"Bombay Doors Open"

No, not this type of bombay door.

I am actually referring to the entrance of commercial buildings in Mumbai.  After Mumbai was rocked by terrorist attacks in 2008, Mumbai stepped up security around public spaces.

When I was there in 2010 security was very high.  Cars were inspected two times on the way to my hotel, The Grand Hyatt.  Everyone had to go through metal detectors for hotels, office buildings, and shopping malls.

Part of this continues today.  Vehicles are still inspected, hoods lifted and trunks checked.  And armed guards, x-ray machines and metal detectors are still at the entrances of hotels and office buildings.  What is a little perplexing is that at some places if you “beep” going through the metal detector, there is no “wanding” or pat down—you just pick up your bag an continue on—no harm, no foul.

Reminds me of some of the charade we have with TSA inspections in the US.

 

Hey Hey, We’re the Monkeys

No, not these Monkeys!

 I walked from the Ubud Village Hotel to the Ubud Monkey Forest.  I think that the pictures speak for themselves.

 

Well Hello Bali

The Retreat -- Hotel Sofitl Nusa Dua

Occasionally things work out.  I had to give a presentation on a late Friday morning in Bali and that, of course, meant I couldn’t get back to Singapore for Friday afternoon.  Sooooo I decided to spend the weekend in Bali.

I had been to Bali once before for one of Julie’s milestone birthdays.  We had stayed in Nusa Dua at The Laguna and it was quite nice, but the thing is Nusa Dua is a modern resort area, much like Cancun.  It is removed from the “real” Bali.  We said when we came back we wouldn’t stay in Nusa Dua.

Beach at Nusa Dua

My presentation was at The Sofitel in, of course, Nusa Dua.  It is a lovely property and their meeting center, known as The Retreat, is gorgeous.  But as soon as I was done I got a car and driver and headed up to Ubud, about 90 minutes away.

Traffic in central Ubud

Ubud is up the mountains surrounded by rice paddies.  It is known for spas, arts, and traditional dancing.  Julie reserved me a room at the     Ubud Village Hotel, a good value at less than $100 USD all in per night.  It was a great location in the middle of town, had two swimming pools and a great restaurant.

I just wandered around Ubud, scouting the area for when Julie and Christopher are down here in Asia and we head to Bali for a long weekend.

Rooftop View-- The mist is mosquito fogging

 

Satay Today?

I had some coworkers in from the US for a couple of days this week, including Mark who was key on getting me relocated to Singapore.  They were only here for two nights.  The first night they ate at the hotel restaurant and I felt they might be game for soaking up a little local Singapore culture and food the next night.

One of my things about Singapore is not just the wide variety of regional (and other)foods, but the fact that it is all inspected from a health standpoint so is no more risky that eating in the US (I’m looking at you Chipotle!). 

So we went to the nearby hawker center, Lau Pa Sat.  .  They close the nearby street at 7pm to put out satay grills and tables, but the structure itself is very cool.  Some of its ornate iron work date back to the mid-19^th century.

And did we ever feast—chili crab, barbequed stingray, chicken fried rice, and WAY too much chicken and beef satay.  Oh, and lots of beer. 

Unlike the other hawker centers I have visited, this one had servers that took your order and placed it at the appropriate stall.  Then when the food (or beer) arrived you paid up in cash.  So be prepared.  As best I can tell we spend about S$300, or a little over $200USD for 5 people.

Rainy Days and Mondays

You would think at 58 years old I would pretty much be done with life lessons.  Well today I got one—Singapore style. 

I left the office and walked to the Tanjong Pagar MRT station as usual.  It was hot and humid—it’s Singapore, what else?.  I spent about 10 minutes underground in the train and came above ground at Bugis station and IT WAS POURING!

No worries I thought, I have my umbrella in my bag.  With the warm temperatures in Singapore the last thing that you want is any sort of jacket so umbrellas are the solution.  And it worked great.  Then standing on at the curb for my last street crossing, I learned an important lesson: DON’T STAND TOO CLOSE TO THE CURB!

