WEEKS 22 - 28

MATT'S TOP 10 FROM SINGAPORE

Weeks 22-28: August 13, 2011 – October 1, 2011

I dedicate this blog installment to you, Mom…

Wow…it’s been awhile.  I would like to say that I’m really busy with work, “training” for a half marathon in December (I use the term training very loosely), and traveling a bit here and there across Asia…but the only excuse I really have is that I’ve been lazy in writing these.  I know – weak excuse.  I’ll have to try to get better…

After my last installment, my mom told me that it might be a good idea to clean up some of the language that I use in my blog….and that some may take offense to some of the things I’ve been documenting.    So the following blog is my attempt to be a little more politically correct…

Actually - who am I kidding – I can try – but I know myself too well – When I see things like people in the street smoking cigarettes backwards and people in China squatting in the middle of the road to go to the bathroom when there is a public toilet just across the street, there’s just no way to be politically correct about it!  I will try harder though Mom J

So without further introduction, here’s this installment of my Top Ten from Singapore…

1.  Korea…getting a bit better…

I think the third time might be a charm.  The past two times I've been to Korea have been just so-so.  In fact – and sit down for this one because I know it’s going to be a big surprise – I've never been a huge fan of visiting the country.  Maybe it was the hot summer months spent there or the part of the city I was in, but it never was an enjoyable experience.  That being said, a few weeks ago Lisa and I went back to Korea for work.  This time around I sensed my attitude changing (how’s that for a positive spin for all of you out there that say I’m too pessimistic).  I actually really enjoyed this trip to Seoul and the cultural experience the county brought.  I think it definitely helped that Lisa was there with me and we got to experience parts of the city with local co-workers vs. my ‘hop-on hop-off’ bus tours of the past.  It also was Fall time in Seoul so it brought some welcome relief from Singapore’s humidity.  Here’s some high/lowlights from our trip:

A. I’ve had a translator speak for me when presenting in the past – but normally for a short period of time.  I had no idea how difficult it was going to be to present with a translator for over an hour.  I always speak quickly when I present – it’s something I try very hard to work on – especially here where English is a second language.  Easier said than done though…In one of my presentations on this past trip to Seoul, the translator must have put up his index card a hundred times in my hour presentation telling me to slow down so he can translate what I was saying…talk about embarrassing!  I did get a little better as the week progressed…

B. I probably had one of the most interesting food experiences of my life during this trip.  The first night we went out for a very traditional Korean dinner.  It was in a beautiful setting in a garden where they served some really good food.  They had different types of meat and fish and side dishes called kimchi.  Kimchi is a traditional fermented Korean dish made of vegetables with different types of seasonings.  We were told that there are hundreds of varieties of kimchi that are made with a main vegetable ingredient such as napa cabbage, radish, green onions or cucumber.  All in all, it was a pretty good meal (except for one of the fish dishes they served – see picture below).  This was a little fishy (pun intended) for me…

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They also served what they called pine mushrooms.  They claimed it was the most expensive food you can order in Korea.  The below plate cost the equivalent of $200.  I will say that these things were amazing.  They tasted like pine, but were really refreshing at the same time.  Not something I would normally order, but when the president of your company in Korea orders it for you, it’s hard to say no.

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The entire meal we had the first night consisted of 18 courses.  We counted all of them – granted, they were small courses, but I thought the food was never going to end.

Now for the weird part.  The next night, they took us out for Sashimi.  I normally really like Sushi/Sashimi but this wasn’t your typical Sushi/Sashimi restaurant like you see in the US.  This was traditional Korean.  At one point they brought live fish to the table, had you choose which one you wanted, and cut it up right there for you.

I will say, I was adventurous – I tried Abalone (which actually was still moving on the table when they served it (pictured below).  Very weird putting something to eat in your mouth that’s still moving - but when in Rome…
They actually had us wrap it in lettuce and put wasabi on it to help kill the fish quicker in your stomach.  Can’t say I’ll be trying this again anytime soon.

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I did draw a line when they served the Octopus tentacles that were still moving.  I’ve heard too many horror stories of them actually sticking to the inside of your throat – not something I was willing to do – and I did take quite a ‘razzing’ by my colleagues for it.

