes hotel room

The hotel as it turns out was a home turned into a kind of B & B. Each room was large and well appointed with a luxurious private bathroom (not always something one gets in these situations). Ours was named the Aquamarine room for the obvious reason that it had been painted in beautiful shades of, well aqua. It was located on the ground floor just off the common area and had a very comfortable bed and a small stereo for our music enjoyment. The proprietor, C Hun asked if we would like to include breakfast during our stay which we eagerly agreed to and after showing us around a bit left us to our own devices. That's where Jenny and her taxi-service started to play a very big role in our weekend.

Jenny

Jenny (who had met us at the hotel and then stuck around while we settled in) asked us what we had in mind. I mentioned those few things about seeing Georgetown and going to a spa but otherwise we left it to her discretion on what might be of interest. She took us under her wing with relish!

We headed off to Georgetown but first she parked in front of an old shophouse there that had been turned into an antiques business by a friend of hers from South Africa. It turns out that indeed Jenny is the only female taxi driver in Penang and has loads of friends. In fact, everywhere we went people knew Jenny. This worked to our advantage to a great degree as she gained favors for our benefit along the way. Sometimes it meant getting first in line, other times a free gift or other small favor from the merchant. Jenny talked a blue streak but was otherwise well intentioned and a dear heart. She did in fact make our weekend extra memorable.

Not only did we explore Georgetown including an old Chinese clan house and a Peranakan Mansion, we took a cable car to the top of Penang Hill and took a golf cart tour around the top of the hill with commentary about the surrounding old mansions and houses there. We saw a huge buddhist temple with the largest statue of a bodhisattva I've ever seen. Our first night we asked to try local food and were "treated" to a Malay version of a hawker center (like an Asian food-court) except this one had a stage where later they entertained the audience with a karoake contest. Even though they sing in Malaysian the entertainment was...well, judge for yourself with this little video clip! Still it was fun watching the locals get into it even buying flower leis for their favorite performer. But after way too much beer and definitely our fill of karoake I insisted we call it a night!

As for the massage we had so wanted, Jenny took us to a favorite spot of hers where John got the massage of his life for two hours while I got body-scrubbed, massaged and then relaxed in a jet-spa. In fact, it was such a wonderful experience that we decided to go back once more before we left on Monday!

Oh and we also had a pleasant dinner at a seafood restaurant overlooking the shoreline (again Jenny's find) on Sunday evening and a surprisingly entertaining tour at the Spice Garden though we were rushed off afterwards to the Butterfly Garden that unfortunately we would like to have given a miss in favor of a nice coffee back at the Spice Garden (although we did purchase a lovely herbal tea to bring home with us there).

Mango

This is just a small sample of what turned out to be quite a fun weekend. There's a larger album of pictures here that gives a much better sense of all there is to see. But I can't forget to mention back at our little hotel that we quite enjoyed waking up to roosters and turkeys gobbling just over the wall surrounding the backyard where a local farmer lived. And while relaxing after breakfast we were equally entertained by Mango the cat who C Han had taken in as a stray. Mango has quite adapted to his  new residence there.

If you ever do go to Penang, let us know. We can recommend the hotel but we'll also be sure to put you in touch with Jenny the taxi-driver. Your trip just wouldn't be the same without her!

Jenny and Me

Where There's a Will There's a Way

As most or all of you know, I have been in the States for the last two months primarily readying our home in Cape Cod for another summer rental season. Now that I've returned to Singapore, I thought I might share some highlights with you!

A clear but cool day at Nauset Beach

When I arrived the first week of May, it was quite cool and gray with (as it turned out) record rain for the month. This was not at all as anticipated since my good friends of the East (you know who you are!) had all exclaimed over how warm both March and April had been. Indeed everything was in early bloom but a trip to my ever-favorite Nauset Beach at that time required long pants and a moderately heavy sweater (as you can see).

Jazmin Graduates!

