Ron L 1933 - 2010

My  stepdad  Ron passed away in the early afternoon of Saturday Feb 20 in Boise, Idaho.  The final decline was sudden and swift.  Last Saturday he enjoyed a special Valentine's day lunch with my Mom, Nathan, and Nathan's girlfriend Kristen.  He was also visited and blessed by the resident priest .  The following day he was visited by some close friends of ours and he told them about this wonderful lunch, and his recent religious experience!  I had a Skype call with him from his room on (his) Tuesday evening.  His eyes were wide open and I could tell he knew I was there.  But by Wednesday everything had changed.  It is a blessing that this last phase of the illness was so short because he was no longer capable of communicating.  On his last day he was cared for by the nursing home staff that knew him best.   His grandson Nathan was with him at the end.  My Mom had stepped away at the suggestion of the nurses, as they felt like he was holding on just for her.

- Elaine

Durian-- National fruit of Singapore

This past weekend, I bravely stepped up and took my first taste of durian.  Durian, for those who don't know, is a large fruit about the size of a volleyball, with spikey tentacles coming out of it.  It looks like the business end of a medieval mace.  As one bakery shop clerk informed me, when I enquired about a particular dessert cake, "You may not want this one-- most Westerners do not care for the taste of durian".  That is a true story.

Durian  (Image from wikipedia)

Once the durian is cut open, there are pods of the edible portion of the fruit, which each in turn surround a large seed.  The husk of the fruit has a white pithy substance that surrounds the fruit, similar to a pomegranate. In the grocery markets, durian is often in its raw form, either as a whole fruit, or more commonly, packaged with the seed/fruit separated from the fruit husk.  Seeing the processed fruit in our local "hypermarket"  (supermarket) I thought these packages were some type of bread dough (the meat of the fruit is a pale yellow color and has a visual texture similar to raw dough), but perplexed as to why they were located in the fruit and vegetable section of the market.  Durian is prevalent in many food items sold around town, including cakes and ice cream.  It is used in a number of local dishes.

You know when it is about.  It has a strong and permeating odor, and drives a strong urge to vacate the premises.  It takes some stamina to do the grocery shopping, and to walk past the ice cream shop with durian ice cream.  Durian is an acquired taste-- and smell.

Durian grows on trees, and is native to Brunei, Malaysia, and Indonesia.  There are a number of varieties, and it is cultivated for harvest.  If apples are are symbolically American, then durian is the national fruit of Singapore.  The Esplanade, a theater-arts building in downtown Singapore is patterned after the fruit.

The Esplanade  (image from Wikipedia)

My first experience with eating durian occurred last weekend.  We attended a house warming party at some new friends apartment, who have moved here from all places, Marin County in the SF Bay Area ("it's a small world").  She is native to Bali, and he is American, although has spent a lot of time in Asia (he speaks fluent Mandarin).  Durian was served, and I cautiously took a small sample.  My bravery was fortified by some of the beverages they also had served.  After tasting it, I find the smell and its texture to be the most displeasing aspects of it-- I cannot really describe the smell, however the texture is something like a stringy persimmon.  It's a bit slimey.  After I ate some of the durian, one of the guests related (old wive's tale, I think) that mixing durian and alcoholic beverages is a bad thing to do.  No further elaboration.  I had not heard this previously, but she was quite serious about it.  Our host indicated he did not care for it-- not because of its taste or smell, but because it upset his stomach terribly.  I suffered no apparent ill effects (I had a very small piece) from the experience, and perhaps have dispelled the notion of not mixing it with alcohol--  I'm not sure how you would chose to eat it any other way.

It's an acquired taste.

Furnishing the Apartment

We have an interesting "problem".  As part of our expatriation package, Elaine's employer has provided a sizeable budget for purchasing furniture to outfit our living quarters during our stay here.  (I won't say how sizeable).  Our problem is that there is some urgency by the relocation company and Elaine's employer to have this expenditure off their accounting books, so to speak.  Our four week absence in December/January has delayed our ability to go spend this money, and yet we would like to take advantage of this benefit.  What a problem!  So for the past two weekends we have slogged all over Singapore, visiting furniture stores and malls in an effort to get this done (in some cases multiple visits-  arghh!).  This requires some planning and navigating, as we are traveling by public transport and foot to do the shopping.

