Out 'n aboot in Sydney

On our second day in Sydney, we set out to divide and conquer Sydney. We woke up and ate a lovely brekkie (that's what they call breakfast here), and then headed out to Hyde Park, located right across from our hotel. We saw the ANZAC (Austrailian and New Zealand Army Corps) memorial, the fountain, and just enjoyed the warm weather. We then went to St. Mary's Cathedral, during mass, while they were singing Christmas carols. It was like a movie.

Right across the street from the cathedral is the Hyde Park Barracks, built in 1817 to house male convicts.

We then went past the strangely beautiful Sydney Hospital (rubbed the boar for good luck), and onto the State Library of New South Wales. It was a gorgeous old building with a great large Reading Room.

Then we headed to the Royal Botanical Gardens. The highlights were the rose garden, herb garden, and beautiful views of the harbor. We also saw a cute opossum (they actually don't look like overgrown white rats here so much!) and an owl in the gardens.

As we were heading out, we passed by the Governor's House, which has free tours, so of course we took one! It lasted about an hour, and our guide was very good and taught us a lot about the history and culture of Australia. The house is still used very regularly for government functions, and there was a real Christmas tree in the foyer! It was the first real Christmas tree I've seen (or smelled) this year!

We then cut over to the Rocks and had a yummy meal at the Fine Food Store. The Rocks Market was our next stop. We bought a few gifts and tasted as many free samples of fudge, jams, and nougat as we could.

Lamb sausage with grilled onions, spicy jam, and cheese 

Then, it was on to Manly! Once off the ferry, we walked to Manly beach. On the way, there were some street performers-one playing the didgeridoo, and the other was a middle school boy practicing his trumpet on the street. I found this funny. I think he was thinking, "I have to practice, might as well try to make some money while I do it." We then walked through the Manly Market, where I bought myself a necklace.

We then went on the 10 km Manly Cove to Spit Bridge Scenic Walk, which led us up and down along the coast, trhough some jungle, on some hidden cove beaches, complete with beautiful views and lots of large lizards. It was an amazing walk with some awesome views. 

We finished around sunset and took a bus back to the wharf, and then a ferry back to Circular Quay, seeing the city lights along the way.

We had a late dinner at a Thai Restaurant and then headed home.

From Singapore to Sydney!

Where to begin...how about the part where a baby sitting next to me through up. On our flight from Singapore to Sydney that left at 2 am, we were given great seat with extra legroom. About an hour into the seven hour flight, the baby through up, none actually touching my skin, but getting all over the floor, seat, my purse, and a little on my blanket. Gross! You'd think cleaning it up and helping the poor woman and baby would become the flight attendants' top priority, but nooooo, "we'll be back in a little while." They continued serving drinks from the cart and scooting right on by. I was none too happy, and insisted they let us move seats. About a half hour later, they let us move, unfortunately right next to the bathroom with super bright lights.

Anyways, the next 5 hours were spent in and out of sleep and delirium. At one point, we were woken up and told we had to go back to our old seats to which I just responded practically in my sleep, "no way."

Ahhhh, Sydney! So. incredibly. amazing. We got checked into our hotel and out on the town around 2 pm. We caught a bus to Paddington Markets, which was so classy! There was jewelry, fashionable clothing, art, food, and more creative stuff. We grabbed some lunch, which was cooked on the barbie, and then took a bus to Circular Quay, where we caught our first glimpse of the one and only Sydney Opera House.

We then walked around the Rocks and through the market there, but since it was almost 5 they were closing. We then got a burger at G'day Cafe and ate down by the water looking at the ferries and opera house. The opera house wasn't as white as I imagined, but fabulous none the less. We then walked down George Street to Darling Harbour. Everyone was soooo dressed up, except us. Also, it has been so long since I've seen many drunk people (a beer in Singapore costs far too much) that it was weird to see everyone drinking at restaurants (most are BYO) and even the occasional drunk group. They're so friendly here though and drunk people seem to love to talk to us. Most people were either eating at the fancy restaurants around the harbor, or getting ready to go on one of the numerous night cruises that were leaving from Darling Harbour.