The wet weather also played havoc with my hired painter's progress on replacing and repainting rotten trim on the house. Of course, I held no sorrow for his woes since we had originally hired him last fall and could not understand why he had made no progress in those previous warmer months! My main concern, however, was that the job be completed before our first renter was due to arrive on June 2nd. Given the weather delays and a job bigger than originally calculated, it required a three-man team to complete everything working through more than one weekend including my beautiful niece's graduation from Bryant University in Rhode Island and Memorial Day weekend. I provided cold water and merrily went on about my own business without a tear while they toiled. Nice guys, job well done in the end but barely finished in time!

Mother's Day was a very special treat for me all due to Sarah's fun and generosity. We first met up in downtown Boston for a yummy brunch at this quaint bookstore and cafe. Then she took me to a Red Sox game where I was further treated to a memorial T-Shirt for the 100th Anniversary of Fenway Park as well as a new Green Monster hat! What more could a mother and Red Sox fan ask for? The team may not be doing well this year but the day was too good to be true! Catch a few more pics here and thank you again Sarah!

Mom at Lavender Fest!

While our first tenant's arrived, Sarah and I headed off to Texas for a visit with my mother and a side-trip to Austin. In contrast to Massachusetts, Texas was extremely hot and dry. The three of us managed to attend a Lavender Festival held annually in Blanco, Texas where we all managed to buy one or two trinkets from vendors and enjoyed some lavender lemonade to cool our parched throats (see more pics of our day). One lovely evening Mom treated Sarah and I to a steak dinner at the Pinnacle Restaurant, part of a golfing resort in town.

Me at the Ladybird Johnson
Wildflower Center

In Austin, Sarah and I explored the University of Texas including their huge stadium and after a bit of not-too-friendly negotiating, a tour of their athletic training facilities that Sarah wanted to compare with hers at the high school in Westboro. Of course it was massive and she was duly impressed though not so much with the rude staff. She speculated that it might be due to concerns about spies over the possible new athletes scoping out the university! Oh dear! Later we made our way to Ladybird Johnson's famous Wildflower Center (lots of pics here!) and enjoyed some good ole Texas BBQ - a delicious feast to be sure!

By the time we returned to Massachusetts, it too had warmed and it seemed summer had at last arrived! On top of that, John also arrived just in time to join in the fun! After that it was hitting all our favorite places, beaching it (pics including some interesting sand sculpture) and stopping over at other friends as well as Sarah's home to see firsthand all she'd been up to in her gardens and fix-up projects. Alas, John had only a week of free time before I dropped him off in Boston for a week-long customer event at Veson's headquarters. Then it was back to Singapore for both of us.

John is pleased!
The bike arrived in Singapore
safe and sound...

However, John had determined he was somehow going to take his bike (sitting idle in Cape Cod) to Singapore where he could enjoy the many bike trails there. This "little" venture resulted in a fair amount of sweat (packing it appropriately), logistics to get it to Logan Airport and money ($150 shipping fee). The packing alone took one-hour of show and tell from the guy at the bike shop who assembles all the bikes along with a fresh box and a generous amount of packing materials. Our good, dear friend Andy jumped in at the end to save the day! He transported John with his luggage and bike to Logan and then waited to make sure all went well. And then American Airlines got the bike as far as JFK but forgot to load it onto John's onward flights to Tokyo and Singapore. So it took a baggage claim and special delivery at the other end but here you see it came through with nary a scratch (except in the bike helmet) and is almost ready to ride once he figures out how to get the tires re-inflated! You can bet each ride will be savored but also tracked and counted since several of us (yes, including me) weren't keen on the brilliance of this idea in the first place! But you know the old adage, where there's a will, there's a way and John made sure of it!

Lastly, during my final week on the Cape while John was in Boston I was treated daily to a parade of this family of wild turkeys through our back yard - three hens and seven "jakes" (babes)! Made my day...