One other thing that turned my stomach – they actually serve dog in Korea.  I kid you not when I say that I wanted to throw up when I heard this.  You hear rumors of them eating dogs and cats in China, but they actually have dog restaurants in Korea.  What we were told is that it’s actually illegal to serve dog meat in Korea because it’s usually not prepared correctly…but for some reason the government closes their eyes and lets these restaurants exist.  Supposedly the meat is very expensive and people eat it because it contains lots of protein and will supposedly help you heal better.  Needless to say, I took their word for it…there’s not enough money in the world for me to knowingly try dog meat…

C. Many restaurants in Korea have separate eating rooms with doors on them.  You have to take your shoes off before entering.  I’ve never had so many business meals in my life with no shoes on than I did in this week in Korea.  A cool feature of these rooms is that when you need a waiter/waitress, you ring a bell or buzzer which is located on the table.  They then show up in less than 5 seconds.  It’s amazing.

What’s also amazing is how uncomfortable it is for someone who is over 6 feet tall to sit on the floors of restaurants (which is tradition in Korea).  They have these small tables with ‘holes’ in the ground to put your legs.  The only problem is that most of these ‘holes’ aren’t big enough for people who are taller.  The night we went to the Sashimi restaurant, my leg cramped up under the table from sitting so long.  I didn’t want to be rude and stand up during the meal because we were at a business dinner and i didn't want to risk insulting anyone.  When I finally did stand up to leave at the end of dinner, my leg was so cramped and asleep that it gave way from underneath me when I bent down to put my shoes back on.  Talk about embarrassing when I grabbed onto my Korean co-worker as I was falling to the ground – try translating that one…

D. Now – as you know here in Singapore, they have holes in the floor to go to the bathroom.  And people don’t know how to aim properly.  Check out what they have in Korea.  They have a big toilet and a little kids toilet.  At least I think that’s what it is.  If anyone knows differently and something got lost in my ‘visual translation’ please let me know.  You never know over here…maybe the small version is used to wash your shoes or something...

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E. At the entrance to the Seoul airport , they have the following sculpture.  As my female co-worker said to Lisa and me as were leaving the airport “Is that what I think it is?”

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F. They had Dunkin’ Donuts at the airport in Seoul that actually tasted like Dunkin’ Donuts coffee…and it even smiled at you!

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G. Man…do they have a lot of Hyundai’s in Korea.  I literally think that 9 out of the 10 cars you see on the road are Hyundai’s.  Imagine if in the US 9 out of 10 cars on the road were actually American built...

Our president of EMC Korea said that he wants a Porsche but the government makes corporate CEOs/Presidents drive Korean built cars….so he drives a pimped out Hyundai known as an Equus.  Pretty sweet ride which comes complete with reclining seats in the back!

2.  Singapore steps up with F1 racing…

Now, for those who know me well, you know I’m not a big racing fan.  In fact, NASCAR just downright bores me.  However, last weekend they had F1 racing here in Singapore and we were told it was an event we had to be at – for the atmosphere alone.  They literally shut down a good part of the city for the road race…and the coolest part is that it’s at night under the lights. 

The noise from these things alone is crazy.  I thought I was going to be a tough guy and not need ear plugs for the event – man was I wrong.  These cars are extremely loud…and extremely fast.  Very cool to watch though…I obviously can't take credit for the aerial photo.  It came from the F1 site:

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This photo I can take credit for.  This guy was sitting in front of us in the grandstand....Really, buddy - put on your shirt - we're trying to watch a race here (I'm blurring out his face so he can't sue me for posting his picture on the web - although he deserves to have his picture posted after this display.  Notice how EVERYONE else around is wearing a shirt):

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One of the best parts of the weekend was the entertainment schedule.  As part of your weekend ticket into the event, you get access to a number of different concerts.  This year the headliners were Shakira, Linkin Park and Shaggy.  That’s right – Mr. Boombastic himself graced us with his presence here in Singapore...and let me say – for someone who I thought was past his prime, the guy put on quite a show.  Shaggy is quite the entertainer!  He put Linkin Park and Shakira to shame!   Here he is on stage in front of us…

3.  Welcome home…who are you?

About a month ago when I was home for a couple of days for a business meeting, I entered the US through San Francisco.  When I got up to the immigration officer I handed him my passport as I do every other time I come into the US.  He scanned it and kept looking at it.  He scanned it two more times and asked me if I was a US citizen.  He couldn’t find me in his computer.  I told him that I only have been living abroad for 6 months and that I really was a US citizen.  I even showed him my driver’s license (I was so afraid of being dragged into a back room and getting a full body cavity search that I even showed him my social security card.)  After about 5 minutes of poking around in the computer he looked at me and told me I can go because I didn’t look like I was a threat.

