Winesday at the Majestic

Tonight was not only an auspicious date - 9-9-09 - it was also Winesday. Tonight we celebrated hump day at the Majestic Bar, which was just a 10-minute walk from my condo.


Here's a view from the outside. Its shop house is in a cute area near the CBD and Chinatown.

The Majestic Bar is adjoined to the New Majestic Hotel. Here's a look inside the whimsical lobby.

Whitney and I chose to sit outside because it was a really nice evening. She's our weekly Winesday coordinator, and I think she would make a fabulous party planner!

Here's Ali with her pin of Hoegaarden. Looks more like a half-gallon to me!

And here's a little visitor who joined us on the nearby wall. Isn't he cute? He was tiny, no longer than my forefinger.

Chinese Embassy and Dim Sum

This was the scene at the Chinese embassy this morning, when I arrived to apply for my travel visa - despite the fact that I was there 20+ minutes before it opened.

Luckily I quickly learned there are three lines - one for visa applications, one for visa pick-ups, and one for passport applications (by far the longest). Despite this, I was in and out within 20 minutes once the embassy opened. Unlike B. Neal, I was not interrogated and am scheduled to pick up my visa on Friday. Yay!

After work, Ali and I went for a walk and then picked up some food at a local food court. Given the Chinese flavor of the day, I decided on dim sum and a large side salad for my veggies. It was delicious. Dim sum items pictured left to right include: char siew bao (pork filled bun), siew mai (pork and shrimp filled little dumplings), and jiu chai (vegetable and pork in a rice pocket). Yum!

First trip to Arab Street

Yesterday was rather rainy and dreary, so I spent much of the day just relaxing and uploading photos. I kicked off the morning with what I thought would be a short walk in search of a latte. Little did I know that all the American coffee shops (Starbucks, Coffee Bean, etc.) in the Central Business District are closed on Sunday because it's pretty empty compared to the week. After about 30 minutes of walking around in the drizzle, I finally just grabbed a low-fat latte at the McCafe (that's right - McDonald's, where they only have low-fat, not skim milk...oh well).

After Skyping with Brian for a while and watching an episode of my new obsession, Mad Men, I headed out for a real walk once the rain finally let up. I walked past the Merlion and the Esplanade and headed towards Arab Street, which is true to its name in terms of cultural feel, restaurant options, and goods sold. But first, I passed a few other local landmarks.


This is War Memorial Park, and includes a large statue erected in memory of those who died in the Japanese occupation during WWII. It's quite near the Esplanade, just across a main thoroughfare.


I don't know the name of this building in real life, but everyone calls it the Gotham Building because it looks like something out of Batman.



About 3-4 miles later, I reached Arab Street. I wish I had gotten a photo of some of the fine fabrics and Oriental rugs sold there, but it started raining and I didn't bring my umbrella. (When will I learn?!)

But I was able to get a quick picture of the beautiful Sultan Mosque. Built in 1928, it is the oldest Mosque in Singapore. There were lots of visitors with the Hari Raya holiday in a couple of weeks.

Last night I went to a BBQ at Whitney and Josh's condo. Whitney grilled some fish and dished out some delicious Mexican fare. I'm not sure why I didn't take any photos of that because we had a great time.

Today I've been busy with a photo shoot for my client, which will feature these adorable and lively children, Russell and Randall. What cuties!

Botanic Gardens and Beijing Plans

Yesterday I decided to visit Singapore's oldest national park, the Singapore Botanic Gardens. The gardens have more than 2000 species of vegetation - everything from rain forest and fruit trees to cacti and spices. By far the best part of the park is the Orchid Garden, where most of the photos below were taken.

It's hard to see the sign, but this one is the Singapore Orchid.

As I walked through the Orchid Garden, I just kept thinking about how much Aunt Mae would have loved walking around in the midst of all the beautiful flowers. (Aunt Mae was my babysitter/surrogate grandmother for those who didn't know her, and she was an avid gardener even up until her 90s).


