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Jurong Bird Park

Posted on November 18th, 2007 by Cody.
Categories: Exquisite Eats, Sights in Singapore.

Got a large-ish update for today. This set is from November 9th. Siti and I went to Singapore’s Jurong Bird Park and saw more birds than I have ever seen in my life. We met up at the crosswalk by my house, then went and got some Tom Yam seafood soup. They make it right in front of you, so we sat down to eat. I whip out my camera to take a picture, and within seconds I have a guy telling me no pictures! So I risked my seat there and took one anyway. I can always say I didn’t see the sign next to us that said “No Pictures.”

So after we ate, we took the bus to the Bird Park. First stop was the Penguin Room. It felt great because it was H-O-T outside, and the temperature was at least 15 degrees cooler (By the way, that’s Fahrenheit, not Celsius. I am American).

We finished checking it out, and went out to the Gift Shop where I bought a Lemon Barley Drink. Kinda weird, but refreshing nonetheless. Next door were the Macaws and Pink Flamingos, so we walked over to take some more photos. One thing I found odd was that the birds weren’t tethered down, so they could technically fly away at any time, but seemed content to hang out where the food was. Birds really are smart!

Down the path was another place called the Birds of Prey. I just missed the show by about 20 minutes, but there was a private show going on. I took the opportunity to take some pics for free! There was only one bird, but it was huge! It’s called an African Secretary Bird, and it’s the only bird in its species. It is sort of related to hawks and eagles. I will post some videos of it trying to kill a snake in the next post.

We left after the people there got crabby about us taking pictures (and not paying like the others had). There were some very ugly giant birds when we left that exhibit.

I am pretty sure this is a type of orchid, but I’m not sure. There was no sign or anything.

Across the way, there was another bird exhibit (surprise) with a weird-looking bird. Looked like a stork’s cousin to me!

Okay, I am about to board my plane from Japan back home, so I have to stop here. I will finish this post, as well as the rest of the updates when I get back home. Sorry to disappoint!

Cody, Sunday, November 18th 2007, 16:54

2 comments.

Arriving home soon…

Posted on November 16th, 2007 by Cody.
Categories: Status Updates.

Well, I was not really able to update this thing as much as I wanted to, but I will finish it on the extremely long plane ride home, as it is 12 hours of nothing. I should have everything updated by Saturday night with about a week’s worth of updates.

Sorry for not being more on top of it, but there is just too much to do here besides staying inside and blogging. See everyone soon.

0 comments.

Deepavali, the Indian New Year on my Birthday!

Posted on November 15th, 2007 by Cody.
Categories: Sights in Singapore, Videos.

Here is a video of what Deepavali is like on the streets of Little India at midnight. It was so packed with people I could barely move!

Deepavali Celebration in Little India (1:24 Minutes, 29 MB)

1 comment.

Birthday Celebration

Posted on November 15th, 2007 by Cody.
Categories: Exquisite Eats.

This next set is from November 8th, my 24th birthday! Coincidentally, this day was also Deepavali, the Indian New Year. It felt like everyone was celebrating for me. I’d have to say it was one of the best I’ve had yet. Unfortunately for me, I forgot to charge my camera, so everything had to be taken from my cell phone. Good thing I had one. I woke up and walked outside and I had to take the pic below. His face was just so… crazy looking! I mean, wtf!

Anyway, I met up with Siti’s parents and we went out to breakfast at this Muslim center where there is all sorts of halal food. We had this bean dish with egg and bread and a drink called Te Tarik. It was superb! After we were done walking around a bit and doing some shopping, we drove out to their house and had some more snacks. The green leaves are palm leaves wrapped up with fish inside. We also had some fried bananas. The panda ad was too hilarious to not snap a picture of it.

After we hung out for a while, we went over to her neighbor’s house where they were having a Deepavali party. Everything I ate there was so good. Her neighbor also sung me a happy birthday song in Hindi. He said he wished that I would like until I was 1,000 years old! Too cool, but I think I’d be a wrinkled mess by that age. I sampled everything they had, and finished off with some ginger tea with milk. It was spicy, but good. Homemade cookies from Siti finished off the lunch of the day.

We drove around some more and went shopping for a bit afterwards. Check out some of the pics below of what I saw:

After that we went to Swenson’s at the Airport for dinner. It was quite Americanized food. The flag was sort of an ongoing joke, but the place wasn’t too bad at all.

Check out what Deepavali is like in Little India on my next post. Pretty crazy!

1 comment.

Singapore Cell Phone

Posted on November 15th, 2007 by Cody.
Categories: Technological.

