Pulau Ubin

Sunday, 06/19/2011, Patrick, Gitt, Nicole and I ventured to Pulau Ubin for some mounting biking fun. Pulau Ubin is a small island off of Singapore which is basically a nature reserve with a few temples and locals living without electric. The treck to Pulau Ubin was a bit long-we had to travel the entire lenth of the EW MRT line, then take bus 89 to the Changi Ferry Terminal, then finally take a short ferry ride to the island. Unfortunately, we didn’t get started until about Noon, so we only had a ½ day there, but it was definitely my favorite activity that we’ve done in Singapore thus far.

Right as you get off the ferry, there is a small street with lots of corrogated metal bike rental shops and a few restaurants—it really seemed like a 3rd world Country in comparison to Singapore. After renting bikes, we heading off in the direction of the Check Java Wetlands. As we walk along the boardwalk in the wetlands we came across many species of crabs, saw mangrove trees, and climbed up the Jyawi Viewing tower to get an amazing view of the island. The Wetland board walk then merged into the coastal walk—which had more spectacular views and the Jawa Visitor center, which was a 1930s quaint little cottage.

From the Jawa Visitor center, we road on some of the Island’s biking trails and came across some wild bore and a group of monkeys—great for photo ops . As we continued riding throughout the day, we came across a corrogated metal village selling cold drinks and the remains of a granite quarry (apparantely Ubin means granite). The last thing we saw just before we had to return the bikes was the Pulau Ubin Fo Shast Ting Da Bo Dong Temple—this was the first buddist temple we got to walk around in so we made some offerings and lit incents.

After returning the bikes, we were quite hungry from the days worth of riding so we decided to eat at one of the Local restaurants. Gitt and I shared an order of Chili Crab—it’s one of the things that I’ve been wanting to try since I got here and I have to say it totally lived up to the hype. The photos of me below will justify how much I enjoyed the Chili Crab.

It’s hard to believe that I’ve already been in Singapore for a little over a week now. I’ve really enjoyed myself so far and I am so thankful I was given this opportunity to travel and research here.

Little India

Saturday, 06/18/2011, I visited Little India with Patrick and Gitt (Also EAPSI fellows, Patrick lives at East Lodge with me, Gitt is over at NTU). Our first stop in Little India was food at the Banana Leaf. Gitt and I shared Fish head curry and Chicken Korma. The Chicken Korma was delicious—the fish curry…well at 

least now I can say I’ve eaten Fish Head Curry. After we tried to hit all the Top 10 Sites Recommended by my guide book. First up was Serangoon Road—it’s the main street in little India and seems to be the one place in Singapore that has escaped modernization. There’s lots of family run stores and restaurants. Walking around here was the first time that I actually felt like I was outside of the US. As we walked along Serangoon Road we came across Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple—supposedly one of the best Hindu temples in Singapore. From there we walked down toward the Kampong Glam area to Arab Street. Here we saw the Sultan Mosque and lots and lots of Textile shops—many of them with tailoring services. It’s unfortunate that I wasn’t in the market for fancy fabrics because this is certainly the place to get it—perhaps I should go back and get a custom made dress from one of the stores there. From the Arab quarter we walked back to Serangoon Road. On the way we came across Mustafa Centre—this mega department store that snakes through 2 city blocks. This store has everything from food, to find jewlery to electronics and clothing. As we walked along Serangoon Road to see the last two sites, we saw this who flash mob line dancing in front of the Farrer Park MRT stop—very cool. I tried to join in but the steps were just too complicated. Moving along, the last two sites that we saw in Little India were the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple and Sakya Muni Buddha Gaya Temple. Fortunately for us, it was a Hindu holiday so the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple was open with lots of activity. We were the only casually dressed white people at the temple, but we got to see a concert from the Raffles Girls Orchestra and many of the Hindu rituals at the Temple.

