Archive for January, 2009

Singapore Singles Scene

The singles scene here is dire, apparently. Everyone is too busy working to date.  No dating, no offspring, and nobody to support the elderly population.  The solution?  Encourage marriage!  Once married, it’s hoped the couples will take advantage of the Baby Bonus to assist them in reproducing. The Prime Minister is of course behind the […]

Chinese New Year – again

On Sunday afternoon, Chinese New Year’s Eve, we went to the local Chinese Gardens (opened 1975) to see how they were decorated.  Here’s what a quiet corner of the Bonsai Garden looks like without decorations:Wow!  Red flags all over, flapping in the breeze, pots of red and yellow flowers, ditto, lanterns everywhere, red cloths tied […]

Drama in Singapore!

Yesterday I was riding an MRT train during the lunch hour, and I scored a seat.  The one to my left held a sleeping woman; the one to my right a tall Indian guy, about 38 years old, in a sporty t-shirt.  He promptly called someone on his cellphone, and the conversation on his end […]

Chinese New Year, Continued – Lion Dance

OK, now we’re really gearing up for the holiday.  The crowds at the malls are bigger, and outside the new mall near us they’ve got a lion dance stage all set up. I tried to post video of this, but it wouldn’t play, alas.  So I’ll paste in a link to a great lion dance […]

Singapore Chinese New Year

Well, Christmas has come and gone.  The western baubles and decorations that were all over the malls and Orchard Road have been retired, thank goodness.  It’s a bit grating to see giant plastic gingerbread men and Santa Claus under the palm trees; to hear songs about silent nights in a land where road noise and […]

Monsoon, Shmonsoon

Let’s talk about the weather.  There are supposed to be two monsoon seasons in Singapore: one now, November – January, and the other in May or thereabouts.  All the other months are pre-monsoon, which means basically it’s supposed to be wet and raining nearly all the time, as far as I can make out.  The […]