Thought I’d post a pic of my cell phone I got when I was in Singapore. Too bad it doesn’t work in Japan because they have no prepaid SIM cards here. Grrr.

This phone is 2 years old. It’s unlocked, super thin, great battery life, BlueTooth, MP3 Player, TWO 2MP Cameras (one in front, one in back), 3G so it does voice calls, and records video on a 1 GB card. This is better than the phones we have NOW in the States.

1 comment.

November 7th after Carousel

Posted on November 15th, 2007 by Cody.
Categories: Sights in Singapore.

Felt like posting a few more pictures from after we were done eating at Carousel. We ended up going to Khalid’s school for a while. I snapped a picture from the bathroom because I thought it was funny, and hung out on the steps for a few hours. We had a girl from Red Bull come over and give us free drinks which was cool.

We took the bus back to Little India and later that evening, I went out to this place in Clarke Quay called The Arena with Vanessa and hung out with her, her friends and he friend’s dates. All in all, I had a nice time. There was live music and I met lots of new people. My camera died that night so I didn’t get many shots, but here’s what I managed.

0 comments.

Carousel, Singapore’s Best Buffet…

Posted on November 14th, 2007 by Cody.
Categories: Exquisite Eats.

This set of snaps is from November 7th. Siti, Khalid and I all went to Carousel for lunch, which is a huge buffet restaurant that serves any kind of fod imaginable. I will try to document everything as best as I can!

We sat down and the first thing I noticed was the place settings. Everything was very neat and ordered and upscale! However, I will come back to the settings later because the first thing I did was grab a big plate of everything that looked good. The first course was Poached Rainbow Trout and Chick Pea Mousse, Tomato with Mozzarella, Asian Spiced Roasted Duck Breast, Pan Seared Fillet of Sole, Homemade Gravalax Salmon, Mediterranean Black Eyed Peas with Tomato and Ricotta Crumb, Sauteed Mushroom with Baked Tomato Salad, Oven Roasted Caramelized Corn with Herb and Butter, and Tuna wth Green Onion. Before I started digging in, I snapped a few pictures of the areas around our table.

Everything I ate was great, except for the tuna.Since lunch was a 2.5 hour affair, I decided it was time for the second course which was: Grilled Baby Octopus with Tangy Lemon and Virgin Olive Oil, Slow-Baked Free Range Chicken Breast with Braised Apple and Raisin, Sirloin Beef, Black Pepper-Crusted Margaret Duck Breast on Creamy Polenta, Black Pepper Chicken, and Bread Rolls with Butter. I cleaned up everything there, and got a few cups of tea. I should also mention that every time I got up, we had new silverware put in front of us in the holders, and our napkins were folded! Talk about service.

The third course was: BBQ Squid with Stuffed Fish, Dimsum, Chinese Style Braised Beef, Roasted Chicken with Rice Ball, and some kind of Hot Sauce. It was pretty good, but not as good as everything else was. At this point, I was feeling pretty stuffed, and even the sushi in front of the bar looked like it would be too much for me to have. I decided dessert was in order.

Okay, first let me say that this place had more dessert than you could even think of trying. I took pictures of everything even if I didn’t try it. Most of the fruits were on skewers for dipping in a giant chocolate fountain.

And right behind all this was some private rooms that I thought were extra swanky. Check it out.

And here’s what I finally ended up getting.

I’d have to say that I have never eaten so well in my life and I don’t expect to until I go back again! I highly recommend trying this place on Orchard Road if you ever get to come to Singapore! Make sure you have reservations, it gets packed.

2 comments.

Hello Everyone

Posted on November 12th, 2007 by Cody.
Categories: Status Updates.

First off, I am very sorry for not updating. I have been kinda busy since I landed in Japan and it takes a long time to do updates here. HOWEVER, I will be adding more of my videos/pictures up tomorrow. I will wake up early and just make one huge post for you all with all the trimmings, promise!

Thanks for being patient.

5 comments.

Still breathing!

Posted on November 10th, 2007 by Cody.
Categories: Status Updates.

Just a quick update to all: Yes I’m still around, but Internet access has been spotty here in Singapore at my hotel.

I go to Japan in about 24 hours or less, so I can get online MUCH more regularly there. I’ll start updating every day again once I arrive.

I got a TON of pics to add!

3 comments.

Shopping, Food, Graffiti and Lizards…

Posted on November 7th, 2007 by Cody.
Categories: Sights in Singapore.

Shopping and food seem to be becoming constant themes around here! These pictures are all from November 6th. I woke up and met Siti and her boyfriend and we went to the food center down the street from my hotel. We had some delicious drinks called Teh Tarik which is tea, sugar and milk, then went to another place called ZamZam and ordered chicken and mutton briyani and chicken murtabak.

