Singapore – Page 2 – The Chicken Scratches

A Book Club in Singapore. Yep They Are Here, Too.

by Pat WhydeDecember 8, 2014September 10, 2022

Ray and I attended our first book club meeting last night. This is going to be a very interesting and enlightening group to belong to. I always thought the books selected were the key to a good book club but I’m not sure now. The Friends of the Museum book club members are a collection of expats from all over the world – Brazil, Malaysia, UK, Australia, Turkey, India, US. It’s going to be fun to get to know them. The book we read for this meeting was a non fiction book called Once a Jolly Hangman by Alan Sandrake …

Durian – The King of Fruit

by Pat WhydeDecember 7, 2014November 17, 2023

For many years I have been curious about the durian fruit. I saw them for sale at Super G on Independence in Charlotte but because of the size and price I was not brave enough to buy one. They are one odd fruit. We first saw these at the fruit stand across the street back in August which is the Malaysian peak season and now as it gets close to the holiday season the supply is back but imported from a different part of Asia. This batch is smaller but they still are about the size and shape of a …

‘Tis the Singapore X-Mas Season

by Pat WhydeNovember 29, 2014November 17, 2023

X-Mas music is playing everywhere in public spaces and malls. My internal music machine is overwhelmed. I’m humming more than just “Good King Wenceslas” now. The wreathes and hangings around our condo complex look like they’ve been around for quite a few years. We stopped by Ikea yesterday and the artificial trees were all gone. Live trees were flowing out of the store. Even our local Japan Home store had small artificial trees for sale. The white tree above was in Liang Court Mall and is made up of dolls donated for a charity drive. The downtown streets were nicely …

Southern Ridges Hiking

by Pat & Ray WhydeNovember 26, 2014November 18, 2023

We took an easy hike through the Southern Ridges of Singapore this morning. No monkeys and no mud this time. We started the hike at Mount Faber’s Henderson Wave bridge and snaked around on the paths and along a elevated sky way over the tree tops. The city views from here were amazing. We stopped at a World War II museum at Bukit Chandu which was the scene of the last battle of Singapore in 1942 when the Japanese successfully invaded the island. Sad times but like all Singapore museums, the displays were interesting and innovative. Alas we did …

A hiking weekend 22-23 Nov 2014

by Pat & Ray WhydeNovember 23, 2014November 18, 2023

We had two really good hiking days this weekend, walking in between rain storms. We only got caught once coming home Sunday and got drenched in just a few moments as we scrambled to get our umbrellas out. A few weeks ago we hiked the Green Corridor with some friends. Pat was not able to finish the whole way then, so we rode a bus out to the spot where we stopped and finished the corridor on Saturday. Because of the rainy November here the Green Corridor could have been renamed the Brown Corridor or the Mud Corridor. Footing was …

Busy Birthday Week

by Pat & Ray WhydeNovember 16, 2014November 18, 2023

Mid November is a busy birthday time for our family. Today is Ray’s birthday, tomorrow is Jenny’s birthday and Tuesday is Drew’s birthday. Lots of celebrating going on here. Jenny planned a kids party for Drew last Friday. Drew and I made a chocolate cake from scratch and found out my convection oven works just fine. Glad to know that. The oven has been glaring at me every day since we moved in here like a dark mysterious cave filled with who knows what – bats, Golum, snakes. Now it’s my friend and I can get back to baking and …

Singapore Green Corridor Hike

by Pat WhydeNovember 9, 2014November 18, 2023

Before we came to Singapore and were researching it to see what to look forward to, we read about the Green Corridor or the Greenway. It is a railroad track no longer in use that runs through the island. It was the original train line going into Malaysia and is about 16 miles long. We made two short walks on it just to get a feel for it. Then in October we met several women on a cemetery tour who also mentioned wanting to walk the Corridor. So Gwenn and I started emailing each other until we set up a …

Little India for Dinner

by Pat & Ray WhydeAugust 21, 2014September 10, 2022

Took the bus into Little India for dinner. Had no idea what to expect other than what the travel books mention which is the place is overpowering with colors, scents, and sounds. We got off the bus one stop past where we should have so walked around a very sterile and quiet hospital and university campus area for awhile until we got where we wanted to be. Cross one street and turn a corner and BAM right in the middle of Little India. Wow what a huge change in just one short block! Stores and stores filled with flowers strung …

Hiking and the Natural Side of Singapore

by Pat WhydeAugust 20, 2014November 18, 2023

Ray and I found a web listing for a green way that runs 26 miles through the center of Singapore. It’s a former train track that is no longer in use. Info on the green way was a bit sketchy so not a tourist spot. So we fumbled around after getting off the MRT and kind of found it by accident behind a Hindu temple. By the time we found the green way, I was hot and sweaty already. Because the path was a former railroad line there are no trees or any form a shade other than the occasional …

Moved into Apartment in Tiong Bahru

by Pat & Ray WhydeAugust 19, 2014November 19, 2023

Thought you’d enjoy this article from a free local newspaper I picked up this morning. http://mypaper.sg/opinion/excuse-me-can-i-bite-you-20140818 I love the line “They struggled to contain their indifference”. HA! We moved into our one bedroom apartment Friday night. We’ve been nesting on and off for the last few days, unpacking and buying stuff not being shipped over. The apartment is nice and roomy and very 60s in style with a little bit of Art Deco flavor to it. The oddest thing is the kitchen. It is not part of the air conditioned area. It is in a long room behind a door …