10 Months in Equatorial Singapore

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Our final stop for the day was the Elephant Cave Temple - Goa Gajah

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Kid was stoked - cause caves. Another example of old temples. The cave was worked on in the 9th century.

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Offerings are still made inside this portion of the temple.

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Festival decoration obstructed some of the carvings and the rock wall at the cave entrance. It is a tight area, dug by hand held tools.

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What makes Goa Gajong unique is that it adjoins a Hindu temple and Buddhist temple on the same grounds. A short walk down a stair case brings you into the Buddhist portion of the grounds.

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It is a strikingly different area, as you head down into yet another river canyon.

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Accentuating the age of the area, eroded, crumbling temple pieces litter the area.

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The large banyan tree dominates the landscape in the lower Buddhist area. We enjoyed some coconut and juices at a warung as we exited the temple. Again, if you and yourself in the area, it is a great place to stop for drinks. Food looks decent as well, but we had dinner plans.

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Nusatara was our splurge meal of the trip. By Indo standards, we spent a ton of money here. It was by far the most amazing meal of our trip and well worth the coin. But for starters, we had some pretty delicious cocktails.

OT is the TGR Cultural guide!

Beautiful places!

Looks like I need to go back and fix that last post. It was showing pics at first…

As for cultural guide, okay. Sure. I am learning a bit about this corner of the world. It is so different than home. And posting up what I have learned. I do want to share here, but it is servings a different purpose as well.

Living in SG is by far the most challenging thing I have ever done. It is really stretching all of my family. I have a few ways of getting through the rough times when it can feel like everything is just too much. One is to remind myself how, in the end, everything works out. Another is posting up pics and remembering all the really cool shit we get to do while living here. Another is just remembering that I’m buying fresh mangos for about $.50 each and eating out nearly everyday for lunch for $2-4 an awesome meal.

I did visit the Asian Cultural Museum last week and plan to go back. It was really pretty cool and a reminder of how cross pollinated these SE Asian cultures are. Example would be how common the swastika (a Hindu symbol) is across cultures - found in Korans and Buddhist art from Indo to China.

Sitting on a clean, safe, efficient train right now headed to a screen printing class with my kid. So not all culture. We are playing with art as well.

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Nusatara was by far the most expensive meal we had in Bali. 3x more expensive than the next priciest meal. We ordered the tasting menu, but this appetizer taster I believe comes with any order. Very much enjoyed the small bites of different flavors from around the archipelago. Nusatara does for Indonesia, what Alice Waters did for vegetables. They take classic dishes from different regions, and refines them - I'm not sure "refines" is the correct word, but that is best I can do. Like I said, what Waters did for vegetables and California cuisine.

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Their menu is locally sourced, supporting small organic farms giving homage to regional techniques and flavors. The tasting menu included soft shell crab, duck, squid, pork, coconut soup, sautéed spinach, sambals and rice. We added a chicken dish. All of it was amazing, and was the highlight meal of our visit. Like I said, not a cheap meal (at least by Indo standards) but if you enjoy proper care given to food, this place is well worth a visit. Oddly, our second best dinner meal in Ubud was by far the cheapest. Maybe 22% of the cost of this one.

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The next morning, my wife and I got up early to get out for a walk, while our kiddo slept in, ate some mango and read. We headed to the Campuhan Ridge Walk. About 10 minutes through the busy main streets of town, and then down to Pura Gunung Lebah Temple. The temple was hoping with ceremony preparations. We headed around and started up the ridge walk.

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The walk is basically pavers along a rising ridge with river valleys dropping away to both sides. After a few kilometers you hit a plateau with rice paddies.

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There were more than a few bird watchers out this morning. A few of them were interested in this character. I know nothing about birds, other that I've never seen this one before.

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We stopped in at Karsa Kafe for breakfast. My bowl of black rice with coconut milk and bananas, avocado juice and cappuccino came to about 60,000 rupiah, or $4.50 usd.

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Heading back down the ridge walk.

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Back in town, we grabbed the kid and brought them out to get some breakfast. One thing that stuck me about Ubud, and Bai in general, is all the intricate stone, wood and metal work that is literally everywhere. This piece was just a post topper along an alleyway wall.

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Kiddo opted for açaí bowl. On a swing.

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Then we were off to the Bukit. On our way south we stopped at Batik factory. This traditional fabric method starts with the artist using wax to create a design on a piece of fabric. It is then dyed before it is washed to remove the wax. The end result is varied and unique every time. A bit time consuming, but you get a piece of artwork and not just a piece of printed material. Behind this artist you see the rest of the team taking a break playing cards and sipping coffee

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The white portions are where the wax had once been.

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The particular factory also creates patterned fabrics with the use of a hand loom. The threads are dyed first, so they create the pattern when woven. The dye process is done by hand, so another time consuming process. They use math for this process.

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We stopped for lunch on the beach in Jimaran - grilled fish on the beach. And then directly to Ulu Watu Temple for sunset and the Kecak 'fire' Dance. It tells the same story we saw with the Legong, but in a different fashion. The music is the voices and chants of some 50 odd men - no instruments. The dance is less refined (correct word for sure this time), and a bit more violent - and acrobatic. Here you can see the White Monkey climbing up on the stone work.

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And then the fire part - the White Monkey is captured by King Ravana and burned at the stake - but with his magic, he defeats death and uses the fire to defeat his enemies. The dancer is surrounded by fire, the heat of which we could feel several rows back. He then kicks and scatters the fire with his bare feet. It is a special skill.

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And then off to our new lodgings at the Green Escape Eco Resort enjoying again my favorite SE Asia beer yet.

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We were near Bingin Beach. My kid enjoying a juice after their best surf session ever. Had their best wave of their life and their biggest beating of their life. It was a last hurrah as a few hours later they came down with a fever and were sick for the rest of the trip. At least that happened during rest and relax part of the trip.

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The accommodations were a two bedroom bungalow with semi outdoor bathroom. They were closed for two years during the pandemic and recently re-opened. We were pretty happy with this place as well.

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Breakfast was included. A fresh juice, coffee and entree of choice along with a buffet of breads, yogurt, granola and pastries. I surf dawn each morning and returned for a great breakfast.

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My kiddos last jump of joy on Bingin. It is a trek to the beach. 165 steps down and back up - a German kid counted them for us.

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Silver lining of a sick kid is date night. My 2nd favorite SE Asian beer.

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Wife is rocking the fanny pack and helmet steeze.

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I went a little more Mad Max style. Or Cali boy. We headed to Balangan for lunch. Super pretty beach, decent surf and a row of warung with tase and cheap lunches. The smoke in the background is a heap of spent coconut shells burning.




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From one of my favorite surf check points. Looking down on Bingin, with Impossibles behind. Pandang Padang in the distance and the horizon is Ulu Watus. This a pretty small day, with Bingin almost flat.

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Looking in the other direction to Dreamland. You can see a bunch of people just floating around in the channel. When there is swell, that zone is a huge shore break. Dreamland is two short reefs that break over a moderately deep reef and peel into deeper water. Great spot for intermediates, but it does get crowded with the surf schools.

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Pool at the resort was pretty simple, but with only five bungalows on the property, you could always find a lounger to get sound she and read.

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Our last moment in Bali we enjoyed some smoothies at Chestnut Tree - a bit hip, but the juice was still good.

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Back in SG and back to running errands and eating at hawker centers. Meal and beverage cost about $5 USD. Forgot what this dish is called but I’ll call it Noodles with Pork, Bean Curd and Black Vinegar Sauce. Super tasty yet again. Paired with a Soursop Dragonfruit juice. Got around to trying the soursop as suggested. Both straight and blended. Good stuff. Not sour. But I still keep going back to Avocado for the meal of it, or Sugarcane while hydrating.

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While in Bali I got the idea I needed to buy myself a blender while sipping a banana and coconut water. Found a cheap one down around Buena Vista. I keeping popping out from behind a tree or high rise to catch a view of The Star, Need to find a reason to go inside there some day soon.

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One of my hobbies while her win SG is to run an errand and find a Food Centre nearby to visit. Only grabbed myself a You Tiao (friend dough stick) here as it was still early for my lunch, but the place was hopping with both breakfast and lunch folks. Call it brunch hour. Walked the wet and dry market areas and found another good shop for cheap snacks and household items - Pringles, Ritter, Cadbury, Duracell - all things I was looking for.

