Back home again

16 days, four countries and seven different sleeping places including a plane. Glad to be back. We saw a lot of cool stuff, ate and drank and shopped and massaged pretty much all we wanted. But the really good memories are the visits with Chuck and the Provs, both of whom we miss a lot.

Since there wasn’t anything in the fridge, we headed out for dinner. Good to know that things haven’t changed… people still dump their broken umbrellas on the street.

At Non Solo Pizza, one of our go-to places in the neighborhood, we had a lovely dinner under the watchful gaze of a light fixture that clearly descended from another planet.

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Singapore Gardens by the Bay

We had a nice tour of Singapore’s giant garden domes. I think they have to keep the plants indoors because it’s too hot outside.

Giant indoor waterfall

Cherry blossoms

Flowers

All the pictures above are things you’d expect to find in a botanical garden.

More surprising … downright surreal in fact… was the All-Stars of Cosplay convention.

I am a little uncomfortable around a lot of this cosplay stuff, to be honest. But this family of tourists was all in and didn’t share my queasiness, and it was cool to watch mom and kid having such a good time.

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Metaphysical help 5¢

I’ve done my share of consulting engagements where the deliverables were poorly defined, but this shop seems like it might be operating at a whole different level.

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Supertrees light show

Adding to the feeling that Singapore is actually Disneyland, twice every night you can watch a fantastic music and light show at the giant tree sculptures. Just like Fireworks on Main Street USA.

It was amazing… maybe not breaking any new artistic ground with the classics themes and the flashing lights… but still, wow!

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Singapore Planning Museum

Worth a second visit for me, and a first for Lee who has always had a thing for scale models.

In addition to the big models, they had a lot of interesting propaganda/exhibits about all the clever things they’ve done to make Singapore as cool as it is.

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Buddha Tooth Relic and Museum

The Buddha’s Tooth Temple was far and away the most sumptuous temple we saw, or maybe have ever seen. Spectacular and also mystifying. How do you keep up with the hundreds of interconnected deities and practices and offerings? And why?

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Fish ball noodles, satay sticks, halo-halo, and Singapore slings

We ate and drank really well in Singapore. The giant food halls are the most exciting, with dozens of tiny stalls and communal seating. I love eating that way and would grow fat and hypertensive if I lived there.

I had a bowl of fish ball noodles soup for breakfast, an experience I don’t regret but wouldn’t necessarily repeat.

After seeing this guy tuck into a giant bowl of shaved ice, fruit, and custard goo, I ordered my own. Just right for a 95-degree day.

The famous Raffles Hotel bar is closed for renovations, so we settled for Singapore Slings at a waterfront tourist place… tasty but not the same.

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Singapore skyline

Our whirlwind tour of Singapore was largely spent walking around looking at stuff, including a lot of big tall buildings…. here’s some pictures.

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One more from Vietnam: Thiên Mu Pagoda

One more place we visited in Vietnam was the Thiên Mu Pagoda.

At first, not realizing where we were, it seemed like another chance to see some bonsai trees and carvings and stuff…

But then we came to this… the car driven by Thich Quang Duc to his self-immolation in 1963.

I first learned about that terrifying day a few years ago:

https://brattleboroadventure.com/2015/03/25/how-do-you-speak-the-unspeakable-how-then-do-you/#more-895

But somehow in my head the movie sort of started with him in the street dousing himself with gasoline. Thinking of driving yourself to your death, of having breakfast that day, brushing your teeth, simply being alive all morning… and the day before… yikes.

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En route Singapore

My bespoke Vietnamese shoes were not confiscated as a fashion violation, although it was a close thing.

We were excited to see a Popeye’s Chicken in the Hanoi airport, especially since our flight was delayed a couple of hours. But they were out of the lemongrass flavor, sad.

A not very good shot of the vast ship parking lot in the Singapore Straits.

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One night in Hanoi

So much to see… and not enough time.

We had about 12 hours in Hanoi. It seemed like a nice city… we had the best of the trip’s several massages,

a reasonably good American style BBQ meal,

a swanky cocktail,

a moment to consider the Rolex store in a Communist country,

a good night’s sleep,

and a good breakfast including New Zealand butter.

Less fun was farewells with the Provs, who carried on their trip for a few more weeks. It was great to see them, and it will be too long till we see them next.

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Starstruck!

Traveling with Prov in Vietnam was the chance to be seen with a celebrity. It happened a lot… people would stare and comment, and often they’d want to touch his skin and take selfies with him. Sometimes people would call out Obama! Obama!

It always seemed friendly, but I think he was more comfortable than I would have been.

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Backwards and in heels

The ubiquity of motor scooters in Vietnam means that women often use them to get to work. But office attire isn’t exactly suitable for a lot of scooter seats, and especially for the pillion rider.

We saw this startling scenario fairly often… scooters dodging through traffic, female passengers completely relaxed and engrossed by the phone. Side-saddle.

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You can buy anything if you know where to look

At the end of the cruise we took a bus to Hanoi. Midway, we stopped for a rest break at this workshop. We considered grabbing a few disabled people to pack home (way cheaper than in town since you get them right at the workshop where they’re produced).

But instead we got a silk embroidery wall hanging…

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