Hmmm….what’s more disturbing – the fact that a US Immigration officer could not find me in the database or the fact that he just let me go because I didn’t ‘look like a threat.’

4.  Random Singapore Fact of the “Week”: The seasons are a changing…

I now know that there are three seasons here in Singapore – hot season, hot and rainy season, and hot and smoggy season.  I knew about the hot season and the hot and rainy seasons before coming here…but this hot and smoggy season was a whole new concept.  Come to find out, every year our Indonesian neighbors decide to burn their fields and plantations to clear land for cultivation.  According to co-workers (who are Singaporean and are a little biased – so don’t chastise me if this isn’t 100% accurate) Indonesia claims they don’t have the money to properly clear their fields, which is why they turn to burning them.  Some of my Singaporean colleagues claim this is a bunch of nonsense and that they’re just too lazy to properly clear their land.

My personal opinion – Singapore should hook a brother up and give them some $$ to help clear their fields.  If the country took one day’s worth of the taxes that they receive from the Marina Bands casino (casino here in Singapore) slot machines alone, they could probably help cure world hunger – never mind help with some burning fields of our neighbors.  Singapore is a country that pays people to actually clean the main Singapore river (with hand skimmers no less) after rain storms.  I think we can give some $$ to our neighbors…

Ok – I’m off my soap box now…

We are actually about to enter what they refer to as “rainy” season here.  I’m told it rains for a period of time each day…not all day, just for part of the day.  I guess this goes into January.  I can hear the Christmas carols now – “I’m dreaming of a rainy Christmas….”

Wikipedia describes Singapore’s climate as follows:

“Being  1 degree north of the equator, Singapore's climate is classified as equatorial with no true distinct seasons.  Owing to its geographical location and maritime exposure, its climate is characterized by uniform temperature and pressure, high humidity and abundant rainfall. The average annual rainfall is around 2,340 mm.”

A couple of comments about the above description:

1. Anyone want to guess what 2,340 mm is in inches????  Anyone?  Anyone?  2,340 mm equates to about 92.1 inches of rain each year.  The record one day rainfall here was 20.2 inches…crazy!  And yes, the metrics system still continues to drive me crazy…

2. Pretty descriptive definition when they say that Singapore is 1 degree north of the equator and it’s classified as equatorial, huh?…I wonder what type of degree you need to make that classification?

Speaking of the “seasons” here - I did think of one thing that I do love about the heat and humidity – golf season is 365 days a year…no snow here people!

5.  Can I please have an umbrella with that bucket of balls….

Ahhhhh golf.  Expensive as all heck here (see Mom, I used a better word here J) We did find this dirt track of a course that only charges $50 SGD for 9 holes – pretty good deal.  You do get what you pay for though.  My favorite hole is the second.  It’s a Par 5 shaped like a horseshoe that literally loops around the driving range.  The hole is probably 450 yards long (oh...sorry - 411 meters - btw, it's fun trying to do meter to yard conversions in your head when you're already using all the concentration you have to try to hit the ball straight), but you have to play around the entire horseshoe because the nets from the driving range prevent you from taking out your driver and going over it.  Pretty ridiculous hole.

Here’s a picture from a recent trip to the course.  In the US, you have to worry about sand traps and water.  Here in Singapore you have to worry about snakes, monkeys, and komodo dragons…makes you think twice about stepping into the jungle to look for a lost ball.

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The best part about our recent golf excursion was the driving range.  Take a look at the below picture.  See all the umbrellas on the driving range?  There's actually people under those umbrellas picking up golf balls.  That’s right – they  give the workers large umbrellas to protect themselves and then send them out onto the driving range to pick up the balls!