On our first furniture Saturday we purchased two items from two stores, and on Sunday three items from three stores.  Our second weekend we made purchases at two stores.  Sounds like a lot of furniture for a 1000 ft apartment, doesn' it?  Deliveries can only be made during weekdays, so the weekdays following the purchases were logisitics of cooridinating delivery times.  Because of Chinese New Years, some of our new furniture will not be available until March.
A disparate set of ideas on styles and function on decoration for Elaine and I has made the process "interesting" (we're still speaking), but in the end we have converged on agreement for purchases made thus far.  The amount of leg work required to do the shopping has helped expedite the decision and agreement process, I think.  Shopping with someone else's money is a bit of a high, but has some hang-over feel for me when the dollar amounts are considered.

Although there are many styles of furnishings available here, Modern seems to be most common.  Leather sofas and chairs are widely available.  Some shops have Italian modern styles from Italy.  There are also Italian modern styles from China.  Lots of glass, chrome, and high gloss lacquered surfaces.  On the more classic front there is a lot of teak and rattan furniture from Indonesia and Malaysia.  We also viewed some Asian antique reproductions from China that were quite spectacular.

IKEA has two stores here, and is an extremely popular place to shop.  Elaine has been told that the Singapore IKEAs are the largest revenue grossing stores of all IKEA stores worldwide.  We made the mistake of visiting IKEA on a weekend, when the place is packed.  On weekends, there is a large queue of people waiting for taxis at the door, and check-out queues are large as well.  I'm not overly keen on IKEA, but one of their modular wall units was considered, which would have worked well.   However, the components are out of stock at the moment.  We have something else on order from another store.
We've seen a lot of furniture and upholstery colors that are....   not our style.  If you are a die-hard BSU Bronco fan though, you would be in luck.  Here are a leather sofa, love seat, and couch that would go nicely together in the family room.  (Howard & Patti--  you should consider these...)

I would like to have more pictures to share.  However, most shops have signs indicating photography is prohibited.  It is common practice to have furniture or other items replicated by manufacturers in Malaysia, Indonesia, and China at significant cost savings, despite shipping charges.

If we had more time perhaps we could stretch our furniture shopping dollars farther by making a shopping trip to one of these locales.

Virtual Furniture Tour:

Here's a virtual tour of our apartment furniture, thus far-- more on the way:

Tan leather love seat.  Like the styling we chose?  (Nope--  a loaner from the landlord.  Also very uncomfortable.   It goes)

Brown leather arm chair  (another loaner-- it goes)

The dining room--  another loaner, but it stays.

A shoe cabinet (another landlord loaner piece).  A common practice here is to remove your shoes before entering the residence, a custom which we are following.  We have our cabinet near the front door, inside.   (OK, somebody didn't put their shoes away!).  At many apartments, including our neighbors you will see shoe racks outside in the hallway, keeping shoes completely out of the house.  Apparently shoe theft is not a big problem.  (Keep the Gucci's inside, though)  This piece stays.

Technology Central-- in the office/spare bedroom.  The desk and roller-drawer are loaners.  The shelf is our first furniture purchase in this campaign (yea!) neatly housing the computer, UPS, and the new HP All-In-One (AIO).  (Which replaces the printer I burned up in the 240 volt outlet.)

Teak chairs (2), another purchase.   Hopefully constructed from sustainable plantation teak.  We intend to redo the cushions in fabric which matches a couch we have on order.  After purchasing these and getting them delivered, we found another shop (actually in an industrial building basement, out in the sticks of Singapore) where we could have purchased these same chairs (or ones extremely similar-- perhaps of  lesser quality workmanship).  However for the same price we paid for our two chairs we would have also received a matching couch (two-seater) and a coffee table.  Such is the art of shopping.  (In fact we didn't care for the table and couch, and wouldn't have a place to put them).

UPDATE:  The back cushions have been replaced by these.  The penquin theme is a little reminder of Susan as she braves the Antarctic winter (soon, anyway) at McMurdo Station.  (Susan--  it continues!)