A car heading onto the Ophir Flyover hit a large puddle of water and like a scene from a romcom, a wave of water drenched me head to toe.  The good news I was on the way home so all I could do was laugh and take my picture in the bathroom mirro 5 minutes later. 

Next time I am in the rain you can bet I will be 5-10m back from the curb.  Lesson Learned!

 

The Far East(er)

This was my first Easter in Singapore and I didn’t know quite what to expect.  Singapore is at the crossroads of many different religions.  Indonesia is only an hour ferry ride away and home to the largest Muslim population in the world.  Malaysia is a 10 minute drive away and is over half Muslim, but with large Buddhist, Christian, and Hindu populations.  India is not too far away and primarily Hindu. 

The Singapore Constitution (Article 15) recognizes everyone’s right to practice the religion of his or her choice.  This is also apparent by the official public holidays in Singapore.  Many are religious:

·       Vesak – Budahhist

·       Good Friday – Christian

·       Deepvalli – Hindu

·       Christmas – Christian

·       Hari Raya Aidil Fitri – Islam

·       Hari Raya Aidiladha – Islam

Apologies for the long introduction, but what I was wondering is “how would Easter be celebrated here?”.  And the short answer is “just like any other Sunday”.

In Singapore, long weekends (remember Friday was a holiday for Good Friday) mean one thing—long weekend trips away.  Since I just arrived back after two weeks in the US, I didn’t do that.  For those that new my dad they will recognize I did what he would have probably done (and many times did). I got a haircut!

Reservoir Dogs (and Lizards)

I mentioned before that Singapore is a very green city.  This includes not just the verdant high rises, but public open space as well.

The Entire Country

My hiking track

One such place is MacRitchie Reservoir Park in almost the middle of the island.  Built originally as the source of Singapore’s water supply, it still plays an important role to this day.  The water is surprisingly and stunningly clear.  But for me it was the trail around the lake that made it special.

Friday night (Good Friday), a few of us gathered for after work beers (a very popular thing to do in SG) and someone suggested a Saturday late afternoon hike.  Quickly a WhatsApp (the go to communication tool everywhere outside the US) messaging group was set up and we were on.  Surprisingly, five of us actually showed up—it wasn’t just the beer talking.

It is very odd to jump into an Uber for a 20 minute, $12 USD right half way across a country to go for a hike, but that’s what I did.  We met up and headed out almost immediately passing monkeys on the trail (I knew I wasn’t at Edgewood Park anymore).  Then the skies opened up and it poured rain for 45 minutes.  We were walking on a trail covered by jungle canopy but the rain still got through and all of us were soaked.

When it cleared it was beautiful.  Light mists played gently over the lake.  Late afternoon light streamed through the trees.  And hardly anyone was there.  It was hard to believe I was smack dab in the middle of 5 million people.  It felt more like a scene from Apocalypse Now.

It got even more exotic when we noticed a Malayan monitor lizard about 1.5m long swimming up an algae covered inlet.  He (or she) kept to himself.



This ~12km 2.5 hour hike was great and one that I will do again.  But next up will be the Southern Ridges.

Team Visa --A little soaked, but having a great time



You can even buy sweat by the can if you dont sweat enough yourself

The Un-United

I was flying back from San Francisco to Singapore as news broke about the denied boarding incident on United in Chicago.  I was flying business class on UA#1 from SFO to SIN, their longest non-stop flight at 17+ hours, so I didn't expect to get roughed up.  There was a little buzz about the incident as we were getting settled.

I had checked a bag of Amazon merchandise and after quickly clearing immigration through their automated gates (the benefits of being a resident on an Employment Pass) I had to wait at the baggage carousel for my bag.  It took longer than expected, about 15-20 minutes.  But what I didn't expect was Changi Airport personnel rolling out a snack cart, complete with iced mochas, water, and small candies and snacks--all at no charge. 

Nice touch Changi!