Ing Monster

Ingrid is growing a bit more hostile to the paparazzi who stalk her every move...

Non-Fiction is Ingrid's Favorite

Happy Valentine's Day

Get Better Grandpa!

Lunar New Year in Singapore

We packed our bags and left the relative chill (51°) of Hong Kong behind for the past 4 days, setting off for a destination closer to the equator: Singapore. Our daily urban combat on HK's streets gave way to leisurely strolls along riverfront promenades, al fresco dining and an unbeatable cultural experience over the Lunar New Year. Deemed “Asia Lite” by some because of its immaculate streets, sophisticated populace, and chewing gum free sidewalks, Singapore set the perfect pace for a relaxing Chinese New Year holiday.

My father has been quite seriously ill over the past couple of weeks and it has been weighing extremely heavily on the minds of Lizzie and I, made worse by being on the other side of the globe. I've not yet returned home to attend to the matter and to join the family support effort but plan to do so in short order. Meantime, it felt oddly appropriate to get Ingrid and Lizzie out on our first official family adventure as a fitting gesture to the man who introduced me to so many memorable family road trips.

Using soon-to-expire air miles to fly there allowed us to guiltlessly shell out for a room at the fabulous Fullerton Hotel. "A six-star masterpiece of understated comfort and elegance" is how its website proudly back pats itself. To think it was nary a year ago we were traveling the world and were ecstatic to secure a room in a $10/night fleabag hostel with a locked door and a fresh towel. Undersplurging then, oversplurging now. But this place was awesome and best of all it's located smack in the middle of anything that matters in Singapore.

We were pretty proud of ourselves until we strolled over to the Raffles Hotel and realized that we had been bested. Named after the British gent who founded modern Singapore, this hotel truly captures all the colonial charm you'd expect from such an exotic locale -- Elegant rattan furniture, staff in pith helmets, towering banana trees, the full 9. Rudyard Kipling, Joseph Conrad, Somerset Maugham and other greats found the necessary inspiration from the hotel to pen classic novels. Don't know how they afforded a room there though, let alone its signature Singapore Sling in a souvenir flute at an extortionate $30USD. But the place is a classic, right down to the impressively turbaned Sikh doorman, a vestige from the days of the English empire. But he lost all street cred when we bamboozled him into posing for a photograph with Ingrid. And of course the hotel is not above selling a stuffed version of the doorman in its gift shop, and we weren't above buying one. The pictures bear witness that Ingrid preferred the mini-version.

Singapore is a mecca for foodies with many of best delectables being sold at hawker stalls along the street at dirt cheap prices. The city pulls on strong culinary influences from its large Chinese, Malay and Indian populations. And while you can no doubt find all the foods that would test even Anthony Bourdain's gag reflex, you can also easily find a huge array of delicious local dishes. We ate plates of satay, fried noodles, fried chicken and Char Kway Teow at next to nothing prices. We went upmarket one night for a Chili Crab feast at a place called Jumbo Seafood, not quite what I'd expected when I asked the concierge for a 'not too touristy' place, but it too was awesome. Delicious food quashed by a mug of Tiger Beer. I'm definitely fatter today than I was a week ago!



The Bjorn stayed at home as we feared the humid temps would turn me into a walking puddle, so Ingrid's new pink stroller made its maiden voyage on the trip. When she's clobbered out in a head-to-toe pink outfit and being pushed around in that stroller you half expect a crowd of paparazzi to start giving chase. She's a bit of a spectacle, particularly when rolling past the many women of Singapore's Muslim community who are suffering the tropical heat under headscarves or fully decked out to the wrists in a hijab. Their stares give away either jealously or extreme contempt, maybe a little of both. But Ingrid pays no mind. I’m fearful of the monster we’re creating, one whose first words will be "Dahhhling" or some Zsa Zsa Gabor quote.

