Thursday, August 25, 2011

Emperor Times in Beijing

Above is the temple of Heaven, in the Park of People playing Majong, Singing, and Getting Fit.I would like a similar paint-job for my next home.When the Emperor got tired of his Forbidden city, above, with its naughty title, (and fake-blue sky that I touched-up to cover the smog),he retreated to the Summer Palace. We did not find it less crowded or cooler, just less convenient. But we were big fans of its air conditioners and their message. I did not throw waste, but I did sit by, sucking on the cool air, despite the apparent disapproval.
The Emperor was also a fan of animal carvings representing real and emperor-imagined species.
Modern Beijing locations, such as Tiananmen square shown below, were a bit less flamboyant.
After all the walking in the heat, might we suggest a candied plum, assuming you have a gut of steel.



Beijing New and Old

Beijing offered us some contrasts. New building:
Old building:A tale of two corners; fixed up old building.
Classic style:
And our more modern Engrish style. Mine says "Hello Paris"; hers says "Sweet Love Frequently Lisps" and then something about writhing.Barry and I had different ways to cope with it all. He rebelled.I just overheated as shown here.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Election Errata!

It turns out I was terribly mistaken! The Tans ARE easy to tell apart. On the ballott sheet, not only are there black and white pictures, but also symbols!! That's right, the presidential candidates each have their own symbol. I was quite confused (glasses? But they all wear glasses. And is that an aboriginal headpiece?), but I found the answer:
The heart stands for conscience and empathy (I thought love, but I was again wrong).
The hand-bubble stands for the Voice of the People. But there's more! The five fingers, (consistent with chinese reflexology), represent honesty, fairness, a positive attitude, courage and public service. However I'm not sure if these are features of the Tan or of the People...
Anyway the headdress palm leaf represents: "the multiracial society, the trunk represents them coming together (the races?), and the roots represents (sic) people taking root in Singapore" (roots however not shown).
The glasses represent, well, glasses. However, Mr. Tan adds: "No one has ever ruined his or her eyesight by taking a long-term view".



Saturday, August 20, 2011

Tan much?

Singapore is electing the next President (read Governor General). We can't vote, which is lucky, since the above illustrates how difficult the choice is. This follows the General Election. Most importantly for us, we get one extra holiday for each election. That means we'll be going here! Stay tuned.



Saturday, August 13, 2011

The Great Wall and More

The Great Wall is where you fight the enemy as I demonstrate below.Potential enemies are shown here.I call this one: Three Davies Gazing.After the wall, we went back to appreciate more modern Chinese architecture.We also enjoyed modern Chinese Cuisine with our friends Mike and Jen.We tried Cutie Wife cakes for dessert.Jen demonstrated Chinese shopping: Find a bike with what you want and then shriek. Negotiations and house plant acquisitions ensued.We also learnt from Jen how freaky the back of an ear is. Ew, look!