Follow Jen and me as we embark on an adventure to the Far East from November 2009 to May 2010. We're hoping this blog will give everyone an opportunity to monitor our progress and share our adventures in Singapore, Beijing, and everywhere in between.
As my time in Singapore is drawing to a close, my whole office (minus Anu who was out sick today) went to have drinks at my other co-worker, Sam's Private Club, The Singapore Recreation Club. We all left the office (almost on-time, of course, everyone was waiting on me with a last minute client email), caught the bus and took a quick walk to the Club.
We enjoyed drinks, great food (clearly need to list it out so I can explain what's in each):
satay (chicken and mutton with the best peanut sauce - totally the food I'll miss most),
white and black fried carrot cake (which is radish, eggs and flour, I know, not what you are thinking... no one knows why they call it "carrot cake"),
rojak (salad with fruits, fried dough fritters, turnips, bean sprouts in a prawn paste),
fried dumplings with fish and spices
prawns (minced up in a ball with spices)
It was a wonderful night, I'll totally miss everyone when I head back to the States. But, first, I'm heading to Taipei this weekend to visit my cousins and see the city! Can't wait, will post soon!
The Singapore Flyer is a fairly new addition to the Singapore skyline (launched in 2008), however, it was well planned and is liked by the locals. They want it to be like the Eiffel Tower and say it is "set to be one of Asia's biggest tourist attractions"...we'll see. It is the world's largest observation wheel. It stands 165m from the ground and offers amazing, panoramic views of the island.
The architect (Dr. Kisho Kurokawa from Japan) worked to have the design emphasize simplicity and harmony. It takes 30 minutes for each revolution (the perfect amount of time to take a break in the airconditioned capsules). And you can see neighboring Malaysia and Indonesia - very cool! The port looks busy and beautiful (in my opinion) as always with ships coming and going, and you can see all the different (well planned) parts of the city - Central Business District (where I work/live and houses the skyscrapers), Chinatown, Little India, Merlion park, all of the highrise condo's, the rivers and more.
All in all, totally worth the trip to the Marina to see the city from above.
Chinese New Year, or the "Lunar New Year" is bigger than New Year's Eve here in Singapore. This year, the date was 14th of February - Singaporeans have two days off work (National Holidays) following the busy weekend. During the celebration, restaurants and stores close down, but the streets come alive (especially in Chinatown which is around the corner from me). One of the days before the actual new year, families gather (much like our Thanksgiving) and cook all day and spend quality time indoors.
This year is the year of the Tiger - so all the stores have been and are still selling stuffed tigers, Tiger figurines, the TV is reporting on how to save the wild tigers, etc. I feel at home since I'm an Auburn Tiger. And, of course, I've been told the last wild tiger in Singapore was caught underneath a pool table in Raffles Hotel in 1902.
As you walk through the city, all the stores have orange trees with red ribbons outside. And, everyone carries around red bags with oranges in them and the fruit stands are filled with oranges. I've asked and it seems oranges represent Spring and renewal.
There are all kinds of parades and celebrations. I caught a street performance with drums, symbols, and performers dressed as mythical dragon creatures and of course, a Tiger.
I talked to some co-workers about what to do over our long Chinese New Year weekend since most shops and restaurants are closed in celebration of the lunar new year. They sent me to the middle of the island to hike around the McRitchie Reservoir. It is Singapore's oldest reservoir - completed in 1868 to meet the demand for fresh water from the growing British settlement. The surrounding area is now protected forest land, so it's a great way to see what Singapore looked like before the city grew.
There is a great boardwalk that surrounds the reservoir that I walked around, and then I went into the jungle following the rocky trail up to the Tree Top Walk, a 250 meter aerial free standing suspension bridge spanning Bukit Peirce and BukitKalang which are the two highest points in MacRitchie. The bridge stands 25 meters at its highest point and offers amazing panoramic views of Upper Peirce Reservoir and the lush rainforest canopy.
After crossing the bridge, there is only one way back down to the reservoir park...1,000 wooden steps in total which is killer in the middle of a 10km hike! They built the wooden platform and steps to help protect the rainforest floor. However, along the way (thighs burning!), you can hear the peaceful sounds of the rainforest - exactly like the BrookstoneCDs, but in real life! And all kinds of wildlife greets you - monkeys hanging from the trees and playing right next to you, lizards sticking their tongues out at you to check you out, turtles popping their heads up from the water and millions of brilliantly colored butterflies. All in all, it was a great way to spend a holiday!
This is my second weekend back in Singapore. I came back over for about 6 more weeks. This trip is without Matt, because we decided it's best for him to finish up his last semester of Grad school. So, I'll be keeping up the blog from Singapore, with guest posts from Matt in Atlanta. He's busy writing his thesis, studying and teaching underclassmen.
Last weekend, after church, I walked up Orchard Road to see the Botanical Gardens here. They reminded me a lot of a tropical Piedmont Park - local Singaporeans were hanging out with friends on picnic blankets and throwing frisbees.