A Nightmare to Remember

Nancy, Mike and John enjoying a drink by the beach
on another occasion

It was supposed to be a celebration of sorts and one John, myself and our friends Nancy and Mike had been looking forward to for some weeks. You see, Nancy and Mike had gone on a temporary diet abstaining from meat and alcohol for one  month. Last night marked the end of their self-inflicted "torture" and we planned to meet at a pre-determined restaurant called The Flamin' Grills promising sumptuous beef steaks. We had all been trading jokes beforehand about cow and how much we were looking forward to "bovine indulgence".

About 7 p.m. we met at the restaurant to begin our feast. It's a small place that held only three tables in the main dining area (all occupied including one by our party) but had an upstairs with an unseen number of patrons though it couldn't have been many.  We had each brought our own wine along for the meal and the waiters uncorked and transferred the contents to a carafe for us. We toasted our gathering and the anticipation of our "cow".

Nancy and Mike each ordered Foie Gras as an appetizer to be followed by salad and a US Angus Prime Steak. John and I ordered a Foie Gras to share followed by salad and Australian Beef Tenderloins. Then on a last minute impulse to add insult to injury in terms of this calorie-laden meal we asked for two orders of steak fries to go with our steaks. Oh yeah, I  mean look at this menu! We were gonna waddle away full and happy!

While we waited one bottle of wine went down and the wait-staff duly provided fresh glasses and a new carafe for the next bottle. So far so good though little did we realize that would be the only proper service of the evening!

A few minutes later, surprisingly, a waiter brought Nancy, Mike and myself our salads (which in their case consisted of two meager leaves of Romaine drizzled with Caesar-dressing and mine a tasteless sliced beefsteak tomato with a drizzle of olive oil and a few worthless crumbles of bleu cheese on top. The Foie Gras was nowhere to be seen but we thought never mind it will come next. Meanwhile, John sat with an empty placemat before him. Finally we flagged someone to ask about his salad. They clearly had forgotten his but set off to the kitchen to rectify the oversight.

While waiting for John's salad, the Foie Gras did arrive but only two of them - one each for Mike and Nancy. The order to be shared by John and myself again a complete oversight. Again the waiter went back to the kitchen but explained it might be ten minutes before it would be prepared and in the meantime would we like our steak fries. No, we wanted John's salad and then the fries to be served with our steaks.

Finally John's salad did arrive by which time the rest of us had finished our salads plus Mike and Nancy had consumed their Foie Gras. Finally our Foie Gras arrived as well. Oh my! This was like a Three Stooges movie now and I kept wondering what Gordon Ramsey of Hell's Kitchen fame would have to say about all this!

Nancy anticipating her steak!

My tenderloin, the only
properly cooked steak at our table

At last the steak fries emerged just in time to be served with our steaks but they proved to be sadly soggy. Needless to say, Mike and Nancy's steaks were quite disappointing both in quality and manner of doneness (mainly overdone). Both of our tenderloin's were quite adequate but only mine was cooked to perfection, John's also being a bit overdone.

The final bad comedy of the evening though was yet to come! When the bill was presented both Mike and John placed their credit cards down and asked for the waiter to split the bill. You would think they had asked him to perform a highly complicated magic trick! After much hemming and hawing he finally agreed to figure out exactly what each of us had ordered and split the bill that way. We all sat jaws-dropping at why this task was becoming so monumentally difficult but agreed if that was the only way for him to get it done, to please do so. Even so, it took him twenty minutes to sort it out and we're still not sure if it was correct but were so anxious to leave it didn't matter by then.

Ah well, our next adventure is to occupy an entire afternoon at the Ritz next Sunday enjoying an endless champagne brunch! Surely the Ritz can get it right!?

The Naturific Side of Singapore

Singapore has a reputation as a small but dense island full of high-rise offices, shopping centers and food stalls. While all of that is true, there is also a definitive green side to this little dot in the ocean. The government has made it a point to set aside plenty of space for parks and nature reserves not to mention all the lush tropical plantings that  provide not only beauty but practical shade from the intense sunlight here at the equator.