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Took my usual route home from this area, along the Singapore River to the CBD, and back up the Kallang. The view coming toward the CBD is always stunning.

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Took this pic to show off the Pandam Shake. Pandam is basically a reed that grows regionally and its extract is a common ingredient and plenty of sweet and savory dishes. Chendol is a good example. I noticed myself in this pic, and can share that good bread is hard to come by here - a lot of it has sugar in it, even savory breads. Woodlands Sourdough has the best loaf I've found, at $8 a round. Tasty, but a tad bit moist. Bread Talk is a local chain and has a decent baguette for $3.80. I usually stop at the Junction 8 outlet on my way home from the south. You can see me holding my just purchased loaf while checking out the new Shake Shack opening nearby.

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I bike about 15-16 KM to a market when I need to buy eggs. They are not only the best price, but the freshest eggs I've found yet on the island. While a bit of a trek to get, the eggs at the grocery are pretty crap and the eggs at closer markets are either pricier and/or not as fresh. There is also a great fruit market and snack store, as well as one of my favorite cheap and local food centre all in the same area. Marsling Lane Food and Market Centre - well off the tourist track. And the ride to get there is pretty nice.

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The ride starts with a paved bike path along and rarely used road with jungle on either side. After a few KM, you ride on side walk along Upper Thomson, which is a busy road for about KM, and then ride Mandai Road for two, before hitting up another bike path for one more. You then ride about six kilometer on a bike path through the jungle with no roads nearby. It is a pretty sweet section. Then 3KM of path along side roads and the last half kilometer on city streets. Along the Mandai bike path you need to dodge gangs of monkeys for a couple hundred meters. Not sure why they congregate here, but every time I pass through you usually see at least a dozen, sometimes numbered in the 50-70 range.

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People's Park Food Centre is in Chinatown and is huge and not the largest market in Chinatown. I ended up here as market (and specific stalls) I had wanted to eat at ran out of food. That is one of the problems with the more well reviewed stalls. They get busy and you need to be there early if you want to be sure to get a piece. So visited a stall at People’s Park that is known for its dumplings. This was a “small” for about $2.90usd. Very tasty and more than I needed. Should have not bothered with the sliced fish soup, but being on my bike, I ate it all.

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Yishun Park. Guess what. There is a hawkers center nearby. I made a loop from home to Chong Pang Market to Yishun Park Market to home. Great mushroom noodles at the first stop, yummy coconut charcoal pancakes at the second. Good PCN riding almost the entire way.

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The park itself was pretty fun to ride. Hilly and jungle. Found a pretty fun looking ropes course but can’t find out anything online about it. Guess I need to bike back up there to get the details about when it is open.

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Went back out on the MTB. For sure I’m getting better riding my Northrock XC27 clunker on the wet, muddy, rooty, rocky, slippery, off camber riding. Word is they are working on draining this section of trail. Hoping so, as it blocks perhaps my favorite section of the Bukit Timah loop.

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This bike was clean about five miles earlier. Kind of glad I don’t have my proper bike out here with me. Can't imagine components last long in this place.

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My wife asked if we could take her on a walk across the Southern Ridges. Took the Circle Line to Pasir Panjang and ate at the hawkers center right at the exit. Ate at the same stall as my last visit. Good stall but made that call because a lot was closed by 2pm on a Sunday. Crispy noodles with seafood egg sauce. Then off to Horst Park and toward the Alexandra Arch. This was supposed to be a pic of my family, but one closed their eyes and the other wanted to check out the Interlace.

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The Interlace from Alexandra Arch. This place can be so Vegas. The Arch is a bridge over Alexandra Road connecting Hort Park and Telok Blangah Hill Park. It connects directly onto the Forest Trail in TB Hill Park. The Forest Trail is an elevated metal walkway nearly a mile long through and just under the canopy. Back to the Vegas part - the Alexandra Arch has an LED light show every night after dark. It is pretty cool bridge in its own right, but offers one fo the best views of the Interlace - so designed such that your nosy neighbors can not look into your windows.

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Reflections at Keppel Bay - this city is not shy on interesting architecture to catch your eye. You get a great view of these towers as you cross another bridge - Henderson Waves. I think one of the things that stands out for me with Reflections, is when you get closer and look at the surrounding buildings. It is down near a yacht dock and the rest of the residences have the look of Florida condos trying to excuse tropical charm, and these buildings defy and reach and bend toward the sky instead.


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Sundays are busy out along the Southern Ridges but my kid still found some space to jump and run around as we crossed Henderson Waves. One day I hope to organize some of my pics and get them to be a little less random. Here I'm just posting as they happen, but the entire Southern Ridges area is a pretty worthy walk. Can't quite call it a hike, as you are nearly always on man made surfaces, but I imagine we climbed and descended about 500 plus vertical feet during our four plus miles. A little bit of exercise and plenty of views.


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Faber Pointe is the highest point along the Southern Ridges. Near the lookout there is one of the seven official Murlions on the island. I know where one other is, but have decided to learn where and to find the other five in my time here. Just another something to get me out and exploring new places.

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Rain days are a dime a dozen, or more. November is the start of the rainier season. October over performed and it looks like November is doing the same. Has rained nearly every day since early September, and its has rained every day this month. I was running errands in the CBD (exchanging money for our trip to Penang next week) and stopped into Amoy Food Centre. After checking out the some odd 80 stalls on the ground floor, I noticed the sign stating "more stalls upstairs". It was hard to make a decision, but finally settled on Batang Fish Soup. Needless to say, there were plenty of other options, so I will be back. As soon as I finished my meal and started to head back to my bike, the sky opened up and a few centimeters began to fall. Mild rain, and I and still ride. Heavy rain was not the only issue. The wind was blowing the rain sideways, sending water 10-20 meters into the hawkers center. So I had to stick around.

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Luckily the Brewlander Session IPA on tap at one of the stalls was tasty, and only $8. They even gave me a free portion of popcorn chicken to snack on while I waited for the worse of the storm to pass.

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The good thing about the rain here, is it rarely last longer than an hour. I mean, sometime it rains and rains and rains. But mostly, it's brief. And then the light after the storm is stunning. North side of Marina Bay from the Durian to the Flyer. This section of riverfront is a regular ride for me, as it accesses the north-south PCN. This is one part of my life here I will miss when we return. Just cruising the waterfront near and around the CBD.

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The Durian(s) or the Esplanade. These two domes house a 1600 seat concert hall and 2000 seat theatre. Just another performing arts center with some great curbside appeal. The durian effect is due to triangular sunshields over the glass domes.

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Perhaps the most visited of the 7 sanctioned Merlions, just off the Esplanade Bridge. If you are wondering about the "sanctioned" part, the SG Tourism Board owns the right to the use of Merlion likeness. Yes, you read that correctly. You can not infringe on this right without their permission. Cause, ya know, you don't want too many random merlons running about.

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The banking cluster. These reflective glass towers stand alone in the CBD, and most of them house the bigger banking interest in SG. We spent a few hours in the DBS building upon arrival to gain the right (well, my wife gained the right. I just get to use her rights with her permission as I'm only a Dependent Pass holder and have no rights of my own here) to open up a bank account. Everything is tracked here. I imagine these post may be tracked, and linked back to me.

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Occasionally you get to see some really cool human shit here. These offerings were floated out onto the Kallang on my ride home. A couple lit the candles, and pushed them out onto the river, even in the light rain.

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This is the Kallang River though Bishan - And Mo Kio Park just after the heavy rain. Typically the river is a bit more than a trickle through here, and is just a central channel about 3 meters wide. This is not the highest the water gets, but each month we have been here, I get to see a bigger and bigger river. Up until recently the river and flooding would receded drastically soon after the rain. Now, it is taking longer and longer to recede and not fully falling back into the central channel.

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The food scene here is insane. I typically grab lunch at one of the 116 National Environment Agency Food Centres, commonly known as Hawker's Centres. Some of these centers have just cooked food stalls, but most also house wet and dry markets. So far I've visited about 50. Many have reasonable names based on their location. Some have two names like the center closest to us - Sembawang Hill or Julan Leban - either works. Others are oddly specific, like this one pictured - "Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8 Block 724" I'll often research a center before visiting, to get an idea of where I might want to eat. But you can always just show up and look for a line. Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8 Block 724 is about a 7 minute bike ride from my home, has about 45 food stalls and my favorite juice stall on the island (they make a killer avocado & fresh coconut). Yunos has had a line every time I visited, so I finally got in it.

