My Sister's Swimming Nightmare

My sister Kay used to compete in Triathlons. Her first was in Chicago, and I remember her not being especially keen about the swim in Lake Michigan. You see, ever since she was a little girl she didn't like swimming where there were fish in the water. She hated the idea that the fish would swim up to her and nibble on her toes.

Wait until she visits us in Singapore!

Reflexology is a treatment style in which pressure is applied to the feet (and sometimes the hand) with specific thumb, finger and hand techniques. As shown to the left, the feet are divided into zones which relate to specific body parts. The premise is that applying the correct form of pressure to the appropriate area of the feet will create a positive physical change to corresponding part of the body. It is widely available here; there are several local chains that specialize in this, e.g. Kenkos.

Although some might consider this to be an unconventional form of treatment, there are in fact sliding scales as to the degree of unconventionality.

Along with our first visitor, Tony Tello, we made the trip to Sentosa on Sunday. Along the way, near the Underwater World aquarium, we found a sign advertising a truly unique form of reflexology. It promised improved results because the first step in the treatment was to remove the dead skin from your feet. (I suppose this is supposed to provide improved access to the appropriate zones on the soles of your feet.)

Raye and Tony both opted to give it a try. As shown below, Tony obviously enjoyed the experience. It turns out that these are special Doctor Fish. After the special cleaning, a regular session of light reflexology is provided (by humans). Raye reported it was a very nice foot massage, which was terrific after walking around Sentosa for most of the day. She'd experienced the Kenko version of the treatment in January and clearly explained that this was the "lite" version. The real deal is far more rigorous!

Now, if I can just get Kay to give it a try -- her own personal Fear Factor. (I'm betting she opts for Spa Botanica.) Click here for more specifics about the program.

Virtual Singapore Tour

If you interested in lots of photos around Singapore, here's a great website: Virtual Singapore Tour. If you click the link "Restaurant With A View" you'll read about where I'm taking Raye to dinner on Saturday night as her "welcome home to Singapore" dinner.

Singapore's Beach

Singapore has a lot to offer. I learn more about what this means every day.

On Saturday, I learned that one of the things it does not have to offer is a scenic beach. Well, that is, unless you're Ayn Rand and/or you happen to like the view of cargo ships and refineries in the background.

The beach I visited is located on Sentosa. It's the island just south of the main island and it's role in the life of Singapore is to be the local resort. It's actually quite pretty with lots of lush vegetation, walking & cycling paths, a couple of golf courses, restaurants and multiple family entertainment venues. One of these is a tropical luge run.

There was also background music in various places. I noticed the distinct sound of steel drums which made me ponder how a Caribbean-based music style had apparently become a universal emblem of beaches.

Assuming you didn't jump ship and swim, there are 3 ways to get to Sentosa. You can drive over the bridge, take a "swiss sky ride" aerial ride, or ride the monorail. I opted for the last one. The S$3 fare includes the option to ride the buses that run around the island.

Signage is in English and as illustrated to the left - Chinese. The pictures convey the advisories. The one at the bottom is hard to see, but that's a picture of a jellyfish. Now there's something that could ruin your whole day.

There were lots of activities going on early Saturday morning. There was a beach volleyball tournament that was in full swing. I also noticed with considerable interest a high trapeze set-up that was not yet open. The sign explained that it was available for children's birthday parties. Yes, there was a net and some spotting harnesses like you see at a place that trains gymnasts. By the way, a companion sign noted that Jules Leotard was the inventor of the trapeze. For real.

There was also a corporate team building activity featuring competitive sand castle building. In the photo at the bottom, you'll also notice the man-made islands that are intended to help improve the scenery for the many non-objectivist visitors.

Did I mention that many of the locals head to Thailand or Malaysia for their beach holidays?

Ten Dollars - Ten Minutes

Like many things here, you can spend a lot for something or you can spend very little.  Take a haircut for example.  I asked around and learned that S$40-60 is what you'd pay in a salon.  Then I found a couple of places like this in a couple of shopping malls.  They are the local equivalent of Supercuts, I suppose.

"Our Japanese trained barbers will cut your hair professionally in about 10 minutes for 10 dollars."  I decided to risk it and see how it worked out.  First you buy your ticket from a machine, then you queue up (if there is a wait), and you get called to the cutting station.  You take a seat and they ask how you want your hair cut.  

Then the flurry of motion begins.  I'm accustomed to clippers being used with a guard and a slow steady motion.  Not here!  Sometimes using a guard, often with just a comb, the clippers are moved like a painter dabbing a brush.  (That is, if the painter is on speed.)  Then the clipper gets put away, and a similar process with scissors begins.  It wraps up with a full scalp vacuum and brushing off to remove the cut hair.

How did it turn out?  Perfectly acceptable, and perhaps a bit shorter than I intended.  I'll do this again, although next time I might try the salon for comparison's sake.

Small Lessons & Observations

Being in Singapore and being immersed in a multi-ethnic community provides many opportunities for learning, both about the environment and about myself.  Here are some of the small stuff.