I’m already stuffed, but we keep eating! I got a guava drink to help digest some, then we saw more sights in the city. There is very interesting architecture here, and most of it is very unique. We got some more cool drinks and some soy bean ice cream from Mr. Bean. Tastes like vanilla only more creamy. We hit up another shopping mall at Beach Road, but it was outdoor (with a roof), and there was a lot of great deals on merchandise like clothes and shoes and backpacks. I got some shirts there and a lemon sugar cane drink.

After that, we went to the Esplanade Building which is shaped like a durian and I got a nice view of the skyline from the river. The skate park at Somerset Park was next, and there was a ton of wack graffiti there, but not all of it was bad. I got pictures of the murals that were cool. Interestingly enough, this was the first graffiti I saw in Singapore. The city itself is devoid of graf and most trash (bins are everywhere).

We left the park and walked to Orchard Road to watch the Subaru Challenge where there was only 6 people out of 400 competing after over 3 days. Basically, you have to keep your hand on a car for longer than anyone else. You can only keep your hand and nothing else on it. Your body cannot touch the car, or anything above your wrist. Bathroom (or food, or water) breaks are permitted for 5 minutes every 6 hours. If one finger lifts off the car, you are disqualified. The winner (one male, and one female) gets a car and the last one standing gets $10,000 SGD in accessories! Not a bad gig, but what an ordeal to endure!

We were still hungry after all the walking, so we headed over to Far East Plaza and went to Anatolia Turkish Restaurant and I got a chicken pancake “set” and lentil soup. Yum! We went to a book store in Wheelock Place and I snapped a pic of the building. We took the bus back to Little India and Siti noticed a lizard on the wall, so I grabbed him and took a pic. I think he was cool looking (he looked like a gecko of sorts), but apparently catching lizards here is quite strange. One of Siti’s friends asked me today if I thought that Singaporean cockroaches were cute too. I guess they don’t like them much here!

That’s all for today. I have some more pics coming, but updating this blog is taking all day, so I’m going to go out and meet some friends.

5 comments.

Video Clips from around the world…

Posted on November 7th, 2007 by Cody.
Categories: Videos.

Here are some video clips from my travels in Singapore. The 1st is from the Singapore River, a 360 degree view. The 2nd is a Chinese break dancing group called Energy from Heeren Mall. The 3rd is a walkway that changes color at Heeren Mall, and the 4th is a flaming shot of absinthe from the Eski Bar. By the way, straight absinthe over one piece of sugar and lit on fire does *not* taste good. Comments below!

Singapore River 360 Degree Panorama (0:34 Minutes, 11.7 MB)
Energy Break Dancer at Heeren Mall (0:27 Minutes, 9.4 MB)
Heeren Mall Walkway Floor (0:08 Minutes, 2.9 MB)
Flaming Absinthe Shot at Eski Bar (0:48 Minutes, 16.5 MB)

2 comments.

Walking around Singapore

Posted on November 7th, 2007 by Cody.
Categories: Sights in Singapore.

These pictures are for November 5th. I met Siti in Little India and we took the MRT to Seah Im Food Center opposite Vivo City and got some Beef Noodle Soup from Thaksin. It was better than any of the stuff we’ve got in California! I also got some Bandung, which is the pink drink below. It tastes just like pink bubblegum, but surprisingly good. After that, we did some sightseeing and shopping.

We met up later that night with her friend and boyfriend to eat some chicken at BBQ Chicken at the Cineleisure mall (there are about 1 million malls in Singapore). After dinner we walked around Orchard Road some more, and then got some snacks at Old Chang Kee, which is a fried food stand all over the place here. The silver guys stand still until you tip them, then they move a little and wave and whatnot. We also saw the Subaru Challenge Contestants (more on that later), then got some ice cream at Gelatissimo. I had the mango which was excellent!

We walked around to this place in Holland Village called the Eski Bar which is a cold bar. There are two rooms: the main room (which is cold), and the freezer which has ice on the walls. The main bar is a solid block of ice in there. I ordered a shot of absinthe, and they lit it on fire before I drank it. Quite an experience; it’s like black licorice invading your taste buds and throat. It’s about as pleasant as it sounds, so I stopped at 1.

There’s a video above for you to check out. Let me know what you think of my experiences in the comments below!

3 comments.

Food and Shopping…

Posted on November 6th, 2007 by Cody.
Categories: Sights in Singapore.