Botanic Gardens

Recently it's been my pleasure to start exploring some of these greeneries - not the least of which is the Botanical Gardens. Our friend, Art (from Thailand) and his mother, Alice (from Nova Scotia) came to Singapore for a brief visit that included a day-trip to check out the gardens. The site encompasses 32 hectares (nearly 80 acres) of land so it wasn't likely we would cover all that ground. Still we managed to see a good chunk of the western half of the park including a Ginger Garden and Swan Lake. But the big treat for me was the world famous Orchid Garden with seemingly endless varieties of orchids on display. My camera lens swung this way and that snapping one bloom after another! Check it out yourself here!

Mer Lion and the Esplanade

Another day I headed over by myself to The Esplanade Park, a small park nearer to the city center and the waterfront along Collyer Quay. This little gem held some surprising finds as well as some beautiful views of the venues there.

Lastly, a new group of lady friends and I headed to MacRitchie Reservoir for a leisurely stroll on a recent Tuesday morning and then had lunch at the small cafe offering local fare. MacRitchie Reservoir is one of four that surround a large nature reserve and protected forest that provide for freshwater catchment to support Singapore. The boardwalk along the water's edge makes for scenic, easy trekking. Then we turned into one of the inland trails that provide a well-worn dirt track and plenty of jungly tree-cover for shade. Along the way we spotted a foot-long monitor lizard and came upon a group of long-tailed macaque monkeys. They do warn you to be careful not to carry food as the monkeys can be aggressive but we stood watching them leaping about the trees without incident. In fact as hard as I tried you won't see them in any of these pictures as they were quite good at hiding up there!

On the whole I find myself in awe of some of the massive trees I've come upon as well as the abundance and variety of blooms incorporated in both urban and rural areas of Singapore. And I've only just begun to explore it all!

A Big Business Milestone and The Art Scene

Last weekend was a BIG milestone for John. His hard work over these last several months at locating and fitting out their new office came to fruition with the big move! The new place (here) is located on a lovely street of former shophouses. These literally used to be shops on the ground floor and the proprietor's home above where the family resided. Most of these are now renovated into businesses but retain their colonial character on the exterior. The new Veson office's make use of the third and fourth floor which will not only greatly expand the space available for the current group of colleagues but provide room for more employees in the future. There will even be dedicated space for client training, meetings and conferences. It's not ideal - yet! The current set-up provides only temporary desks and they are still a bit cramped in the upstairs loft until the final design and fitting out  on the main floor can be completed within the next six to eight weeks. You can get a better idea of the interior here. Still it's a great relief to be in this new space and for John to be able to begin to turn his efforts towards other pressing business needs. Big congrats to John!!

After all of that by the end of this week, John was more than ready for a break from work-related issues and we managed to do that by going to a concert on Friday evening. The performer was Stacey Kent, a jazz singer whom we first learned about from Peg and Vince. We have since grown to really love her and so were very excited to learn she was going to do a live concert here! Not only that but the concert hall here in Singapore was truly beautiful and had some of the best acoustics of any we've been to. In general, we think the art scene here is proving to be top notch. We look forward to more interesting plays and artists in our future time here.

Esplanade Concert Hall

Concert Hall Interior

Wicked and Wonderful

I just have to share what a delightful weekend I've just had and (even though most of you know already) what a wonderful husband I have. He made sure my birthday weekend was pleasant in every way!

Dragon over theater stage at Wicked

Some weeks ago, we had already bought tickets to see the musical, Wicked for this past Friday. It came to Singapore just before we left for the December trip back to the U.S. and I was hoping it would still be here upon our return. An evening out at the show would be a fine way to celebrate my birthday! And indeed it was!

On Saturday we lounged for awhile which was a real treat for both of us. It's one of the first weekends that we haven't felt some urgent need to do something related to work, re-settling or something else. Later that afternoon we made our way to the movie theater and went to see Meryl Streep in "The Iron Lady". As expected, she did a phenomenal job portraying Margaret Thatcher and well deserves her nomination for another Oscar! Afterwards we had a light bite to eat at this wine bar/restaurant. It's part of a chain we discovered on our recent trip to Phuket, Thailand and not only love their selections of wine but their prices are actually reasonable!