A very nice Singaporean family nearly abducted Ingrid after falling in love with her in the lobby of the Asian Cultural Museum. She is such a ham. She draws people in with the smiles and the eye contact, and when they are close enough she reaches out and tries to grab their nose. Picture from L to R are Janet, Ingrid, Doris, Victor and Jasmine.

Ingrid made her first swimming pool appearance, donning the cute little swimsuit that Auntie Christine gave her. She was cool, calm and collected as she splashed around under mommy's close guidance.


Her little Dragon one-sy was a big hit, though she had her Zodiacal signs mixed up. But I suppose it's better than a one-sy covered in rats.

This is what serves as an Asian seat belt as we bounce around from taxi to taxi.


It’s a difficult time for us, but this was a wonderful family holiday.

Happy Chinese New Year, Kung Hei Fat Choy!

KUNG HEI FAT CHOY!

A very Happy Lunar New Year to all. May the Year of the Rat be a prosperous one for you both in wealth and in health.

Ingrid gets her bank on

Ingrid and I got our bank accounts set up today at Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp and were in agreement that it feels good to have her college fund guarded by such fierce statues as these lions located out in front of the HSBC building. These are one of 3 sets of statues, the others residing in Shanghai and London's Trafalgar Square. They are iconic HK images, even gracing several of city's currency notes. The lion pictured actually still has bullet holes from the Battle of HK when the Japanese took the city during WWII. The Japanese shipped the lions back to the home country to be melted into munitions but they were somehow spared, only to be discovered after the war intact when they were returned to their cages in HK.
Its also by far the coolest building at which I've ever banked. It looks like a machine out of Star Wars, with a steel exoskeleton, no central support structure, and a grand escalator that ascends from the noisy street level through a glass undercarriage to the quiet sanctum of the lobby floor. Very cool stuff.
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Pandas Gone Wild!

We got our Digital Cable package all set up today and have already found our favorite channel. Key in 503 to the remote and you get The Panda Channel. 24/7/365 footage of panda bears. All pandas, all the time. Take note of the script at the bottom....Pandas direct to your mobile!

The Year of the Rat is Approaching

Brrrrrr!

We capitalized on a break in the clouds to take to the streets this weekend with Ingrid in tow. Or should I say, with Ingrid attached? After years playfully mocking friends and others for donning the Baby Bjorn, I’m finally sporting one. Yes, fortunate for me that I’m half a world away and don’t have to hear the snickers of those who made the Bjorn standard issue on the mean streets of Noe Valley. But I can’t think of a city better suited for these things than Hong Kong -- Skinny streets, blind curves, steep hills, rampless staircases, heavy pedestrian traffic…..the Bjorn is perfect for this city.

We made a brief trip up the Peak that overlooks Hong Kong and Victoria Harbor. It was a bit hazy but beautiful all the same. We walked the hiking paths that encircle the Peak and took in some much needed greenery and peace and quiet. After a long week battling the Central business district, its nice to breathe some fresh oxygen. HK's skyline is nestled at the northern foot of the island beneath the peak, and the majority of the rest of the island is covered with beautiful near-tropical forests. But look closely over my right shoulder and you'll notice that the ground is concrete! To avoid the landslide issue and improve rainwater drainage, they've poured a concrete shell over much of the Peak!


It has been downright cold here in Hong Kong the past week or so. So cold that when we sat down out front of a pub over the weekend the thoughtful proprietor brought out a little plug-in heater to keep Ingrid warm while Lizzie and I enjoyed our pints. (Another Bjorn-benefit: hands free to drink your beer). The sadist in me could only think of having that same heater pointed at me in 4 months when I’m already melting like a candle from the HK summer swelter. But whenever I’m about to gripe about the cold weather I have to catch myself, knowing that I need my complaint piggy bank fully funded so I can really let the complaints fly come summer.

The Chinese Lunar New Year is almost upon us. We’ll be escaping the HK cold for the lower latitudes of sunny Singapore.