At sunset we caught a ferry from Darling Harbour to Circular Quay, which goes right under the Sydney Harbour Bridge. And right as the last bit of sunlight was lighting up the buildings, a full rainbow appeared (I wanted to make a video, but sadly it wasn't a full double rainbow). We then took the train back close to our hotel and ate dinner at Nando's, a chicken place we'd heard about from Lionel. It lived up to the hype. Because it's after midnight here, I think I'll stop there. Just know that so far we've survived 4 of our 6 days and at least 20 miles of hiking. More on those adventures in the 'bush' to come!

Our Last Weekend In Singapore!

We just finished our last weekend here in Singapore. It is a somewhat lugubrious -Jane Eyre taught me that one- feeling because I don't know if or when I will ever come back here. Late Friday night/early Saturday morning we head to Sydney, Australia which we're very excited about!

So what did we do with our last weekend here? We ate good food, gambled good money, and even sprinkled in some hiking. Friday night a group of us went to Bugis (my favorite place for any type of food in Singapore) to have some Muslim food at Singapore Zam Zam. We tried an assortment of food and drinks, including Milo Dinosaur (modeled by Sean) and bandung, which is watered down Pepto-Bismol (I know! I can't believe anyone would drink that!)*

Milo Dinosaur which is basically yoo-hoo with chocolate powder on top

Si Won with bandung

 My favorite of the food we got was the mee goreng (spicy fried noodles) and the chicken murtabak (a prata filled with egg, onion, chicken, and a spicy curry-like sauce). We then went to a good bubble tea place where I got a milktea with pearls, and Barrett got a green tea macchiato with pearls (he's taken ladies). We then walked to Marina Bay Sands to gamble some. Getting into the casino is harder than getting into the country. They charge Singaporeans $100 to get into the casino, but it is free for foreigners with a passport. They check your passport three different times to get in. No photos are allowed inside or outside the casino. I was very disappointed to learn that the only free drinks offered are water, hot milo, black tea, chinese tea, coffee, and soft drinks. But that didn't keep Barrett from gambling at the craps table. He essentially lost the earnings we made from our four days in Vegas last summer ($65 big ones) in about 20 minutes at a craps table. But it was fun and I supported his gambling habit like any good wife should.

mee goreng

We then saw the light show on the bay which is really cool. They project a movie about life onto fountains and occasionally shoot out bubbles and fire.

an eye being projected on water during the light show

marina bay sands at night

On Saturday, we got some Ya Kun Kaya Toast for breakfast and watched some P-Recs (Parks and Recreation  for those of you not hip) while Barrett worked.

soft boiled eggs with a touch of soy sauce and lots of white pepper

kaya toast 

Then we headed to the Maxwell Food Center in Chinatown for some of Singapore's most famous chicken rice. We waited about 15 minutes at the hawker stall to have Tian Tian's chicken rice, the same one featured in Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations. It was perhaps just one notch above the chicken rice place William took us to in the China Town Food Center. However, the Maxwell hawker center had very nice ambiance (if a hawker center can have such a thing) because it just reopened a week ago after being closed for refurbishments.

chicken rice with hot sauce and soy syrup, and sugar cane to drink

On the way home, we stopped to get some pastries from my favorite hole in the wall bakery where the guy doesn't speak any English (that's how I know it's good).

Barrett then worked some more and I made some potato soup for dinner.

Sunday, we went to church at the Every Nation Church in Singapore, a relative of our Boston Aletheia Church (shout out to my Boston friends!). It is such a contrast to what I expected from a church in Singapore. Singaporeans are known for having no emotions, yet almost every person in the church was bursting with emotion and they even cheered after one song. Oh, and the church is held in a massive movie theatre inside a mall. Talk about unique! The seats are those huge comfy ones in case you're wondering.

