Singapore - Changes, Part III

Apartment Update
After our tenants moved back to France, Dodo's mom contacted Dodo and told her the house needed to be refreshed.  Let's just say, to be polite, that there was some sort of miscommunication.  The apartment got white-washed: all of the strong colors were removed, couches were changed, curtains added.  Not to our liking, shall we say?  So, a re-refresh was in order.  This is how the living room looked when we arrived.

Singapore - Changes, Part II

The Park Connector Network
They're ambitious here.  When they say they have a plan to be car light, they actually take action to make it happen.  By 2020 they plan to have 225 miles of dedicated lanes for biking, walking or running.  By 2030, the target is 435 miles.  They call it the Park Connector Network ("PCN") and the idea is to connect every park and green space in the country with these dedicated paths.  When I lived here a few years back they'd begun work on it but it wasn't very impressive.  I didn't have a bike at the time so I tried it out on foot and jokingly dubbed it the "stair connector network."  Every path invariably led to a staircase to traverse the highways or canals.  I didn't think very much of it.  A lot has changed.

Singapore - Changes, Part 1

Rental Bikes
From none to drowning in bikes, in just a single year.  They're everywhere - bikes to be rented by the minute, by the hour.  Even though Singapore has a grand plan to go 'car light' in the future, this was something I never expected.  There seem to be four to five companies competing, but the two I prefer are from China: Mobike and Ofo.  They're the cheapest and seem to have the most bikes.

Singapore - Family Goodbyes

Over Dinner, Of Course
On our last day we had a big goodbye dinner at the house.  Everyone was in a great mood, we'd had a fun visit.  I'd spent every minute attempting to become a better son-in-law.  My approach was simple - act like Jean.  Say yes to everything, try to pay for things and smile a lot.  I must say - I felt happier after I started doing that.

Singapore - Hawkers

The Best Thing About Singapore is Disappearing
Each time I come, there is one fewer.  Long gone is my beloved Lavender hawker - a ramshackle open-air food court not far from our condo.  I would come once every few weeks to nurse a beer or down a savory pancake or two.  It was across the street from an assortment of karaoke bars and cheap hotels - the people watching was second to none.  The shiny condo tower that replaced it casts a long shadow and no doubt will sanitize the whole neighborhood.

Singapore - Friends Dinner

Birthdays and New Years Celebration
I took the bus downtown and walked the last 1/2 mile to the National Gallery, a museum made from the former supreme court.  The clouds were threatening as I walked past the padang (cricket pitch.)  I was on my way to a dinner with all of Jean's friends.

Singapore - the Condo Roof

Even Greener
I went over to our condo to re-stain the teak deck on the roof.  It's clear our tenants love the roof, they've doubled down on the greenery.  Raoul, a Frenchman, explained that he decided to rent our place because of the roof.  His wife nodded in agreement.

Singapore - Changes

Before and After
When we bought our condo the neighborhood was one of the few which had never voted for the incumbent government.  It was known as an "opposition neighborhood" and was thus starved of funds.  It looked to be about 30 years behind.  One year after we bought our condo, the neighborhood voted the opposite way.  Soon after, the towers began to sprout.  This is the view looking north from our roof 4 years ago.

Singapore - the BEST Friend

Giselle
Jean and I picked her up from school one afternoon.  Imagine trying to pick out a small four-eyed asian girl from a sea of identically dressed four-eyed asian girls.  Thousands and thousands of them running out of school at the same instant - a yellow and blue wave. We stood waiting, looking - nothing. Eventually, she found us.

Singapore - Friends Five

Jiahui
Jiahui's nickname is Efficient Doggie.  Amongst all the friends, she simply gets things done.  If you talk about a movie you want to see, she'll ask in Singlish "got free tonight?" type on her phone and seconds later "booked, lah, 7pm."  If you have a dinner appointment with her at 6pm, she'll text you at 5:50, before you even arrive at the restaurant "hey, what you want, ah?  Ordering arrreddy, ok?"

Singapore - Friends Four

MC and Mark
Along with Kevin, MC was my other partner in crime during my Singapore days.  She loves to eat and was always up for an outing at a new cafe or restaurant.  She is the only one of Jean's girlfriends who can drink.  We downed many bottles of wine together.  She was a frequent rooftop dining guest, always texting me "hey, what you cooking tonight?"  We became neighbors after she bought an apartment in our neighborhood.  Since I left she got herself a good guy - Mark.

Singapore - Friends Three

Kevin and Cavina
Kevin is Jean's former boyfriend and strange as it sounds, we hit it off right away.  This guy kept me from going crazy when I was living here.  We played basketball, drank coffee, went to the movies, ate, hung out, drank beer.  He taught me all the Hokkien curse words I know, though I can never seem to remember which means what so I string them all together in a burst of anger.  He just laughs and laughs.  Matter of fact, he is always laughing.  Love this guy.

Singapore - New Year's Eve

Eating Out

The normal tradition is to go to Jean's Aunt's house but this year was different since Rose was recovering from a mastectomy and had just suffered through a first round of chemo.  She and her husband, Tio Tio, are all smiles here but earlier in the week she spent a handful of unhappy days in the hospital after a bad reaction to the chemo.  We went out to a local "coffee shop" for dinner.

Singapore - Friends Two

Meiwan and Jia Ming
Meiwan is another of Jean's long time friends.  She, like Jean, loves to eat and will drive all over the island to get the best Char Kway Teow or Roti Prata.  She was my squash partner while I lived in Singapore - we played about once a month, sometimes with Gina, sometimes just the two of us.

Singapore - Friends One

Gina and Sze Long
Gina, on the left, has been a friend of Jean's since grammar school.  Theirs was a friendship built on law and order.  Gina, the hall monitor, was constantly doling out demerits to Jean for being late to school and cutting the lunch line queue.  They've been tight ever since, or mostly so.  A few years back Sze Long, on the right, formerly the girlfriend of Jean's sister, changed allegiances, shacking up with Gina.

Singapore - Birthday Celebrations

Yes, As in Plural
This was a great birthday year -I had three separate parties.  The first was about ten days ago with Jean and her friends at an Italian restaurant.  Plenty of wine was flowing.

Singapore - Garden Update

Fruitful
Despite 35 straight days with no rain, things are fairing well on the roof.  Most of the plants need water three times a week but the chili plant drinks daily.  I've eaten and harvested many green chilies and couldn't keep up - some turned red and I've got them drying in the sun for longer keeping.

Singapore - Decorating Update

Getting Customized
Who knew that the Dodo could paint freehand?  Near the front door we painted one wall bright yellow and then added some stickers.

Singapore - Roof Gardening Update

Some Good, Some Bad
Most of the plants survived our absence pretty well.  The lantana in the inner planter thrived.

Singapore - Haven't Killed Anything...

Yet...
Three of the five trees are flowering, attracting hundreds of bees at a time.  The trio of sunbirds still visit throughout the day.