The brass floor lamp with silk shade

Have oven, will travel--  Many Singapore apartments, particularly older ones, do not have built-in ovens.  Although of relatively recent construction, ours is sans built-in oven.  The apartment came with the combination microwave/convection oven (on top-- and what a nice reflection!), but it is very small, by our standards-- it can only accomodate the smallest of the baking dishes and pans we own.  So one of the "furniture" purchases we have made is decent sized (51 liter) built-in convection oven.  Only this one isn't built in-- it is housed in a wooden cabinet, on wheels.  This is also something that is done quite frequently here.

The oven is Italian made, and is very simple, although it will take some getting used to.   There are hieroglyphics for the knob on the left, which describe its various operating modes.  (For help, refer to the Rosetta Stone oven manual that comes with it).  There is a mechanical timer knob (center) that must be used in all modes--  this oven, in its simplicity, will prevent you from forgetting to turn it off and waste electricity.  Finally, the temperature for the thermostat (right) is calibrated in Celsius not Farenheit, so don't get that confused.  (For example, 350F is about 175C.  On the other hand 350C is... really hot!)

Just One Word: Plastic [Update Feb 21]

Taking out the Trash  (Update [Feb 21])
Just what you wanted-- another discussion on Singapore trash.  However I felt some obligation after viewing a recent show on The Discovery Channel (How Do They Do It?).  The show contained a segment on Singapore's trash system, which is turns out is pretty amazing.  My ignorance was showing badly.  Here's a few points from the show:

• Singapore recycles something greater than 50% of its disposed trash.  Recyclable components are removed (I'm not sure how this is occurring).  The remaining trash is brought to a very high technology processing plant that runs 24-7-365.
• The trash for processing (not recycling) is placed in enormous bins at the processing plant, where it is dried.  It is turned by gigantic claws to aid this process.  (There are also automatic sprayers to put out fires that can occasionally erupt).  Once dried the trash is dropped into a furnace, in multi-ton scoops.  The furnace heats boilers for steam, which in turn powers turbines for electrical generation, supplying Singapore with a respectable contribution for its electrical power demand.
• The ash from the furnace is emptied-- 120 truckloads daily, every day, to a large barge.  The barge ferries the ash out to an island in the making called Palau Semakau-- a man-made creation, that will be filled by 2050.  Because it is ash, and not trash that must decompose, the island is green with vegetation, neat in appearance, and does not have trash blowing about as most landfills do.

Singapore can use the extra space.

If Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) had taken Mr. Robinson's (Murray Hamilton) career advice in The Graduate, he'd likely have gone far--  there seems to be a lot of it (plastic), and there certainly is a lot of it in Singapore, although perhaps no more than anywhere else.

Over packaging seems to be prevalent.  Take for example crackers.  A particular brand of wheat crackers that we have come to like has perhaps 60 crackers to a package.  These are assembled into cellophane packages of three crackers each, then set in a plastic tray, and then collectively bundled and sealed by another cellophane wrapping.  An advantage is that the crackers do not go stale or soggy in the cupboard once you've gotten into them.  However, setting out a tray of them for an evening snack requires a bit of time to unwrap and dispose of several of the individual packages.  Is this necessary?

Carry Bag?

As at home, shops here place each purchase in a "carry bag" for you.  Here, sometimes bags go within a bag.  For some purchases each individual item goes in its own bag, and then these are gathered into the carry bag.  I have made snack purchases, where the single item was inserted into two nesting plastic bags.  Paper bags are uncommon--  I've only seen two shops using paper (IKEA, and the National Museum of Singapore, with recycled paper-- yes!) all others have been plastic.   Some of the carry bags are very stout, made of heavy guage plastic sheeting, and with colorful store name and graphics.  I would guess they are costly.  Despite our efforts to decline the carry bags at the stores, we still have a steady stream of plastic bags coming into the apartment on a regular basis.  (You have to be prepared when approaching the point of sale register).

