I hope you like losing to your wife

Mark and I are currently (and for the next two years) living in the Watermark condo along the river, one of the many things we liked about it was its proximity to the central business district, specifically, Mark’s office.  But, we also liked that it was close to Fort Canning Park.  While Fort Canning was a selling point for us when we were initially looking for places to live, I had not yet taken the time to visit this locally-loved park...Until this week.  And I must say that I was definitely missing out.  Aside from the beautiful views and nice walking paths, complete with TONS of stairs for working out – if you can brave it, Fort Canning is also rich in history.

View of Fort Canning Park

Fort Canning Map

Just some of the MANY stairs

Prior to the early 1800’s, Fort Canning is documented as Bukit Larangan which means “Forbidden Hill” as it was believed to be the burial place for ancient kings.  Since those early days, Fort Canning has served as everything from a key trading post, the Governor’s residence, a Military post, and the site of Singapore’s first botanical gardens.  Now, Fort Canning Serves primarily as a State Park used by locals for exercising and as a historical hot spot for tourists as the long history is excellently recapped on signs throughout the park.

More stairs.  I like this picture because of the ivy growing over things.

Pretty Flower/plant

Another tropical flower

Flowering tree at Fort Canning.  The branches of this tree touch the ground and are held up by steel so they do not break.

View 2 of flowering tree

My attempt at being a photographer

Just one of numerous informative sign located throughout the park

I walked/jogged Fort Canning for about an hour and was able to see several of the highlights; the 9 pound cannon, time ball, Iskander Shah's memorial, and the pretty scenery. I will definitely go back to see the remainder of what Fort Canning has to offer and also visit just to workout outdoors with beautiful views.

The 9 pound cannon

The time ball

Iskander Shah honorary tomb/memorial

Locals place fresh jasmine and other flowers at the memorial daily

Partial view of the city from Fort Canning

After leaving Fort Canning I walked immediately back to the condo to get Colt for his afternoon play date. Colt and I had met several women earlier in the day out walking with dogs at the same time as us.  We all stopped to pet each others dogs and had decided to meet up later in the day at the grassy area nearby for an official play date.  It started as just me, three other women, and all of our dogs but people walking by with dogs decided to join us too so it ended up being about an 8-10 dog play date. All the dogs seemed to get along pretty well and it was also nice to meet other dog owners in my area!  Colt played for about 45 minutes before becoming bored and overly hot so we headed inside and Colt was ZONKED the entire rest of the night!

Colt and friends in the middle of a "doggie greeting"

Colt and Calvin

Playtime!!!

Colt immediately after all the excitement of playtime

Like I said, "ZONKED"

The weekend brought several fun outings.  The first of which was our “date night” on Friday.  Since I hadn’t yet tried Hawker style chicken rice, a local favorite and a dish that Mark eats quite a bit for lunch during the week, he took me to try it at a place he visits often for lunch with his coworkers.  We’re still not sure of the name of the place but we refer to it as “purple house” because it’s a purple colored shop-house style building that has been converted into a restaurant on the first floor.  I let Mark do the ordering since he had eaten there before. We shared noodle soup and char siew chicken rice which is a rice dish served with chicken, pork, and duck.  It was all really good, I especially liked the duck. But, the best part was that we got dinner and a beer for…wait for it…$12!  Hawker food might not come with the best atmosphere but it sure does come at a great price.

Hawker menu

Noodle soup.  I didn't get a picture of the char siew.

Saturday mid-morning we headed out to the Farmer’s Market.  There are a few farmers’ markets throughout the city that usually take place about once a month.  Quayside is the location of the farmer’s market we went to and about a 2 minute walk from our condo. This location was just added to the farmer’s market schedule so this was the first month for it there.  It wasn’t quite what we were expecting in that I thought of farmer’s markets as more fresh fruits and vegetables with a few homemade local items whereas this was more of a wine, cheese, and recipe tasting with just a few fresh fruits and vegetables. But, I’m definitely not complaining!  Mark purchased some seasoned olives and avocados while I “took one for the team” and did most of the wine tasting ; )  During the sampling, we snacked on beef skewers and fluffy buns, and Mark tried cured lamb leg that they shaved off right in front of you!  We also got a to-go Mediterranean seafood and rice dish to save for later which was really good.