I also liked the Bonsai section. Check out these baby Bonsai trees! So cute, and also gnarly.

There is also an area called the Evolution Trail, which simulates vegetation throughout the earth's history. I think the turtle in the pond was a bonus.

The guide said it would take 3-4 hours to do the entire thing and I suppose it would if you stopped and read every single sign and walked as slowly as some Singaporeans do. I had done everything within about an hour and a half (though it was about 2 before I was able to walk back to the taxi stand on the opposite side of the park). Still, enough time to get a nice little sunburn from my scoop neck shirt apparently.

To even out my tan (ha), I spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool researching Beijing flights and hotels. We chose the Grand Hyatt Beijing because it's more likely to have a high proportion of English-speaking staff, as well as its proximity to some of the highlights we want to hit. Now I just need to book our hotel in Bangkok and a few tours, and we'll be all set.

Then last night I joined Mindy and her husband, Jonathan, for a fun party at one of their friends' homes.

I'm not exactly sure what today holds other than quite a bit of rain apparently, some more travel research, and a BBQ with Whitney and Josh tonight. Maybe I'll get caught up on all my photos for Facebook and Snapfish. Maybe. Bye, lah!

Coming soon...

...Photos from my day trip to the Singapore Botanic Garden and details about our upcoming trip to Beijing. I booked all our flights and hotel today and feel MUCH more relaxed about it all.

All that travel research and planning took a decent chunk of the day and I'm meeting Mindy and her husband soon, so I've got to get ready. Be back soon!

Skipped a day

Given the number of comments the blog has been generating as of late, I'm guessing not that many folks noticed that yesterday was the first day I had skipped since I've been in Singapore (travel aside). By the time I got home from our weekly Winesday get-together, followed by dinner, it was kind of late. I figured you could wait one more day to check out the view from this week's happy hour venue, the New Asia Bar in the Swissotel The Stamford. Yep, here's the view from floor 71!



It's a little blurry at dusk but I couldn't use the flash against the glass.



Here's a view of part of the bar. The interior need a little update but the view is spectacular and totally makes up for it. Ironically, I'm meeting Cheryl (Jacob's roommate who works in my building) here tomorrow night.

Today I was kind of blah because my colleague Trupti 's (pictured in the previous post) mom passed away late yesterday. She's also an only child and her family lives in India, so it was heartbreaking - and a little too close to home - to think about how she must feel. And then this morning I woke up to find out that Momma Neal had surgery today, but the good news is that she will be ok, just a little hung up for a while. Unfortunately her absence from her computer likely means that blog readership is being cut in half. But she's going to be just fine; she's a pip!

On a MUCH brighter note, the People's Republic of China decided that Brian Neal actually is NOT a threat to national security, and had his visa approved. After my a walk and dinner with Ali tonight, there's more travel planning in my future. Beijing, here we come!

Twins & Travel Plans

For the second time in the last six weeks, my colleague Trupti and I have dressed exactly alike: pink collared shirts, black capri pants. The only two times I've worn this outfit here, she has also been wearing it. So today we decided to celebrate the uncanny occasion with lunch at a great Vietnamese place in Chinatown. It was pouring rain and super muggy, hence why we look a bit frazzled (plus, don't forget, I was up until 1 a.m. researching last night)! But my sliced beef and beef ball (think meatballs' Vietnamese cousins) noodle soup was delicious.

Better than the basil, cilantro and lime in the soup? Booking tickets to Bali and our Bali and Siem Reap resorts! Check out these links and images when you have a chance. I can't wait.


In Siem Reap, we're staying at the Angkor Palace Resort & Spa. I wasn't planning to stay somewhere this nice in Cambodia, but we got a great deal and I couldn't resist!

The Oberoi is also a beautiful resort in the Seminyak area of Bali. Bali is the last stop of our 4-legged trip and we want to relax! This is the view of the main pool, overlooking the Indian Ocean.

As for the ideal first stop of our trip (Beijing), Brian goes back to the embassy tomorrow. Fingers crossed that his visa is approved!