Open House at Istana

The Istana (Malay for "palace") is the official residence of the President of Singapore.  Last weekend, they organised an open house in celebration of the Singapore National Day and Hari Raya Aidilfitri.  In search of food (open houses in Malaysia always ply visitors with mounds of food, isn't it??), I was disappointed to only find several tents set up by the local museums to showcase their missions.  Food before culture, people!  Pfffhh....

Apparently, the locals knew there was no food to be had, and brought their own picnic.  Pppffhhh....

The park surrounding the Istana occupies 100 acres in prime land surrounded by the Central Business District and the main shopping belt of Orchard Road.  Open spaces of this size (and non cash-generating) in prime land is luxurious beyond words in Singapore.  The compound is quite sparsely populated from what we can see, very simply dotted with a few colonial-era buildings.

This is the main building where official meetings with heads of states are held.  Built in 1869, it was opened just in time for the visit of the Duke of Edinburgh - second son of Queen Victoria.  We paid S$1 each to go inside to have a cursory browse.  It is not the Vatican, but it is regal in its own right.  

Several social and community groups performed cultural songs and dances at the event.  

A drawing competition was also held on its premises, and several groups of school children were huddled together surrounded by paints and colours working on their masterpieces 

There were lots of crafts and little games to keep the young occupied.  Here the kids picked up some paper hats given out by the Asian Civilisation Museum.

Utopia

It has been eleven years since I packed my bags, hopped onto a bus, and built a life in this little red dot of an island.  In many ways, this place known for its transparency, efficiency, safety and wealth is the envy of the world, a utopia.  I should not bite the hands that feed me - because indeed it has given me many, many valuable opportunities - but truth be told, we often mock the cocooned world it has become as a result of its success.

A cursory look at the contrasting headlines in today's newspaper tells you the depth of problems its residents deal with, compared with what the world outside grapples with. 

Many examples can be found everyday.  When Malaysians confronted the ruling government for fair elections in May, the local headlines were about the loss of the Prime Minister's dog.  Next to the news about six Hong Kongers being hurt as they struggled against nature in yesterday's number 8 typhoon were an equally large printed space about how the food tray return initiative at local hawker centres had failed.

Of course, we should slaughter some chickens to thank the gods that we live in a place where violent and serious crimes are rare, and when the biggest news of the month is the annual sales.  Believe it or not, I do mutter my thanks quietly to myself every so often.  

What is important to us now is to make sure the kids know, well, what is truly important in our world.  To see beyond the comfort and blessings we have, to be thankful for all the good fortune and conveniences, and to be willing to give back to those who need it.  Travel achieves that in some ways, which is why history and culture is so important when we visit different places.  Only when we know the good and bad, the successes and failures, the right and not-so-right, that we can have a balanced view to make our decisions, in utopia or otherwise.

* HDB = Housing Development Board.  Public housing built by the Singapore government.  

Random

Since we have neglected to update you on a regular basis, here's a random selection of random activities we have done in the past few weeks.  But mostly we were just doing routine stuff, e.g. grocery shopping, ferrying kids to wushu classes and the library, watching DVDs at home.  It's a sign of old age.

The Flooded Amazon Rainforest exhibit at the River Safari, Singapore's newest theme park.  It is really quite impressive.

One of the two pandas - Kai Kai & Jia Jia - lent by China to Singapore.  He reminds me of Po from Kungfu Panda.  He is taking his afternoon nap inside their specially-constructed building that is air-conditioned all year round inside the River Safari.   

Panda diplomacy has been in practice since the 1950s, where China gfits pandas to foreign nations as a sign of goodwill.  Since 2007, China no longer gives them away but instead "loans" a pair for a 10-year period in exchange for USD $1 million per year for the upkeep of their natural habitat back in China.  Any cubs born during this time is the property of the People's Republic of China.  

