Singapore May 2010

Well, it has come and gone, and this trip I was there for a week in the tropical heat doing a walk about. I now know where the Sheraton Centre is and walked from there to the botanical gardens on the 2nd day. On the first day i walked down Scott's and went west to Tanglin rd? and then east on Orchard all the way to the palace (Istana) grounds, where they promptly stop me from entering....lol.... i believe that was the western part of the central core/civic area; and which i visited on the third day (Fort Canning Park and Museums) , but via MRT... I smartened up...lol.... and the 4th day, I went into the eastern Katong area via taxi and MRT ....

On my first trip we had stuck around Clarke and Boat quays and essential the downtown central district... so i think i just about covered most of the core of Singapore? One night this trip we actually went to Sentosa for a meal on the island at a Susur Lee restaurant. Had been following him since Toronto.

We never did make it to 'bintan islands', but i did find out from the s'pore tourist office that this is the resort town to visit for Singaporeans! ....lol.... it is like Bali to the Indonesians, Puket to the Thai....

Anyway, sorry i missed you guys... especially since i recalled on the route to the botanical gardens thru Tanglin/Orchard and Nassim Rds seem to ring a bell as to your address... on Nathan Rd.... but maybe that was where the taxi took us....lol... to nassim instead of nathan...

In any event, the next time will have to be lunch in little india? or chinatown. and arab town?.... (i did visit the Sri Senpaga Vinayagar Temple on Ceylon St, when i walked around in Katong. Impressive)

i bought an 'insight guides' step by step to s'pore, which was useful; but only to find that s'pore is not a place to take step by step.... it is way too HOT ...lol..... must have lost 5 lbs of water.....

Next time....

Living in Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, a former British colony, that is trying very hard to shed its skin, 'it is possible to live reasonably quite well, but it is very expensive to live very well'.

Because it is a former financial center, like New York and London, it still has the same expenditure profile as these 'rich' cities. And if one is working as a businessman, banker or otherwise financial person, one could do very well with a 15% tax rate. But there is indirect and secret taxations ... for the 'public good' and the public health. Don't get sick or even require routine medical attention... for every minute the medical professional spends with you, he could be making an extra buck with someone else.......

And it is so easy to spend money in Hong Kong, that in and of itself is another form of taxation. Buyer beware could not be more true than in the entrepreneurial spirit that is Hong Kong.

Don't get me wrong, there are still some gems to live for in this city, but generally speaking, it is a place where people come to make money, spend money and then move on... even in the interim, like holidays. As I have said here before, people come and 'work', and then split for the holidays ... to their home country or to a foreign destination to vacation ... like Bali or Phuket. Or to take in spas, like Japan, or eat, as in Singapore and KL .....

In this Hong Kong has not changed at all since 1997. It is still the smog filled consumeristic hell hole it always was, second only to Shanghai as an 'entrepot' for China..... 'Money talks, bullshit walks' ... to quote Danny De Vito in a movie, is gospel here....

As a kwai low, I would live here for the fixed exchange rate with the US$. But as a chinese, I am sure there are better places to live in China.....

Questions?

If there is anyone who wants to know, where, in the places I have been, you'd like to visit, or what to see and what you would like to eat, let me know and I shall respond.

Do not make it anon.

Japan

In one word, skiing in Hokkaido and traversing in Tokyo, is 'expensive'!

I can think of no reason to go to Japan for a holiday, that you cannot get somewhere else, except for the fact that you have someone you want to meet or some other reason to go.

As a tourist, a skier, a shopper, a gourmand, sightseer..... there is no reason to go to Japan as far as skiing in Hokkaido and tourist in Tokyo is concerned. Unless you are Japanese, have relatives or some other personal reason to go.

And it's that time of year......

Christmas 2009.

Hello Everyone.....

This is the time year for cheer and for Christmas cards ...... and this year I had told myself that I would not be sending one out, having somewhat lost that Christmas spirit ......... but then I came across a picture taken by a friend of mine and thought... 'i have been asked many times, what

Christmas was like in Canada?'.... i think for me, this picture reflects what i loved most about Christmas and this time of year in Canada. And so here is my holiday greetings... copyright of the picture is by edkwanpicsinc.

The other pic i took as a counterpoint for those who wonder what it's like in HK and what perhaps I may have forgotten what Christmas was about.... and which shows what it is like in HK. ..... and yes, Fendi is just one of the hundreds of name brand stores in this characteristic HK downtown office building....

Warmest & Best Wishes for a Happy Holiday Season.

The Comarade.

one line opinions.....

We're skiing in Hokkaido over Xmas... and shopping in Tokyo over New Year's ... such is the way of HK'ians... Every time there is a break, they fly away... maybe it's the distances... it's like going to BC to ski or the Caribbean to scuba........ for Canadians ...

I have been to Bali 3 times, Perth and Sydney, Oz to visit sister in Oct....., Phuket, Singapore, Beijing, etc, but usually for a long weekend or a week at a resort type thing; however, was in oz for 3 weeks ......

Phuket, Thailand's Bali; Bali, the Asian world's playground with dishonest indigenes; Singapore, the chilly crab is not hot/chilly, but sweet...lol...; and Beijing, the people are rude and crude...; Macau & Hong Kong have not changed much except for the infrastructure; how's that for a synopsis.....

Perth is like San Diego without the class and Calgary 20 years ago...... Sydney is like Toronto 20 years ago, they even call the Tranga Zoo the Taranta Zoo....lol.....

HK has no real christmas to speak off, all the expats and well to do locals fly away... today is the bigger day, being the winter solstice, where all chinese families have a dinner together....

if every picture tells a story, then this is a one liner on what it's like at christmas in HK.... so have a happy holiday season, one and all......

Fall in Hong Kong

In a word, Fall or Autumn in Hong Kong is smog.

After a miserably hot and humid summer, people here are just glad the weather has 'improved'. And the improvement is smog, cooler and less rain... but don't know if that's a blessing or a curse. Certainly cuts back on the hiking. And the pollution index is always high, or at best medium.......

Like Ottawa, summer is the best season.... here it is winter....; and spring is awful in Ottawa, soggy, wet and chilly, whereas fall is miserable here, smoggy, dull with bits of sunshine amidst rain ...; quite the opposites, weather wise of course.

And yes, that was smog in the hiking post just before this one.