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Yunos serves muslim Halal foods. I opted for the Gado Gado with Drumstick. Paired it with the mentioned Avocado Coconut Juice. It was certainly a good lunch.

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Beauty World is a Food Centre on the top floor of a five story mall. It is near Bukit Timah Nature Park and the the only centre anywhere near my MTB rides. I've been there five times so far. Four times on rides, and once for dinner with the family. Lots of great options at this place and two stalls that sell craft beer. I've been visiting "economical rice" recently. Went for the big plate this day. $6 SGD.

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The Bukit Timah Loop. All of the riding here is full on Jungle. I'm starting to get used to it a bit and am headed back out tomorrow. Weather permitting. Every ride has been wet, but I am trying to avoid being caught int he rain. On this day pictured, the sky opened up when I still had four miles left to the jungle. It was wet and sloppy on my exit. And my bike was absolutely coated in mud. The Bukit Timah Loop is fun enough. Would be more fun with a dropper post. The hardest sections are the wet, uneven rock garden climbs.

Glad you got to try soursop! It's been almost 4 years since I've been to a region that grows it and I still crave it.

I’ve gotten it a few times. And have bought it at the market and juice it at home as well. My new blender gets used daily. Some times multiple times a day. Just made myself some banana dragonfruit coconut water for pre lunch snack. One of the things I’l miss about this place is the many options for inexpensive juice and blended drinks.

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Back out riding Bukit Timah again. I'm starting to know the trail well enough to know when its suddenly going to get especially rugged and can plan for it. Also learning where to adjust my seat post and to what height - low, mid, high. I can pretty much ride the entire loop in mid, but then I need to take some of the more fun downhill sections slow so I don't get bucked. A lot of this area was quarry, and the old walls are pretty cool looking through the jungle.

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The locals at the pump track are pretty surly - even more so than in Santa Cruz. These guys gave no shits if you wanted to pump.

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The track itself is a pretty nice track with four distinct zones and a central bowl. You'd think these would pretty common in all the parks and public spaces across the island that already have a lot of paved surfaces. But, no. The only one I've found is in the jungle and and the middle of a "nature park"

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I was kind of impressed that this tree was removed today, just 6 days after I took this pic. Trees fall over all the time in SG. The road our complex is along side has been closed twice due to felled trees. The storms can get pretty windy. Combined with super saturated soil, things fall. Every time I'm out biking, I come across at least one. Today it was so big, I had to turn around, as walking through the jungle is not advised. I spotted a Malaysian Blue Coral Snake on my ride today. It was shy and dipped back into the brush before I could take a pic, but those things have the largest venom glands in the snake world - so stepping into the brush can be a risk.

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My after ride beer is an avocado shake. I lose so much water to sweat, that if I imbibe after a ride, I get dehydration headaches. I'm learning, but this is such a different place from home in so many different ways. Normally I'd reward myself with a pint or two of 7.5% hazy - that would kick my ass here.

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Along the Singapore River, headed in the opposite direction. Elgin Bridge at the end of North Bridge Road. NBR is a long road that connects several areas. Near where it crosses Jin Sultan there are several blocks of row houses worth walking around. Shops and lots of eateries. Behind the bridge you can see the Old Hill Police Station.

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Helix Bridge, Marina Bay Sands, The Arts & Sciences Museum, and the banking cluster.

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It rains a lot here. I was on my way home from buying cheese in Outram. It's about a 70 minute bike ride, when the rain started. I pulled over at first, hoping it was just a passing cell. When it lightened up, I started out again, to only duck for cover a few miles later. Mid way home the sky just opened up. Here I was crossing the PIE (Pan Island Expressway) and stopped to wring out my shirt, as the over pass is covered. I watched the cars driving the road for a bit. 30 minutes earlier this road was completely dry.

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The Kallang River again. Deeper and wider. When I biked past this place a few hours earlier, the river was maybe 3 meters wide.

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Got. my kid out on a tarmac ride Sunday to visit Chong Pang Food Centre. Xiang Xiang is renowned for their fish balls, and my kid, for some reason, loves fish balls. These are made with 100% yellow tail. Their entire dish was super tasty, but I don't understand why you need to do anything to yellow tail. It is fine the way nature made it.

Love the TR and family adventure!

Bali MTB: We rode some fun singletrack up high on the volcano, then a lot of rice paddy paths with these guys back in 2015. Definitely "bikers" and were passionate. Owner/lead guide had biked a bunch in the states and was super stoked - https://www.facebook.com/bali.rides

^^^that looks like it would be a blast. It was for sure too wet when we were there. The top of the volcano was encased in clouds the day we rode. So even if not too wet, white out conditions up high. The rice paddies we biked through were thick mud when you came off the pavers. But that would be a blast. The riding here in SG is character building for sure. Took a pick today of the trail armor - broken glass, bricks, glass bottles, plastic, broken ceramic. Good stuff.

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We ate our lunch, and planned to bike to Yishan Park Hawker Center for dessert. They have great pancake place there. I like the charcoal pancake with coconut. My kid was thinking of Matcha with Oreo stuffing. And then Singapore happened. Its hard to capture just how hard it rains when it rains, but it was dumping.

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So we grabbed a Chendol. Grated ice, Pandam rice jellies, coconut milk and gula malaka (palm sugar) syrup. Oddly yum.


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Lower Seleter Reservoir. A portion of our ride is along the west shore of this body of water. These boats are used to scrap the algae that grows along, and just under the surface. They are out at work every day, in all the reservoirs. The algae grows so quickly in these conditions, SG has build square platforms that the algae can be deposited on until a barge comes through to remove it too somewhere.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ottime

I’ve gotten it a few times. And have bought it at the market and juice it at home as well. My new blender gets used daily. Some times multiple times a day. Just made myself some banana dragonfruit coconut water for pre lunch snack. One of the things I’l miss about this place is the many options for inexpensive juice and blended drinks.

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That sounds delicious. The wide variety and abundance of tropical fruit is one of my favorite things about SEA.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by emmaamelia

I am planning to go to Singapore next year after new year celebration :)

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Let me know if or your group want to hook up while here. I’m going to be off island and then busy with in-laws until about Jan 10th, but if you are around after an happy to tour around. Especially if interested in biking around and eating at centers. That is my specialty. Otherwise, if you have any questions about visiting, feel free to PM. I posted so stuff up thread that is worth looking at. SIM cards, Grab Ap, etc. enjoy your visit. This is for sure an interesting place

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You Tiao is one of my favorite treats. Basically sticks of fried dough for about $.85 SGD. If you are feeling just a tad hungry out on a ride, pull into any hawker center and look for a stall frying them fresh. They are best hot, right out of oil.


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Dried Scallop, Mushrooms nd Shredded Chicken Congee. Congee is basically a rice porridge. In fact, a lot of places just call it Porridge. Always a feeling meal. This one was particularly good. I'm also quite found of Sliced Fish Congee, usually with slices of fresh grouper.


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This stall had the goods. Circuit Road Blk 79/79A is in Geylang along the PCN and has 108 stalls. There were plenty of good looking options in the two buildings that house the vendors. If that is not enough option, Circuit Road Blk 80 is across the road with 16 more and Blk 89 down the road with an additional 41. So many options in this small area, and Geylang is a great place to visit to check out the old Malay and Peranakan shophouse. I did not do that, as I was running errands (turns out I need a good chain brush to clean my mountain bike). But I will be back in the area to eat some more and visit the sights.


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This sand is likely from Cambodia or Thailand. Indonesia and Malaysia have banned exporting sand, and that was a blow to the sand imports in Singapore. Singapore is very limited and size and and working to reclaim swamps, wasteland and territorial waters. Unfortunately, the sand needs to come from some where, and that somewhere usually needs its sand more than Singapore does, but the folks in charge of selling and making money off said sand usually live some where else.


