Halloween

 

M and I had lunch with Baby E at Tanglin Mall. We went to Chilli's for lunch and everyone was dressed up for Halloween. M asked for a less scary server so Baby E wouldn't be frightened, but Baby E didn't look too fazed! We went to the newly opened Brunetti for ice cream and got some cakes as well. It's similar to Vaccaro's though everything is a lot more expensive and it's not as good. Some of the biscuits were very nice but the rest were only so-so (including the cannolis according to M!).

It's kind of funny that we had a lot more trick or treaters today in Singapore than we did while in the US :)

Here's a photo of Simone - she's put on tons of weight since she got here.

Barracks

 

We had D's late birthday lunch at Barracks on Wednesday. The company was great, the food was good, but unfortunately the service was horrible. Still we had a good time :)

Sungei Buloh

 

We spent last Saturday afternoon at Sungei Buloh. It looked like it was going to pour but K would not have an opportunity to go otherwise. There was a big thunderstorm but we took shelter in a hideout and we saw some lovely birds, including the Milky Stork. This bird is listed as being Vulnerable so it was pretty awesome that we got to see it. We also saw an estuary crocodile which was cool!

Tree Top Walk

 

Here are some photos I took when K and I went to the Tree Top Walk. It was deserted when we went, which was lovely - it was also after a thunderstorm, which may explain why!

Food

 

Back in Singapore, and K was stuffed with so much food, she said she felt like a Christmas Goose. We got her this book at the Museum and she tried to eat her way through it. By the time she left, she had tried 56 out of a possible 101 items. She claims that the Thai, Indian food and Cambodian food she ate should give her more points though!

Rain

 

One thing about all the rain (and it was sunny the day we left - of course) was that the fishing was obviously good. Everyone seemed to be out catching fish. I also liked how they got around the problem of the bridges being underwater - just hike them up a little with extra boards.

Rulous Group

 

We were advised not to go on the trip to the Bird Sanctuary so instead we went to the Rulous group of temples, which K picked out. They date from earlier than the rest of the Angkor temples and are much smaller. They are still lovely but are less impressive than the later temples.

Siem Reap

 

Siem Reap is buzzing now - we passed a number of mobile phone shops, there is a bustling Pub Street and the place is no longer a sleepy hollow. On the other hand, there are still touches of a sleepier time. Water buffaloes still loll in the fields (and are still an essential part of life there), and gas is bought from a girl who pours it into your tank with a funnel - while the engine is running. Of course there are big gas stations in town, but these cost more. It was a wonder that they managed to continue working in the flood - the attendant just perched next to the pump on a stool, but one wondered how cars were supposed to refuel.

We also saw a Singapore Bank downtown in a new mall. Simian and I had to get a photo.

1Q84

1Q84
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Happy 1Q84 day! Since I just started my immune suppressants and felt kind of crappy yesterday (though a run really helped), this is just what the doctor ordered!

The book was sold out at the Ngee Ann City outlet of Books Kinokuniya and I got mine at the Bugis outlet.

Sojourn

 

If you're going to Siem Reap, I would recommend staying at the Sojourn. It was highly recommended by TripAdvisor and though we knew it was out of town, it turned out to be a blessing especially during the floods. The hotel was barely affected though the main town was mostly underwater.

We picked the hotel because they are nestled in the middle of a village and work with the village to improve the standard of living within the community. Many of their staff come from the village and they work to build schools, improve drainage and garbage collection through their NGO, Husk. We saw that the compounds in the village had garbage pots with the Husk logo on them.

The rooms were spacious and clean and our villa had an outdoor shower as well. The food was excellent. Instead of a buffet breakfast, we were given ala carte menus to order from - and it was all included in the price of the stay. We also had dinner one night at the hotel (when it was pouring out) and the food was really good. The staff were also very friendly, polite and just lovely. Getting transport to town was also very easy and cheap.

Baphoun

 

What was really fantastic was that the Baphoun Temple was reopened a week before we arrived. Simian and I had seen it 10 years ago when it was called the world's biggest jigsaw puzzle. Now we were able to climb up and walk around the temple. There are still tons of pieces of stone all over the ground though - I think they realised it would take way too long to put it all back together. They estimate that there are 300000 pieces of stones lying around.