Sunday morning we again took our time and eventually made our way over to a local coffee shop that has been recommended from a couple of sources. Despite it's peculiar name (Loysel's Toy Cafe) and almost hidden location along the river walk near our apartment, we were thrilled to find it! They have won an award for their hand-roast coffee and serve up a proper English breakfast (as well as an array of teas and fresh-made pastries). A real local treasure! But that was just the start of this really big day!

That evening I steered John toward this Indian restaurant in the Little India section of Singapore. It's one I learned about through another friend (she and I are planning to take a few cooking lessons from them next month). I was craving a lamb curry and I thought it would be a good idea to try out their fare. Well, we were not disappointed! We shared not only a Lamb Masala but another vegetable curry, a fish tikka dish with rice and naan bread that was all scrumptiously prepared and served authentic style at the little tables where we sat on the floor. We also learned that every month they have a chili challenge where you are invited to try dishes varying in degrees of spiciness from 1 to 9. (Our masala dish was only number 2)! if you complete the dish then you get a little prize on the wall - a clothespin with your name on it attached to a string indicating your level of accomplishment. So far there is only one person who has successfully met the challenge at level 9! But I think John is up for a go the next time around!

On top of all this, John also presented me with a beautiful bouquet of my favorite flowers, star-gazer lilies. What can I say? It was a truly wickedly wonderful weekend  - and I owe it all to John. Thank you honey!

Biscuits, Butter and Beef!

Biscuits hot from the oven

I can finally report success with a batch of homemade (as in, from scratch) biscuits! You may recall that since our apartment came with no oven we supplemented with a portable microwave/ convection combo oven. My initial attempts at baking have been mediocre. This time I decided rather than use prepared baking mixes I would go back to an old original recipe. I purchased the basic ingredients and gave it a try last weekend. John and I were both well-sated after our simple but delicious breakfast that also included freshly diced Thai mangos and bananas.

However, since our arrival in Singapore I continue to find my grocery shopping experiences producing various jaw-dropping scenes of sticker-shock. As a case in point, I needed to buy butter or shortening for my recipe. While perusing the shelves at the various choices in this category I found the "healthy" alternative (like a brand of margarine such as Earth Matters) at the price of nearly $18 for a 1-lb package. The real butter was "only" about $6/lb. Guess which one I bought?

Strawberries and Cherries
Market price "bargains"!

You can see what I mean with other examples in a few of these pics. My latest gasp was when I decided to get some ground beef for our dinner meal earlier last week. In my cooking, I've been sticking mostly with simple meals that are either entirely vegetarian or may include a bit of chicken or fish. I knew from our time in Hong Kong that for some reason beef is expensive in Asia (even though much of it (like the produce as well) comes from Australia. Geographically Singapore is not that far away so I thought perhaps beef would be fairly reasonable. WRONG! An equivalent pound of ground beef (not even top sirloin) is $18 here! Check out the price of other beef cuts here (fyi, 1 kilogram = about 2 pounds). It is apparently a delicacy on par with caviar or something like that!

Breakfast is served

So next time you chow down a burger in the States, I hope you will appreciate each precious bite and we'll "make do" with our biscuits and butter on this side of the planet!

Bliss in Thailand

Art

Shortly after our arrival in Singapore, old friends from Hong Kong invited us to join them on a trip to the islands of Phuket and Samui in southern Thailand where we have mutual friends who've retired there. It was way too good an offer to pass up! So over the Chinese New Year we took a short flight first to Phuket. Our friend, Art met us at the airport where we then waited for Tony and Joanne to arrive from Hong Kong.

Phuket

The next couple of days were spent in a private condo that Art had reserved for our use in the complex where he now lives. It's a lovely place within walking distance of a stunning beach and loads of shopping in Phuket and Patong. It so happens that Art's mother, Alice was also visiting from Nova Scotia and she was a true delight as well! She and John spared no feelings in unending teasing about whose lobster was better (Boston or Nova Scotia's) with, of course, no winners and fortunately no bruised feelings either!