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On my ride from Geyland to Pasir Riis, just north of the Bedok Reservoir, I passed through this area on my way into Tampines. One hundred percent, 360 degree view of construction. That sand pile pictures is situated just west of this area and I'm betting it was used as s aging grounds for landfilling before construction. It boggles my mind the amount of building and units going up currently here. I wonder - where will all these people come from. From what I gather, the population growth rate here is low, although there was a rebound this past year with opening up after COVID. I just wish I arrived after all these new units were built so I ws not paying so much for rent here. Oh, well. Someone is making money and is happy about it.

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For some reason I can't get this pic in the previous post. Sri Sivan Temple in Geylang. A fairly large (for Singapore) and ornate Hindu temple. In the other direction was the industrial park I was headed toward to find a bike shop and buy some cheap gloves to replace the left hand glove I lost on my last MTB outing.


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After running a few errands in the south, I decided to take the long way home and explore some 20 km of PCN I had yet to traverse. It eventually brought me through Pasir Ris Park in the north. Some of the best parts of the Park Connector Network is when you connect with the parks.


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Loaded with trees and air plants. The park has a kilometers of bike path loops, waterways to kayak and a boardwalk through mangroves. This is not unique here, as there are no less than five coastal parks with similar details.




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Palms. I need to look into the palm thing because the coastal parks are littered with them, but I don't see much of them elsewhere and none in the jungle. I'm guessing they are imported. But it does look like a tropical beach.

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Back near home. This is the first section of my MTB ride. The first 6 miles are asphalt, but at least the first mile is on a PCN through the jungle. I really see a car on this stretch of Old Upper Thomson as it winds through the jungle. I also always see monkeys.


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Here is the trail armoring at Chestnut Bike Park - manned by the National Parks. Bricks, plastic bottles, glass bottles, broken glass, broken ceramic, and other odd bits. I try to bike around the broken glass.


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Typically section of trail winding through the jungle and crossing streams. I lost count of the number of waterways I had to cross on my 18 miles through the jungle. To get that mileage, I crisscrossed a lot on my tracks, so I might of just crossed two creeks many many different times. We are in inter-monsoon right now, and can't imagine how wet it is going to become once the monsoonal rains really come.


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I loved biking through this section with all the roots and vines hanging fro the plants above. It was like biking through folds of a curtain.


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You see a lot of these drainage culverts - like everywhere. But I found these along the jungle trails interesting. It is muddy as fuck, but it would be just unrideable without this drainage. But these things are literally all over the island. They have put in some serious work to keep this place from being a partial swamp. Or less so than it would have been.

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Kimchi Ramen Noodles. This one was really off the hook. I can't wait to get back to Fernvale Hawkers Center to try the Kimchi Pancake at this stall. Fernvale also has an outlet of Muchi Pancake. My favorite is the Charcoal Pancake stuffed with Black Sesame. Macha with Coconut is not bad either.


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Thye Hua Kwan Temple. This Chinese temple houses Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian deities to worship and its purpose it to support inter racial and inter religious dialogues. Just rode by this place on my way to Sengkang Riverside Park after lunch. The longest PCN bridge (290m) in Singapore spans the river between two sides of the park. Another cool aspect of biking around this place is all the temples you just happen across.


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End of the day at a Chicken Rice stall. The cook was chopping up the last portions of the last bird. Cheng San Market and Cooked Food Centre OR Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10 Blk 527 is not too far from my home. Maybe a few miles, and it is on the way home from several of my northern routes. It has 50 food stalls and 100 market stalls. And there is a good egg seller there. Super fresh eggs at a great price, so I've stop in from time to time. Have not eaten there (except for a You Tao) but there is a sugarcane juice stall I will grab a drink t when they are open.

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My wife was attending the Singapore Writers Festival downtown, so we decided to take an adventure there for some lunch and GBTB before her event. We existed the TEL new stop at Maxwell and were headed to Amoy Street Food Centre for lunch. This sweet caught my eye and is very SG. Old shop houses and construction cranes.

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Shutters. I just liked how these looked, all opened to the same angle.

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Amoy Street was closed for "spring" cleaning, so we detoured to Lay Pa Sat instead. Along the way, we passed Thian Hock Keng Temple. Singapore's oldest Chinese temple built in 1839. In the 19th century this temple was coastal ( the coast is now nearly a kilometer away, thanks to all that sand import).

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Downtown and the CBD is such an eclectic mix of temples, shophouse and sky scrapers. Just one block over from Telok Ayer St is Stanley St, and the average building height goes from 3 to 40.


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Making the turn at Boon Tat. This corner is the last of low rise before we fully enter the CBD.

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After lunch we visited the Flower Dome. Christmas started in SG around November 2nd. The Flower Dome display is full on Christmas and it was super packed. My kid faking being cold in the fake ice cave, of course surrounded by real flowers. As I was walking around this day I heard someone say "it almost looks fake" referring to all the flowers. Of course they are real, but its fully a curated experience. So, not natural.

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Got totogethaer on Sunday with some school friends for a day at Changi Beach Park. Another coastal part with bike paths, playgrounds. pavilions, and sand shore. Balancing on a rock is what we do for fun here.


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Fortune Popiah is by far the best fucking popiah I've had on island. Whenever I find myself anywhere were near Bendemeer Food Centre (Blk 29), I stop in and grab one of these beauties (as long as the stall is open). At $2 sgd it is an amazing snack. They make their own crepe wrappers, which is a big part of the quality. They also do not over steam their white carrot (daikon root) and have great texture with the peanuts, and something juts a little sweet mixed in. Yum. I don't see what a tourist would ever find themselves here, but it is worth a visit.

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I don't know how to edit names in Strava, but this is an Eastern Loop. All of it is on PCN, expect for the first mile and the last two miles. Most of the PCN (about 65%) is dedicated bike trails off the road, along rivers, through jungle, and in parks. It was really quite a nice ride. The rest of the PCN is wide sidewalks along roads, or a bike path just removed from the road by a few meters. These areas are not a pleasant, but still make for decent riding. The longest stretch of this is on the east coast, between the airport and the ocean. It is long, flat and straight but there is literally no one around, you you can bike at top speed for several miles - as long as your lungs, legs and sweaty body hold out.

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I started the ride from my place on Upper Thomson Road and took the road about a mile to Bishan - Ang Mo Kio Park and then followed the PCN south along the Kallang River (SG's longest river) to where it dumps into Marina Bay. Its my regular ride coming to/from the downtown area and CBD, so I ride it often. It also access the districts of Bishan, Tao Payoh and Kallang from my house. Coming into Marina Bay, the skyline is always a view to behold.


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The Cloud Forest Dome, Flower Dome and Super Trees of Gardens By The Bay.

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The Benjamin Sheares Bridges sends the ECP (East Coast Parkway) over Marina Bay. Underneath the bridge is a popular area for school kids having outings, kids learning to bike, rollerbladers, skateboarders, folks working out and practicing yoga due to the immense amount of shade it provides and the regular breeze coming across the sea and bay. Oh, and a smooth paved surface.

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From Marina Bay, I headed east along PCN that wrapped through forest (not quite jungle) and eventually dumped me into East Coast Park. ECP is huge, or rather long - over 15km long. The PCN here splits into dedicated bike path and a separate pedestrian path through most for he park. So you can get some decent speed and flow going on a weekday. Its easy making good time, and through most of the park, you have a view of the ocean just off to your right.

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Ocean might not be the best word. Sea? Singapore Strait I think is its proper name. Ship Lane would work.

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Honestly, there are so many ships juts offshore to the south. At times the entire horizon can be blocked by all the ships anchored just offshore. Today was not super crowded, but this pano shot shows how many boats are out there.


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East Coast Lagoon Food Village is a hawker center about smack middle of the park. It is a great place to stop for a hydrating beverage. Or lunch on a different outing. I get here too early in the day on a ride like this to think about lunch and most stalls are just getting started. There are a lot of satay and BBQ seafood stalls here. Beer as well. And a lot of the regular - Carrot Cake, Popiah, Hokkien Prawn Mee, Kway Toew. Its a nice place to eat, with an ocean, eh strait, view.

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There are not a lot of skate parks around, but there are a few. The one by Orchard is always busy. This one was empty today. I also like the newer HDB block in the background right. They are starting to work some features int the architecture of the HDB.

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I came around a corner and noticed a few sailboats out on the water. This is around 11am on a Tuesday. There is an Outward Bound camp near this area, so it may partly be this group. But for sure, plenty of boats.

