The weekend

It was Blake's birthday on Wednesday so we went out for dinner at the Shangri-La hotel on Saturday night, to celebrate. The food was wonderful, though easily the most expensive we have ever encountered anywhere! The restaurant (Blu) was on the 24th floor so you got an amazing view of the city.

The restaurant didn't seem like the kind of place where you start taking snaps, so I got a photo of Blake in the lobby downstairs - trying to capture the grandeur, but the photo doesn't really do it justice.

On Sunday we had a very nice brunch with Leighton, Alyssa and baby Maya (you Nelson boys will know Leighton Matheson) and then went to the botanical gardens for a wander.

We didn't last long in the gardens as the sun came out and all of a sudden the temperature shot through the roof. We dragged our steaming bones to the nearest road and tried to hail a taxi. It just gets so hot you can hardly move.

These turtles are everywhere - the water is teeming with them.

That evening we met up with Megan, a kiwi girl who arrived here around the same time as us, and who we heard of through family friends. We had beers and dinner at Brewwerkz - a huge restaurant that brews its own beers. It was a very nice evening, and great to catch up with another kiwi compatriot.

Blake in Manila

Blake went on a work trip to Manila (Philippines) from Thurs to Sat morning. He described Manila as huge, sprawling and hectic.

He had a good time though, as they are a warm and hospitable people who entertained him well throughout his stay. Each evening they went out and sampled the local culinary delights, and on the Friday, they were taken to a 'hostess bar' (he and his boss) and asked to pick the girl they wanted for the evening.

Before you leap to the obvious conclusions, these hostesses are employed to meet your food and beverage requirements for the evening, rather than fulfil any other needs you might have.

Once their girls were chosen, it was off to a private room for an evening of Kareoke. Doing kareoke is a compulsory part of socialing and post-business entertainment in several Asian societies. To refuse to take part is the height of bad manners and just isn't done. Therefore Blake quickly ordered two tequilas and a beer and began trilling through some do-re-mi's to warm up.

Blake now has a set kareoke song ('Imagine', John Lennon) which he is sticking to for all compulsory kareoke occasions - having once beaten Brad, Dean and Hobbs singing that on kareoke singstar. Apparently the audience is very polite and will clap and cheer enthusiastically at even the worst rendition. So by all accounts it went well.

Dramas

Blake's finding work leaves him plenty of time to pursue other interests, so he has joined a second drama group and (with confidence boosted by the recent kareoke) is starring in another show here on Broadway Singapore. Dan seems like a really good fella.

A Production by the legendary O. Gibbs.

What's new?

The weather's getting even hotter so we'll be glad to move into our new place which has good ventilation - unlike this place that is always several degrees warmer inside. Blake walks around with sweat running off his hands, it's lovely.

I'm still jobless. I'm waiting to hear about two jobs, but I'm also putting out feelers to new possibilities and hopefully it won't be too much longer before I get work. Have had enough of being a lady of leisure now, it gets boring after a while. Have joined a women's marketing association which may prove useful.

Blake's going well at work. His travels start this week when he's off to the Phillipines for a few days, and next week he goes to India.

Blake's getting right into the culture here and has developed a new passion for amateur dramatics. This month his drama group is putting on a production that Blake has scored the lead role in...

Meanwhile, I have developed a passion for online Sudoku. Blake loves it cause it means he can watch hours of sport without me complaining (which is fortunate since he sneaked a subscription to the cricket channel, the only sport I loathe).

Last weekend we went with one of Blake's workmates to the Hollandse Club. They have a lot of 'clubs' here where there are restaurants, bars, spas, pools, gyms, tennis courts, conference facilities, bowling alleys etc. The expats love em and spend a lot of their weekends there. You have to join which is not cheap (we went as guests) but they seem to be all the rage (especially for families), and it was a nice way to spend the afternoon - swimming (doing back-flops off the diving board- Blake), eating, drinking.

Eating our way around Singapore

Over the past week we haven't really done anything too exciting, though we have been eating out a lot (which is inexpensive at local eateries, some restaurants and food centres). And also checking out new areas we haven't seen yet.

Blake rests after doing tai chi by the water

Last weekend we went to an amazing Indian restaurant called The Banana Leaf. It's in Little India and is well known for it's excellent food. We ate so much I could hardly move for the rest of the afternoon.

We've also been exploring our local surrounds, which include China Town. There is everything from street stalls to fancy restaurants, and it's a mecca of delicious and weird looking things. I haven't braved the duck's gizzard or pig's trotter dishes yet, and the pig's intestines don't do much for me either. But there's plenty to suit a more conservative palate.

Mmm, seafood noodles and chilli for my chin

Blakos does Chinatown

Smith St which is be-decked with lanterns and food stalls.

We also checked out Holland Park, where we ate some very un-Singaporean salmon pizza, chicken canneloni and prawn, spinach and avocado salad. Mmmmm.

Our new home!!!

We've sorted out a new and permanent place to live - yay!

If anyone knows the geography here, it's in the Novena area. It's a great place, has got great new facitilies and for the price, is better than anything else we've seen. We move in on May 1st.

Check out the link to see pictures:
http://www.singaporeexpats.com/singapore-property-pictures/condo/the-ansley.htm

On the job front, I am now down the track with two jobs; one a marketing/PR position for the asia-pacific region, for MRT Recruitment, the other is a contract job writing a marketing book for a marketing expert (he's got the ideas, I write them up into a book).