The Singapore Botanical Gardens are huge and have been here for 150 years, "connecting plants and people" - I thought that was cute. The entrance I walked in was next to Swan Lake and wrapped around to a Bonsai attraction and lots of different beautiful trees and plants from the tropics. It was a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon, too bad the humidity and temperature were nearly unbearable. I got some dinner to-go afterwards at the Hard Rock and while I was waiting, I apparently looked like I had been outside all afternoon because the bartender offered me water while I waited. :)
Matt and I left our adventure in Asia for a trip home to meet our new (and very first) niece - Catherine Anne Remenick! She arrived on January 3, 2010 (while Matt and I were flying back from Hong Kong and Macau).
We arrived in Atlanta on January 8 late in the evening so we went to see Cate the next day...when she was 6 days old. We both melted when we saw her - she's just so little and sweet. She makes all kinds of adorable noises when she's laying on you.
Julie and Brian are an awesome parent team - they switch off without even speaking. Julie holds Baby Cate while Brian stops for lunch, then Brian holds Cate while Julie eats...then one changes diapers while the other is getting her blanket to put her down, etc. They look like pro's almost immediately. It's very impressive! And so exciting to see my big sis as a Mom!! :)
Gracie wanted to get in the bottom picture, I think she's taking Cate's arrival the worst... the Vet told Julie and Brian that she's stressed out! She's been getting sick to her stomach a couple times a day... she was so use to being the only "child" in the Remenick household. But, by the time I left to come back to Singapore, Gracie was showing improvement! Everyone is getting into a routine.
As we said before, in order to get to Hong Kong, we flew in and out of Macau. Macau is a Special Administrative Region, like Hong Kong, but they are not part of the same SAR. Macau has its own currency, the Macanese Pataca (MOP), and is made up of a peninsula and 2 islands. Macau was the first and last European colony in the Far East, and was officially handed back to China on December 20, 1999. However, Macau is autonomous in its economy, which relies almost entirely on tourism and, more specifically, gambling. Macau had a monopoly on its casinos until 2002, which is when many Vegas casinos opened under the same names as they have in the US. When the Sands Resort and Casino opened in 2004, it was the largest in the world in terms of number of gaming tables. Other familiar names are the Wynn and Venetian hotels, the latter located across the street from our hotel - The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. The Hard Rock Hotel (my idea, of course) was located in a newly developed area called the City of Dreams in a larger up and coming area called the Cotai Strip. The City of Dreams (COD) is a mega-complex with 3 hotels and a shared casino with lots of high-end shopping.
Unfortunately, staying in a newly developed area off the Macau Peninsula means you're a long way away from anything of historic significance. Staying for only one night means we didn't even have time to get out and see much. What we did see, however, left quite an impression. For anyone who has been to Vegas, you may need to check out Macau - depending on what you go to Vegas for. If you go to Vegas to party, stick with Vegas. If you like to gamble, then give Macau a try. Jen and I agreed (as does Wikipedia, apparently) that we have never seen a larger gaming floor in our lives. Walking through the COD, it's got a nice size floor, but when we went across the street to The Venetian - HOLY MACAU! Imagine the Georgia World Congress Center covered in gaming tables... that's about how large it is. If we were allowed to take pictures, we would have. But even more amazing than the sheer size of the gaming floors is the fact that both the COD and the Venetian were JAM PACKED full of people. There was no one in the bars, no one in the shops, everyone was gambling. I guess that's how Macau surpassed Vegas in gambling revenues in 2006 with over $6 billion. Jen and I contributed a little to the profits by playing the slots, but we noticed that despite Macau having its own currency, the slots (and perhaps the tables) only accept HKD. I guess they know where their gamblers come from!
Back at the COD, they have an entertainment theater called "The Bubble". Jen and I were looking for stuff to do that didn't involve losing money and they were handing out free tickets to a show called The Dragon's Treasure. So we grabbed tickets, thinking it wouldn't be much of a hit with everyone in the casinos. Man, were we wrong! The line was full when we queued up at 7:45pm for the 8:00 show. However, we were still in the dark about just what the show was. Finally, the doors opened and we all filed inside. The Bubble is a dome made of translucent acrylic skin with an opening at the top to allow for water or objects to enter the room. The floor has no seats, only rails to lean against. We figured the show must be pretty short and seats would be a waste of time. Looking around the dome, there were large things that looked like jellyfish suspended from holes in the skin. Then, the lights went out and the show began. I could try to explain it, but this video does a better job:
The show was pretty amazing and the technology is very advanced. This video was created by someone else, but the footage I shot showed that the projections and sound show up very well on even a standard video camera.
This was also our first experience at a Hard Rock Hotel, which I have to say, has some unbelievable rooms. Huge LCD TV, iPod ready alarm clock, awesome bed, and great decor - all the comforts of home with a rock n' roll feel. The rock shop, however, left... well... everything to be desired. As a collector of HRC merchandise, the only thing that I could find worthwhile was a signature pin for my brother, Drew. Despite the lack of a separate cafe, Jen and I did enjoy one heck of a burger and a Dark & Stormy at the R Bar in the lobby.
Maybe when we're older and wealthier, we'll come back to Macau and spend more time seeing the history on the peninsula. In the meantime I think we'll stick with Vegas.
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