I am appreciative of sturdy carry bags when I leave the store, when transporting purchases on the public transportation for some distance.  Many of the paper bags used by retailers in the U.S. would fail in this application here, resulting in an embarassing and inconvenient spill.  A the shopper could easily be trampled as they attempted to retrieve the spilled goods if this occurred in a busy train station.  U.S. bags typically need only survive a trip from the store to the parking lot, and from the car trunk into the house.  I carry two cloth shopping bags, and minimize my dependence on plastic carry bags.

Binding twine (again, plastic) is available at most shops, and is used to lash around larger boxed items, fashioning a handle for their carry transport.  It is facinating to see a flat screen TV (smaller ones) on its way to a new home on the subway train.  (For larger items, most stores offer delivery service, often free).

Singapore has a strong petrochemical industry (it is in an oil-rich region-- e.g. Brunei is not far) and oil refinement is a very large industry here-- It makes sense that plastic is prevalent, and can be a locally produced product.

RECYCLING

Recycling is occurring here, but it is not clear how mainstream this is with the population.  It appears to be a practice that is encouraged by the Singapore government, but still in its early phases.  A few areas of downtown (Orchard Road) have waste receptacles on the street for accepting separated trash (plastic, glass, all other).  Our apartment complex has large bins in the basement parking garage for recycling, but it is voluntary--  everything else goes down the trash chute in each apartment.  Recycling is apparently not occurring at most apartment blocks.  Plastic is by far our largest quantity of trash that goes to the recycling bins.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: Getting about in Singapore

One of the things that I have come to appreciate in Singapore is the transportation system, and the ease of getting about.  Well, mostly.  As a product of suburban culture in the U.S. it is most natural for me to hop in the car, drive to my target destination, do my business and then drive home, without giving much thought to the process.  Owning and driving a car seems like a requirement for living in Boise, Idaho, but not so much in a large city such as Singapore.  We don't have one here-  we rely on public transportation.  There have been a few times when a car would have prevailed with convenience, but packing 6.5 M people onto a small island has compelled the Singaporean government to discourage them, and as a result they are very expensive here.  (That is not to say they are scarce, however)
With a little prior planning, a little more walking, and some patience,  I have found the transportation system to be great for getting around Singapore.  As we have not yet ventured off of the island, we will be renting a car to do so, and I will report on that exercise when the time comes.  (We have learned that the few rental agencies are closed on Sundays, making a weekend rental difficult)

BBRs  (Bad Bus Rides)

Elaine has taken  preference to using the bus system, which is extensive, and is also least expensive.   I'm more inclined to get about on the MRT (subway), having had at least three unpleasant experiences with the buses.  I apparently have terrible bus kharma.  The first was returning from the downtown area late on a Friday night--  we were packed like sardines (many people standing) into the bus for most of the journey.  As in most cities, downtown on a Friday night is a popular destination, and the transit systems are bulging with people during the peak hours.  We rode the bus for quite a while, and then failed to recognize and exit at our stop when it came along.  The result was an additional 20 minute tour of the neighborhood.  We were the last passengers off of the bus.

The second BBR was during Christmas season, when I arranged to meet Elaine downtown after work.  She left her office and took the bus, I left the apartment and took the MRT.  The prescribed time of travel was 15 or 20 minutes for each of us.  I arrived on time at our place of rendezvous, but Elaine's transit there took another hour, due to the heavy street traffic.

Our most recent BBR experience was this past weekend.  We decided to view an Egyptian exhibit at the National Museum, which is located downtown.  (I should note that "downtown" is no more than three miles from our house.)  We determined the necessary bus route-- one bus, 12 stops, no transfers, arriving at our local stop in about 12 minutes.  Estimated travel time-- about 25 minutes.  Perfect!  We successfully boarded the bus and began our journey.  Unfortunately, we failed to take a couple of considerations into account.  (1)  It was a Sunday, and the bus was crowded-- no seats for a while.  (2)  Most critical, the bus route went through China Town-- with the weekend starting the kick-off of the Chinese New Year's celebration.  This is a big holiday in Singapore, bigger than Christmas, and there were several events occurring in China Town.  Our bus trip took 1.5 hours, with 45 minutes alone required to travel two blocks.  This delay was created by one anarchic intersection where drivers blatently ignored the signal lights, causing a grid-lock.