Farmer's market sign along the river which is how we heard about it.

Mark getting ready to taste the cured lamb leg

The preparation of the beef skewers

The finished product, YUM!

Deep fried buns, chili crab sauce, and fluffy buns

The table of fresh fruit

The Mediterranean seafood rice dish that we ordered to-go

Sunday we met up with some friends for a “beer brunch” to celebrate a friends’ birthday.  We met at a German place called Brotzeit where we had lunch; pork medallions for me and veal schnitzel for Mark.  After lunch, we headed to a place called Emerald Hill to continue the celebration.  Emerald Hill is comprised of a few streets of restored buildings that mainly feature Chinese architecture.  So, basically they are all painted different colors, have really intricate wood work, and are very beautiful.  It was previously a place where the wealthy lived but now is mostly home to bars and restaurants.  After spending a little more time with friends, Mark and I headed home to do the last of the preparations for our Fantasy Football draft was set to take place at 12:30 AM Monday morning.  Mark started the league last year and continued it this year with all 12 players (including myself and Mark) returning so he set it up with a late time for us since everyone else is on Houston/Mt. Vernon time.  The drafting for the league wrapped around 2:00 AM with both Mark and I feeling confident in our teams.  We face off the first week so I told Mark that I hope he likes losing to his wife!!

Shop-house featuring Chinese architecture

Close-up of shutters and lanterns above the bars and restaurants

Mark and Colt relaxing before the Fantasy Football draft

When Colt met Calvin

A Colt update – Colt still seems to be adjusting really well.  He probably spends more time (in total) outside daily here than he did in the U.S. - just because I’m at home more. Although, his times outside in Singapore aren’t as long in duration but are more frequent.  His continued interests include: naps on the couch, chewing toys, and Popsicle's (kiwi flavored is his new favorite).  His new hobby is attempting to chase the Asian bobtail cats that hang around Colt’s turf.  As you can imagine, Colt attempting to chase cats while on the leash that I’m also attached to is a lot of fun for me (I write this in the most sarcastic tone possible).  

Colt is also making new friends!  Hayley, who was mentioned in previous blog, just got a 4-5 month old male Beagle puppy named Calvin. Colt met for the first time on Monday.  The meeting was really cute – Calvin kept jumping up to greet Colt and Colt rolled around on the ground with Calvin.  They lost interest in each other after a few minutes and began synchronized stick chewing but they have another “play date” tonight at 6pm with two other dogs so hopefully there will be a little more interaction then!

Rolling/cuddle on the ground

Calvin trying to climb on Colt

The stick chewing has begun...

I thought this one was really cute of Calvin

Colt looks like a giant compared to Calvin!

Bukit Timah Nature Reserve

All-in-all, Mark and I had a pretty uneventful week.  So this week I’ll just share with you a weekday highlight which included meeting up with a new friend, Hayley.  I met Hayley right after moving into our permanent condo while I was out walking Colt (like I said, he’s a good conversation starter!).  We hit it off as we both liked dogs and had been SPCA volunteers in Houston.  Hayley volunteers at the SPCA here in Singapore and has been really helpful in letting me know what I need to do to continue my SPCA volunteering here also.

Anyways…Hayley and I decided to go to the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve for some exercise.  This reserve is one of the primary pieces of rainforest in Singapore and is really beautiful.  Most people go to BTNR for hiking or biking.  We stuck with all hiking and I’m glad – after so many stairs on the trail we chose I probably wouldn’t have been able to bike even if I wanted to.  While it was tiring, the bright-side is that the whole reserve is very lush with lots of trees and plants so it makes working out not seem like much work. 