Preah Khan

 

The plus point of flooded temples - hardly anyone else was there. The minus point is that it was slippery and so wet that we took our shoes off to go in. Simian also suggested I sit out the next temple (Ta Phrom) since I had already been there. It turned out to be even more flooded inside so it was probably a good thing I didn't go in!

Sugar Palm

 

We had dinner the first night at Sugar Palm in Siem Reap. The food was good and though relatively expensive by Siem Reap standards, it was still cheap by Singapore standards.

Temples

 

Siem Reap is far more bustling and busy then when I was last there and far busier than when Simian and I visited back in 2001.

Angkor Wat

 

Here are some of the photos from Angkor Wat. K, Simian and I went right in the middle of tons of rain but it did cut down on the number of tourists. Angkor Wat was pretty dry - and as a result, it was pretty crowded compared to some of the other temples.

Flooding

 

We got to Siem Reap as the third major flood hit. We managed to see a little of the Night Market on the first day. Thereafter it was flooded and we couldn't get close to the area. The locals are so calm though. Some have not been able to go home, or they need to wade through tons of water to get back. Yet no one complains.

Apparently it started raining again after we left yesterday and water levels are rising yet again.

Cambodia

We're in Siem Reap and it apparently just flooded again. Some roads are underwater but the water is draining. We went to the Night Market this evening. The place has really changed.

Lost Camera

Lost my camera at the Botanics today. I went down again with Simian and K but it was gone. Sad :((

Terracotta Warriors

 

The Terracotta Warrior exhibition was small but had some nice pieces. We were too pooped to tour the rest of the Museum so decided to go back another day as we were heading to Little India for dinner.

Exploring

 

K and I went to the Peranakan Museum this morning, and then went to eat Nasi Padang at Hajah Maimunah where K tried the snails and lungs! She liked the snails especially! We also had tahu telor, sayur lodeh and a few other things. We went to Sultan Mosque (where the docent who is American knew WAY more about the history of the place then I did) after a quick stop into the Children Little Museum .

We headed to the Asian Civilisations Museum and I took a good look at the Dalhousie Obelisk - a reminder that even a huge amount of sucking up doesn't always mean results.

Bukit Timah Nature Reserve

 

Some of these photos are care of Simian.

Simian, K and I went to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve today. It was my first time there though Simian has been there many times. I saw a drongo which made me very excited :)

We had a late lunch at Wishbone, where we of course had ice cream. Funnily enough, K liked the ice cream but not the pulot hitam - Imp had the exact opposite reaction!

We stopped by Adam's Road to let K try teh halia and teh tarik. She liked the former better. Simian had a Milo Dinosaur!

K's first day in Singapore

 

Photo of Amber and Pig care of Simian.

K's first full day in Singapore and she did quite a lot! We started out with a run at MacRitchie and then had breakfast with Dad and his friends at a hawker centre. K tried beef noodles in soup (she liked the broth especially), dough fritters and half boiled eggs with pepper and soy sauce. She also had local coffee which she really liked and wanted to try more of. It was funny that we were trying to find a place that sold local coffee in the afternoon and there were only coffee chains.

We went to the Chinatown Heritage Centre and then to Sri Mariamman Temple and had lunch at Yantra Nasi Padang (though there is no air conditioning in there - they lie! - the food was good). We took a River Cruise from the Marina waterfront before heading home. K tried durian at dinner as well which my cousin B brought over for her to try. K said it wasn't her favourite fruit but she didn't mind it. She had three pieces and got to try Mao Shan Wang.

K is here!

 

K arrived this afternoon right in the middle of pouring rain! One of her two suitcases was entirely filled with presents, including non-alcoholic beer for Dad and beer steins, pastries from the local baker (called Castle Balls, see the photo and yes, they ARE huge), chocolate, a vase, a baking book and assorted other presents!

I made this Lemon Meringue Cake which Mom had asked a while ago if I could bake. The curd was also from a Nigella recipe. However I realised as I was putting my cake pans into the oven they were just a LITTLE too big to be put in at the same time. I was worried the meringue might deflate so I took turns baking each tin. It ended up with one pan of sponge not being cooked all the way though. I scraped it off and put it together and it still worked.

Baby E

 

Here's Baby E trying to put sunglasses on her mother and her toy bear! Her grandfather made her this gorgeous pull toy!