Just swinging

Macau - YL's Selection

Boxes of biscuits, packed and ready for sale

Almond biscuits hot out of oven

Early morning at A-Ma Temple

Incense at A-Ma Temple

Ruins of Sao Paulo (St Paul's)

Ruinas de Sao Paulo (Ruins of St Paul's)

Macau - The Obvious

I cannot end the series on Macau without mentioning what is most obvious about Macau: its casinos.  Macau has the world's highest gambling revenues, with Las Vegas trailing in a far second spot.  It also has the world's largest casino resort, the Venetian Macau, which boasts of 3,000 suites (suites, not rooms).  The Sheraton where we stayed is the world's largest Sheraton with 4,000 rooms, 6 ballrooms and 3 swimming pools.  It is true that we should have requested for a shuttle bus to take us from the lift area down the corridor to our rooms.

The reason for all the fuss is the moneyed cousins to the north.  It is truly a Chinese invasion.  For many countries in this part of the world - Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia - the Chinese have been accused of throwing their money around, leading to higher property prices and making life much more expensive for the regular folks.  But in Macau, the invasion is one level higher.  The identities of the locals seemed to have been subsumed into that of a servant to the Mainlanders.  The swarms of Chinese tourists come in daily on the hordes of buses and flights, and when they leave, they seem to take away the souls of the locals, leaving behind only an empty shell.  

Sounds deep, doesn't it?  Maybe I was just miffed that I could not speak Cantonese freely.

Anyways, the point I wanted to make is that the Chinese truly have money to burn.  While YL and I counted our pennies literally before placing our bets at the casino, legions of Chinese simply stroll past us and throw hundreds of thousands of patacas on the table like the small change we were counting out.  They look very ordinary but their wallets were certainly not.  Where *do* that wealth come from???

Messages from the friendly neighbourhood casinos immediately upon our arrival in Macau

Inside the Venetian Macau shopping complex.  Spread over one million square feet, it boasts of 600 shops and boutiques in three malls.  The Grand Canal Shoppes has its own staff of gondoliers serenading tourists and shoppers while they enjoy gliding down the man-made canals.

Venice and Saint Marco's Square are the setting for the Grand Canal Shoppes.  The skies (also man-made, of course) vary in brightness and warmth in different areas of the mall so you could be shopping in the evening glow one minute, and then in bright daylight the next.  

Interior of the Venetian Macau Hotel.  Opulent Art Deco is the theme here.

The Cotai is a strip of reclaimed land connecting the islands/villages of Taipa & Coloane.  Several bridges connect this cluster of islands to the main island of Macau.  This is where the Venetian and many of the new hotels/casinos can be found: Crown (Australian chain), Hard Rock Hotel, Sheraton, Conrad, City of Dreams, etc.  Many more are being built to profit from the slushing funds flooding in from the Chinese mainland.

One of the earliest large-scale casinos, the Grand Lisboa, owned by Stanley Ho, the "King of Gambling".  It's big, it's brash, it's tacky, but it's raking in the money from the Chinese who loves that style, so what do you have to say to that?

There were many priceless artifacts displayed in the lobby of the hotel.  Due to an unscheduled toilet stop, we ventured into the belly of this intimidating structure, and did a short tour of its lobby.  Again, subtlety is not the idea here.  Every object is impossibly over-the-top - ivory carvings on mammoth tusks, jade carvings as big as a scooter, golden clocks, etc. 

In 2007, Ho purchased one of the bronze animal heads that were part of a water fountain clock in the Old Summer Palace at USD $9 million, the highest price ever paid at that time for an auction item.  The animal heads representing the 12 Chinese zodiac signs were looted by French and British forces during the Opium War of the 19th century.  Today, 7 have been recovered and returned to China (2 of which were bought and donated by Mr. Ho - a noble use of his massive wealth if you ask me, and 2 were recently returned by French billionaire and art collector, Francois Pinault).  The location of the remaining 5 are unknown. 

By the way, the story of these bronze heads formed the plot of the recent Jackie Chan movie, CZ 12.  

Macau - East Meets West

Macau was on the top of my list when looking for a place to spend our 4-day long weekend this month.  It was culturally close to Hong Kong (one of my favourite places), had the pedigree of a UNESCO World Heritage Site (a group of 20+ sites mostly in its historic old town), money-making opportunities (a.k.a. casinos), and we found a great deal online for the Sheraton where the family room consists of an adjoining room with a Disney Madagascar theme for the children.   