Will keep you posted as to developments.

The aftermath

Tuesday morning, Blake's had a terrible night of stomach pains.

He spends a few hours suffering in bed and then we decide that a visit to the medical centre is in order. We spent two and a half hours at the medical centre, with Blake lying on a bed in a quiet room, getting an injection and medication.

He neglected to mention to the doctor that he'd just come back from a three-day bender in Hong Kong, but they seemed to have just the thing for stomach problems anyway, and after an hour the injection kicked in and the stomach cramps began to abate.

They said that if things didn't improve they would send him to a gastro-enterologist for further investigation. Once the pains had subsided, we decided to go home and see how it went. From that point the pains and cramps were much better, but he felt completely exhausted and unwell.

Today he's much better but has only worked half a day, as he's still off-colour. I imagine it will take some time to grow a new stomach lining, so he may feel off-colour for the rest of the week. Not to worry, I'm sure he'll never drink like that again...

The Hong Kong Sevens!

Yesterday we got back from the Hong Kong Sevens. We left the previous Thursday night and arrived at about 11pm in Hong Kong. After arriving at the wrong hotel (there are two Novotels) we eventually found our pad and settled in for the night.

Here's the view from our room.

Hong Kong certainly is a concrete jungle, with sky scrapers higher than I've ever seen. It's also very vibrant and busy, with traffic usually jammed, people everywhere, flashing neon signs, and the smells of cooking and sewage mingling in the hazy air.




Hong Kong is louder, busier, dirtier and more foreign than Singapore, but it's still a very international place, with street signs and official notices in English as well as Chinese. There are many people who don't speak English however, so taxi rides can be a little challenging. Most things are around the same cost as Singapore or more expensive, though we didn't get a chance to do much shopping and make comparisons.

We got up on Friday morning and met the crew. Since the rugby didn't start til the afternoon, we had a morning's expedition arranged, taking a 'junk' out to Lama Island for lunch. This would give us a chance to see the city from the water.


The 'junk' turned out to be slightly more luxurious than the name would suggest and it was well equiped with alcoholic beverages, just in case anyone felt like an early start.







There's a fair bit of air pollution in Hong Kong which causes very hazy and overcast weather every few days. You can see this in this photo taken from the boat.

Sky scrapers - view from the sea

Cool Chinese building on the harbour

Will and Blake - noodle anyone?

Coming into Lama Island, these are pontoon things that people live on (in shacks).

We spent several hours enjoying a fantastic lunch at a seafood restaurant on Lama Island and then headed back to the first day of the rugby.

So who is this group we are with?
The group is a group of friends from the UK, Australia, USA and Hong Kong, many of whom have been going to the Sevens every year for the past 20 years. The original members all worked at American Express, but now they all work across the world in a variety of companies.

Each year they book a corporate box and do it in style. The boxes are fully serviced, so you have a waiter to take your food and drink orders the whole time - Ah bliss. The group comprises of several generations, from a couple of kids, to early twenties, to forties, to late 60's or so.

Brigitte and Nick

Our connection to the group was through an English guy called Will, who Blake had worked with in New Zealand. He was a wonderful host and made very sure we were never without a drink and a laugh. The whole group was in fact great company and we were very lucky join them in the corporate box.

Friday afternoon - our first taste of the Sevens. It was awesome. The games were great and the crowd was very vocal, especially when it came to booing the unpopular teams (France, England, The USA and Australia - in that order of unpopularity). Only one stand of people dress up though, the South Stand - the party stand.

The crowd was an amazing international mix, there were loads of English, Aussies, Kiwis, and every other nationality you can think of. All these folks end up in the bars each evening - it's full-on carnival-style revellry and mayhem!

The boys in black

Me, Blake and Will

Will and Sheila

Needless to say, there were a few late night and a few alcoholic beverages consumed each day. We limited the damage by starting each day a couple of hours into the action, when the hangover from the day before had receded and we were ready to hit it again.

The extensive and delicious breakfast buffet did a wonderful job of motivating us to get out of bed by 10.30 each morning, as did our lovely room in which we lounged about watching cable TV until it came time to get to the stadium.

Blake, Saturday morning - post-buffet, pre-game.

In the evenings we went out for dinner (Jimmy's restaurant on Sat - amazing, highly recommend) and then headed to the bars. There are streets of bars which are unbelievably packed tight with drunken Sevens revellers. The mood is great with everyone's in high spirits, it really is like a carnival (especially with all the people dressed up).

Sunday was the big finale. The games were great the crowd was all amped up. It was disappointing to see NZ get beaten by fiji, but we kept a brave face and Blake tried not to smack the smirking English supporters.

Before the final there were performances of Chinese dragons and drums which were cool, but the highlight was definitely the final - Samoa and Fiji - what a game, it was an incredible about-face from half time and amazing to watch.

After the game and the winner's ceremony, we headed back to the hotel where we ordered delcious room service and rested before the biggest night out on the town.

It was indeed a big night out. Blake came home semi-conscious at 4am, whereas i only lasted until around 1.30am. Everyone got pretty obliterated and not even the breakfast buffet could coax Blake out of bed the next morning.

He finally rose at 3pm (what do you mean it's a 12pm checkout?) and we packed up and headed to the airport. What a fantastic weekend!