4 am swim with new friends. Frode and Anita could make friends with complete strangers with greater ease than....I don't know what! So while finishing off drinks at the Dubliner pub, we made new friends with Angie and Simon. Angie is here through year end, as I am, on a work assignment. Simon, her boyfriend, decided to quit his job at her same firm to come with her, and he is quite enjoying being a househusband. The most striking thing about Simon is that he seems like a hip, young version of Austin Powers, comlete with his really happy sounding London accent. Thank goodness the pool is open 24 hours! 

Me, Frode, and Anita at an Indian Restaurant whose name I forget. Could have been because of the 3 bottles of wine. You know when you order wine from and extensive (and not inexpensive) wine list, as a woman, you kind of expect that the waiter will uncork it, pour a taste, and allow the person who chose the wine taste it. Not in this case. The waiter brandished the first bottle with a pretty artistic spin and flourish, and then we were surprised. Instead of uncorking it, he UNSCREWED the top, poured a taste out, and offered it to Frode! 

Me and Frode at the Dubliner with my Princess Lea hair buns... 

Me, Frode, and Anita at the Dubliner pub. The theme to Star Wars had just played, so Anita had my hair twisted up in princess lea rolls. 

This weekend, my friends Anita and Frode are visiting from Norway en route to 3 weeks in the Phillipines. This was in Holland Village where we had, according to Frode, "One of the Top 10 Meals of My Life!" 

Daytime view along Ang Sieng Hill Road. 

Peeking Pagoda. 

Chinatown neon specials. Think the one on the right with the airplane is for a travel agency? 

View of Pagoda Street above the MRT subway station, Chinatown. 

Cherry windows! 

Colorful architecture along Club Road. 

Shops along Club Road. 

This is a beautiful back alley view behind Ang Sieng Hill road. 

Ang Sieng Hill road. 

Detail of a Chinese temple door. 

This is the temple I photographed earlier, but by day. 

Festival of Hungry Ghosts. This is the 7th month of the Chinese calendar, when the gates of Hell open and all of the ghosts therein are able to walk the earth for a month. There are impromptu alters all over the city, where joss sticks (incense) and rice paper prayers are burned. There are also mobile operas nightly, and the first few rows of chairs are empty and reserved for the ghosts' attendance. Historically Chinese operas were for the working class and were mobile affairs that were performed in food markets and coffee houses. This photo is of the celebrations at Keppel Shipyard, replete with a full buffet lunch for both the living and the dead. Those large multicolored poles are massive incense sticks.  

I decided to get my hair trimmed. I have not had that done since December and have been hesitant to go to anyone other than Hillary in Houston. Granted it looks like a hippie frizz fest most days in humid climates, but she works magic and I leave her shop feeling like I have just stepped out from behind a CNN anchor desk. So, I found a very nice salon here in Singapore and went for a trim. At any rate, he trimmed me up very quickly and asked if I would like to have my hair thinned out a bit. I said sure. It is so thick that if I wear it in a twist (after blowdrying it for a half hour), it is still damp at the end of the day when I take it down. This is the result of my thinning...... 

This is what is left of my hair....it is all still there, just very much thinned out and blowdried straight. My friend Sharizal seems to approve....he is one of the front desk personnel at the apartments and a friend to boot, and is sporting a new hairstyle of his own!

These are the gardens in front of Singapore's President's palace, the Istana, open to the public on Sunday honoring Singapore's 40th anniversary of Independence. Locals, tourists, and expats alike enjoyed taking a peek into the otherwise sacred ground! 

A shot of Singaporeans and tourists alike enjoying the palace grouns open to the public. Did I mention I live about 2 blocks from here? 

On special occasions, Singapore's President's palace, the Istana, is open to the public. The occasion this weekend is Singapore's 40th anniversary of independence from Malaysia, from August 9, 1965. The country is feverishly preparing to celebrate, complete with fireworks for practically a week leading up to the big night. The fervor is really contagious, and the country seems so sincerely proud of their independence...it does not have a braggardly or in your face affair, even though every facet of local life in the last week has been tinted with National Day pride. For a mere dollar to get into the grounds, four dollars for bottled water in the baking sun, and two more to walk through a loop in the palace, it was a pretty darn interesting way to spend an afternoon. Inside the palace were displays of the gifts other countries have given to Singapore over its 40 years of Independence. The US gave a Frederick Remington, which I find a little odd for some reason. Interestingly, most of the gifts from the industrialized first world nations were kitsch you find in tourist shops everywhere, just dipped in silver or gold. There was a gold Eiffel Tower, a Silver boat from Bahrain, and a Gold palm tree from Quwait. Each was relatively small, about the size of small bookcase decoration. Interestingly, it was the gifts from poorer countries that were the most elaborate and sizable - like the giant beaten silver ornate bowl from Myanmar, or the twin vases from Vietnam that were as tall as I am, an intricate (again) silver village from Indonesia, or the blended Hindu/Buddhist sculpture from Nepal. This building used to be the governor's palace when Singapore was a British colony. Interestingly, the life-sized statue of Queen Elizabeth that had been in the foyer during British years is now out in the garden in a gazebo setting. It is still pretty, but looks literally like they have put her out to pasture! She is showing some signs of aging and staining....it is probably an unintentional metaphor, but pretty interesting none the less.  

This photo may be a bit dark...but it was taken at night! har har....one of those goofy joke type days. Anyway, just at the edge of Chinatown are a few streets of thankfully authentic shopfronts that have not been mowed down in a modernization effort. Most of their lower floors have been converted to restaurants, spas, or creative business like design and marketing spots. It holds promise for better photos, but I will need to revisit on an off Sunday...otherwise my daylight hours are spent at work! 

I finally made a purchase that rates slightly higher than "souvenir". I fell for a chinese chest with drawers conveniently sized to hold cd's and dvd's. It is in the apartment now, and I have always had a world map on the wall...so it's not the best setting, but will be when I get have a real place to call home one day. The bell decor are temple bells, and the bowl came from Norway. The orchids are from the garden in the apartment's courtyard, and unfortunately, they're just stuck in a thermos whose lid no longer seals.  

Looking through a ship is a pretty weird expereince, especially when you're both essentially standing at ground level....these holes are for the azimuth thrusters.