Foliage at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve

Man-made nature Trail

Nature-made stairs

There are also lots of animals at there; we saw some lizards and monkeys…LOTS of monkeys.  The monkeys we saw were all kind of grouped together along a large hill that you hike up almost immediately after you enter the reserve.  We probably saw at least 25 of them - all different sizes.  They are (deceivingly) cute but could probably be mean when they wanted.  We had been walking for about 5 minutes before one jumped at Hayley. I laughed…until it happened to me and sent me running (faster than I had in a long time) and screaming!  I was pretty scared but I think my reaction scared the monkey even more, haha!  

Monkey in the tree at Bukit Timah

Group of monkeys along the trail

Different group of monkeys

The monkey that sent me running!

Our hike took about 1.5 hours in total and brought us past the highest hill in Singapore.  The hill is called Bukit Timah Summit and the height is 163.63 meters or 536.84 feet. 

Niki at Bukit Timah Summit, the highest point in Singapore

Sign at the reserve.  Again, Singapore gets pretty animated with their signs!

Below are some videos I took of the monkeys during the hike.  You'll have to excuse the quality, I took them from my phone I didn't have to carry a camera.

Our first visitor!

On Wednesday evening (August 10^th) Colt was finally home from boarding!  Colt has been minding really well since being home from boarding so I joke with Mark that we need to send him to boarding at least once a month.  Aside from behaving better than usual, he’s been back his normal self – just a little more sleepy than usual.  I snapped this picture of him mid-week sleeping on the couch with his head upside down.  I thought it was cute because it looks like he is smiling and having sweet dreams : ) Aww!

Colt with his "sweet dreams" smile

Just another shot of that precious mug

Since returning from The States and getting Colt back, we spent the remaining part of the week trying to get everything in order and get back to our routine before our first Singapore visitor arrived on Saturday, August 13.  That visitor was our friend Scott, who works with Mark, for Shell in Houston, TX.  Scott is currently living in Chennai, India for a year which he will complete in March 2012.  He arrived in Singapore early Saturday morning and wanted to “hit the ground running”.  So first on the agenda was a tour of our condo, then a tour of the surrounding area which included a walk for Colt.

View of the walkway below our condo that runs along the river

View 2 of walkway and river

Colt and I in the parking garage, headed out for our morning walk

This was also in the parking garage.  We see more Lambo's and Ferrari's here than I've ever seen in my life!

View 1 from our condo balcony

View 2 from our condo balcony

View 3 from our condo balcony

Mid-day, Mark and Scott went sightseeing around the city where Mark showed Scott the Singapore Shell office building, some cityscapes, and Chinatown.  They also had Singapore Slings at the Long Bar at Raffles Hotel.  The Long Bar at Raffles Hotel is the place where the original Singapore Sling Cocktail was developed sometime before 1915 by Mr. Ngiam, a bartender at the time.  Having a Singapore Sling at the original Long Bar has become a favorite tourist activity in Singapore. But, at $24 a drink it’s something people living here don’t do often (but I made Mark promise to go just one more time since I haven’t been yet).  

Entrance to Mark's Office

Long Bar at Raffle Hotel

Informative Long Bar sign

The famous Singapore Sling

Close up of the vintage glass

After their drinks, I met Mark and Scott for lunch at Brewerkz, a microbrewery and restaurant.  We choose Brewerkz so Scott could get a good burger since beef is pretty hard to come by in Chennai.  When we got back from lunch the boys turned in for some afternoon napping with Colt before we went out Saturday night.  

