Tag: Singapore

Got any Zygos? [or The Fragrance of Orchids]

I have always thought that orchids had no fragrance whatsoever, until recently. This past weekend, starved for color we decided to visit the yearly orchid show at Michigan State University. We found many like-minded people there and ran into several friends ‘oohing’ and ‘ahhing’ over these colorful beauties. Coming from Singapore, a country that is…

March 6, 2015
Walking a Tight Rope

Hong Kong is a crowded city and a popular tourist destination. Tourists are welcomed here but there’s one group that’s getting a cold shoulder from some of the local residents who have described them as “invading locusts.” Business owners love them because they spend, spend, spend their yuans on luxury goods to take advantage of…

March 29, 2014
Goodbye to all that

We’re adjusting to life in Hong Kong and finding our bearings once again. It’s the season when the Kapok trees flower and bulbuls “go wild” cavorting in the gorgeous orange-red flowers. No one seems to notice but I love watching them. In Singapore, where so much has changed [new buildings, land reclamation, constant renovation and…

March 3, 2014
The parade passes by

The sounds of beating drums, the cymbals of the lion dancers, and twirling dragons manipulated by athletic young men is a memory that I always associate with the Chinese New Year. Growing up in Singapore, we kids would be attracted like bees to honey when these dancers and other simple floats came by our neighborhood. And there…

February 9, 2014
The House on the Hill

Just behind the National Museum of Singapore on Stamford Road lies a quiet green oasis that once was called the Forbidden Hill. Forbidden, because this was the hillside abode of the Malay sultans who ruled Singapore since the 14th century. It’s now Fort Canning Park and my good friend and knowledgeable guide Shobana took us…

February 6, 2014
Gardens by the Bay

It’s amazing and magical. Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay — a park and recreational space built on 250 acres of reclaimed land tops my list of places to visit on this island. Designed by a UK firm Grant Associates – Wilkinson Eyre Architects, this park recreates tropical environments, themed gardens, and showcases plants from virtually every continent. It…

February 3, 2014
Galloping into the Year of the Horse

We’ve escaped the deep freeze in Michigan and are now in tropical Singapore where the weather reminds me of southern Florida. It’s typically warm and humid all year, but this time around the temperatures are a tad cooler because of winds from China. Yes! Perfect! So, greetings from this colorful corner of the world where…

January 28, 2014
Connections a world away

The beach environment has always been my favorite and I’m always so amazed at how the flora and fauna of southwest Florida is so much like what I saw growing up in Singapore. I suppose it is for that reason that I always feel very at home when we visit this part of the country…

December 30, 2012
A Cup of Tea

Trying to decide on a tea to brew the other day, the choices before me brought back old experiences, habits and memories. Being a new year and all, I reminded myself to reach for the green rather than the black tea that I’ve always loved. In fact, for the longest time, the only kind of…

January 21, 2012