On Saturday, we all piled into Art's SUV and drove across the peninsula (a 3+ hour drive) to the ferry that would take us over to Samui (see our route here). Let's just say driving in Thailand is quite an experience and not for the weak-willed. The locals seem to only partially obey the rules of the road and there are mini-bikes that just sort of go where they want. Then there's the trucks (or lorries in British-speak) that are piled so high with goods they defy any sort of common-sense. In particular, one small pick-up was stacked to unreal heights with custom-made furniture swaying to and fro as it sped along the highway. One wonders if it ever made it to its final destination in tact.

Coconut Sands

Thankfully, we made it with no mishaps and then enjoyed a pleasant 1 1/2 hour trip on the ferry. A short ride later and we were at Coconut Sands Resorts where our other old friend, Mick and his wife Dhai live. They had reserved the private villa right next door and we were all made very comfortable in this Balinese style home with a private pool! Well, okay the first night the air conditioning in our room left us "sweltering" as it turns out the compressor had gone. This was duly corrected the following day. However, on the final morning of our stay the plumbing under the kitchen sink went and we had a mini-flood. But never mind because all of this was superseded by fun and frolic not to mention a bounty of exquisite Thai food.

The first night we ate at the local restaurant just at the corner where we have eaten at least once every time we've visited in the past. The food is prepared by a local Thai family at super bargain rates and always proves to be a great meal. On Sunday, we all relaxed and then had massages provided by a local masseuse in the comfort of our own pool-side pagoda. How do you spell H-E-A-V-E-N!? That was followed by a short ride up the island to Chaweng where we ate another stunning meal in the magical atmosphere of an equally stunning restaurant/resort called The Spirit House.

The next day we chartered a 43-foot catamaran and attempted to sail to another smaller island off the coast of Samui. The winds were a bit too light but the boat was very pleasant and staffed by a very accommodating crew that never seemed to tire of handing out drinks, towels or whatever you might need. Eventually, we motored over to our destination and enjoyed another meal at a beach-front restaurant. The menu included Thai as well as Western-style foods. We opted for Thai despite our host's reminder that his wife was planning a home-cooked Thai banquet that evening to which we all replied "What's your point?" As far as we were concerned there's no such thing as too much Thai food. Afterwards, the winds still proved feeble so we motored back and then prepared for that banquet.

Indeed, Dhai and her local Thai friends had spent the entire afternoon preparing dish after dish. Our gang of six were joined by a German couple who also own a villa at the resort and Mick's mother from Britain who now lives nearby. We were all feted with delicious Tom Yum soup, freshly baked fish, special flaky-fried catfish with green papaya that left us wishing for more as well as many other dishes topped off by sticky rice cooked in coconut milk with sliced mangoes for dessert. Can't thank Dhai enough for this feast nor Mick for his friendship and generosity.

Alas, the next day it was time for our return trip back to Phuket for one more night before our return to Singapore. Many thanks also to Art and Alice for making our stay in Phuket so warm and wonderful as well and to Tony and Joanne for including us in the first place! It was a terrific re-union and so glad we could all get together again! We look forward to many more such adventures in the bliss of Thailand! To see more from our adventure, there's a picture gallery here!

Our Little Home Away from Home

Happy New Year and Welcome to the Year of the Dragon!

When I last posted, we had just moved into our apartment but were preparing to return to the U.S. for the holidays. Now we are back in Singapore and learning how to get settled in our small flat on the 24th floor at a place called City Lights. It may be tiny and efficient but we are trying to make it feel like home.

You'll see there is no artwork yet but over time we'll get some things on the walls to improve upon that. I am still learning how to cope with so little cupboard space in the kitchen as well as how to use the portable convection oven and make meals with a two-burner stove.

Sky Terrace

But the fabulous Sky Terrace linking the adjacent tower block on the floor of our apartment feels like a secret private garden that can't be beat! In all, it seems to be working out and we are quite happy with it! You can view more of our place at this link.

Meanwhile, I'll get back to posting more about life here. Hoping 2012 is good to you all!