Posted in Travel

South Africa – 2 – Mlondozi

On the second day in Kruger, we had to go from Skuzuka to Lower Sabie – these are two of the major camps in the South of the National Park.  The road between the two is one of the ‘best’ in the park according to all the guides we have.  We had already done parts of it the previous day, and indeed had seen a lot of animals.  The advantage is that the road runs along a major river, the Sabie River and therefore a lot of animals are attracted to the waterholes along the way.

The distance between the two camps is only 43 km.  The guide book indicates that it should take 1h45 minutes to drive that distance.  This gives you an idea of the ‘expected’ average speed.  Looking at the map, we decided to make a detour as a little more than half way there was a place where we could actually get out of the car – something that we missed doing on the first day.  We therefore headed on gravel roads towards Mlondozi Dam.

We approached there around 10:30 and figured it would be a good chance to break before heading into Lower Sabie for lunch.  As we were driving up towards the view point, we knew we would be in for quite a sight, and this is what we discovered

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In this view (and we found them) there are elephants, hippopotami (or is it hippopotamusses? – Webster confirms the former), a fish eagle, at least one crocodile, a rino in the distance, and several groups of impalas.  We were thrilled at the prospect of what else could happen.

First to entertain us were the hippos when one group decided to dance around

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while another played “follow-the-leader”

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Than I heard the word “Rino” – we had already seen two of the “Big Fives”: elephants and buffalos so here was a chance to see number three on only the second day in the park.  The rino had obviously already finished his bath and was heading home

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Elephants came next, and created quite a spectacle as they were taking their mud bath

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The group on the left side of the river decided to go across and visit with the group of the right side.  The is consider good behaviour between elephant groups.  I had often seen elephants marching in circus parades, one leading and all the others following, with the trunks holding the tail of the animal in front.  I always thougth that was  ‘trained’ behaviour.  However, we discovered that this is probably natural behaviour for them as can bee seen in this picture

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In the distance we had been watching this black ‘dot’, believing it was a lone hippopotamus until we saw it coming out of the water. Another rino…

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There was so much to see that we decided to stay for lunch and we continued to be entertained by what was happening.  We met others, also watching the animals – including one pair of locals who were only interested in birds.  They spotted these pelicans flying in in formation

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They had landed not far from where a crocodile was still having its morning sun bath

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The more we looked, the more we saw.  It was unbelievable.

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Posted in Travel

South Africa – 1 – Kruger

I guess, after that ‘teazer’, I have to deliver something really good.
I have extracted 100 photos from the more than 400 I took in Kruger National Park.  And I cannot possibly bore you with all 100 of these, so again I will have to make a selection of only the better ones.
We saw so many Impalas, Elephants, Zebras and other animals that after a while, we would not stop anymore except if there were special circumstances.  Here are some examples:
In the first days, I would slam on the breaks if any one in the car yelled ‘buffalo’ and we saw many small groups of buffalos resting near the road such as these.
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However, we were lucky enough to whitness the massive afternoon bath of a large group of buffalos.  We stayed for probably 20 minutes just mesmerised by the sight and the sound.

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Our first sight of hippopotamus was like many more later – backs and more backs and than a few hears and noses

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But patience can be rewarded with two hippos frollicking in the shallows

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and one really, really, really big yawn!

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I already showed you a photo of this hyena, caught late in the evening of the first day

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Two days later, we were staying in a safari tent right along the outside fence of our camp.  Our neighbours were kind enough to tell us that there was a hyena sunning itself in front of their tent, so we went to see.  The animal clearly was not at ease, but we only found out later why …

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Day three, and we fianlly see our first ‘cats’ – three juvenile cheetahs spending the afternoon under a tree.  There were 6-8 other cars parked near them and we stayed for at least 20 nimutes, just watching them doing nothing.

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 Day four and we finally cought a glimpse of a lion.  We were fortunate that a local guide told us about it, because by ourselves we would never have found them looking like this

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We stayed for a while and were rewarded by the male who decided to change position

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As we returned to our camp for tea (yes, some civilisation after all!) we learned all about what happened the night before.

The privious day, as we were getting ready to go to sleep, we had heard an awful sound, impossible to describe.  It had to be several different anumals making it.  There was also an echo coming from nearer the tent.  As it was totally dark, we were not quite sure what happened.  During the whole night, there were regular calls coming from the trees right in front of us.

The next moring we noticed a large group of baboons in the tree. 

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They must have been the ones making all that noise the night before.  One by one, very carefully, they decended and left.  In a nearby tree there was a lone vulture, just wating – we were not sure what for…

The next day, after tea, Julie and Georgia went for a walk and casually asked our neighbours if they had seen any lions.  We had already noticed that the vultures had multiplied and there were now four.  That is when we heard the story of what happened the night before.  The noise we had heard was a pride of 8-9 lions killing a water buffalo about 100 m to our right.  The lions spent the rest of the night feasting and there was some of the carcass still left.  Later that evening, we saw four lions approaching for a piece of the action – it was late, so not much light for a decent photo.

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 We also had ‘theme day’ – it seems that on day three all animals decided to cross the street in front of us.  I apologise in advance for this one, but I just have to do it …

Zebra Crossing – Kruger Style!

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We also saw a lot of other animals, less interesting just by themselves like this large iguana or monitor lizard – not sure what it was.

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But when you see it devouring a dung beetle right off its ball of dung, that is a spectacle worth seeing.

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We saw intimate scenes of baboons grooming each other

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and mother with child

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We saw many birds of all sorts

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but the scene I will remember is this one, wondering just when the crocodile was going to attack the geese who did not seem to be concerned…

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With all the animals, you can almost forget that the scenery is spectacular too.  I am sure that there are elephants, giraffes, lions, impalas, zebras and many other animals hidden in here – but I have not found them yet…

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We had heard a lot about Olifants Camp on the Olifants river.  The view is specatcular

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but we were told the animals were too.  Unfortunately, we saw absolutely nothing!  As this was the end of our stay in Kruger, and considering what we had already seen, I cannot be too disappointed.

