Chapter 11

Flying, food-tossing, fire and fish......

Postscript to last blog.................should have not mentioned the lack of rain as the next day it rained solidly.  ALL day!  Oops.


Saw another movie, which seems to be what we do on rainy days. "Quartet" this time, and we gave it 3 stars!

The party continues......
We thought Chinese New Year celebrations had dissipated, but were delighted to get an invitation from our apt manager to join the staff and other residents for lunch.  It was fascinating to learn the meaning of the dance, the rhythmic drumming and why the lion tosses oranges and lettuce (and no it wasn't a salad for lunch).

About 30 of us met in the foyer at midday, and were entertained with a traditional lion dance. 

We then headed to the top floor for a wonderful buffet. Firstly, though, each table joined in the traditional custom of making the entree. It consisted of raw fish, pomelo, pepper, oil, shredded carrots, shredded white radish, green radish, peanuts, sesame seeds and topped with crisp golden pillow-like chips. When it was ready, we had to toss it in the air, an auspicious 7 times, with our chopsticks and makes wishes. Very messy. We ate what did not fall on the table or carpet.

Our table consisted of an American, a Swiss guy and a fellow Australian from Swan Hill!

















My walk in the morning is my serious walk - my afternoon walk is a reconnaissance. I try and find new places to eat and places to visit. One day I came across a flight simulator experience. Thought this would be good for Philip to take his mind off work, so I purchased a gift voucher for him.  He could not wait, so the first weekend we were there.  

Well.......after a 15 minute training session, (one on one), he was ready to take his position in the cockpit. Pity they didn't have a uniform for him.  I've always dreamt of a man in uniform. Another bucket list item?  I could have sung that song, or hummed it at least .........."you can leave your hat on".
Anyway, back to the story.
Pilot Pip took off from "Hong Kong" airport, and flew the Airbus 320 to "Melbourne".  He then flew from there to "Charles de Gaulle" with a lap of the Eiffel Tower.  Landed safely, in one piece, and with a thumbs up from the trainer.  I sat in the navigators seat as official photographer.  He had a smile all day, and days after that.  There is a rock climbing wall in the same building..........I wonder if that's the next adrenalin rush?

On the Sunday of the Chinese New Year long weekend, we decided on an outing to Sentosa to see the new Oceanarium.  Got there at lunchtime along with about 3000 others - mainly itinerant workers having one of their few days off.  This is what we encountered!  First time we have been driven away by a crowd. Never got to the Oceanarium.

After 4 months here, there is still plenty to see and do.  We found the Peranakan Museum very informative. A Peranakan means "child of" or "born of" and is used to refer to people of mixed ethnic origins. S. E. Asia has been a  crossroad for trade since ancient times. Some of the traders settled here and married local women, and their descendants are the Peranakans.

Came across our first graffiti here. Thought it was pretty artistic!

 

One special event that we wanted to attend was a parade called Chingay.  This annual event began its existence in the 1970's when Chinese fire crackers were banned.  Each year has a theme and this year was called "Fire in Snow" (which is meant to reflect the strength of the human spirit). Performers dressed in an array of colours, brought song and dance to the 390m stretch in front of the F1 pit building.   A 22m long centipede spewed fire as it danced, which was mesmerising, as were the many brightly lit floats. This year's parade had 10,000 performers, and an audience of 150,000.  Photos will do it more justice than words!

Our second attempt at the Oceanarium was successful. We ventured out early, and beat the crowds.  This is huge.........100,000 marine animals in 45 million litres of water.  Wow!
Even if you are not "into" things like this, you can only be impressed.

Some family news is as follows......
Laura is moving to Darwin, and will be renting out her unit in Burwood.  She is packing up her belongings and dogs and driving west then north up the centre of the country. 3759km's!
She is so excited about this new challenge, and has the support of all her family in this decision. We are very proud of her........you go girl!
We have told her it must be gypsy blood, as her Grandpa moved his family to Australia from England, her cousin is  living in the UK, and we are in Singapore. 
I must also say a big thank you to Joh and Greg for putting on a family birthday dinner for Laura in our absence. She turned 30 this year, and it is a very special milestone. As I have said in previous blogs, birthdays are family times, and we celebrate no matter what! We talked on video Skype during the dinner, and sang Happy Birthday to her and watched her blow out the candles. Thanks. It was special.

We will have Alan and Wendy visiting for approx a week in April, which we are really looking forward to. 

A few vacancies at Hotel Clewlow in March!

Till the next blog.......
Annie xxx