So as you don't get the wrong impression, the bus system here is excellent--  Elaine uses it daily to get to and from work, with regular and predictable success.   She enjoys the views from the bus, rather than the darkness of the subway tunnels and stations.  I've had my best success using it with short transits.  We have both become wiser in recognizing the importance of the day and time of day when planning its use.

MRT Subway

I prefer riding the subway.  It is slightly more expensive than the bus, but the trains are frequent, and they have their own exclusive path of travel.  Also, they are not subject to drivers ignoring traffic signals to cause a grid-lock.  (At least I hope not).  There is an MRT station within a 10 to 15 minute walk from our apartment.  In many cases, a station is only a short walk from wherever you wish to go. The MRT also goes directly to the airport.  A subway trip to the airport from our apartment is less than S$2.00 each and takes a little over an hour, whereas a taxi ride can be as much as S$26 for a 30 minute journey.  However, if you want to take the train, you are constrained to travel light-- few bags.

Sometimes the MRT cars are sardine cans, just as the buses can be at peak hours, but they are always moving.  Because of its limited route and sometimes the need to transfer lines it can take considerable time to travel by MRT rather than by bus or taxi, but as we have learned, timing is everthing with the choice of transportation.

Shopping Shuttles

In addition to the regular bus system, many of the shopping malls and attractions (e.g. The Singapore Flyer) not in immediate proximity to an MRT station will have shuttle buses.  These run on regular if infrequent schedules, providing a free transport from to and from the MRT.  On weekends or during the Christmas shopping season these have been packed full.

Taxis

Taxis are numerous, and the drivers are polite.  We have run into only one or two drivers who could not speak English, but we managed successfully.  Prices are predictable and reasonable, but still an expensive mode of transporation.  There is a different base charge depending if you hail the cab, or schedule it by phone, and an additional surcharge during peak hours.

I am amused by some of the driving practices I have seen employed by a few taxi drivers, apparently in an effort to reduce fuel use.  This includes quickly shifting to the highest gear possible, "lugging"  the engine to its lowest possible RPMs without stalling (the engine making a pathetic sound), or shifting into neutral (with an automatic transmission) at each stop light or traffic slow down.

Tech Tools for Travel

There are a few tools available that make regular use of the public tranportation system easier:

• 
  
  EZ Link:  EZ Link is a magnetic debit card that can be purchased and used with the bus and MRT.  You simply scan the card at the gate entry of the MRT or at the door of the bus, and then scan it exiting the station or the door of the bus.  Works great!  When your funds on the card get low, a machine is available at the subway stations and other locales to "top up" your card with additional funds.
  
• 
  
  Go There:  This web site is a great tool for planning a journey.  Enter the starting location, and your desired destination, and the tool will calculate the best route, approximate travel time, and cost  by car, taxi, bus, or MRT.  Or combination bus/MRT.  Directions are provided, with number of bus stops, walking distance, and/or the required MRT station street exit to take.  (http://www.gothere.sg/)
  
• 
  
  IRIS:  Since the buses all have radio links, this web site allows you to estimate when the next bus on a route will arrive at a particular bus stop.  This helps you to plan minimal waiting time at the bus stop in the heat or rain.   (http://www.sbstransit.sg/)
  
  
  

Sentosa Island

Wednesday 4 December:   Mount Imbiah, Sentosa Island

While Elaine attended work, Anne, Wendell, and I made a visit to Sentosa Island.  This is a very curious place, and the monorail train that accesses the island is literally a 10 minute walk from our apartment.  You can also reach the island by car (a short bridge, with a toll) or by a gondola, although currently that is not operable-- it is under renovation and will reopen sometime this coming May.

The bridge connecting the main island to Sentosa Island.  Ten minutes from the apartment.

The island has had many uses-- it contained a pineapple plantation in the 1800s, and then became a military post for the British.  During the Japanese occupation it was used as a prison camp.  It was retained as a military post until 1967 when the Singapore government decommissioned it, and began development, primarily as a resort and recreation destination.  It is a very small island (fourth largest of the Singapore islands), and it is only a stone throw from the main island of Singapore, as you can see from the picture.