After church and some nasi lemak, and caught a bus to MacRitchie Reservoir where we hiked for about three and a half hours. We saw probably 20 monkeys and even a "flying" snake, though they don't actually fly. We went on a tree top walk which is a suspension bridge way up high that swings a bit when you walk on it. We also went up a look out tower and looked out.

flying snake

monkeys

Barrett on the tree top walk suspension bridge 

views from the top of look out tower

To polish off our last weekend in Singapore, we had a group dinner at the Hyatt. It was an amazing buffet, but the Indian food, fruit, and the desserts were my favorites.

fruit plate going clockwise: starfruit, passion fruit, longan, dragonfruit, rose apple, watermelon, pineapple, and rambutan. not pictured: mangosteen

the inside of rambutan

the group at dinner

* Okay, it's not really Pepto-Bismol, but I can't drink it without thinking about Pepto, and now you won't either. It is really a rose flavored milk.

36 hours in Kuala Lumpur

This past weekend, Si Won, Barrett, and I went for a whirlwind trip to Kuala Lumpur (aka KL). We left early Saturday morning, and got checked into our hotel around 10:30 am. We stayed at the Trader's Hotel, in the area know as the Golden Triangle. KL has some of the cheapest 5 Star hotels in the world (score!) and we chose Traders because it has a rooftop pool which has views of the Petronas Towers. 

View from the pool area

After checking in, we went out for some lunch at Madame Kwan's and had some of the famous nasi lemak (basically coconut rice with chicken and some sides). It was delicious!!

Then we gazed at the Petronas Towers for a bit.

After that, we headed to Batu Caves, basically a Hindu shrine built in limestone caves outside of KL. It was one of the most unique places I've ever seen. It has the world's largest Murugan statue, and over 200 steps up to the caves which have various Hindu shrines throughout. There were also lots of monkeys running around and they are not shy. One even tried to steel Si Won's yellow umbrella, thinking it was a banana perhaps? 

We then headed to Petaling Street in China Town. It's filled with tons of fake purses, sunglasses, and jewelry, as well a food! After that, it was mega mall time. We went to Berjaya Times Square, the seventh largest building in he world. It was massive! We then went through an all electronics mall filled with nerds, cameras, cell phones, computers, games, etc.

 At dusk, we headed back to our hotel to swim and watch the sunset over the Petronas Towers. The towers are definitely one of the most striking buildings I've ever seen, and even more magnificent at night. 

We then went shopping at the Pavilion mall, monorailed to Chow Kit, and eventually to a Kampung Bahru night market. We had some authentic nasi lemak served on a banana leaf and some grilled corn on the cob with coconut butter. Yum! The night ended with us discovering our hotel pool and bar area is actually a super hip night club. Party on!

The next morning we had a breakfast buffet that almost rivaled our Thanksgiving buffet and had typical breakfast food from all over the world, plus sushi! We then went to the Merdeka Square, complete with a 95 meter flagpole, apparently the tallest in the world. 

We then went to the central market, which was my favorite markets in KL because it wasn't just touristy stuff. It had several antiques shops, textiles, and was air conditioned!!

Then the monsoon hit and it rained and rained for a solid couple of hours. We got soaked, but made our way  to the Petronas towers for our 6:00 pm slot to go to the sky-walk 558 feet above ground, and the top (the 86th floor). It was really cool and the bathroom at the top might have the best view of any bathroom I've ever been in. Yes, pictures were taken in the bathroom, and thinking back, I wish I would have taken selfies with a sassy face, because that is somehow a trend right now.

awesome view in the bathroom

When we were getting into our cab at the Singapore airport to come back home, we saw a film crew following two girls in cheerleading type uniforms jump into a cab next to ours, perhaps the Amazing Race? I don't know, because I've never watched the show, but it was very random.

On another unrelated note, Barrett and I were talking and realized we have been to more malls in Singapore-around 22 malls by our count-than in the United States. That's because everything is in malls-restaurants, the MRT stations, grocery stores, and of course retail stores. I can't believe we only have two more weeks in Singapore. It is flying by!