If you ever come to Singapore, there are two things here that they will tell you to do before you leave: eat and shop! Well, I have been lucky to have several tour guides of this great country, and I’ve been shown all the great places for both things so far. I know I’m a couple days behind on updates, but my Internet here is so slow and I don’t have 3 hours to sit and update the site for one post. So anyway, this set is from November 4th. Siti and I went out for breakfast at Azmi Restaurant next to my hotel. I had milk tea, mutton, chicken ,and some Indian bread with cucumbers. Excellent!

I grabbed a Jasmine Tea (also excellent), and Siti and I went out to check out some stores. I took these neat pics of Batman and Superman at the DC Store right outside. We ended up walking around for about a couple more hours, saw some more buildings/stores/sights, and I met up with Vanessa afterwards. We got some more Indian food (I am in Little India, why not, right?), another tea (Lime this time, 5/5 stars), and hit Serangoon Road to see the sights.

We came across a bird shop, so I had to stop in. There was all manner of birds there from lovebirds and cockatiels, to budgies and a bright red Amazon. They even had a few African Greys. They also had a huge cockatoo, so I walked up and started talking to it, and it was so friendly, I could pet its neck and back. Pretty cool, but the owner wanted $3,000 SGD for it (like $2,000 US), so I had to say thanks and leave!

Vanessa decided I should try a durian, which is a local fruit that has spikes all over it. According to some it stinks, but I didn’t think it smelled bad. The taste is like a custard on a seed and really strong. It’s not offensive, but it doesn’t taste very good either! I would have to say that I’m not a fan, as you can probably see by the expression on my face.

We walked around some more, to Clarke Quay, the River, some malls, and Chinatown. I took a pic of the “wife biscuits” because I thought it was a funny name, but I didn’t want to try any because I wasn’t sure if it was made with fresh wife or not. We got some Dim Sum instead, and went back to Clarke Quay for a few drinks. I had a Singapore Sling (pretty tasty), and then about midnight it decided to RAIN. I’ve never heard such a torrential downpour, punctuated by bolts of lightning and claps of thunder. Kinda scary, so it’s a good think the Quay has a covered roof to keep us dry!

We hung out the bar next door for a bit, then took a taxi to a Chinese restaurant for some biriyani. This may well be one of my favorite foods now. Everything is so good, it’s no wonder that this is considered a food lover’s paradise. I haven’t even left yet, and I can’t wait to come back.

I’ll let the pictures do the rest of the talking for me.

That’s all for now, but I have plenty more pics coming, as well as some videos if I can find a decent connection to upload them on. Stay tuned and leave a comment below for me!

5 comments.

Sights from Little India

Posted on November 5th, 2007 by Cody.
Categories: Sights in Singapore.

Here are some pictures in and around the area I am staying at in Singapore: Little India. It’s pretty colorful, and there is tons of good food! The fish are from my hotel’s lobby, and Tian Yuan is about a block away. It was great food (yet to have a bad meal here), but the little sauce they give you is FIRE! I’d give it 4/5 for taste.

I have lots more pics to put up, but I have to edit them all first, and then post them on the slow Internet connection here. I’ll try to put them up later tonight when I get back from dinner.

2 comments.

Touched Down in Lion City…

Posted on November 3rd, 2007 by Cody.
Categories: Sights in Singapore.

So I have arrived! I managed to sleep the entire way from Hong Kong to Singapore, so I am not jet lagged at all, but I’m a bit tired. I got some pics to put up, so without further ado, check it out. About the second picture, last night I noticed I forgot to bring a toothbrush and I couldn’t bring my toothpaste on the plane, so I walked down the block to a grocery store, and I noticed that cigarette packs all have really gross pictures of people with deformed faces and whatnot. Nasty stuff; I couldn’t figure out why anyone would WANT to smoke with that stuff on it!

Fast forward to the 3rd, I woke up and went to eat some food, I found a cool place called Sakura Cuisine and ordered some Dendeng, which is Thai food made of rice, chicken, carrots, eggs and peas with some lemon tea. Quite delicious, I give it 5 stars! I also tried this stuff called Calamansi after I was done eating. Also 5 stars. After lunch, I checked out the Singapore River. It was nice, but this place is so hot and humid you can barely stand it! I took some pics of the huge skyscrapers all around that area.

5 comments.

Halfway There…

Posted on November 2nd, 2007 by Cody.
Categories: Airports and Planes.

Well, I have arrived in Hong Kong at my layover, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to update the site with the first post. I’ve got a few pics up from the plane and whatnot, so enjoy. I have another 1.5 hours to go before my plane leaves to Singpore. I know this technically isn’t food related, but it’s my blog, so I can do whatever I want!

China is disappointing because there is nowhere to charge my laptop! ARGH.

*Update: I finally found a place under the little prompter screens, woo!*

3 comments.