Next – One lunch stop at Mlondozi Dam

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Posted in Travel

South Africa

This is what you would call a teazer!
We are half way through our trip in South Africa, and I just want to give you a taste of what is coming.

Here is a collection of pictures taken on the first day in Kruger National Park.  Most of these will not make the final selection.  They were taken from our truck (you are not allowed to get out) with a standard zoom (only 135 mm) and are unretouched… 

Our first animal sighting – a kudu amongst the trees

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Next were elephants in the distance (we were really getting excited)

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Than we saw water buffalos having a bath, with a fish eagle looking on

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A giraffe

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Zebras really close to the car

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Monkeys in a tree

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Baboons crossing the street right on front of the truck

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Hippos in the Sabie River

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and a hyena, unfortunately too late in the day to get a good shot as the light was fading very fast… 

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Just wait for what is instore when I get back to Singapore and can pull out the rest of what we saw!

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Posted in Food, Sports, Travel

Exploring Bali from below

Several weeks ago, I received a note from Sinoto asking me if I was interested in a diving safari in Bali.  I immediately answered ‘yes’ without knowing what I was getting myself into.  I had already gone diving with Sinoto before, in Manado (also Indonesia) and we had an excellent time.  So I was looking forward to more of the same.

Sinoto, Su Li, Andy, Eric and I left on Tuesday evening (24 October) for Denpasar and an immediate transfer to Kuta Beach.  We arrived at the hotel after 10pm and immediately went in search of food and drinks.  Contrary to its reputation, the town seemed empty and quiet.  We stopped for Satay and a few beers in the only place that seemed to be still open.

Next day early checkout of the hotel.  We fill out all the paper work typical before going diving and we are off for a 3 hour drive to the north of the island. Our first diving day is in Tulambeh.  We leave from the shore and drop down a vertical wall only a few meters off the beach.  The first dive is an easy ‘refresher’ dive just to get our bearings.  I quickly discover that when some one points a camera at you underwater, you better hold your breath – Eric had obviously been there before…

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The second dive is around the wreck of a WWII Liberty ship.  The ship was hit by a torpedo as it was delivering military hardware to Bali.  The captain had the presence of mind to ram the ship onto the beach so that it could still deliver its goods.  After languishing on the beach for many years the ship finally slipped down the wall after the eruption of a nearby volcano, creating a fantastic artificial reef.  It is full of life, from the tiniest nudibranch to a giant barracuda.  We do a third dive before heading towards our new hotel.

I have discovered that a ‘diving safari’ is an adventure where you change dive site, and hotel, every day.  The second day we were at Secret Bay – and I think the secret is safe with us.  Visibility was not very good and we saw more seaweed than anything else.  We were supposed to do a night dive, but all decided that it would not be worth it, especially since we still had to drive to the third hotel on the itinerary.  We did find a few interesting animals amongst the weeds:  a leaf fish, a unicorn fish and a beautiful seahorse.

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Day three and we do the first boat dives of the trip near “Deer Island” or Menjangan to the locals.  Three excellent dives along coral walls with small and large creatures everywhere.  At the end of the day, we drive back to Kuta Beach where there is definitely more atmosphere than the previous Tuesday.

By now, I have improved and can hold my breath, however, I do not appreciate when the photographer seems to take a long time to actually take the photo…

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Day four will remain to me one of the ‘memorable’ experiences of my life.  We went to Nusa Penida by speed boat.  The first dive was at Manta Point.  As advertised, the water was cold, around 21 C which is low since we were all wearing 3mm wet suits more adapted to tropical water conditions.  Fortunately, we did not have to go very deep (only 9 m) and we did not have to stay down very long.  There is only one thing to see at Manta Point: giant Manta Rays – and I mean GIANT!  This was a rather technical dive as there was a very significant surge and one had to be careful not to get pushed into the rocks.  At first we marvelled at a large group of divers all moving in unison, as if they were dancing to some imaginary music.  We wondered why they were just floating there, doing nothing.  Than we looked up and saw two Manta Rays slowly circling overhead.  The larger of the two must have had a 3 m wingspan at least.

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We joined the back-and-forth dance of the other group and gaped in awe at the majesty of the two flying beasts.  After 30 minutes or so, the cold got the better of us and we headed for the surface.

The second dive was even better! After lunch and relaxation, we went to Chrystal Bay and plunged initially into 25 C water.  I was pleasantly surprised as I was expecting colder given what we had been told.  Than, somewhere between 8 and 10 m depth, the temperature dropped to 19 C suddenly, as if we had suddenly swam into a refrigerator.  We kept going down and swimming against the current for a while, until our divemaster decided to turn around.  He signed for us to wait for him at about 22 m depth and he went deeper.  After a few seconds, we heard him banging on his air bottle and signaling for us to come.  We did as we were told with much anticipation.  Out of the depths came one, than two and ultimately four Ocean Sunfish, or Mola-Mola!  These are fish with no tail – the body is roughly shaped like a rugby ball with one large fin on top and another on the bottom.  One Mola-Mola came directly towards us, passing right in the middle of the group.

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We stayed as long as we possibly could, until our dive computers were beeping at us to indicate that we were close to our no-decompression limit.  We slowly rose back towards the surface, and warmer waters.  It is only at this point that I realised that I was shivering uncontrollably.  It took us a long time to warm up even after we came out of the water.  A very memorable dive!

Saturday evening, we had a great seafood meal on the beach in Jimbaran.

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From the left: Myself, Andy, Sinoto, Eric and Su Li.

The meal, for 5 of us, with a bottle of wine cost a grand total of 1,200,000 rupiah, or 135 US$.  That by itself would not be worth reporting. However, on Friday night, we stopped at a shop along the road and had a complete dinner for seven (including our divemaster and driver) and spend a grand total of 100,000 rupiah!

On Sunday, we had a late evening flight and therefore we decided to go explore Ubud and a few craft centers along the way.