Durian: The King of Fruits

I have officially become more Singaporean. Tonight a couple of us had dinner with a local at the China Town hawker center, and then had durian, the weirdest fruit in the world.

durian stand

Chicken and rice (I add hot sauce and sweet soy sauce to mine)

First, the hawker food. We had some chicken and rice from the most popular stall, which was well worth the wait, chicken and pork satay, and drum roll please...fish head. Ok, so Barrett actually ate the weird cheek and face tissue, and I just ate normal fish meat, but it was still fun.

this is the fish, the face features are covered with the sauce

Now, on to the durian. Much mystery surrounds this king of the fruits. Here are a couple of myths I've heard:
1. If you drink beer after eating lots of durian it can kill you.
2. You must eat mangosteen (the queen of fruits) when you eat durian because one heats and the other cools.

William and I holding our mountain cat durian

The smell is pungent. The outside is super prickly. It's cracked open with a knife and eaten at tables
set up on the street near the stand (probably because it's not allowed to be taken on any public transportation due to the smell). Inside the shell are the mega seeds surrounded by a squishier-than-avocado-consistency fruit. The taste is like none other. I swear it tastes slightly like gas from a stove, but the creamy fruit is slightly sweet and heavy. I was not the hugest fan, and I guess I'm slightly allergic since it made my mouth and throat itchy. The three fingers that touched the fruit seem to be stained with the smell. Not only does the smell stay with me, but the taste keeps creeping back too. William, a true Singaporean and lover of durian, told us to make sure we drink lots of water because it can give you a sore throat, which it has. Could this fruit be any weirder? I think not.

the yellow stuff is the fruit

Me Lika Melaka

This past weekend Barrett and I went to Melaka, Malaysia with a couple other practice school friends, Nop and Si Won. Getting there was an adventure of its own. We had read the bus trip takes anywhere from three to five hours, depending on traffic. Our trip took 5 and a half hours. It took a full two hours just to get out of Singapore. At the border, the bus stopped and everyone got off to depart Singapore. It included hundreds of people intensly speed walking and running to get into lines to have our passports stamped, followed by more speed walking to get back onto buses. Everyone seemed to know where to go and in a major rush, evidently because most people were going to Johor, a city right past the border in Malaysia. Most buses were going there and therefore people could get on any of them. We had no idea where to find our bus and walked all over and determined it would have to come by at some point. Once back onto our bus, it stopped again about 10 minutes later. Here we went through customs to enter Malaysia. It was the same craziness, though we knew what to expect this time. After going through customs and getting a gorgeous stamp in my passport (seriously the best stamp I have in there), we went to get back on our bus and saw our bags sitting outside the bus. Evidently we were supposed to get them and walk them through customs. Woops! The driver in very broken English said he slipped it through for us, but that we wouldn’t be able to slip anything into Singapore on our way back.
After another half hour on the bus, it stopped at a mega stop, filled with buses, cars, food stalls and stores galore. The driver got off, but no one else seemed to get up, so we stay seated as well. The bus driver then said something in some foreign language and people started to get off the bus, only to get on the bus next to ours. We then completed our journey to Melaka, with only a few random stops for a couple people to get off the bus on the side of the highway (which seemed somewhat odd).

The Melaka River from our guest house

Once at the Melaka bus terminal, we needed to get some money to take a cab. We found a 7Eleven (there are seriously on every other block in Singapore and Malaysia), though the ATM said it was not working. When we asked the cashier she said all of the ATMs in the area are going through updates until 1 am. We eventually found a cab driver who accepted Singapore dollars so we were on our way to the River One Guest House. It’s quite nice for the price ($24 USD a night).
The next morning we headed out for some chicken and rice balls for breakfast. They don’t seem to think eating rice and chicken or noodle dishes for breakfast is weird here. The ping pong sized rice balls were delicious!