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I liked this angle - sailboats and ships. A lot of both of those things. Most of the sailboats were single person boats with a few large enough for two. As I watched them, I saw more than a few collisions. It looked hectic out there, with coaches in small motor driven boats.



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Looking back toward the CBD about 5-6 miles in the distance.


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At the far end of the park, you canned up toward Changi Airport and hit the Jurassic Mile. I basically got the the part of it, just to check it out. Its basically a stretch of bike path that goes through a fake dinosaur zoo. It's weird to say the least. But now I've checked it out.

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Soon after the boats, you leave the coast and forest and get dump onto a PCN that runs parallel to Tanah Merah Coast Road for about 14km. It is a long ass stretch on not awesome beauty and limited shade. But you are a few meters off the road, and there is no one around. And you are going around the airport, so occasionally see planes. But mostly construction vehicles, as I think they are expanding the shoreline to the east here. I saw a few construction workers on break and passed maybe 5 other cyclists the entire time I was out on this stretch. So like I said, you get to go as fast as you want, or can, with not interruption. So it is kind of cool. And them you finally dump back out to the coast. This is a bath house you come across after about a kilometer or two. It has showers and cold drinks.

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Way out here on the bike path, still a few miles from civilization, is an entire bike tool kit - just in case something needs tweaking. Wish they had more of these around. That would be pretty sweet.

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I believe this stretch is all part of Changi Beach Park, but it is separated from the section I was at with the family. Its still pretty cool, a little more forest and coast, and less beach like. These trees looked like they had needles - but I doubt it. Need to research this, as they are an odd looking tropical plant for sure.


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Like I said, you are heading around the airport. As you enter the northern stretch of Changi Beach Park, where the beach actually is, you go right under one of the landing flight paths. If you are into planes, you can hang out here and watch then come in to finish their flights.


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Coming inland finishing this section of the ride. The stretch has a lot of sandy beaches and grass. Also pavilions endplay structures.

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I ate some Nasi Lemak with chicken wing and fish fillet at Changi Village Food Centre. It was busy at 12:30 on a Tuesday. Nasi Lemak is pretty good stuff. Coconut Rice, peanuts, ikon billis, samba, cucumber and meat of choice. Sambal and Ikon Billis are some good shit I will miss back home. The former I can make, but the latter might be hard to come by - dried small anchovies. Salty and super good for you. Anyway, almost every NEW Hawker Center has a water refill station. If you find yourself in SG, you will want to hydrate. I drank about 6 liters this day, and barely needed to piss. You should have a water bottle and refill at one of these stations. Just poke around until you find it.

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After Changi you begin to head west. There was a west wind this day, so a lot of this stretch was into a headwind. Fun. This stretch was short (less than a kilometer) but pretty sweet. Living green cliffside to my left and steep drop off to my right (there was of course a fence for safety). The area directly around Changi feels quite a bit different than most of Singapore. Almost like you are in a different country. Like a tropical Cape Cod, but hilly.


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After a few miles you find yourself at Pasir Ris Beach Park. I took a loop along the eastern part fo the park. A view of the Loyang Jetty.



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The MMA Pride - an offshore support vessel.


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This building design is not unique in Singapore. I've seen no less than 10 of these. You can drive your car up to each level to visit the stores and shops. A lot of the businesses in these places either work on vehicles or work/produce things that need to be carried by trucks. But land if very limited, so why not build up and build a car ramp.

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Back in the west side of Pasir Ris. A portion of the park is a boardwalk through the mangroves. The mounds are built by mud crabs. The hollows house them, and other animals. The mud here is loaded with bacteria that form the backbone of the food chain - and make the zone pretty damn stinky.


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These Monitor Lizards are so damn camera shy. They will stay perfectly still, until you stop and reach for your camera. Then they begin to, very quickly, shuffle away. This guy was on the smaller size - about two feet long.


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The boardwalk wraps from dry land, through bogs to full on waterways.


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The boardwalk makes about a kilometer loop, loaded with interruptive signs. I was moving quickly, so did not stop to read most of them. Will head back here another day to poke around a bit more.

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The tide was out pretty low this afternoon, drying out much of the are beneath he boardwalk. These plants would look super cool swimming in higher water. I plan to check the tides and get back here some day at high tide.

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After leaving Pasir Rid, there is a stretch through an area being landfilled for more construction and then over to Punggol. This is a view of the barrage protecting the Serangoon River from salt water intrusion from the Punggol Promenade. This area is super nice to bike. Shaded and along the water.


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I shifted course and headed south, as I wanted to check out Punggol One Food Centre. It is newly opened and I had never been. Another modern center, operated by the same group that operates Fernvale. Very crisp, on the second story of a modern building with a view of the LRT. They even have a lot fo the same vendors.

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I have no idea what this is. Really. The stall is is in all Chinese characters. I've seen a long line at one of these stalls at a different center, it was cheap ($2) and so I gave it a try. My best guess was a yam/rice cake with maybe pork and for sure some sambal. A good quick calorie boost.

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This I do know. Matcha Gelatinous Rice Balls in Peanut Soup. Hot, sweet and $2. A bit different, but again, quick calories. I was soon back out on my ride. saw plenty of good lunch options at this place, and likely will be back.


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Sengkang Bridge. That longest PCN bridge mentioned early - 210m span. Connects Pungool to Seletar.



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Heritage Tree Park. This guy is really impressive irl.

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Low tide at the Yishun Dam, crossing from Seletar to Yishun. It is labeled as PCN, but it’s far from a bike path. Rough riding over the damn. A low tide the level of Lower Seletar Reservoir was about 6 meters (or more) above sea level, so this one is keeping SG from losing fresh water. Looking out toward the Johor Strait, there is a mix of industry, shipping and fishing village.

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The last remaining traditional fishing villages in Singapore, Jenel Jetty Fishing Village. Just a 100 years ago, this was a rural jungle escape, with views of the strait and jungle. It is now surrounded by floating garbage, automobile traffic and refineries. For sure another place to get back to and explore.

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Popped into one more Food Centre at Yishan Park to grab some Munchi Pancakes for dessert. Brought them home for me and the kid. Charcoal Pancake stuffed with Black Sesame. A second stuffed with Coconut and a Third with Oreo Cheese. Oddly, that last one was pretty tasty, but I do love me some Black Sesame. These pancakes and the You Tiao are what are keeping me from losing more weight. I dropped 10-15 pounds my first month here, but have put back on at least five recently. Even with all this biking, the food is just too good.

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Someone in my condo go a nice new car. This is the first Lotus I've seen there, but we do have at least three Lamborghini - a red one, a yellow one and a black one. Guess which ne is the fastest.

I’ve got to mention that posting to this forum is such a challenge. I load pics and they work fine, but then I come back online and it just lists them as Attachment #####. Been around here for some time and it’s crazy that it’s harder to post up pics than it was 15 years ago. You’d think tech would work better, but go figure.

Anyway. Off to Penang we went. This place is really fucking amazing. We came
For the long Thanksgiving weekend and I think we might return here before our SG tenure is up. Just an hour plus flight and both airports are super easy entree and exit.


The history (at least up until SG independence) and cultural mix of Penang and SG are quite similar, but Penang has way more grit. In both meanings of the word. In short, this place feels organic and SG feels curated. Which you prefer may depend on your perspective. I could reside in either as they have different upsides.

Trail armor with glass is wild.

The boats you have pictured are optimist dinghy. Optimists have been the boat of choice to text young children racing.

The other boats are lasers the Olympic single handed race boat.

Looks like a yacht club racing program. Could be cool for your son, maybe?

Keep it coming. What a great experience. I'd like to hear more of your families perspective if that's appropriate.



Sent from my SM-S908U1 using Tapatalk

Perspective. Willing to share. But on what? Living abroad, SG government, culture, biking, sand imports, soft authoritarianism…

In short, this is all totally worth doing. At times, it has felt extremely difficult. Packing up and moving abroad, settling in, getting used to all the things that are different. In part, it is even harder feeling being in a place is forest world, any yet, so different. Some have suggested it is the Asian-ness of SG, but I think its more of the high tech world, where the tech usually does not work as intended that is the hardest part. Everything is done on our phones and through apps, yet every app seems to crash or fail in some way - and there is almost no way to talk to a human. The other huge challenge is dealing with our financed in in the US. We have switched to SG phones and only one of my banking institutions has a way of working with me without me calling them directly. I use my face to get access to my Citi Bank app, but then they want to send an OTP to my US phone number, which no longer exits - as if my face is easier to hack than a phone. So these challenges suck, but are small hiccups.