Before we arrived in Ubud, we visited the Monkey Forest, where we found (Oh what a surprise) …. monkeys! This sleeping family group was particularly touching.

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In Ubud, I found a very nice painting.  I though to myself that I was ready to pay up to 100 US$ for it.  I asked the price and was told 80 US$.  I know I should negotiate, so I did and we settled on 70 $.  Now I need to frame it, but I think it will look really nice in my apartment.

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Posted in General

Just for Fun

Live, from Singapore, it’s the Comedy Hour!

Something funny happened to me yesterday, 3 October.  I was running late for my usual Wednesday evening teleconference that starts at 8:30 PM so I started the oven and threw a frozen pizza in it.  Just as I was leaving the kitchen, I noticed a large cockroach so I got my can of “Raid” and zapped it.  Since the smell was bad, I closed the door between the kitchen and the living room, and relaxed while getting organised for the phone call.  After 15 minutes, I went back to the kitchen, only to find out that the door, some how, would not open.  It seemed locked as the handle refused to turn.

No problems, I have the key to open it.  Tried one key labeled ‘kitchen front’, without success; tried the other key labeled ‘kitchen back’ with the same lack of result.

Only solution, since now there is smoke coming out of the oven, is to go out the front door, in through the back door and into the kitchen from the “maid’s room”.  However, since I have been running, and just took a shower, I better put something more on than just the robe I am wearing.

I get dressed and go out, than back in and rescue the pizza.  When I try to get back into the living room, the door still will not open.  The handle refuses to turn from the other side as well.

It is now time for the call to start, so I rush, with the smoldering pizza, back out the back door, and back in through the front door and dial in to our weekly call.

An hour later, and most of the pizza eaten, I am back where I started – with a locked door between my kitchen and my living room.  None of the keys (I try them all several times) work.  I go back into the kitchen (out the front door, in the back door again) and try from the other side still without success.  I try to take the lock apart, but there is no way to do that.  I try to take the hinges apart, but that too is impossible.

In desperation, I decide to try again the following day – today by now.

When I get back from the office, I try several ways to open the door but still without success.  I repeat the maneuver of “out-the-front-in-the-back” and back again several times to prepare my dinner and finally call a repair man, who fortunately can come tomorrow to try and rescue me.

It is not until you cannot do something that you realise how much you need it.  I never realised how often I end up walking into the kitchen over one evening.

Now I sit here and write this post, pondering if it is worth going “out-the-front-and-in-the-back” and “out-the-back-and-back-in-the-front” just to get a piece of chocolate from the refrigerator.  Knowing me, the answer is obviously “yes!”, so I better go now.

I wander what my next-door neighbours think of this strange behaviour?

Added on Friday 5 October

Saved by “Magical Mr. Mestofeles” – aka Mr. Lam.  He is a do-it-all repairman who works for the agent managing my apartment.  I am very happy that I kept his number and he was very happy to get a little money on the side.

The lock is replaced – the door works, and for now, I plan to leave it open ALL THE TIME.  I am not ready for another episode of “out-the-front-in-the-back” and back again any time soon!

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Posted in Travel

Australia – 7th Installment

As I said before, I really need to stop scheduling a trip right after a tough physical challenge!  This time, having to wait until 1:20 AM for my plane to Perth (for my 7th visit to Australia) was sheer torture.  However, it took me only 5 minutes to fall asleep after the plane took off and I slept really well until the plane started its descent towards Perth.That was only 4 hours of sleep though and by 7:00 AM Monday, I was on the road towards Kalgoorlie, 550 km away to the east.  The drive with my rented ‘monster’ truck (4WD Nissan Patrol with 3.0 liter diesel engine) was more pleasant than I thought, with a lot more variety of terrain and scenery than I had anticipated.  I stopped for breakfast at the first town I crossed, bought water and snacks in the second, had lunch in a pub mid-way between the third and the fourth town on the road, got gas in the fifth and stopped briefly in the sixth for local information.  30 km later, I arrived in the seventh town I saw since I left Perth: Kalgoorlie.

Kalgoorlie and the nearby town of Coolgardie (I am not making these names up) were at the heart of the Australian Gold Rush of the late 19th century.  Some of the richest finds were in this area and a lot of mines remained active until well after WWII – few still are today producing gold but also nickel, cobalt and other associated metals.  There is a Gold Quest Drive (965 km) which tours the most important relics of this past glory.  The guide is very well done, including an audio CD with documentary evidence of the area that the road drives through.  Ghost mining towns, abandoned pit mines and recently rediscovered water holes are all on offer.  minepits.jpg

However, it is the human story that is the most striking.  The area that I am traveling in is as arid as can be; no water to be seen anywhere and yet men were leaving civilization behind with sometimes as little as 2 gallons of water, hoping that they would find either gold, or more water, before their initial supply ran out.  Nobody knows how many died on the tracks that led North of Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie – the number is probably very high. Those who were found, or who died in one of the many small towns that were growing throughout the area were buried in ancient cemeteries which are a strong reminder of how young they were.

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There were fortunes to be made but life was difficult for most of the people involved.  Many famous Australians made a fortune here; one of the most famous foreigners to come through this area, and come out much richer, was Herbert Hoover, before he became President of the United States.  He started as a mine inspector and became a mine manager before going on to China and than returning to the USA for a rather successful political career.  In his memoirs, Hoover gave the best description of an engineer I have heard, or read, so far.  It puts into words better than I ever could why I chose to be an engineer while in Business School.  I was standing on the side of an abandoned mine pit when I heard a small noise below.  After a careful look, I noticed a goat (I assume wild) slowly walking out of the mine along the old track used by trucks to bring the ore out.  After this encounter, a little further down the road, I had to make a sudden stop to avoid running into four emus crossing the dirt track I was on.  It was a close call.  I was driving nearly 120 km/hr down this dirt road – I have gained a lot of confidence in the ‘car’ (or Monster) I have rented: a Nissan Patrol 4WD with a 3.0 liter diesel engine that is just great!  The road is smooth, perfectly straight and I have not seen another car in more than 2 hours – yet I probably should slow down just a bit just in case there are other animals crossing.  Saw a wallaby in the distance too…In the middle of this desolate land, on the bed of a dry salt lake more than 50 km outside of the nearest town, Menzies (and only a one street town at that), some one, some where, had the weird idea to install 51 human silhouettes over 7 square miles.  It does not make any sense, but does create interesting views.