After our meal that cost $14 USD for four people including juices and coffees, we went to some of the main sights. Melaka is a very historic port city with heavy Dutch and Portuguese influences. In the Dutch area, we went into some churches, shopped at some markets, saw some ruins, walked through a cemetery, and ended at the Sultanate Palace and botanic gardens. It started to pour as soon as we got inside. We waited for the rain to die down for a good 40 minutes, and then decided to go to a nearby shopping mall. We found some candy stores that had samples of everything which was really fun. They had some interesting dried fruits as well. We then found the Nadeje Patisserie, which is a swanky dessert place famous for its mille crepes. We tried the green tea, tiramisu, original, and chocolate strawberry. The original and tiramisu were the best. We then went to the Babas and Noynya Museum which was a guided tour of a rich Peranakan family’s home. It was a very interesting tour and very informative about the culture, traditions, and typical Peranakan home layouts.

In the Dutch Heritage center

Mille Crepes at Nadeje

After some more shopping on Jonker street, we headed for dinner #1 at Pak Putra Tandoori and Nan Restaurant. Everything from the mango lasi to chicken tandoori was delicious and so so cheap! After some more shopping and wandering I went home because my stomach had been feeling sick for most of the day, while Barrett, Si Won, and Nop went to Capitol Satay Celup. It was a fun place where you pick different types of meat, fish balls, and veggies, and cook them in a pot of spices boiling in the middle of the table. They tried all sorts of things and decided the fish balls and chicken were the best. I wish I had just made myself go, because I never ended up throwing up and still had the stomach ache the following day. After dinner #2, we went to Jonker street night market and tried some candy fruit skewers, onde onde, kueh dadar, pineapple cookies, cendol, and milk tea with pearls. Each food was so unique and different from anything I’ve ever tasted in the United States.

fruit kebabs

The next morning we had some chicken and rice balls at a different place that was good, but not quite as good as the place the day before. We then walked along the river to the port. We then went to Sam’s Patisserie which was amazing! We shared a few macaroons, a slice of strawberry soufflé cake, and a slice of chocolate banana cake. The strawberry soufflé cake was the winner. We then headed to a pirate ship/ museum, though little India, to a Chinese Temple, and then to a traditional Nonya food lunch place (Nancy’s Kitchen). We tried a variety of dishes, but the minced pork was the stand out. We then headed back to our guesthouse, got our bags and took a taxi to the bus station. Thus concluded our 37 hours of eating our way through Melaka. Me likah Me laka!!

Strawberry Souffle Cake

One of the many temples

READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

I debated the best way to go about this. After seeing your posts about Thailand and Singapore I was very jealous. At first I didnt know how to handle it. But then I thought about when Lauren and I were on our honeymoon. Eight days on the beach in the beautiful Dominican Republic. Everything about it was perfect.
I don't know if I told you this story ever but I think now is a good time. Lauren and I went on a walk up the beach and left our resort. We ended up at a large open air flea market and the store owners were like vultures. They were giving us things and trying to get us to buy stuff. It was crazy. All of the money there was american dollars. Some of them were so dirty and black that you couldn't see anything other than the numbers. ... anyway... as we wandered through the flea market we ended up in this little convenience store. (My memory is starting to fade about this experience so the details are a little fuzzy)

But I remember like it happened yesterday... I looked up on a top shelf and amidst all the weird foods was a bag of "cheese puffs" and a "king size snickers bar" Lauren and I were so hungry for regular food that when we saw commercials our mouths drooled... and so we bought and rationed both of the snacks like we were on an extended everest expedition. I thought about those commercials... and I thought about how jealous I was seeing your thailand pictures. Then I thought it over again.....

....

... and then I went to get lunch at chick-fil-a. I tried to get the no pickles sticker in the pic as well.

Torture aside, we want to skype with you guys soon. Crusoe has a couple things to show you. And I looked up singapore online... looks like it is the gastro-tourist capital of the world. It has more types of food offerings than NYC. A lot of the weird stuff is supposed to be really good. And trill maybe you can start eating some of the fish and pork. Both of those are completely amazing i'm sure. 

hope all is well tty soon!