In the old Malay days the island went by a different name-- Pulau Blakang Mati , which literally translated, means "Island of Death From Behind".  It was sometimes called the "Island of the Death".  However, it was renamed in more recent times to Sentosa, meaning "Place of Peace and Tranquility", obviously an idea promoted by someone employed in the marketing department.  "Place of Peace and Tranquility" has a lot more cachet for a resort area than "Island of Death".

I didn't know what to expect, but upon arrival, it had a similar feel to arriving at Disneyland.  There is a lot of concrete, clean walkways, and the plant life is immaculately manicured.  There are many small shop and cafes to purchase refreshments, or souvenirs.  Furthermore, our access to the island was via the monorail train, so the parallels to Disneyland are evident.

The Sentosa Island monorail leaving Siloso Beach station, as viewed from Imbiah station  (they are not far apart).

There are several resorts (with two golf courses) on the island, and a very large resort/casino under construction (including a Universal Studios theme park). The island currently has several amusement attractions-- a zip-line tour, a butterfly zoo, a theater, an aquarium, and beaches.  There is also a large tower ride (The Tiger Sky Tower, as in Tiger beer) that brings you and 78 of your friends up for a panoramic view of the island and Singapore.  Upon disembarking from the monorail train that brings you to the island, you are met by a large concrete statue of the Merlion-- the fictitious animal mascot of Singapore.  There is a viewing platform from the mouth of the Merlion, that provides an overview of Singapore (access for a fee).

The Merlion at Sentosa

The Merlion fountain walk

There are escalators to bring visitors to the top of the small hill on the island, Imbiah.  You may also tour the island on Segway people movers, or hike on the "nature" trails.  The trails are short (it's a small island), and are suspicously unnatural in a few locations.    There are one or two small water falls, with the names painted in white letters on the "rocks" (concrete?).  (I'm not sure what happens to the water falls if the power fails) There are a few concrete picnic stations and lighting along the way, and portions of the path are on elevated piers with railing.  In any case it is is a pleasant walk that traverses through a natural umbrella of tropical foliage and forest.

Any guess what this area is called?

Anne & Wendell at one of the picnic stations on the Imbiah nature walk

With our visit occurring on a weekday with school in session, there were many young students on field trips present.  One class group was broken into several teams-- blue team, red team, green etc with appropriately colored tee shirts.  A timed competition was underway between the teams to locate items on a list along the nature walk--  a scavenger hunt of sorts.  Apparently Sentosa is a destination for this type of school event.

Sunday 17 January:  Siloso Beach

We returned from our Christmas visit to Boise yesterday, and are still feeling the effects of jet lag.  Elaine and I thought a short Sunday expedition would be a good transition (in the sunlight), as she returns to work Monday morning.   A visit to Sentosa (Elaine's first) was decided, and we proceeded down the hill (15 minute walk) to take the short monorail ride out to the island.

On our ride out here, the construction on the casino/resort has obviously made much progress, although still not complete.  There has been some controversy in the news here about the project--  the resort has plans to hire upwards of 10,000 workers and was supposed to open this past August.  Promises of employment have been made to many people, only to have their employment (and salaries) held in limbo by the delayed completion and opening of the resort.  Those that have left their current employment have been left in the financial lurch.

On this visit, we decided to go down to the beach area.  There are three beaches-- Palawan Beach, Siloso Beach, and Tanjong Beach, with Siloso the largest of the three (apparently-- we only visited Siloso).  We took the beach walk to take in the sights of Siloso.  It is perhaps similar to a Southern California beach (on a much smaller scale), with a few life guards, and restaurants and small shops along the beach.   The beach is small, and has clean white sand, with no surf to speak of--  the beach is artificial, constructed from imported sand.  A small lagoon shelters the swimming area, and there are sea kayaks available for hire.    I also saw some beach volleyball in play, so that might be fun sometime.  There is also a small beach hotel resort in this area.

Siloso Beach swim area

The only negative aspect of the beach, in my opinion was the proximity of many container ships anchored offshore, as Sentosa is quite close to one of the harbor ports for Singapore. My bias comes from considering container ships an unusual visual fixture for a beach.  However, the ships are mostly visually screened by a offshore island (forming the lagoon area), and there are cabanas and chaise lounges for rent.  A day in the chaise would make for a pleasant afternoon, assuming a mild breeze was present to mitigate the tropical heat  (in my opinion).  Singapore Slings might also be a nice touch.