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Near one of the only watering holes in this whole area, there is a rock called Ularring Rock, similar in composition and history to Uluru and the Olga’s in central Australia, but not as spectacular as it only barely sneaks above the local countryside.  The rays of the sun forming a near perfect fan were spectacular.  So much so that I almost lost my instincts – when the engineer in me returned, I wondered where these boulders, sitting on the top of this rock, came from.

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On Wednesday, I drove down to Esperance, on the South Coast.  Most of the day driving, raining at the end, so not much to report.  In Salmon Gum (still not making up the names of towns around here) I fed the Monster – it cost me 153 dollars – fun to drive, but a bit thirsty too. I found an excellent Bed & Breakfast with breathtaking views of the sea, and an excellent restaurant, the best so far this trip, where I had scallops ‘en-croute’, rack of lamb and sticky date pudding all accompanied by an excellent Margaret River wine (a blend of Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from the Fifth Leg Winery – bottle I brought since the restaurant is not licensed and does not serve alcohol).

Thursday, I stayed put – not wanting to drive another long day and since the weather was much better, I decided to visit some of the local National Parks.  I started on the Western version of the Great Ocean Road.  It is only 11 km long, but just as scenic as the Eastern version near Melbourne. 

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In the middle there is a wind farm which produces up to 25% of the electricity needs of Esperance.  Some people can see this as an ecological disaster, putting a real ‘eyesore’ on such a beautiful coastline; others can see it as an ecological success story, using modern technology to help fight global warming.  Personally, I think this is a success – the windmills are far enough away from the coastline that they do not detract much from the beauty of the scenery.  It is certainly better than alternatives such as coal or oil fired power stations belching large plumes of CO2, or worst SO2.  Therefore, until we are ready to stop consuming electricity, this is a very attractive compromise (the above message clearly intended to be provocative and solicit comments from you, the reader!)  After some exciting 4WDriving in the dunes (only on marked paths, I quickly add before there is a clamor of disapproval from the audience) I head for Le Grand National Park.  This whole area was initially discovered by French sailors aboard the “Esperance” and the “Recherche”.  They named the town Esperance and the archipelago off-shore “Recherche”.  Le Grand was the first officer on one of the ships.  Unfortunately, what started as a beautiful day is now rather gloomy and the pictures from the top of Franchamn’s Peak are not as spectacular as they could have been.  Even the wildflowers just blooming cannot be seen well on these shots, even though they are really everywhere.

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In the evening, I am rewarded by a rather nice sunset that I can shoot directly fromn the balcony of the B&B where I am staying.  It is not all that special as the temperature is below 10C and the wind is howling! But the view is worth it.

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Friday is back to gloomy weather and I have rain on-an-off for most of the drive back to Perth.  In the evening, I go to Balthazar, an excellent local restaurant where I have an almost Belgian meal:  Prosciutto as appetizer (OK, not Belgian), venison with corn mash and whitlof (local spelling for Belgian Endive) as main course and Callebaut (Belgian) chocolate pudding as desert; the wine, fortunately, was not from my home country but from Margaret River – an excellent Cabernet Sauvignon.

Saturday, I had decided to explore the coast South of Perth.  I started in Rockingham, and particularly a small island called ‘Penguin Island.’  It can only be visited by daylight and most of the island is closed to the public.  A small ferry brings people there every hour and there is a Penguin Hospital where they care for orphans, wounded or other penguins who could not live in the wild.  The name comes from the fact that there are many penguins nesting on the island, but these cannot be seen.  There is also a huge colony of pelicans nesting on a rocky outcrop, as well as cormorants, frigates and thousands of sea gulls.  The gulls have their nests everywhere on the island and they fearlessly defend these against intruders.  As I walk on some of the boardwalks, I am heckled by hundreds of sea gulls, swooping menacingly over my head.  For a second, I fear that I have been mysteriously transported into an Alfred Hitchcock movie.  Fortunately, they do not start to attack and the guano that they dive-bomb towards me always misses because they have not yet learned how to compensate for the high side wind.

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After two hours, and a session of penguin feeding at the hospital, I head back as the rain is coming again, and I do not have any waterproof jacket.  I head for Fremantle, see if anything has changes since I was there last in 2004.  I take a look at some kite surfers just south of the town – the wind seems ideal for this. 

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I hope, in vain, for a spectacular sunset, and a new version of the photo I took here in 2001, but clouds cover the sun just before it dips down below the horizon and I am left with nothing. Maybe I can do better next time, but it will have to be on a future trip as I will have no more opportunities this time.On Sunday, I am actually quite lazy and get up after 8:30 AM (very unusual for me, even on vacation!).  I do go for a long walk in King’s Park and enjoy the scenery, and a short visit to the Aboriginal Art Gallery located nearby.  There are several paintings by Norma MacDonald, an aboriginal painter from the Northern Territories – I am really attracted to them as they have an obvious aboriginal character, without the typical style or dots and stylized animals that all the other artists seem to employ.  Unfortunately, neither of the two paintings available would fit with others I already own and therefore I decide not to buy anything, but I was really tempted and I will have to keep the name in mind in case I hear of other exhibits.