SG is not super friendly. It is a bit of a rat race, and folks tend to be focussed on rushing from one place to another, and don't take a moment to even say "pardon" to the person they bump into. I have had a few moments to chat with some people, but it is not common. I have made some connections with the people I but from - an egg seller, a produce market worker, a drink stall owner - and these small conversations are important to me - but, then again, I'm a customer, and they are good merchants. Occasionally I find myself in an organic conversation with a local, but I had as many in Penang in 3 days as I've had in SG in 3 months. I'm sure things would be a bit different if I was younger, single, going out to clubs, etc - but I crave meeting locals. I've made a lot of connections through the expat and school communities, but that is not the same as meeting locals. OTOH, I buy mostly used stuff on Carousell (like CL) and most of the people I've bought from have been pretty awesome. None have led to a "friendship" but a few great conversations were had.

Things are tougher for my wife who works all day at the American School. I've been making mini connections during the day, as well as biking all over the island and seeing so many parts of it. Even my mini interactions while at the market or hawkers centers gives me a chance to meet people, and feel out the culture a bit. She is inside a school (where she works her ass off) that is insulated from the rest of the country and tries to exude American culture - this it feels more like 1950s America than modern day. Maybe more on that later. What she values most in being here is our opportunity to travel around the region. We just got back from Penang (see below) and are headed to VietNam in 3 weeks, so that is all in the positive column for sure. She has made friends with colleagues, and enjoys working with lots of amazing educators.

Overall the culture here is interesting to observe. There are differences in the generations for sure. The old uncles/aunties, the adults young adults and kids. This place is changing so damn quickly, its hard to pin down what the culture is really like. On our flight home from Penang, we flew over Tekong Island, where you can see the coastal reclamation in process, and it is insane looking from above. I do think this is tied to the culture here, as it fuels the pace of change (BTW, its not being "reclaimed", as it was never there)

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For Thanksgiving weekend, instead of skiing, we headed off to Penang and Georgetown.


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We stayed at the Eastern & Oriental - E&O as called by the locals. It was pricey, but we had a free night, so gave it a try. Built in 1888, it is opulent. The breakfast buffet was insane and I put on a few pounds. Both western nd eastern options. Made to order omlets, eggs, crepes, prata, those, char kway teow, Hokkien prawn bee, waffles and more. Add to that a huge buffet of British breakfast, Nasi Lemak, fruit, cheeses, breads, curries, pancakes, French toast, juices, cereals, smoked duck, and more. It was insane. And made to order coffees. It was nice but if we return, we plan to stay elsewhere. 23LoveLane is our first choice. Much smaller, in an old shophouse and right inside the World Heritage Site.


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The old town area of Georgetown is quite nice. Most of my shots show the places that are well kept up, but it is for sure a mixed area, with restored and very worn structures. The fire house, luckily, is well kept.



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Green is for vegetarian.

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A typical street with a mix of restored and other building in a mix of conditions. Penang has a similar history to Singapore up until independence. British colonial period, a mixed culture of ethnic Chinese, Malaysian and Indians. Mixed religion - Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu, Taoist, Christian, etc. The big difference is that Penang feels natural, or organic, and SG feels curated or sanitized. Noth have their pros and cons.

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One of the pros for Penang is that street are is not only legal, but encouraged.

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Freshly painted and ready for you to move in. The old town district is such a miss mash of cascades and culture.


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We stopped into a Paranakan mansion to take a quick look. We decided not to go inside (it was crowded and pricey and my wife had other plans), but it was a former residence of a wealthy merchant and it was way fancier than our expense hotel room at the E&O - over the top opulence. In chelate 1800s there was a to of money to be made in Georgetown and the best trader merchants could accumulate a ton of wealth.

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Street art is a new part of Georgetown. The Tourist Board commissioned Ernest Zacharevic to paint 6 murals in the historic district. I've heard different reasons for this, but in the end it sparked an amazing street art scene that has since taken off. Zacharevic's work is different than typical graffiti. But I did like this piece in an alleyway from a different artist. So refreshing after the fairly cookie cutter, and highly refined, public art in SG.


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Another pro for Georgetown - good beer is much more affordable.

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The Fountain Mansion near the north water front and old fort. Another beautifully restored mansion. There are several around Georgetown.

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If you find this guy, he is trying to tell you that there is a great craft beer place just across the street. Go enjoy.

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One thing that appealed to me as we walked around was discovering little places like this artist alley. There was also a super nice Vietnamese coffee joint tucked in back there.

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Another one I just liked. I think I prefer the bright colors and free style. Also enjoy the mixed with the bikes.

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Out on Tan Jetty. The Malaysians built jetty out over the waterfront and they house not only dock and shops, but actual homes with entire neighborhoods living out over the water.

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Looking north toward Chew Jetty, which is much wider and really does look like several blocks square out over the water


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Back over land, this street had a flying bike.

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Boy on Chair is fairly famous and is one of the OG Zacharevic. Interestingly, he was recently bared from entering Malaysia by the federal government and I believe he is currently in SG. Apparently the "chair" has also seen better days.


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Wrought iron work is fairly common. This is not one of the commissioned pieces, but rather just a private door way.

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A commission piece of wrought iron work,


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Another alleyway. This dragon head was animated, swinging side to side and occasionally letting out a roar.

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Just a random street of shop houses. Most of the historic district is 2 or three stories in height, allowing a lot of light into the narrow streets and alleys.

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Dragon grabbing pearl. Much of the art works with the existing structure.

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And where there is not existing infrastructure it is added by the artist so that much of the work is multi media.


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Woman swinging on chair. I enjoyed how a lot of the art work encouraged you to interact.

Awesome that you got to Penang. It's a nice getaway from SG and I agree that the grit and authenticity is a welcome relief from the whitewashed feeling of SG.

Also interesting to read your take on the culture of SG. I spent a lot of time there and kept going back long after the shine wore off for me. On one hand, it's really incredible that Singapore was able to create a melting pot of so many different cultures and religions in a region marred by a history of imperialism and ethnic violence. On the other hand, they had to create a very big brother surveillance state and outlaw political dissidence and free speech to get there.

Most of the people I hung out with were other expats from Europe or Aus/NZ with a few local work friends as well. It's fun to explore the food and history and to hang with people, but the monotony of working late hours for the heck of it and then going to eat before going out for expensive drinks every night kinda wore me down. A lot of the corporate work culture was staying late to show face and deference to authority without actually getting stuff done. The first managing director that we had hired in SG was a local who operated a very inefficient and toxic office.

I was part of the hiring committee that chose the SG local and I recommended we hire him, but after visiting him in SG a few months later I couldn't stand the way he treated his employees. I recommended we fire him after my first two week trip. It took two years to get everyone else on board with firing him, and by then we had lost some really good employees. I feel like I wasted so much time in SG trying to fix things without actually being able to fix the problem. Eventually we hired a British expat and actually started to make money in the region.

Anyway, glad you are getting to experience all of this with your family. All the back and forth led to my relationship back in the US breaking down. SG is a very lonely place to be while dealing with that.

That is all very spot on. I do get a sense with the younger generation, they are starting to see a need for a change in both the surveillance (or rather leniency of rules) and the work culture. I was chatting with one 30/40 something dude and his wife who work own their juice stall in a hawker center. They work long hours, but as they see it, they are not caught up in someone else professional culture. They spoke about how the boss expects you to be there all day, regardless of what work was getting done. Instead, they make a bit less money, and work when there is business. They close down the stall once things slow down, and they have all the prep done and its cleaned up. They don't open on days if something comes up in their lives. Like a family emergency, or need for a vacation. They do try to let their customers know if they will be closed, but if they need to close on short notice, there is no boss shaming them for taking a sick day, or spending time with their family. The woman said things are slowly changing as the younger generation is less willing to accept the rat race - but it will take generations according to her.

