The memory of a place is always based upon the people who live there.  Even in cases where someone will go out into nature to escape from human civilization, like in the case of Thoreau, or the Buddha, the emphasis is still on the absence, and the enlightenments that come are based on the lack of people more than the presence of nature.  This is all to say, people like people, because like attracts like.  So when there is an opportunity to travel to Singapore, enjoying all the live arts and entertainment, pop, classical, and electronic music, along with excellent restaurants like these, it’s highly recommended to take the trip.

Not only are there amazing sights, smells, and tastes, there are also amazing people.  It’s a fantastically creative city state, with generations of artists making new work all the time.  The old is revered and novelty is welcomed, and there’s a sense of balance in all of this that is rather splendid to be part of.  Local talents are often dazzling, and there are also a number of celebrities, artists, and intellectuals that make this a regular stop.  You might run into the likes of Ko Un, the South Korean poet who could very well win the next Nobel Prize.

His extraordinary body of work is informed by his practice as a Buddhist monk in the 1950s.  He has also been very active in working for democracy in South Korea, and has been imprisoned, as well as tortured.  In 1980, he began Maninbo, an epic poem written about everyone he has ever met.  The title means 10,000 lives, and he is near completing 4,000 of these.  The idea came when he was in solitary confinement, and conceived of remembering people, including famous people and fictional characters, as a way of keeping his sanity.  The poems are a testament to the interconnected of lives, histories, and nations.

Ko Un Meets Singapore is a post from: Surfing The Channel

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When you live in a city that is a well known tourist destination, those off season days become precious.  I lived for a few years in the American summer city of Los Angeles.  Trips to the beach in Santa Monica are what families plan all year long, and while this is a fun and exciting time, my favorite days at the beach came after one year of experiencing the crowds and the chaos that could happen along the Southern California shores.  My most memorable drive on the Pacific Coast Highway happened at dusk, just as an incredible storm was blowing in.  And one of my most memorable days on the boardwalk was having lunch, under an umbrella, with the grey-blue sky and water raging, and the rain pouring down in the middle of winter.

This is true as well, for the residents of the city of Baltimore, Maryland.  Restaurant options and hotels open up, offering deals for the locals who are looking for a bit of a mini-vacation.  The lines at the restaurants at the harbor disappear, the museums and the farmers markets are less crowded, this is a time when the residents are able to fully enjoy and appreciate the city.  The Baltimore Aquarium offers discounted admission prices, as well as the Maritime Museum, the USS Constellation and the Science Museum Center.

These are known throughout the city as the “Dollar Days” and happen through the winter on Saturdays and Sundays.  While the winter in Baltimore can involve massive snow storms and the much feared “Nor’easter”, this is not an everyday occurrence and the winter temperatures, while cold, are not that bad on the whole.  So this is a great time for those outside of the city to come for a visit.  It is also a great time for the locals to be tourists in their own town.  More time to explore, and less people to manage while doing that exploring.

Winter in Baltimore is a post from: Surfing The Channel

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It doesn’t take much time in this city state before people realize how much Singapore has to offer.  It’s a spectacular traveler’s location, with an abundance of events and attractions all year long, and there’s plenty of spectacular spots to enjoy some solitude, too.  But the majority of the experience will be likely spent in this thriving metropolis, enjoying all the entertainments and the energy which is rather contagious.  The fascinating history of Singapore shows a large mix of cultures who have spent time here, and it’s part of the cultural fabric today.  The local cuisine, then, is a pretty fantastic mix of some of the most amazing culinary traditions on the planet, and the multicultural sensibility is also evident in the wide variety of foods available in the finest restaurants.

When you are looking to taste the best in Singapore food, guide yourself to the finer restaurants in town, and prepare to enjoy!  And if you’re up for local entertainments afterwards, there is so much here for you.  With clubs and discos, theatres and musical performances, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.  You might even find yourself doing a little country and western line dancing.  Singapore has been enjoying the line dancing craze for some time now, just like the rest of the world, but with some wonderful local twists.

This is just one more example of how this marvelous city state is always up on contemporary world culture.  There are plenty of local traditions, and music and dance to enjoy.  But there is also a terrific scene here that enjoys all the different kinds of music of the world.  Country and western line dancing is all over here, and there are many different groups that meet regularly to learn this form for the fun as well as for the exercise.  It’s always fascinating to find something familiar in a new surrounding, and to see what kinds of local flavors work their way in, and it’s an exciting way to get to know a place.