In the evening, I have booked a ticket for “Varaquay” by Cirque du Soleil.  I really enjoyed the first show I saw in Quebec: “Corteo” and therefore I was really looking forward to this one.  I am afraid that I was somewhat disappointed!  The music was OK but not thrilling; the acrobatics were interesting but just short of “jaw-dropping-how-did-they-do-that”.  I am not sure of this is a case of running out of bright ideas, or just the fact that the performers for this particular show were not good enough to ‘amaze’ the audience.  Don’t get me wrong, it was a good show, just not up to the level that I was expecting based on what I had heard from friends, and seen with my first experience.  Monday, just before leaving Perth I decided on a short visit to the wineries along the Swan River Valley.  I stopped at Led Swan for some excellent organic wine and organic chocolate – what could be better than the combination of those two great tastes.  I also stopped at the Edgecombe Brothers winery for lunch.  They have a very interesting ‘fortified shiraz’ that I just have to bring back to Singapore … In 7 days, I drove over 2500 km, into the desert, along the coast and up and down the Swan River Valley.  An excellent trip once again.

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Posted in Culture, General

The Blood Drive

For many years now, I have not been able to donate blood.  I did so for many years while I was living in the US and than, opportunities just did not happen.

When I first moved to Singapore, I was pleased when EM organised a blood drive soon after the start-up of the plant in 2001.  I was very disappointed when I was told that my blood was not accepted because I just happened to live in the UK during the late 1980’s ‘Mad Cow’ scare.  That ban still exists and therefore I cannot donate blood in Singapore.

This year, I decided to do something about it – and had one of the most humbling and sobering experiences of my whole life…

Every year, EM organises a blood drive not only in its own offices, but also in public areas around Singapore.  Last Saturday 15 September, this was happening near the Singapura Shopping Center right on Orchard Road.  Since I cannot donate, and many of my friends were involved in the effort, I decided to volunteer to help out.

I showed up right after our Dragon Boat practice.  After receiving the obligatory blood-red t-shirt, and my friend ‘Calvin the Camel’ to attract attention, I was directed to the area between the shopping center and the MRT (subway) station to ‘convince’ people they should part with one pint of their precious blood.

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I grab 10 blood-red balloons, a bag-full of packets of napkins and I head for the very crowded sidewalk.  How tough can this be?  There are hundreds of people out there every minute and I should be able to talk a few of them into this generous donation.

At first, I am not sure how to approach people and quickly find out that most people do not really want to be approached by me either… From meters away, they cross to the other side of the sidewalk just to avoid me.  Others do all they can not to make eye contact.  When I try to give a balloon to the small kids, they get pulled away from me by parents afraid that I will then ask for money.  When I try to hand adults a packet of napkins, they shrug and move on.  I have never been ignored and avoided by so many people in my life.

A few people listen, and walk away saying that they will think about it.  I met many people who also happen to ‘work for the Red Cross’ and even more who just happened to have a blood drive in the school/company/neighborhood next week and therefore could not donate today.  Five people were leaving Singapore that very same night.

After a couple of hours of standing outside, and mixed success, I decided to go see how some of my friends were doing inside.  Su Li, Yen Nee and Cassy were lucky to get to work the MRT station where it is air-conditioned.

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I cool off for a while, and its back to the sidewalk for more solicitations.

There are, or course, the successes.  I was able to convince 8-10 people to part with a whole pint of their precious blood.  A whole family of three agreed to donate.  Sometimes, I had to disappoint people telling them they were not eligible, even though they were willing.  A group of tourists from the Philippines were willing, and I only found out at the last minute that they were tourists, and therefore not eligible.  There were many people who were too young, or who did not have their ID.

One gentleman was very gracious and explained to me that he had been donating blood for many years.  However, this year, he turned 60 and therefore he is no longer eligible.  Just before he stepped away, he turned around to look at me and said ‘Thanks for what you are doing’.  As I looked at him puzzled, he added ‘Not many foreigners would do what you are doing.’  That alone compensated for all people who ignored and avoided me.

At 5:30PM the word went out that we were done and registration was closed.  In one day, we collected 247 donations.  Over the full week, EM collected 1117 donations for the Singapore Blood Bank.  Quite a success which required the help of a lot of people.  After we had cleaned up and packed all the equipment that something like that requires, we took a few group pictures to remember the day.

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As you can see, a lot of people and many friends that you should recognize from previous posts.

Saturday was an eye opening experience for me as, for the first time, I was on the receiving end of how I have been treating people trying to get my attention, and money,and various other donation, for many years.  I have ignored them as much as I have been ignored.  I avoided them as much as I was avoided.  Occasionally, I would give them a little attention, with no intention that it should go any further – just as they now did to me.

I am certain that the next time I encounter young people, or old people or anybody trying to collect money for charity I will look at them in a totally new light, and be much more willing to listen, support, and donate, when I can.  A sobering experience, but a very positive one overall.

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Posted in Sports

The Singapore Ironman Triathlon

For those of you who know me well, you know that I often try to use just the right words to say what I want.  So you will not over-react when I tell you that on Sunday I ran in the inaugural Singapore 70.3 Ironman Triathlon.  This is ½ the distance of a full ironman triathlon, ‘only’ 1.9 km swim, 90 km cycle and 21 km run.Let me now put at ease those who did not read carefully enough.  I did not complete the full triathlon, I was part of a relay team and RAN the final 21 km.The day started for me very early as I was nervous as always before a competition.  I woke up around 4 AM and after some tossing and turning, got up and left the house on time to get to the East Coast Park at about 7AM.  The elite athletes were first off at 7:15 followed by all the ladies and than the men.  Teams finally got underway at 7:45 with Audrey doing the swim for us.  Richard and I were there to send her off.  It was a long wait not knowing how she was doing.  After a little over 50 minutes, she came out of the water and ran towards the T1 transfer area, giving her timing chip to Richard so he could start the cycling leg.  I drove to the new floating platform on Marina Bay to wait for my turn.  I timed every one of Richard’s 4 laps to be able to predict when it would be my turn.  By the third lap, Lee Lee, Richard’s wife, arrived on her bicycle and takes this picture of him as he goes by. 

