Weekend in Hong Kong

We went to an International Baccalaureate training in Hong Kong for three days and had a great time.  We learned a lot about the IB program, had some delicious food, and enjoyed a bit of sightseeing with our colleagues.

We had been to Hong Kong once before, but it was nice to visit again.

We took a short ferry ride to visit Kowloon (the part of Hong Kong connected to mainland China) and enjoyed some authentic Chinese food.

Hong Kong really likes to decorate their skyscrapers with lights.  These are pretty subdued.  Usually, the motto is : The more bright and colorful, the better!

Yes, we splurged and had some very expensive gelato.  (Even with the exchange rate of 6 to 1, it was some of the most expensive (but yummy) gelato we had ever eaten!

Happy Birthday, Merlion!

The symbol of Singapore is the Merlion (half mermaid, half lion), which is displayed on everything from national banners to cookie boxes.  As we were walking down Orchard Road one weekend, we noticed a statue celebrating the creation of the Merlion.  (No, the man is not real.)

Then we walked a bit further and realized that it was the Merlion's 40th birthday!

We're not the only ones getting older these days.

Fighting Fire in Singapore

We decided to be tourists today and visit the Civil Defence (British spelling) Heritage Gallery, which is a great hands-on museum with displays and information about the history of fire fighters in Singapore.  We had so much fun answering a simulated emergency phone call, climbing on an old fire truck, and putting out the flames of a virtual fire that we forgot to take some pictures. The only evidence we have of the day is this photo:

This is the closest Tim will ever get to becoming a real fire fighter.

Lost in Translation?

There is a video store near our condo and one day as we walked by it, we noticed an advertisement for a newly released movie:

After doing a little research, we learned that the "tt"s are really "ff"s.

The Istana (President's Palace)

The President of Singapore has a residence/palace very close to our school and on special occasions it is open to the public.  However, the closest we ever got to the actual residence was just in front of the palace gates.

Then, a week after National Day (similar to Fourth of July in America), the palace was open to visitors again, and this time we got in!

We were very pleased to pay the $1 entry fee.

The grounds were huge and the palace was impressive.

As we were walking around, we noticed a crowd of people gathering.  We went over to get a closer look and as we peeked through the crowd, we saw him: The President of Singapore, Mr. Tony Tan.

The President and his wife were enjoying the festivities of the day along with us common folk!

They even had their own nifty little golf cart to get them around the expansive palace grounds.

It was a great day at the Istana, and I even made a new friend as I exited the palace gates!

Zoo (with Meal)

We've been wanting to visit the Singapore Zoo because it has an open concept, which means that some of the animals walk, fly, or climb all around without being caged.

Here are the orangutan enjoying some sugar cane while we dine next to them.  If my brother was here with me, he would have said that the baby orangutan (far background) looks like me when I was little.

It's feeding time for the giraffes.  And yes, they do have a long, purple tongue.

This jaguar is waiting for its breakfast.

Of course, no trip to the zoo is complete without participating in a show.
Here, I race against an orangutan to shuck a coconut.

With more experience, bigger teeth, and the strength
of  5 grown men, the orangutan wins.

At an exhibit called the Fragile Forest, we were face to face with this fruit bat.

This is a beautiful white tiger, whose relatives come from India.

We had a great day monkeying around at the zoo!

Mashed Potatoes at 7-11?

After a month and a half of visiting friends and family in America, we are back in Singapore adjusting to the time difference.  As we answered a myriad of questions about life in Singapore, one question my sister asked struck me as most memorable: "On Jimmy Kimmel, he said Singapore has self-serve mashed potato machines at the 7-11.  Do they?"  My answer to that silly question was, of course, "No."

However, when we walked past a 7-11 the other day, I decided to go inside just to be sure.  Imagine my shock when I actually saw the machine that I had so flippantly rebuked.

I am not really dispensing mashed potatoes, just demonstrating the serving process. 

No, I did not try the mashed potatoes.  I have eaten snail, spider, fish cheek, stingray, snake wine, and lamb head, but even I have limits on what I'll eat!