What you describe is exactly what a friend of mine described as the work culture here. He called the place "vapid". He was her for a few years. He is Taiwanese, so it for sure is not the Asian aspect of the culture that bothered him, although is his firmly a New Yorker these days. He just felt like every relationship he had, was work related. He was expected in early and out late every day (he is in finance), and the only release valve was overpriced drinks after work. Sound familiar?

We are stoked to be her for the year, but in part, because it elevates our love for what we consider home. For me, it is not just Santa Cruz, but a growing appreciation for American culture, of all things. If any thing, I"ve become more patriotic (maybe that is not the right word). As nice as it is to be in a place that is essentially so safe, and all the people are housed, I miss a refrigerator that actually works, fresh produce and, gulp, inexpensive cars. As well as the snow and surf. My kid is dying seeing that our home mountain actually opened a few weeks before Thanksgiving for the first time in his life (Vail bough the place when he was 2, and have stuck with a scheduled opening until this year). As well as MTB on duff instead of glass and ceramic. And man, I get so fucking dirty every time I ride here.

Anyway

Attachment 436020
We decided to head up Penang Hill on the second day. My kid was feeling a little sick on day one, so we decided on round trip on the Railway. Had they been feeling better, we might have opted to climb one of the many hiking trails instead, and used the lift to get us down the hill.


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The Funicular climbs 1200' up a slope ranging from 10-28 degrees in about 4.5 minutes. Its quite a ride. We opted for the basic ticket, but I'd suggest paying just a little bit more for the Fast Lane Ticket. From the bottom station, it does not save you much time, but if you decide to descend in the afternoon, like we did, it is worth cutting out the hour long wait for a car.

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We ended up purchasing tickets to Habitat, which is basically a series of walkways, canopy spans, and elevated lookouts in the nature preserve at the top of the hill. The views were nice.

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We almost instantly noticed the difference between this jungle and the jungles of SG. Almost every large tree was once harvested in SG, so much of the jungle is 2nd growth with smaller trees and less vegetation. It is sparser. And everywhere you look you find some sort of rubbish, whether it be ruins, old building materials, or just a shit ton of plastic. Looking around this area felt much more naturally preserved.


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Even the ants were bigger - tho I'm not sure that is a good thing. We have these flowers all over in SG, but mostly in cultivated areas, like in the gardens around condos or hotels.

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The top of Penang Hill is just high enough to change the tropical climate. It feels cool up at the top for sure. When I was told that was the case, and looked up the average daily highs, I thought, well, that is not so cool. But after living just of the equator for a few months, it was almost chilly up there. Like I could have finally worn the jeans I brought with me. And it is cool enough for some conifers to thrive.


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Nothing like a Hoth Ski Resort shirt to run around in while in the tropics. Atop the Curtis Crest - this circular walk is set at the top of Penang Hill, and is just above the canopy, offering vistas in every direction.

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Pitcher Plants are carnivores. These specialized leaves attract insects who then slip into the cavity and digestive juices do the rest. We did not stick our fingers inside.

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Black Giant Squirrel. Largest squirrel on earth. I honestly thought this was a monkey for a while. They are huge. This guy, and his (assuming its gender here) two companions were nearly three feet long.

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They have bench swings set up in a few spots along the walk. Not like in Bali where you'd need to pay to swing (although we did pay an entrance fee to the conservation park), and wait in line to sit for two minutes. There were very few people around, so you could enjoy some quite time and attempt a family selfie... we are terrible at that it seems.

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Flowers are all over the place. Or berries. Really not sure what this specimen was.

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These are for sure flowers and another species you see all over SG in cultivated gardens.


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The local monkey species is different than the macaques we have in SG. This guy was just chilling munching on some bamboo like grass.I kept inching closer to get the shot.

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Meanwhile my kid inched closer from another direction. I just rather enjoy this shot. Two monkeys.


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Atop a false peak, near the funicular top station lies a rather ornate Hindu temple - Sri Aruloli Thirumurugan


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In the interior is quite rich in design features and color.


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Often I feel like I am in the wrong apartment building or hotel. I tried to get my wife to get close to the Lambo, but she was too shy. This night there was a fake Oscars Night event taking place and there wherefore than a few pricey cars in the lot. But this bright green one by the front door sure stood out.

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After a long day, the family decided to hunker down and I went out for cheap beer, cheap food and to watch Senegal win a game. My wife studied in Senegal about 12 years ago, and we have always rooted for them. This night they one. And I met a bunch of locals at this bar. Chatted mostly with a husband and wife. She grew up in Penang and he is an expat from Europe. Also chatted with a group of dudes who all grew up on the island, tho some now live in KL. It was quite a bit different than most of my time in SG - people just wanted to talk to you and ask questions about your life, and share about theirs. It was a great night out.

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For our final day of the trip my kid wanted to hit up Escape Penang, a amusement park. I don't tend to like amusement parks, tho I do take my kid from time to time. This one was actually pretty cool, as it was super low tech. We tried the "skiing" - and my kid did way better than me. Strap on Lucky Bums wood skis with a plastic base, and you slide down plastic. I could, for the life of me, not get and edge in, and ended up straight lining, gaining speed, with the tips all over the place. Scary as fuck. My kid was actually almost able to turn and control their speed. The park has a bunch of water slides (including the longest unthaw world at 1111 meters), zip lines, ropes course, and a shit tom of other attractions like coconut tree climbing - all set in the jungle. My favorite was the Tubby Racer. Basically you sit in a tube with hard plastic bottom, connect to a front tube weighted with a full tank of water, create a train of up to five tubes and then race down the jungle mountainside in a luge like track lined with plastic carpeting. It is loud, low tech, and like nothing else I've ever done. My second favorite part of this park is with was not only abut 99% filled withMalaysians, but about 70% adults. It is totally a place for adult kids.


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My wife stayed behind to catch up on some grading and visited the Blue Mansion to take a break.

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From what I gather, this place was refurbished for the film Indochine. It was since turned into a limited hotel. It was also featured in Crazy Rich Asians. Regardless, it is an ornate and beautiful structure - I can confirm that from looking from the outside.

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These tiles were used because the stand up to the humidity - again, from what I gathered second hand - they absorb/release moisture such that they do not become a wet and/or slick surface.


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If you want to shop, there are a ton of boutiques in Penang with regionally designed fashion.


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Dinner was good at this Peranakan place. It is a bit more refined than a food stall or basic place. Presentation was a big part fo it. Food was quite good, but I was super impressed with the mixed fruit juice mocktails. Ranging from 4-7 RM, super tasty and super cheap. FYI, $1usd is about 4.4 RM.

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The sambal and condiment platter was superb.

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Pretty sure this guy is from some Star Wars piece, just have not yet identified.


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I rather enjoyed the over all look of this entire corner, with bits and pieces from different artist.



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And this work was just to the side of it. Currently in SG, down on the F1 track they are working on a graffiti installation. They are starting with perfectly fresh white containers - brand spanking new. They have a plan for the graffiti in mock ups, it gets sketched out on the containers, and then painted in. The aim is to have it look like true street art when they stack the containers - but it feels so very different than walking the streets of Penang. Both places are worth a visit, but if I was traveling through the area, I'd get more time to explore and eat in Penang, than I would SG, even tho SG is a much larger place. My only caveat is if you wanted to bike a lot, SG for sure have much better options for asphalt miles without cars. Then again, I did not really explore much out of Georgetown and the surrounding areas.


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Signs are everywhere - just like SG. This is pretty common theme in men's bathrooms. Basicaly - don't be a dickhead.

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At Tiong Bahru Food Centre waiting out a storm. Came here for lunch on my way to the Foodie Market down the street. It’s the best place on the island to get western cheese and meat. Like breakfast sausage that does not taste like hotdogs and cheddar that does not taste like American Cheese.

Anyway, the rain caught me and I’ve been thinking on the work culture here and the thing they certainly do very well is taking time to eat lunch. These centers are hoping from 11am to 2pm. Chock full and long lines at the more popular stalls. Not only do they take a break from work to eat lunch, but they will take an hour or more to leave the office and have non work conversations over a shared meal. While I found my last corporate job (and non Corp job for that matter) in the states to be super time efficient - get your work done and then go home, I rarely had a non working lunch - and I worked innthe food, and specifically “lunch” industry.