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In another 35 minutes, around 11:25 AM, it will be my turn.The wait is long, and more and more people complete the cycle leg and start on the run.  These are the real athletes, those who complete the whole race on their own.  I am relegated to the transfer area for teams, and get to talk to a few other competitors, one from Hong-Kong and another from Singapore.  We all agree that (a) we could not do the whole thing on our own and (b) the wait is the worst part.

I am getting more and more nervous; the temperature keeps increasing, and there is no sign of the thunderstorm that was predicted for early afternoon.  As I am getting ready, one of the competitors arrives and nearly collapses in front of me.  He complains of severe cramps, but declines any assistance I offered – not sure what I could have done but…At 11:22, right on time, Richard completes the 90 km and passes the timing chip to me.

I am off on only my second ½ marathon ever.  The start goes well and I am feeling good for the first 5-6 km, except for the heat – since I am carrying my own supply of isotonic drinks, I use every water station to pour cold water on my head and try to stay cool.  Than I hit my first “wall”.  I know that I can work through this and slow down a little, enough to recover some.

tri4fun1.jpgAfter a little over 65 minutes, I am back at the starting point, wondering if I can actually finish the race, looking for some way to cool off…

 tri4fun3.jpg– Found it! A man with a water hose – pure heaven.

I do not stop.  One thought of Audrey’s and Richard’s disappointment if I were to do so is enough to keep me going.  I hit another hard spot at the beginning of the second (and thankfully last) lap.  I have to slow down a little more to keep going.  The promised shower finally arrives and helps, a little.  But it is very brief and not enough to really cool things a whole lot.  Throughout the course there are organizers, race marshals, first aiders, water providers and bystanders who keep clapping and encouraging us to continue.  So I do.  I finally crossed the finish line around 1 PM completing the 70.3 miles (122.9 km) for the team.  Audrey, Lilly and Richard are waiting right after the finish line and we get our “finisher’s” medals; there is even a pool filled with cold water where I can try to regain some strength. 

Opportunity for another team photo… with our medals!

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I have no time for recovery.  Tonight, I leave for Perth and a one week vacation in Western Australia.

I just have to stop scheduling these trips after a major sporting event (this is the third time this year!).  It is all I can do to remain awake and functioning for a late night departure.  One good thing, though – I had no problems sleeping on the plane after the day that I had!

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Posted in Culture, Sports

The ZOO at night, un-Singaporean shopping, The Bay Run and Yen Nee’s Wedding Photos

On Friday, it was Freddy’s birthday. Ben and Jon needed to inspect the set-ups at the zoo for Saturday’s Family Day.  We therefore decided that we would cycle there.  Freddy, Ben an I left from Ben’s apartment and were met by Jon soon after we arrived at the Zoo – only a 13 km ride, but some traffic and two long hills.

The Zoo was closed, but we had special permission to go in.  Ironic that my first visit here is this way.  I have been to the Night Safari (and really like it) but never the Zoo itself.  I did not get to see any animals, other than the dark silhouette of two baboons.  However, I was able to realize that the setting is very nice, and that there seem to be no cages between the visitors and the animals.  We were driven around in an electric buggy by two security guards, who made sure we stayed out of trouble.

After the inspection, Yen Nee and Marilynn joined us with a special birthday cake for Freddy.

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They also had durian – my friends were surprised when I did not hesitate to have a piece.  I am glad that I can still surprise them some times.

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Here is a photo of the whole group who was there:

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Yen Nee (more about her later), Pierre, Freddy, Ben, Marilyn and Jonathan. 

On Saturday, I needed to do some shopping.  I have never been a good shopper.  Usually, it is “go-in-get-what-u-need-and-get-out”.  This goes totally against the ‘national sport’ here in Singapore – shopping centers, and there are many of those, are usually packed on Saturdays and Sundays, and not really empty the rest of the time with people doing a lot more looking than they are buying.  None the less, I bought a pair of dress trousers, a new weather station and the latest Harry Potter’s book all in less than one hour, including the bus rides to and from Orchard Road.

On Sunday was the annual SAFRA Shears Bridge Run and Army Half Marathon, also this year called the “Bay Run” as the end was on the new floating stage in Marina Bay.  I was signed up for the 12km run, as I did not feel ready yet for a ½ marathon.  This is a popular run and there were thousands of people at the start at 7AM.  Ben and Jonathan were doing the ½ marathon and had left at 5:30AM.  The start was delayed 15 minutes as the VIP (one of the local members of Parliament) was not there to give the start… I will never get used to the local’s flexibility with time.

Here is a picture of the start.  You can try to find me somewher close to the stage.  I am wearing a red shirt and a bow-tie.

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Very soon after the start, the route gets on to the East Coast Parkway (ECP) and crosses the bridge for which the race is named.  When you drive over this bridge in a car, it does not feel like much, and in less than one minute, it is all over.  When running, it is a whole different story!  I do not like climbs when I am running.  And this is a major climb.  The bridge has more than 25 m of clearance underneath; the climb seems to go on forever.  Reaching the top, I was totally spent, and still had more than 8 km to go.  The downhill portion allowed me to recover a little, but not as much as I was hoping.  The rest of the race was a struggle.  Immediately after the exit from ECP on Fort Road, we rejoined the route of the ½ marathon, and the crowd on the street increased significantly, with a lot of people just walking.  Only 3 km to go and I am not going to give up.  The finish is through the new stadium at the marina (I took some nice Fireworks shots from there last week) and onto the new stage.  Done! The time is not very good, about 10 minutes slower than I was hoping, but I did it (the results are out and I am 85th out of 229 Men Veterans – you can read all about the race on www.safra.sg).  The exit is back through the stadium, unfortunately, where the crowd and the heat makes it almost unbearable!  My shoes are “sqwishing” at every step from the accumulation of sweat from my legs! Even though the temperature was not very high, the humidity was, which made this a tough run. No photos, yet, but I will try to add some later when they are available.