The view of Siloso beach from the Imbiah monorail station.  An indoor (simulated) sky diving ride is under construction in the area with the blue tarps.  As you can see, Singapore has an active maritime port, with this area Keppel Harbor, being only one of several ports in Singapore.

One of the particularly "cool" activities available at the beach  (I plan to try this sometime) is the Wave House--  a powerfully jetted pool that simulates surfing or wakeboarding.  You get on the board at the bottom of the pool, and carefully advance to a standing position to ride the jet current.  Should you biff, (which is likely--  most people we watched did so almost immediately) the jet current washes you to the top of the pool.  Looks like fun.

Wave machine at Siloso Beach

Another activity available is a trapeze (thankfully with a net).  Perhaps I'll pass on that one.

The trapeze at Siloso Beach

Elaine and I shared a pizza and drinks at the beachfront cafe before walking back to the monorail station and heading home.

Update:  January 20:  A Much Awaited Opening

Today the Resort World Sentosa had its "soft opening"-- a phased opening of the Sentosa Island development project.  The project is part of a government strategy to ease Singapore's economic dependence on the manufacturing sector, and develop a tourism economy element.  The government eased the way for the casino development by legalizing casino gambling in 2005, and providing licenses to two planned resorts for Singapore.

Four hotels, with 1350 rooms opened for business at the island resort, with an additional 500 rooms available next year.  Future phases of the project will include a casino, a marine life park, a maritime museum, and a Universal Studios theme park.  And don't forget the retail shopping, that will open soon too.

The island resort development is a S$4.4 B investment.  According to the news release, the hotel already has strong bookings, primarily from local Singaporeans, for the Chinese New Year holiday.  It is anticipated that when all phases are on line, 6 of 10 tourists will be foreign, with over 25% coming from China.

A second enormous casino/resort project is under construction in the downtown area, with an ~ S$6 B investment.

Construction of the downtown (Las Vegas Sands Resorts, Inc) casino/hotel development. The project has been delayed because of engineering problems with the filled land.

(View from the Singapore Flyer)

Back to the Lion City

Return from Homeland Idaho

After a four week visit to homeland Idaho, we have returned to the tropics and the Lion City.  Although it may have seemed like an eternity for our house hosts (And they were gone some 15 days of our visit.  Thanks Keith and Candy for putting us up!) the four weeks we were there went by remarkably quickly.  Of course we did not get to see and visit with everyone we would have liked to have while there.  However our purpose in returning was to visit Ron (See Global Warming?? ), and help Barbara as she copes with Ron's condition.  Our apology to those of you we missed and were unable to connect with while in town.  Ron is doing as well as can be expected-- actually putting on a little weight in recent days.  We were so thankful to be able to make this trip and visit for the extended length of time.  We owe HP management our gratitude for making it happen.  As the family deals with Ron's illness, we must remind ourselves to think of and celebrate Ron's life, personality, and past accomplishments, and not dwell on the sadness of the inevitable outcome.  Returning to Singapore was difficult knowing that time is limited.

Difficult times can sometimes bring good events--  Susan made the journey from McMurdo Station, Antarctica for a short ten day trip (four of these days spent traveling over 10,000 miles each way) to visit her grandfather.  She has returned to the Harsh Continent, and will be at McMurdo for the duration of its coming winter, ending in October.  Elaine's brothers Robert and John had shorter travel, from Bend, Oregon and Long Beach, California, respectively, but no less significant.  We have not seen either for two years.

Ron with some of the family visitors

Home Cooking

Another benefit of bringing the family together is the chance for an epic home cooked meal.   We actually had several of these during our visit, with Barbara and Elaine demonstrating their ample cooking skills.  We also had a group project dinner one night of pelmeny, the Russian tradition in my family.  This project requires everyone to participate in their construction.  "No ticket, no wash".  Christmas season is never the same without a pelmeny meal.
One of the perks of having a professional chef in the family are the "volunteer" meals.  These are meals where we "volunteer" Nate to cook them.  He is always good spirited about it, and complies willingly.  Here's a pork chop dinner that Nate pulled together one evening for us visitors.

