Asia. In One Day.

Oh my Gosh, Jason visited Asia and we only had one day to see it all!

First stop, India: saris and gold after a curry breakfast.

Jason absorbed some Hinduism in the sunshine.

Without wasting time, we moved right onto Buddhism.

Thai Buddha above, Chinese temple below.

Finally, Buddhism is completed as Jason turns the Tibetan prayer wheel in glee.

Religion made us hungry, so we had a delicious Singaporean hawker centre lunch.

Time for some typical Asia shots!

Laundry poles, check. Street monks, gotta havem.

Traditional Chinese medicine roots and bits, done.

Finally, Chinese lanterns. Now China's done.

Of course, tropical nature is needed! What do you guys think?

The monkeys above are marvelling at Jason's palour.

It was better when he hid in a rainforest tree.

Finally, we went to Japan for the evening. After Japanese dinner, there was a magic show. Yup, that's now part of the tour. Above, Jason got tricked! Below, proof that I was actually there too.

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Smog Blog, Haze Daze

This week Singapore got dirty.

I went to look for the culprit. I was pretty excited when I found this, but it turns out that this is a good fire, not a bad fire.

I considered jumping into the gutter in despair.

But then I realized there are good better things to do in the haze. Like take pictures of the freaky moon.

Many considered their fashion options. Most solutions are purely psychological. This fashion scarf, advertized by a mouse, is unlikely N95 grade.

But according what I saw on the streets, many found the mouse convincing. Some even tried to filter the air with their hands. (Such a solution could be an environmental boon, if perfected).

I considered the options. Can you can roll the toxins out of your nose with this?

Perhaps traditional Chinese medicine has the answer in one of these roots, fungi or horns? (No endangered species were directly harmed in the making of this blog).

Given that the haze is not expected to last, you could just choose to balance out your life with some other healthy activities. How many people queuing for masks also, say, went to the gym? Ate some carrots? Relaxed while reading a book?  Or how about some miracle body juice? That should help.

It goes well with lychee ice and glowy syrup, both antioxidants, I think.

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Neighbourhood News

What is new in Little India. Well, we have extra Dengue. However, I'm not sure how much, as I have no idea how big my neighbourhood is. Our condo alone has over 2300 people in it...

The local hotel got a new paint job, but kept is less than ideal name.

Bikes continue to grow out of the grass.

And we've learnt a little more about what goes on one block over.

I'll give you a hint. The men wait in line at the backs of the houses, and didn't like the looks of my camera.

And the front of said houses look like this. Which is sad for prime real estate, really.

However, it does provide shelter for cuter beings.

In the same block, there are small temples to purge your sins, and also this fine establishment. (We only know of one murder here in the past 5 years).

It's Singapore clean and tidy.

And men play checkers, a more virtuous pass-time.

All of these discoveries inspired Barry to shop. He got new bike shoes which you form to your feet in the oven. This sounds like a gimmick to me.

He did them too tight and it made him make this face thereafter.  And I mastered the chocolate peanut butter martini.

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Marché des Gourmands

Sometimes it's important to stop and smell the flowers.

Or the artichokes. These ones were the size of small durians.

And even if you don't try, you will smell the cheese. Oooh affiné. (Thank you here to google's strong reluctance to accept my accent égu.)

Anyway, there are a lot of good things to eat in France, and I didn't have the time or space to eat them all.

But I did eat a lot of the above. And I still am.

In France you get too into your food and start taking pictures with it.

Food and Eater photography is not yet an appreciated art.

I brought a few small things home so that Barry could also savour the saveur.

Obviously, Singapore is not so freaked-out about the importation of stinky cheese. The one on the bottom right leaked in my suitcase ever so slightly. There should be a better food word there. Oozed? Seeped? Wept?

Finally, above is the result of my 15 minute discussion with the saucissier. Boar, lean pork, and chorizo.

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