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6.  Bringing addiction to a whole other level…

I forgot all about this one until recently - We were out about two months ago with a group of friends at a Hawker Center getting some cheap Saturday night dinner (I know - the term “cheap” is relative here).  Next to our table an elderly Singaporean man was standing there with a lit cigarette hanging backwards in his mouth…yes, that’s right, the thing was lit.  When one of us said something to him, he pointed to the ‘No Smoking’ sign that was right next to him.  Talk about dedication to the cause…and talk about having a burnt tongue...Unfortunately I was not quick enough with my camera to take a picture.

I finally figured out why Singapore allows smoking and doesn’t allow gum chewing…the revenue stream they get from taxing cigarettes is enormous. I say let us chew gum and just tax the heck out of that too…

I also figured out a way around this gum thing.  You can go to the pharmacy and ask the pharmacist for gum.  They actually have it and will sell it to you – as long as it has a medicinal purpose.  For example, it has to help with teeth whitening or has to help with nicotine addictions.  Unfortunately I can’t get my favorite flavor of Trident here, but in cases of emergencies I can settle on some Trident Whitening gum…yum.

Talk about a weird place.

7.  On a  lighter side, check out the Kite Fest they had in Singapore a couple of weeks ago.

Pretty cool picture of them flying kites during a festival right outside our apartment.  I’ve never seen this many kites in one place before.

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8. Aussie Rules Football – my new favorite sport on the other side of the world…

I found my new favorite sport here on the other side of the world – Australian Football League.  Now, I’m not a huge Rugby fan, but AFL seems to take Rugby to a whole new level.  The pace of the game, the athleticism of the athletes, and the dedication of the fans is super cool to watch.  It makes the NFL players look like a bunch of babies.  Now, I’ll always be an NFL fan – that will be hard to change – but the pace of the AFL vs the NFL is crazy.  It’s nonstop action with the AFL.  They wouldn’t even think of taking a TV timeout. 

I went to watch (on TV) the AFL Grand Final (sort of like our Superbowl) with a co-worker on Sunday.  It was about 1,000+ Aussies in a super swanky hotel drinking beer and watching the game.  They had tables that were set-up like a wedding with food and drinks.  When the got there, they were serving Champagne and it was totally not what I was expecting.  However, as the game progressed, and the pitchers of beer started flowing, it totally met my expectations!  Nothing like seeing a bunch of Australians drinking and getting into their sport.  What a great time!

9.  Somebody is now in her early thirties…

It is hard to be away from home…it’s even harder to be away from home on your birthday – so I really felt bad for Lisa this year.  Not only does the poor girl’s birthday fall on 9/11, but on the day of her birthday as we were walking through the Botanical Gardens here in Singapore, one of these suckers was on the trail next to us...

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I thought she was going to have a heart attack…After snakes, I now say these guys are what freaks her out the most.

Luckily we have a great group of friends here that all came out for a great birthday dinner and celebration….and she got three birthday cakes over her birthday week!  Now you don’t normally get that in the US!  The last picture is the birthday cake they got her when we were in Seoul.  Great thumbs up action from our co-worker in the back of the picture!

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Speaking of birthday’s, I recently went to the Hallmark store (yup, they have one of those here) to buy three birthday cards – one for my mom, one for my grandmother, and one for my dad (how’s that for early planning Dad seeing your birthday isn’t even until November).  Three birthday cards - $34 SGD ($26 USD).  That’s more than $8.50 USD per card!  What a farce!  The kicker is that they actually had the US prices on the back of the cards.  When I asked them why they just didn’t do a currency conversion calculation, the lady said they have to take in to account import fees.  That gave me a good laugh seeing they were probably made and printed across the street here in Asia!

10.  Bye Bye Miss American Fry…

How random is this…I’m walking down the underground mall below our building the other night – it was pretty late after getting out of work and there were very few people around.  Out of nowhere I hear this guy screaming the words to ‘American Pie’ as he was cleaning the floor.  Now granted, it was hilarious to hear the words of ‘American Pie’ in a VERY heavy Singapore accent…but even funnier is that he was singing the words “Bye Bye Miss American Fry.”  Because there was no one else around, I asked him what he was singing to make sure I was hearing him correctly– his response: “I’m singing the song Miss American Fry.”  I didn’t even bother to correct him…It did bring a smile to my face after a long day. 

Until next time...hope everyone is doing well!