Patrick, me and Gitt in front of Banana Leaf in Little India

Fish Curry and Chicken Korma at Banana Leaf

Aftermath at Banana Leaf

Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple

Serangoon Road in Little India

Sultan Mosque

Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple

Inside of the Sri Srininasa Perumal Temple

Sakya Muni Buddha Gaya Temple

USS Tortuga Reception & Clarke Quay

On Friday night, 06/17/2011, all the Singapore EAPSI2011 fellows were invited to attend a reception aboard the USS Tortuga naval ship that was docked at the Changi Navel base. Very tight security to get in—we had 4 security check points complete with metal detectors and background checks before we were even allowed to enter. Once we actually got to the ship, there were navel officers lined up to salute us as we walked aboard then a lighted red carpet to greet us at the Reception. It really felt like we were straight out of a scene from a movie.

The reception was fantastic! Heavy appetizer type food, open bar, and a live band. The band members were all navy officers and boy did they were really new how to work a crowd! All the EAPSI fellows had a blast dancing to the music until they basically kicked us off the ship.

From the reception, we ventured to Clarke Quay to celebrate Susan Tsang’s birthday. Susan is one of the EAPSI fellows living with me at East Lodge. Clarke Quay is a really fun place with lots of bars and clubs. It kind of reminds me of Pleasure Island at Disney—it has a very touristy and theme park feel to it. Other than the $18+ drink prices, it’s a great place to hang out with friends.

USS Tortuga Reception

Navy Band at the USS Tortuga Reception

Juan Pablo (EAPSI Fellow) Dancing at Reception

Me and Gitt

Operating Room on the USS Tortuga

Some of the EAPSI fellows in front of Sick Bay aboard the USS Tortuga

Clarke Quay

One of the bars we had drinks at in Clarke Quay

View of Clarke Quay

EAPSI 2011 Singapore Orientation

The EAPSI orientation was on Monday 06/13/2011 and Tuesday 06/14/2011. Monday was a formal day with a brief Opening Ceremony where folks like the Provost of Research from NTU and a representative from the US Embassy in Singapore greeted us. Following the talks, we had a reception with really amazing food—my favorite was the Roti. The rest of the day was spent filling out paperwork to register the fellows as research students in Singapore.

Tuesday was a really fun day of sightseeing. The bus picked us up from East Lodge around 12:30pm. We started off the day with a tour of the Local Transport Authority (LTA) Museum. The museum had exhibits that covered the history of transportation in Singapore from the days of rickshaws to the current MRT system and then had a “Challenge Room” where we got to make decisions to address the challenges of transportation in the future. The highlight of the LTA Museum, though, was the movie at the end of the tour which was supposed to depict Singapore in 2020-it was basically a scene from a futuristic movie where you can just talk and a virtual assistant will make appoints, book reservations, contacts family members etc etc. What made the movie hysterical was the “Zap me later on my mobile if you’re free later” quote from the virtual assistant. In context, it made everyone cracked up laughing but tour guide seemed bewildered and asked why we were all laughing.

Next stop on the tour was the Changi Museum, which is dedicated to all those who suffered during the Japanese occupation of Singapore during WWII from 1942-1945. The museum had many quotes and photos depicting the horible events that happened during that time—very distrubing and moving.

From the Changi Museum, we headed over to the Marina Area for some photo-opps of the Merlion and Marina bay sands-- a cool futuristic looking building with what seems like a cruise ship on the top. We ate dinner at the Esplande, then headed to the Night safari.

The night safari was by far the coolest thing we saw that day—over 1000 nocturnal animals in their natural setting. It was amazing how close we could get to the animals. Unfortunately, no flash photography was allowed to protect the animal’s eyes, so I don’t have many pictures to show you from the Night safari—but take my word for it the Night Safari is one of the things you HAVE to do if you ever come to Singapore.

2011 EAPSI Singapore Fellows

                                               

                                                     Waiting for Opening Ceremony to Start

Reception after Opening Ceremony--The Roti was phemonenal!

Opening Ceremony Reception

  Exhibit at LTA museum--this was Singapore Traffic Light back in the day

Me "driving" the old style buses in Singapore

MRT Map with all the EAPSI fellows in the reflection

Chapel at the Changi Museum

Some of the EAPSI fellows in front of the Merlion

Me in front of the Marina Bay Sands

View of Marina

Esplanade--Locals call it the Durian

Baby Merlion--this is the first thing you see when you walk up to the marina and my reaction was "I thought the Merlion would be bigger..." Then I saw it's mamma.

Me at the Night Safari

Tiger at the Night Safari--unfortunately because of the no flash rule, this was the only picture from the night that came out