Child-sized bathrobes, child-sized room slippers, free Wii, soft comfortable bunk beds...We don't want to leave this place!

Four days later, I am disappointed to report that its cultural link with Hong Kong has weakened considerably (4 out of 5 people we stopped for directions were foreigners, spoke Mandarin, or some strange Cantonese accent), the heat & humidity melted our enthusiasm for history, and the casino...well, the casino never yields.  

Regardless, we had fun, because well, a holiday *is* a holiday, right?  

Breakfast at a typical char chaan teng (Hong Kong-style cafe) sipping on yuen yong (mix of coffee & tea) and ling mutt (honey lemon tea)

Trying the famous Portugese egg tarts from Lord Stow's.  Both the kids liked them, which is a big stamp of approval since my kids are extremely picky with food.  

Queuing for the famous Portugese egg tarts from Lord Stow's.  The original shop is located in the village of Coloane, in the southernmost tip of Macau.

YL preferred these ones from one of the popular bakery chain, Koi Kei.  He said they were slightly sweeter with a crispier crust.  You can find them everywhere, no need to go to Coloane to queue.

Since we are on the topic of food, here's another local Macanese dish - African chicken.   Under the blanket of red spicy savoury sauce made from a blend of coconut milk, chili, garlic & butter are fried chicken pieces.  Tasty! But don't ask me about the name.  

Bacalhau - Portuguese for dried salted cod - with shredded potatoes.  Yummy!

On the historical side of things, Macau was an important port in the East in the 16th century under the Portuguese rule.  They held power for more than 450 years, thwarting several Dutch attempts to conquer it along the way, and finally returned it to China's control in 1999, thereby making it the last European colony in Asia.

Four hundred years of continuous rule is bound to leave something of a mark on this place, and 14 years after the return, we still find many traces of its Portuguese heritage, even apart from the old structures.  It is precisely for this reason - East meets West - that Macau earned her UNESCO World Heritage badge.

A roadside poster about accessing funds to repair structures in Portuguese and traditional Chinese.  No English at all.

Shop signs are all in Portuguese and Chinese.

A notice outside a church about the costs of various functions conducted by the church.  A funeral service cost MOP 500, for instance.  (MOP = Macau Pataca. 1 MOP is approximately SGD 6)

Escola = Sekolah! (Malay word for school)

Malacca, a small state in southern Peninsula Malaysia, was also once a Portuguese colony, and it being the genesis of the Malay civilisation, many Portuguese words found themselves into the Malay language.  For example, mentega (margerine), gereja (church), kereta (car), almari (cupboard), etc.

A typical affluent Macanese house - definitely European but the Chinese influence is unmistakable.  Have a look at the design in the windows

The doors of a local church, too

Hong Kong transplanted into Europe

Near the Taipa Houses, built in 1920s, and now a museum for old artefacts from that era 

I must also mention the cluster of historical buildings that constitutes Macau's UNESCO World Heritage Site, starting with the Largo Senado (Senate Square) the main public square below: 

The place was swarming with tourists and absolutely scorching by 9am.  This was taken at 8am.  Made a world of difference, and worth dragging out the kids at 7am :)  

Igreja de Santo Domingo (St Dominic's Church) built in the 16th century, more than 400 years ago.  Still standing pretty in its shades of yellow and white.

And of course, the famous landmark Ruinas de Sao Paulo (ruins of St Paul's).  It was destroyed by a fire in 1835, leaving behind only the facade.  

There are also some very typically Chinese structures in the cluster of historical buildings, like this Casa de Lou Kau (Lou Kau Mansion), the home of a wealthy Chinese merchant and banker in the late 19th century.

Back in Europe?

Guess where we went for the long weekend this month?  Back to Europe?

Venice?

Mediterranean Europe?

No, we're still pretty much roaming around Asia.

Here's a hint: somewhere where the East truly meets the West.