Singapore: Blend of Eastern and Western Cultures is a post from: Surfing The Channel

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When the long winters start to get a little too long, people start to miss the pleasures of summer.  It’s impossible to change the weather, but it’s possible to daydream.  The memories of the summer that just passed is always the freshest, and it seems like the last fresh cut lawn is something you can even smell, if you think about it long enough.  Even if the lawn is now covered with snow and ice, those sweet days where the sunlight seemed to last forever are always still lingering.  Of course, living by the flow of the seasons means participating in the natural processes of life and nature, but there are always ways of making things a little bit sweeter.

With barbecue islands, and all the pleasures they have to offer on those long summer nights, there is another means of getting into the flow of things, and shaking things up a little.  You might be tempted to switch on the grill again, even in the middle of winter, to get a taste of the smells of summer.  But the truth is, you really can have a taste of summer in the middle of the coldest part of the year when you have an outdoor kitchen in your yard.  They’re a spectacular way to bring some new life to a long and cold season, and it certainly brightens up any meal.

The taste of freshly grilled food is always a pleasure, and it doesn’t just have to be reserved for one season.  With a little careful planning, you can hook it up so that your grill is available throughout the year.  Even in the coldest months, in the coldest parts of the country, it’s possible to add that fantastic grill flavor to any kind of meat or vegetable.  You don’t have to spend hours by the grill, and if you time it with a little care, it’s a matter of running out to flip it, which is much less time than you spend waiting for a bus.  The payoffs are obvious, and much the same as the payoffs during the summer.  Your guests will adore you in the summer, and in the winter, they might decide to make you a saint.

Grilling in Winter is a post from: Surfing The Channel

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Our first trip away from China since moving here last summer was to Hong Kong! Although, it was a short and official trip, I was still very excited to finally see Hong Kong outside the airport. I’ve been to Hong Kong before, but every time I was just passing through on my way to other destinations.

We took the ferry from Shunde port to Hong Kong. That took us 2 hours and I was surprised to find familiar inscriptions on the windows of the ferry. Obviously, there were no interesting sights during the ferry boat ride, or otherwise I’d come up with something better than familiar inscriptions. Arriving at the Kowloon harbour was just like the movies. Our first stop was to check into our hotel located on Nathan Road. Hubby proceeded on to his official purpose for the trip. I was happy to find out that our hotel was located on the very expensive shopping street of Kowloon.

Hubby got back in time for lunch, so we checked out where some of the best Hong Kong restaurants were and managed to find one that would serve me what I miss since moving to Asia. Chicken Caesar salad and hubby ordered his favorite pasta! We missed this food terribly. After lunch, we decided to walk to the Avenue of Stars, which is also not for from where we were. The Avenue is a very famous spot in Hong Kong located at the Kowloon harbour. We took some photos of the ’stars’ dedicated to the superstars of Hong Kong show business.

For dinner, we decided on Asian food this time. We found a restaurant serving Hainanese chicken rice that was next to our hotel. Unfortunately, it wasn’t that good. We’re spoiled by the restaurant in Victoria, Australia, they have the best Hainanese chicken rice, no one seems to compare, as of yet.

Hainanese Chicken in Hong Kong is a post from: Surfing The Channel

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I did a day at Brighton Beach, which is by Coney Island and ate Ukrainian food for lunch. The day was fascinating, I purposefully positioned myself inside this group of people who were down here to create a positive change in the neighborhood without destroying its wonderful qualities. I acted like I was a part of the group and nobody seemed to notice that I wasn’t. For those of you who know me, my action does not surprise you, but for those of you getting to know me, know I pretend to belong to groups of people all the time.

I learned, as a was walking around the neighborhood with this positive group, that senior citizens compose the majority of the population in Brighton Beach and this group is trying to bring in new residents and with them, new expensive homes, which current locals would not be able to afford. This positive group do not want to force the local residents out of the neighborhood, or demolish the amazing Eastern European/Russian culture, which as I look around is very cool. But, this community does need a younger, wealthier population that will support the local economy, according to this positive group I’ve infiltrated. There have recently been built some luxury condos along the boardwalk that range from $75,000 all the way to $2.5 million and there is a waiting list for more to be built.

I started to get bored, so I quietly dropped out of the group and headed back to the beach. I was done pretending and now wanted to experience more of the New York culture, food wise. So far, I’ve had, Afgahan, Indian, Mexican, Lebanese, Ukrainian, but tonight I will be having Ethiopian cuisine. Right now though, I’m tired once again and I have a few errands to run, like shipping off the electronics I purchased at Times Square back to my Mother country, Russia. Then I’ll catch a quick nap back at the New York hotel suites where I’m staying and then back out to enjoy Ethiopian and maybe find another touristy group to infiltrate.

Infiltrating New York is a post from: Surfing The Channel

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