I have to say Kingsley and I have been so very fortunate to have met many great friends in Singapore. I think there is something to be said about being out of your comfort zone of long time friends and just putting yourself out there with an open mind. The most unexpected friendships are often the best!
Having a wonderful time at a weekend BBQ/Braai/Barbie with our American, Canadian, Australian, Singaporean, South African and British friends.
As a belated birthday surprise, my friend Victoria packed a picnic and took me to watch a ballet performance in Fort Canning park.
It was sprinkling lightly when we first arrived which is why you see all the umbrellas out but it cleared up as the evening progressed. I love that in Singapore it never gets cold. It's balmy even at night in the rain.
Champagne with fresh strawberries...she thought of everything!
Bread, cheese, salmon, capers, caviar, goat cheese stuffed red peppers. A very decadent and delicious picnic! Much fancier than the PB& J sandwiches I probably would have packed!
The ballet was a compilation of dances from the Singapore Ballet Company and Manila Ballet Company. The final dance of the night was scene two from Swan Lake which was breathtaking.
Teresa Hsu is a feisty, quick witted Chinese-born Singaporean nurse and social worker, who is affectionately known as Singapore’s Mother Teresa. Inspired by her mother, she has dedicated her life to helping the poor and needy.
Born in 1898 during the Qing Dynasty to a poor family in Guangdong Province, China, Teresa Hsu has led an extraordinary life that has taken her to Penang, Hong Kong, England, Paraguay and finally Singapore. She has harnessed her life experiences to fight inequality, poverty, unkindness where she sees it.
In 2005, she was the recipient of the Singapore government’s Special Recognition Award to honour her contribution to the country.
She is feisty, witty, determined and at 114 years old still helps the less fortunate through her organisation Heart to Heart.
Had an amazing experience tonight listening to the wisdom and witty humor of a 114 year old Chinese Singaporean nurse who has devoted her life to serving the poor. Her secret to long life? Laughter, yoga, meditation and a raw egg every morning for breakfast (half of which she eats the other half spread on her face as a beauty treatment).
The evening was video taped and will be online soon so I will add that video to the blog when it becomes available. Until then here is a quick interview that was done last year.
My friend Clancy, an awesome Bikram yoga instructor, opened her own studio in Singapore last week. Kingsley and I went to the inaugural class last Saturday and to be perfectly honest...we nearly died. This whole hot yoga stuff is no joke, I don't think I have ever sweat so much in my life. Poor Kingsley looked like he had jumped in a pool fully clothed by the end of class. Since I bought a 10 day intro pass I am determined go as much as I can this next week to see if this strange torture is something that actually becomes fun over time!
"Never too old, never too bad, never too late and never too sick..." Bikram
Clancy teaching the first class
Kingsley and I are in the back (far right corner in the picture)
Again you can see Kingsley and I in the back row. We are the two that look like we may fall over any minute.
You probably guessed from the crazy title that we have another batch of foster kittens AND that Kingsley has named them! Eeny (no tail female), Miney (half tail male), Moe (tuxedo full tail male).
As you can see from the photos they live a pretty tough life at the Wood household...
I was very impressed with the quality and selection of restaurants in Hoi An. Many of them offer cooking classes for anything from $7 per day to $40. Sadly we were too busy with our tailoring appointments to do a cooking class....but hopefully next time.
The Mango Room - Was a hip little restaurant right on the riverside. Carolee and I shared the fresh spring rolls and the grilled jumbo prawns with Vietnamese seasoning.
Good Morning Vietnam -best (gorgonzola) gnocchi I have ever had in my life. Loved the food so much we went back the next night and ordered the same thing. Also got a chance to meet the owner who was from Venice. We begged for the gnocchi recipe and he gave us a rough outline of how to make it but its pretty intimidating to try to duplicate perfection.
Mango Mango - excellent dessert Mango Flambe with coconut sauce and mango nectar. Would love to learn how to duplicate that as well. The Secret Garden - banana chocolate crepes. Most entrees on this menu were $3-$6. Our entire meal plus Champagne and dessert was around $20.
Stayed at the Ha An hotel, a small boutique hotel in the heart of the city. Situated on a small side street with very little road traffic and the beautiful gardens surrounding the hotel made the location perfect.
The staff were wonderful, anticipating your every need with incredible attention to detail. They remembered that the first day I ordered a cup of green tea with breakfast in the morning so by the time we arrived at the breakfast the next morning my cup of tea was ready and waiting. Ha An offered the best breakfast buffet I have ever indulged in and the best part was that it was included in the room rate of $70. There was an omelet station, a station making Pho noodles along with tons of fresh fruit, Vietnamese delicacies, pastas, pastries and cheeses.
The icing on the cake for me was the unlimited use of the hotels bright yellow touring bikes with baskets. We road these bikes to and from tailoring appointments, the beach, to explore the city.
Hoi An is renowned for its tailoring and custom made clothes. Tailor shops full of vogue patterns and magazines line almost every road, all wanting to make your suits and dresses. I think I managed to control myself reasonably well and only had several (more than 5 less than 10) dresses made...and a pair of silk shoes.
The fanciest tailor shop in town is called A Dong Silk. They have the best quality and selection of fabrics and receive amazing reviews from almost every customer. I had 2 Thai silk dresses made there which turned out beautifully! Through this whole process I have learned that part of the success in tailoring comes from multiple fittings. A Dong silk had me return for 3 fittings, the shoe shop had 2 fittings and Emma (the tailor who did all my other dresses) had me come back for 3.
The dresses from A Dong Silk were a bit more expensive but my custom shoes were $30 and custom dresses from Emma's were $20. A bargain if you remember these dresses are made exactly for your body by some of the best tailors in the world!
My day ended up looking something like this:
9am - A Dong Silk
10am- Shoe shop
11am- Emma's (Nana)
1pm- A Dong Silk
2pm- Shoe shop
3pm- Emma's (Nana)
4pm- A Dong Silk
5pm - Emma's (Nana)
Emma and I at the end of my 3rd fitting. I was so happy with all of my dresses and Emma was so happy that I was so happy that she awarded me an impromptu (Vietnamese style) Cha Cha Cha dance.
Spent the last 4 days exploring Hoi An with Carolee and I have to say, I think Hoi An is one of my favorite spots in Asia so far. It is by far my favorite spot in Vietnam.
Hoi An is a sleepy little river side town located on the banks of the Thu Bon river. A World Heritage site thats full of fishing boats with eyes painted on and lit up by small oil lanterns at night. Its a romantic place with narrow streets packed with excellent restaurants, beautiful craft shops and lots of tailors.
Although scenic during the day, I found it the most beautiful at night with colorful paper lanterns hanging from trees and small oil lanterns illuminating the river.
No cars or motorcycles are allowed inside the Old Town part of Hoi An. This made it incredibly pleasant to ride bikes or stroll along the narrow streets which we did nearly everyday. By the end of our stay, many of the shopkeepers would cheerfully greet us as we rode by.
Having a wonderful time at a weekend BBQ/Braai/Barbie with our American, Canadian, Australian, Singaporean, South African and British friends.
Having a wonderful time at a weekend BBQ/Braai/Barbie with our American, Canadian, Australian, Singaporean, South African and British friends.