1. The first place people in restaurants assume I'm from is the UK.  This means they really double check when I order something spicy.
2. The female clerk running the home delivery counter at Ikea was wearing blue jeans and a traditional muslim head scarf.  At first, seeing these really caught my attention -- it's now just part of the background scenery.
3. When I was running last weekend, I turned a corner and saw a beautiful golden retriever being taken for a walk.  Living in West Plano made me expect to see a caucasian expat woman walking the dog.  Instead, it was an elderly Chinese man.  Of course - what was I thinking?
4. There is a Philippine subculture.  Most of the live-in maids are Filipino.  On Sundays, the maid's day off, you find them congregating on the stairs of the OrchMRT station.  At the Lucky Shopping Plaza there are many store featuring Filipino foods and goods, along with banking services to wire the money back home.
5. Cell phones work practically everywhere, even when you're riding the subway.
6. You can tell which stalls at a Hawker Centre are good because they have queues.  Remember to mark your spot with a newspaper or book (nothing valuable) so you have somewhere to sit when you eventually get your food.
7. When you buy a movie ticket, it is a reserved seat.  You can book these on line and pick your seat in advance, or you can show up at the theater and they'll assign you the best available.  Popcorn and a soda costs S$6.90; a movie costs S$10.00 (US$7.36).
8. Gasoline costs S$2.10 per litre.  That's US$1.55 per litre or US$5.85/gallon.  They measure fuel economy as litres per 100 km.  Lower is better.  A Honda Civic hybrid is advertised as using 4.6 litres/100 km; that's 51 MPG.
9. There are two colors of license plates.  Black ones can use the roads 24/7.  The red ones can only use the roads between 7PM and 7AM, weekends, and public holidays.  The red ones are cheaper.
10. High traffic areas become toll roads during heavy usage times to help cut down on traffic congestion.  These are not highways; they are city streets.  Each car comes equipped with a "toll tag" that deducts value from a cash card that you buy and refill at a gas station (or at specific types of ATMs).  There's a big fine if you run out of value on your card.

Next weekend I begin moving into our rental condo.  The air shipment arrived this week and is ready to go through customs.  The sea shipment gets packed this week and will take about 4-6 weeks to get here.

Spoilt For Choice

This phrase is used here to describe the wide range of food options available throughout Singapore.  (It's also used to describe shopping venues.)  There are so many options, it can get confusing.

Take a typical "Hawker Centre" (as shown in the photo  below).  The US equivalent would be a "food court" and in some cases you'll also find this phrase used here.  It's a bunch of different vendors, each with a different type of cuisine with a seating area in the middle and around the sides.  Want some Malay?  How about Indian?  Indonesian?  Japanese?  Korean?  Of course that's just the first decision; you still have to decide what you want from their many choices.

You'll find these everywhere.  Some are free standing locations with outdoor covered seating.  A few are located in the basement or on a several levels of a shopping mall.  Some are specifically halal and observe Muslim dietary laws (so no outside food may be brought in and you won't find pork on the menu).

Meals range from $3 to $9 depending on what you order and the location of the HC.  You can order up ice water (tap is safe to drink here) or enjoy fresh or canned fruit juices.  Our favorites are sweet coconut water or the lime juice.

Finding a place to sit at lunch or dinner is as challenging as deciding what to eat.  The trick is to find an open spot and mark it as taken with something that isn't particularly valuable like a newspaper or a book.  Then (and only then) should you go wait in line ("queue") to get your food.  If you're eating with a group, one person stakes out the places for everyone.  If you don't do this first, you'll get your food only to wander around with your tray aimlessly looking for a place to sit.  You'll see lot of apparently open places -- only to learn (with a bit of frustration) that that one person is holding places for 8 others.  (If this sounds like first-hand experience, that's because it is...)

One of the fun local breakfasts here is kaya toast.  Kaya is a jam that's made from coconut, egg, and sugar or honey.  The toast starts thick like "Texas Toast", then grilled.  It is sliced sideways, making two halves with toasted and un-toasted sides.  Butter is put in the middle along with the kaya, and the toast is re-assembled.  There are several chains that specialized in this.  At these restaurants, coffee ("kopi") is brewed using something that looks like a sock to hold the grounds.  It is typically served with sweetened condensed milk.  You can order it other ways if you know the code.  Kopi-o is black; kopi-c is made with evaporated milk (not sweetened).

Lots of great food and food options here!

Number One Option

Raye has picked her top choice for an apartment.

The realtor is working out the arrangements and we are hopeful of finalizing things on Tuesday or Wednesday. The complex is called Richmond Park (oddly similar to Richmond Heights, the suburb where Raye grew up in Cleveland). It's located very close to Orchard Road, and as illustrated in the photos has some terrific views. It's an older building - relatively speaking - built in 1996.

The apartment is on the 22nd floor. We'd found one on the 24th floor which was slightly larger with a bit better view, but that owner opted to rent to a friend and took it off the market.

As apartments go here, this one is quite spacious - a benefit of being in an "older" building. We will have plenty of space for visitors.

We are keeping our fingers crossed that everything concludes successfully so we have an address to give to the movers when Raye returns to Dallas on Wednesday.