Picture of the river during my walk to meet Mark and Scott for lunch

River Taxis outside of Brewerkz

Clarke Quay during our walk home from lunch

Saturday night our first stop was a bar Mark had been to before with his coworkers, it’s called 1-Altitude.  1-Altitude is a pretty swanky place boasting some of the best views of the city and I have to say that I agree with that assessment.  Following a few drinks and photo-ops we took a river walk through the area of Boat Quay and made our way to Clarke Quay where we took Scott to a few of the more “touristy” bars.  The bar I was most interested in going to was called The Clinic.  It’s pretty close to our condo so we’ve seen it frequently but have never stopped in.  The entire concept of The Clinic is a medical clinic.  All the waitresses wear nurse’s outfits while the waiters and male bartenders dress as doctors.  The seating is comprised of wheelchairs and hospitals beds while the drinks are served from plastic syringes and/or IV bags.  It’s another one of the many places that I don’t foresee ever running into in the U.S. So, while it’s not likely to become our regular hangout spot, we had to try it once!

Black and white view of a Singapore street from 1-Altitude

Nighttime view of Marina Bay Sands, Singapore Flyer, and Artscience Museum

Another picture from the rooftop bar, 1-Altitude

Mark and Niki at 1-Altitude

Mark, Niki, and Scott on rooftop at 1-Altitude

By the river in Boat Quay

Mark and Scott by the river in Boat Quay

View of Clarke Quay at night

The Clinic, the medical clinic inspired bar

Mark and the IV drink (I practically had to force him to try it)

Niki with the IV

Scott enjoying the IV

A toast to Scott and his first Singapore adventure!

Sunday we took Scott for some local fare at a restaurant called Red House.  There we dined on local favorites: chili crab, cereal prawns, garlic grilled asparagus, and seafood fried rice.  Later in the day Mark and Scott went to Marina Bay to see the Merlion and try their luck at the casino.  Unfortunately, both were losers but not too bad though.  Sunday night before turning in early, we toasted to Scott’s first visit to Singapore as we sipped wine along the river. 

A local favorite, cereal prawns (also our favorite)

Chili crab at Red House, very spicy!

Mark in front of part of the Singapore Skyline at Marina Bay before going to the casino

Monday morning as Mark headed for work, Scott and I made our plans for the day.  We decided to meet Mark for a sushi lunch (another things Scott doesn’t get in India) and then visit the ArtScience Museum.  There are three exhibits currently at the museum, we choose to see all three.  The first exhibit we walked through was called: Dali, Mind of a Genius.  In this exhibit there were 10 galleries and more than 250 pieces of artwork with the focus being on what fascinated and inspired Salvador Dali.  This was my favorite exhibit of the three and the one we got the most pictures of.  There we so many pieces of the artwork that when trying to narrow down my pictures for the blog I had a hard time choosing my favorite pieces to share but I did try.  After the Dali exhibit Scott and I headed to Van Gogh Alive the exhibition.  There was no photography allowed in this exhibit as it was presented with a mix of audio-visual technology spanning over 28 minutes.  In my opinion, this was an exhibit worth seeing once but not something I enjoyed enough to see again.  Lastly, we headed to the exhibit titled: Shipwrecked Tang Treasures and Monsoon Winds.  It showcases shipwreck artifacts found near Indonesia in 1998 that were untouched on the seafloor for over 1,000 years.  The exhibit also covers a lot on the topic of trade between China and West Asia.  What I found most interesting was that the shipwreck contained the first known pieces of the Chinese blue and white ceramics.  It was also amazing that they were in such good condition after being underwater for so long.

Scott entering The Mind of a Genius (The Salvador Dali exhibit)

My very favorite piece titled "The Art of Love"

Title Woman Aflame

Another favorite but cannot remember the title

Scott in "The Garden of Eden"

Niki being silly in "The Garden of Eden"

Niki's favorite picture of Salvador Dali

Some of the mass produced bowls found on the shipwreck

Intricate detailing of ceramic pot intact after over 1,000 years underwater

Gold plate and dishes were also found with the wreckage

Niki's favorite dish found in the wreckage.  The earliest example of the Chinese blue-and-white ceramics

After our tour of the ArtScience Museum, we headed back to the condo so Scott could pack for his return to India.  All-in-all, it was a fun weekend with a great friend and new experiences!