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And the food options are just so much fun. Rojak - or mixed. This is the fruit salad type one - pineapple, jicama, you Tiao, cucumber, apples, pears, crushed peanut, shredded green mango and palm sugar chili dressing. It’s funny, there is a pretty good burger place at this center and reasonable prices (S$6), but I can’t get myself to go that way. Too many other things to try.

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Like Lor Mee with fried shark nuggets- and that saves me a buck. Unless a SG dollar is not a buck.

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I've yet to identify this temple. Yet another one, placed directly adjacent to the North South Line.


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Kampong Admirality Food Centre is a new find for me. Many great options. This Malay Coconut pancake with ikon bills sambal hit the spot.

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I was up in Yishun running errands. I needed a convertor to attach my hose to the bib in our carpark. These multi story automobile accessed buildings are all over this industrial zone.


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I had to bike up eight stores to buy a $1.80 part. Got some vertical on the bike and views of Malaysia.


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I mentioned Fortune Popiah. It is so fucking tasty. Whenever I am anywhere near Bandameer, I swing in for a quick bite. Sweet, spicy, crunchy, savory. It is quite excellent and for $2, the perfect cheap fuel up along the ride.

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Back out on the MTB. I guess you could call this a waterfall.

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Found this little rest spot on my most recent ride. Secluded, and wild.

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Monkeys are a theme in my life here. So many monkeys. I noticed this clan above me. Trees were a swinging.

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It turns out that Brewlander makes a decent IPA. Hoppy, with low malt. I now find myself looking for rides that swing me along the Singapore River during happy hour. It ain't cheap but way tastier than a Tiger.

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Rainbows are not common here for reasons unexplained. It rains all the fucking time and the sun is often out in part. So I would assume it is rainbows all the time. This is only the second one I have spotted. Of to the left you can spot the commissioned planned orchestrated and whitewashed street art in progress. Of course, not on the street, but on containers that can be removed once its time to clean up.






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We decided to finally celebrate our anniversary. We were married in April, so why not go out in December when we finally have settled in. Candlenut is not a cheap place to eat, but what they do to Peranakan foods is sublime.


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Appetizers. All of these were quite good, but the flavor profiles on the two to the right (first and second on the menu) we my favorites.


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Mains. The beef shank was the winner here.

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Dessert. The sweet potato the winner here. You are instructed to finish with the durian, and while way more palatable than straight fruit, and of a high quality variation, it is still such a punch to the taste buds. Jury is still out.

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I've been up through Admiralty Park a few times. It has some wonderful bike trails through the jungle. My kid likes the slides (they are pretty cool). The mangrove boardwalk is not too shabby either.



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Monkey theme. Kind of fun watching this guy forage around the mangrove instead of raiding someones back pack. No bikes on the boardwalk, so I actually timed this visit prior to going to the market after which my saddle bags are usually filled with fruit and chocolate.




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Great Egrets are fairly common in the wetlands around here. There was also a monitor lizard swimming in the area, but he did not really photograph too well.


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Mangrove knee roots (those stubs protruding above the mud) are used to gather oxygen. I had no idea a tree would need oxygen.


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It is quite beautiful in this zone. And quiet on a midweek morning. I saw one other person on the boardwalk the entire time.


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Woodlands Waterfront Park. Malaysia across the straight. And a huge line up of cars waiting to pass customs on either side. The Waterfront Park is another nice area to bike around, with loads of empty paths and even some election changes (of like 20m) to play around on.

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Sometimes a drain gets clogged and then it downpours for 20 minutes and the streets are suddenly wheel deep in water. My bike is getting a bit rusty, but I do keep the drivetrain well lubricated.

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Some biking perspective. Singapore has some of the best and worse of tarmac biking I've ever experienced. Though, I'm new to tarmac riding, to be honest. At home I bike 97% of my time on dirt, with only running a few errands and accessing the trails on the paved surface. I'll discuss road riding a little later but in short, it is not great. There is no shoulder and no bike lane. Maybe 6cm at most to the left of the double yellow line (the drive on the left and the double yellow line is like a US white line) so you are literally at least hanging a handle bar out in the lane. OTOH, they have several hundred miles of Park Connector Network (PCN) and paved mixed paths in the parks. I can make a 40-60 plus mile loop and only ride 3 or fewer miles on the road. The rest is on trails.

These trails tend to be mostly good riding, but there are plenty of issues with them as well. As pictured, you come across these barriers designed to slow you down, but many of them are literally impossible to ride a bike through - so you need to dismount and wiggle your bike through. For sure it kills you glide. The PCN and trails are mostly mixed use (bikes, pedestrians, runners, scooters, etc). While at least half of the PCN has a designed "wheeled" lane and "foot" lane, most folks don't bother following these rules, so you need to weave, use your bell and voice when ever it gets crowded, There are not a lot of places to just open it up and ride. That said, those places exist and more so when it is sunny and hot out, rainy out and mid day mid week. The bigger issue with the crowded pathways is there is not standard etiquette followed. Generally speaking, slower traffic is supposed to stay left. Most don't bother. When you ring your bell, some people stop moving, others jump off the trail (some to the left, others to the right), some folks can't hear the bell, some turn, see you and don't bother moving aside. Many groups walk side by side with three people blocking a 3m wide path. It is just basically random.

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The Rail Corridor runs for the north, down the west side of the Central Catchment and across the south to the edge of Duxton Hill, near the CBD. The southern half of the corridor is paved, but has a speed limit of 10kph (which is kid of ridiculous, and basically followed by none - although there are cops out there from time to time on the weekend with radar guns and giving tickets). The northern portions is mostly unpaved, or in progresses of "improvements". This section was not even gravel, but it is part of my current loop around the Central Catchment. Not so great on the 700x38c tires, but not terrible.

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Posts that you can not bike through. At least there are not solid bases, so you can bend them over and wheel your bike through. Right in the middle of a bike path, but designed to keep you from going to fast into a blind intersection.

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Signs strongly suggesting that cyclists use a certain lane, but not actually telling pedestrians to not use that lane. Kind of useless. This is a country where rules are followed, as long as there are strong consequences like being fined or caned. When those don't exist, people do what ever they want, as things like etiquette just don't seem to develop.

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Some of my favorite areas of PCN are along the rivers (more like aqueducts). If you get them at the right time of the day, they can be devoid of people and there are limited entrance/exits for people to come into the paths, so if you hit an open stretch like this you can just go for speed.

The opposite of this is when the PCN are just widened sidewalks working their way along city streets. These tend to be congested, and even if empty, you can never open it up, as someone can walk out of a building or off a bus. These areas still are a huge improvement over the roads, but can be just as challenging to ride. The mix of users are huge. It is illegal to ride electric vehicles on sidewalks but there are pedal assist e bike, throttled e-bikes, trikes, quads and some that have illegal after market throttles that allow then to go faster than 20 kph. And a shit ton of pedestrians, with strollers, carts and more. Still, way better than the roads, and typically you make almost as good time.

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One awesome thing about the PCN are the new overpasses. This one is a curved spiral ramp that gets you over the expressway. You never need dismount. The older overpasses are stairs, so not so nice. At lest they tend to have a ramp for you to wheel you bike up and down, but it sucks, especially in the heat. SG is working on improving their over an under passes so that you do not need to get off the bike, but they insist on ramps at least 5 meters wide to do this, so there is little chance of bikers colliding. IMO, this is easy enough to do with 1.5 meters, but there is some good reason fo rate government to think otherwise - not all bikers are that skilled.


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Biking around the parks can be a blast. Jurong Lakes Park has a few miles of paths and boardwalk to get out on.

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These floating wetlands are not uncommon. I've seen at least three others. Two in lakes and two on rivers (these are really all more like reservoirs). Basically the water levels are constantly rising a falling, and these man made wetlands are built into floating docks, so they never flood or go dry.



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Found this sign along the ride the other day. Mmmmmm.

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All good rides head down toward the river at happy hour.

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Thus far, Brewlander is my favorite beer in SG. You can find some Aussie and US beers that are equals, but nothing outstanding. seven Daze is next best on the list, but their IPA is a bit to British for my taste. Read malt sweetness. I can get Brewlander Love IPA and XPA on tap. And for the cheap price of S$12 ++. Tho, Seven Daze I get for S$9 ++, so when not feeling so flush…