Last week, there were fireworks here.  The stage is just huge as you can see here:

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The stands can sit up to 27000 spectators! Here is one of the pictures I took last year, from Shears Bridge

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and one from this year – sitting down

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It is unfortunate that the smoke from the fireworks hides significantly the skyline of Singapore.

My day was not finished yet!

At 10AM, I joined the rest of Papillion for a Photo Shoot.  Yen Nee had asked us if she could take some of her wedding photos with the team on a Dragon Boat – we enthusiastically agreed and immediately embarked on a massive planning effort.  Vincent negotiated with his friends at the SDBA to get us a brand new boat, with a golden drum; Ben looked for the best locations and tried desperately to find a date when most of us could make it.  And today is the day.

We need to launch the boat ourselves and than row all the way to the Oasis Bridge, where there are steps that can be negotiated with a wedding dress.  For the special occasion, I am actually wearing my black bow-tie with our normal rowing uniform (I wore the bow-tie for the run as well, and got some very interesting looks from other runners – I am hoping that there will be some good photos too).  As we arrive by water, the bride and groom were coming by land.  For a little over one hour, we rowed in circles with the wedding couple at the front, in the middle and at the back of the boat; with Yen Nee amongst the boys and her husband with the girls and many other combinations.  Other dragon boat teams practicing around us were clapping and sending their best wishes as well. We are now famous.  A local photographer happened to be there and posted two photos on STOMP (http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/viewPost5084.aspx) 

Here is one of them, in case you do not want to go hunting…

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After the shoot, and after a well deserved shower, as usual when we get together, we went to eat.  Thanks to Samuel, we re-discovered the excellent fish noodle shop we used to go to.  For a while, they had moved and we did not know where to.  Now we can safely go back to the Old Airport Road

new HawkerCenter and have excellent white fish noodle soup with milk, and a beer of course.

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Posted in Culture, Food, Sports, Travel

Jurong Island Race, Tokyo, Lau Pa Sat, BBQ, Casinos and a Typhoon

There are so many possible titles for this post but all would say too much.  You’ll have to read to the end to see what this is all about.

The Jurong Island Dragon Boat Race has been ‘owned’ by ExxonMobil (EM) in the last few years, ever since Georges (the then Chemical Plant Manager) extended a challenge to all of us in 2003 after no EM teams even got into the finals.  Our top men’s team “EM Ace” and our ladies’ team “The Tiger Lilies” have each won their respective competition three years in a row (2004 to 2006) and last year we had four Gold and one Bronze medal.  However, our competition is constantly improving, and there are several new teams this year, always an unknown quantity.

We knew we were in for a long day after the second heat of the 2007 competition on Saturday 4 August. EM Ace finished third in their heat and only the top two in each heat qualified for the final.  They would not get a 4th consecutive victory.

Fortunately Sea Blades (often, and unfairly, referred to as the ‘other’ men’s team) did qualify for the final in the open competition, Roaring 40s qualified in the veterans, the Lilies were directly into the ladies finals (as only three teams were entered) and Papillon qualified with the 4th best time overall for the mixed final after finishing a close second in our heat.

Our ‘Old Men” won their final, by 0.05 seconds; the Lilies did even better, winning by a mere 0.01 second.  Sea Blades was a very close third in the Open.

image002.jpgPapillion is ready and eager in preparation for the final of the mixed competition (front to back, right than left rower – Desmond, Jonathan, Su Li, Christy, Dawn (hidden), Yen Nee, Samuel (hiding), Ken, Ben, Myself and Patrick in the back).  We actually won it by 0.03 seconds, but we were disqualified because we ended the race in the wrong lane, actually locking paddles with the second place team in the lane next to ours.  It was a decision we could not dispute even if our ‘mistake’ probably did not influence the ultimate outcome of the race.

Last year, we had the best time of the heats and fell apart, due to our own lack of race experience, in the finals.  This year, we did OK in the heat and much better in the final, leading all the way from an excellent start, and still did not get our ‘toy’ – the gold medal.

I really think now that we are jinxed!

 

 image003.jpgWe know that we gave it our all and we were first across the finish line.  Nobody can take that away from us.  Two EM teams were very disappointed by the results that day.  It was very heartening,though, to see how all the other EM teams rallied around them in the true spirit of teamwork.  You can see from the attached photo that we have a very large Dragon Boat family at ExxonMobil.  They all helped a lot in making us feel better after what was very much a disappointment.

No time to celebrate, or commiserate, as that same evening at 11:30 PM I am off to Tokyo for a training class.  I sleep the “sleep of the just” in the plane, undisturbed by the events of Saturday, and really tired from all the efforts and excitement; when I finally wake up, we are only ½ hour out of Tokyo.  I am surprised to discover that the temperature is in the high 30’s and the humidity in the 90’s.  Not the ideal weather to ‘explore’ a city; and not what I remembered from previous visits (until I realize, of course, that the other visits were in December and January!).  I walk around the Ginza and Imperial Palace areas for the afternoon before meeting others for dinner at the hotel.  In the middle of this very modern city, I run into young (20-year old) women wearing very traditional kimonos and wooden shoes yet talking on or texting with their very modern 3-G telephones.

That evening, we go to a ‘shabu-shabu’ restaurant right down the street.  No one really speaks much English in there and there is no English menu, but we still manage to get a lot of excellent food, and really cheap for Japan and especially Tokyo.  Next day training and another excellent dinner.  Tuesday, back to Singapore. Typical business trip. I saw a lot of airplanes, airports, busses, taxis, subways, hotels and offices and very little of Tokyo itself.