Boise State Rules!

One of the side benefits of being in town over the December/January holidays was being able to watch the plethora of college football bowl games.  Although viewing college football is  possible  in Singapore via cable TV, it is not available to us.  As season ticket holders, and Elaine an alumnus, of course we were excited to see Boise State play in the 2010 Fiesta Bowl, and take on TCU.  We were not disappointed--  it was a hard fought game, with BSU victorious (again) through daring and smart, well executed play.  A crowd pleasing performance.

With a Vandal alum in the family we also were excited to see University of Idaho come out on top in the Humanitarian Bowl.  An incredibly exciting game, with the Vandals reversing their losing status in the last seconds of the game to win.  It was nice to see the Vandals enjoy a winning season this year.

Perhaps I am biased but I thought these were two of the best bowl games of the many bowl games.  (Too many).  BSU still can't find respect-- it was ranked number four among the college teams in the final polls, yet was one of only two undefeated teams in the season.  Politics and big money schools still run the show.

If you are wondering, UC Davis had (another) "building" year this year, but is hopeful to play 1A next year.  Oh yes,  have I ever mentioned that the UC Davis football program has been the source for many of the current great coaches?  Coach "Pete" Peterson (BSU), Patterson (TCU), and Dan Hawkins (Colorado, formerly BSU) all have links back to UCD.  I did mention it?  Go Aggies! 

Idaho State House

The Idaho State  Capitol, first completed in 1913, has been closed for renovation and expansion for the past two years. On January 9 it reopened (on budget, and one day ahead of schedule!), with two new subterranean office wings and a fresh (restored) look. The state house was open for tours, and we stopped in to check it out. Here are a few pictures.

Idaho's refurbished capital.  The changes are not readily apparent from the outside.

The dome, viewed from the basement

Idaho senate chambers from the gallery

State seal on the basement floor

Holiday Lights

One of the sights in Boise to take in during the holiday is a house located on Quail Ridge.  The owner is an electrical contractor, who is apparently a little crazy.  Each year he decorates nearly every square foot of his property--  front, back, the roof, and even the driveway with thousands of lights and Christmas kitche.  Among the many decor are animated elves, reindeer, and soft Christmas music coming from the driveway.  A large lighted angel is displayed on the hill behind the house, and is visible from across the valley.  A long string of autos parade up the hill and past the house each evening during the season to view the spectacle.  (In past years, a helicopter tour viewed the display and other lights in the city, until irate neighbors put a stop to it.)  The power bill for this extravaganza must be enormous.

This year the neighbors have apparently given up presenting resistance to the nusance , and are joining the frivolity--  in a simple manner.  Here's the light display on the house directly next door:

I like this man's thinking-- although it still requires ladders and going on the roof.  Bad things happen on ladders.

A small portion of the crazy holiday light display (a section of the front yard)

Breakfast At Tiffany's

OK, not Tiffany's, but Facacia's, a favorite spot of ours near our house.  We met the Valasek clan for a nice breakfast.

The food's all gone-- it must be time for lunch

Mr "V"

L.C. The Cat

A family member that was not able to make the move to Singapore is our cat Elsie (L.C.).  We thought that the trauma of the travel and the lengthy quarantine period necessary for her emigration to Singapore (not to mention any issues finding landlords agreeable to pets) would be more than we wanted to subject her with.  Thankfully our friend Amelia volunteered to provide housing for L.C. during our expatriation, where she has resided since early October, sharing the residence with Amelia's cat Albert.  Poor Albert.

Although L.C. has adapted well to her new residence, she apparently suffers some type of PTSD from our rejection.  Although normally a friendly, social feline, on two visits she has gotten a good sniff (first visit me, the second visit Elaine) of us and gone into hiding.  Either she  prefers her current housing arrangement more than with us (and is afraid of leaving), or we have damaged her psyche with the uprooting.  Will we be forgiven?  Stability in the home is apparently important for everyone.

LC dealing with PTSD