G'Day from Melb'n

Fun Things to do in Melbourne 

Go to Chinatown 

 

Go to a Museum

See a beautiful Train Station

Go to a Cathedral

And pray in the exact spot where Pope John Paul II did

Stop at an 1875 pub and watch the baseball play-offs (Monday night game on Tuesday afternoon, Live!)

Go to the Queen Victoria  Market (he keeps saying "Mushrooms, 3 dollars a bag!")

Go to Burlesque School

Be happy that you don't have to wear this school uniform

Taste Wine

Taste Beer

Get Shanghaeid

Enjoy the surprising sites

But above all, have a g'day, mate!

Tiong Bahru

I traveled down near Chinatown to Tiong Bahru, which I have learned was the first planned "town center" with apartment buildings and market and shops all purpose-built in the 1960's.  I didn't have an official tour, just me and my camera.(I know I will come back because I heard the rumor that here you can find a gathering of local men with their singing birds in cages.)

A lot of the houses and shops are now up-scale design, film and sound companies, but they retain the simple character of the originals. In front of the row houses, between the sidewalk and the street is a teeny-tiny garden spot:

Where you can grow your own bananas:

But most people get their fruits and veggies at the market:

From the local vegetable lady:

I don't know what this is...the customer in the flowered blouse told me it is good for losing weight;  maybe she was trying to tell me something:

Around the corner was this shop, which looks like a Shoe Shop, right?

But when you look closely at the sign, it is really a House Maintenance and Renovation Company:

Maybe it is a new concept...

After shopping, it is good to stop at the beautifully decorated temple to give an offering:

 

But we are a equal-worshiping country, so directly across the street is the sign to direct you to the closest Christian church:

And after a long day of shopping and worshiping, one's feet must be tired, so let's get a foot massage:

And business is booming

My last stop was at "The Orange Thimble," an old sewing shop that now "tailors" to the caffeine needs if today's clientele:

Happy Halloween!!!!

Apartment Living

Now that we are settled in our apartment, I thought I would share some of the daily views.

From the 19th floor, I see this out our living room window:

But Singapore is constantly growing and changing, so outside the bedroom windows we see a new skyscraper going up:

The above photo doesn't really show how close this is...the operator of the crane can look right into our bathroom window...

And looking down, this is what we see:

So to get away from all the hubbub, our apartment complex has the most beautiful garden conservatory where I went to read this afternoon.  It is an air conditioned greenhouse surrounded by waterfalls, koi ponds and benches for reflection.  Enjoy!

 Look carefully for the turtle:

I'm thinking of doing my mosaics at this spot on the mosaic floor:

And a special plant to give you a peaceful thought right now:

Last weekend we visited some new friends who chose the ultra-modern apartment by the bay.  Here is what the building looks like:

The clubhouse:

And the view:

The cruise ships go in and out every day and it is right across the water from the new Universal studios theme park.  Total resort living!

No new photos!

I know I haven't posted for too long a time..... all I've been doing is trying to fit our furniture into the apartment, getting used to new appliances, getting TV and Internet set up (John is actually doing that), emptying boxes, chastising myself for bringing so much stuff, etc., etc.   Going to the market today and will get photos!!!

It is very smoggy here every day, due to haze from Indonesia...
Met with my run/jog/walk group this morning to run at the National University of Singapore track, doing some 100 meter sprints.  If it was this hot and humid at home, they would say you should stay indoors and avoid physical exertion,  but here it is just the way it is...

Enjoying city living, being able to walk to restaurants and food shops, even the doctor where my red eye was diagnosed as pink eye...so I had to resort to wearing glasses for 6 days.   Arghhh!

Spent a frustrating afternoon searching for light bulbs...they don't sell them at any of the regular places I thought they would.   I needed to find a hardware store, but ended up at up-scale Takashimia, the Japanese department store, where they sell them in their grocery store.  Who knew???

Back to the boxes.  Hope you are having a wonderful day!!

A Trip to the Zoo - share it with the kids!

I got to play host to a friend of our son for a few days.  A must-see for all Singapore visitors in The Singapore Zoological Gardens.  I know, you are thinking that zoos are for kids, which is what I used to think.  This place features habitats from around the world and all the animals that live in them.  You walk around with the critters right next to you - or hanging above your head.

This little guy was sitting on the first sign we passed by

And then we looked down over a railing and saw this big guy

Next stop, the Orangutans

And the White Tigers

We walked into a special enclosure and Steve made friends with a trio of lemurs:

We turned around and were startled by this huge sleeping bat:

 A crowd of Mouse 

Deer inhabited the edge of the pathway - this one is about 10 inches in height:

I watched this guy and had to get the video...he turned toward me and I was sure he was going to jump onto my head!  (I don't know what he is) And sorry if the video is sideways...

In the African area we were treated to these guys - and sang Hakuna Matata as we strolled:

And the cheetah was the only one behind glass - this gal ran full speed up to the window a pressed her nose up to it... was she trying to smell us?

 And finally, this beauty and her baby are in a special research area for endangered species:  love that nose!

This is only a small taste of the wonders of the Zoo - there is also a Night Safari that features nocturnal creatures.  Maybe a future blog entry.  

For better photos and videos than mine, check out the official site:

http://www.zoo.com.sg/