Tuesday evening, I had dinner at Lau Pa Sat with friends.  Ben and I arrived early and even though we were clearly together, the taunts seemed to treat us separately, pulling me in one direction and him in another, as if they could not believe that we would actually have dinner together.  We finally got a table for eight and had immediate offers of satay and all sorts of other foods.  The ‘Tiger Girls’ we there too with jugs and mugs – not those jugs for those of you with a dirty mind! – I am not sure you could call them ‘girls’ any more as they had probably been doing this work for quite a few years…

 

On Wednesday, I discovered that Singapore can still surprise me.  I found a legal gambling hall!  Papillon was having its annual BBQ at the Costa Sands Resort.  I arrived early so I started to wonder around the place.  A door caught my attention as there was ‘Jackpot” written over it; I reallt expected to walk into a ‘casino-themed’ restaurant.  I walked instead into a room with 2 dozen slot machines and nobody asked me anything or tried to stop me, and the world did not end, and the police did not come out from behind one-way mirrors calling “Everybody put your hands up – this is a Sting Operation”.  I had seen ‘game rooms’ very discreetly hidden in some private clubs, but I had no idea they existed this openly available to the general public.  We had satay, bacon and mushroom skewer thingies (the new Papillon signature dish if we can find a better name for it), hot dogs, pork chops, otah, chicken wings, mee goreng, and much more.  We had chocolate cake and champagne when Freddy and Christy finally joined us.  We watched the videos of our last races – it is the first time that I am actually seeing myself rowing – and saw that we did very well in the CCG (bronze medal) and in the JI Race.  We talked ‘till early in the morning while others played Mah-Jong (I am still not sure if they play with the correct rules here!).  I had to go home early (I got there at 4AM) because I had an early flight to Hong Kong that same Thursday morning.

I finally figured out how to go directly from Hong Kong Airport to Macau.  But it cost me a brand new tube of toothpaste!  My first time in Hong Kong, I went there first and than to Macau.  On the last day, I took the ferry back to Hong Kong and immediately the train to the airport (a 4 hour trip!).  On the second trip to Hong Kong, I decided to start with Macau. Coming out of Immigration and Customs, I asked how to go directly to Macau, and was told that there is a way, but you have to do so before Immigration.  I had to take a train followed by a ferry for another 4 hour trip.  This time, I was determined not to miss it again.  Just to make sure, I decided that I would only have carry-on luggage, one small back-pack, so I had ultimate flexibility.  I found the desk for the ferry to

Macau and got a ticket for the 3:30 sailing.  However, I had to re-enter security after I got my ticket, and there, they confiscated my brand new tube of toothpaste because it was, allegedly, over the maximum allowable volume of 100ml! Singapore did not seem to mind, but Hong Kong said NO!

Macau is a very interesting mixture of modern and traditional.  Upon arrival at the ferry terminal, the announcement is made in Chinese (I suspect Mandarin rather than Cantonese) then English, Japanese and finally Portuguese.  10 years later and it is still the second language here in Macau.  Even new signs, erected since the end of colonial rule, still include Portuguese.  Most restaurants have a sign which says “Estabelecimento de Comidas” followed generally by a typical Chinese name such as ‘Tin Fock Lai’.I

am staying at the new Wynn Macau Casino Resort. 

Macau has changed a lot since the last time I was here for Chinese New Year in 2004 (a potential future post?) and yet some things have not changed.  I went into the historical district for dinner and found a little restaurant where I had excellent food for little money.  They had one menu which was translated into English but I really had to have imagination to attempt to understand what the actual food would be.  They have “fired fish brain with chilly” and “beef tenderness”; since they had fried in other places, I was puzzled by ‘fired’ which was repeated for many dishes; I am still not sure what ‘tenderness’ was all about – I know that mores are a little looser in Macau but I doubt if that had anything to do with it – I do not think that they were offering sexy massage with dinner; you only get that with a hair cut! 

The weather is not very good as Hong Kong and Macau are under the influence of the trailing edge of the latest typhoon.  Wind is not strong but there is a constant threat of rain and there is a complete cover of low clouds.  The light is grey and would remind my of my native country of the temperature had not remained around 30 C.  It should get better later as the remnants of the storm are moving away from here.

The biggest change is the construction of mega-casino resorts such as Wynn’s where I am staying.  In 2004 the Casino market has been opened to competition and several of the major Las Vegas companies are establishing a presence here.

 image006.jpgYou can see about the weather on this shot from my camera-phone.  The three-coloured tower on the left is a new resort being built (from the lion statue at the front, I suspect it may be MGM) and in the middle of the picture is the Wynn’s Resort where I am staying.  You can also see several sets of tower cranes for new buildings.  Further along the same view, Sands is finishing their resort and Venetian is also under construction on reclaimed land South of Macau – they are building a resort larger than the one in Las Vegas.  In the last year, Macau has surpassed Las Vegas as the largest gambling city in the world in terms of money played! And they are building here twice as fast as they are in LasVegas.

 image008.jpgHowever, Uncle Ho, former holder of the gambling monopoly in Macau, is not giving up without a serious fight.  His main casino was always the ‘Lisboa’ but he had gambling halls in most other major hotels.  He is building an incredible tower (it may look like it should belong to Playboy instead when it is finished – look for the bunny ears coming up…) with a huge Casino underneath.  The Casino is already open even though the tower is not yet completed – you do not need a hotel here in order to attract visitors to the casino.  Hidden under the tree, to the left of the massive building, you can almost see the entrance to the old casino, which used to be by far the largest in Macau – just to be sure you do not miss it, here is a blow-up of that same area.  It also gives you a better idea at the actual size of the new tower.

 image009.jpgI tried my luck in several casinos and made it without losing too much money, actually a lot less than I was ready to loose, mostly due to two big wins which made up for all the small losses.

I headed for Hong Kong on Saturday (lucky for me I did not try to do it Friday as all the ferries were cancelled due to bad weather) and just walked around to reacquaint myself with the city.  The weather continues to be bad and therefore I am not really tempted to go anywhere far.  However, the views of Hong Kong Harbour, with low grey clouds, can create dramatic images such as this one.

 image011.jpgThe large building in the middle disappearing in the clouds is the tallest in Hong Kong and there are twenty more floors that are currently.  I doubt that they can see the sun above the clouds even on the top stories…

On Sunday, 12 August, I was heading back to Singapore, 8 days after the beginning of this post.

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