Rabbits, Chickens, Kangaroos and a Pregnant Mom

I have kept this blog running for almost 8 years now and no way I am going to let something called "work" "preposterous-sweatshop-level-work" creep up on me and throw me off my track.  So I will resurrect the blog - I swear by YL's precious remaining strands of hair, I will - even if it means calling in sick (which I am somewhat, though not in the physical sense) for the next two weeks.  

First you must know that we have not been resting on our laurels and fooling around at home watching TV, reading, sipping tea and dipping in the pool these past couple of weeks (what, that's what life is about, you say?  Who told you??).  

No, no, no we have been out exploring and ignoring the kids' pleas to simply stay at home to watch TV and play on the iPad.  Tsk tsk tsk...

When YL was dragged kicking and screaming onto the airplane in mid-June by some people he referred to as his "colleagues" to fraternize with important medical people halfway across the world for 2 weeks, I dragged *my* kids onto a plane to land ourselves into the palatial home (compared to Singapore) of Yiyi & Yi Cheong (younger aunty & younger uncle in Cantonese) in Perth, where Popo (grandmother) is also staying temporarily.  The mission: to vegetate for a week.  You see, we cannot vegetate in our own home; to do that will simply mean an unproductive use of time.  But vegetating in the homes of family members means we are strengthening family bonds at the same time - not unproductive at all, see?  Plus, we get served and we can mess up the place and not be responsible to clean up after that...hehehehehehehahahahahahahahohohohohoho (see what too much work does to you?)

However, Yiyi & Yi Cheong, familiar with our usual style of productive travel, planned an action-packed week for us.  Or perhaps it was just revenge time, since I planned ruthless "holidays" for them each time they visited us.  I simply waved them off and sunk deeper and further into their sofa while they stared at me wide-eyed and heavy-jawed. 

Regardless, we ended up spending a long weekend in a working farm in the town of Harvey, an hour and a half's drive from Perth.  I did not want to risk tipping the equilibrium of a heavily pregnant mother-of-one-who-is-actually-two-and-a-half-toddlers-rolled-into-one.

It was the start of winter so the air was fresh, cool and crisp.  It was in huge contrast to what would greet us upon our return to Singapore: the worst haze in 20 years where you can see and definitely feel the smoke in the air you breathe

View from our apartment set in one corner of the farm

Horses abound

In a pensive moment connecting with the horse

They spent most of their time at the small playground just in front of the apartment

Peacocks and peahens roam freely in the grounds around the apartment

The farm has a small collection of animals which the visitors can feed each morning.  

In the rabbit pen, feeding breakfast to the rabbits

Yup, very big rabbits

"Just leave everything here, step immediately away out of the pen, and we won't hurt you"

Feeding the chickens and ducks

Ju warmed up to them on the second day, and allowed them to peck the grains out of his hands.  On the other end of the spectrum, T3 heavily traumatized the chickens and ducks by mercilessly bombing the surrounding 1 km radius with grains. 

Feeding the horses require strength, believe it or not.  Hold on tight, or they will snatch the whole stick and swallow it whole.

The kids were also allowed to collect any eggs laid by the hens. 

Fresh eggs for breakfast!

He was very protective of them afterwards, and would not let them out of his sight.

The cousins waiting for sheep to appear for feeding time

Just having fun

Impossible to take a good picture of the three, but I really like this one for its variety of expressions

Ju was determined to see the cows which were somewhat elusive in this farm.

Self service! Mandarin oranges were left outside at the front gate of the orchards, and visitors would simply leave the money and grab a bag

More animal-feeding - at Caversham Park this time.  By the way, this is the wrong way to feed a kangaroo.  You should just leave the food pellets in the palm of your hands (see below).  If you offer them using your fingers, you might end up offering your fingers as food, too.

You can see the baby joey sticking out of this one

Lots of lazy kangaroos - Ju was overly excited and made sure they were all fed

The one and only group picture from the trip (still missing Yi Cheong, actually).

A bientot, et bon courage to Yiyi with the delivery!