The switch to Singapore

We're in Food Central (Singapore) but how did that happen?

Saturday, May 6, 2023

I like the pomp and precision of royal celebrations. So while W reads beside me at home, I watch most of the coronation of Charles III. Their grandkids behave, the good son does his duty, and the other guests do the best they can. The whole thing is infused with a dedication to godly life, love, and duty. 

Thousands line the streets to cheer on the new season and wish their king and queen well. Some day, when the King of Kings is crowned, we'll all bow the knee and gasp in amazement at the spectacle. For now, UK royalty gives us a small taste of what Jesus' heavenly coronation will be like at the end of time. 

"What would it take for Americans to be united at something like this?" asked one of our friends. "We're too divided. There's no way we could pull it off." Sad but probably true in this era.

It is fun to watch the young pages who are excited about the whole thing - especially the flyover. They do a good job.

Sunday

We're so disappointed that Miss Laurel (who leads the kids at IESB) has the flu. She passes along her talk and we deliver it as best we can. Next time! We look forward to that.

Sayaka is back from Japan with some goodies to share. It's life-giving to go "home" to your own culture - she looks 18 (tho she has a young teen).

We walk home from the Gathering and catch a shuttle to the Jakarta airport. This is Bandung traffic in front of the shuttle office.

In Jakarta, young boys splash and slide along the busy road as we stop for the traffic light. No moms or minders are in sight. If they slip under a car, they're dead. They pull their trousers down so they don't rip them. And pull them up to run to the top of the short driveway.

Monday

We have slept in the Anara airport hotel so we don't miss our morning flight. It is SO cold 20C (68F) even after we turn off the air-con. The room is cooled by neighboring AC. We fill some empty water bottles with hot water and put them into the bedding to warm up. I refill them 3X during the night.

At breakfast, most locals are shivering. This man is smart. He wears socks, long trousers, long sleeves, a coat, hat and scarf ...

The little glasses on the tables make a simple pretty arrangement.

This sign may not be clear in the photo but it amuses me. I go back to snap a picture at the bookstore, where the sign reads: "Fiction - Bestsellers." The books under it are Indonesian travel guides and Indonesian history books. Oops.

The Jakarta airport has beautiful orchid displays, a nice green touch in the middle of the departures area.

We arrive in sparkling-clean-and-organized Singapore after a short flight and a one-hour time change. The auto-arrival form online (accessible for passport-holders from the EU, Canada, USA and some other countries) isn't working. With Singaporean efficiency, someone comes over, whisks us to the front of a "manual" line, and we're through immigration in no time.

Our hotel is along the coast, courtesy of the seminary where W is teaching. Floor to ceiling windows let in the light and the ever-changing sky.

We walk to the little mall next door for a 1.5 liter (6c) cooker/steamer. It's on sale and boasts a Singapore "best invention" award sticker. Must be good: this is the most competitive place we've ever been. It becomes my go-to appliance. If there's no vegan food nearby, I can easily whip up a meal.

I chop potatoes and greens for a yummy supper. It works just as advertised. We may have to drag this along on future trips. Watermelon and an apple complete the meal.

Tuesday

W and I walk to a nearby hawker center to check breakfast options. W gets a monstrous drumstick and meatball.

I order rice and 3 vegetables (and end up at the same place with the same option for lunch). 

The treasure for today is meeting up with Sumathi. This dear friend has known us since Cambridge UK, where her husband was doing research and W was completing his dissertation (2004). While the guys studied, we went to lunch concerts. We attended church together at STAG (St Andrews the Great - best congregation ever?)

We met again when they moved to Singapore and then Indonesia - including Bandung! where we sat in language class together. After her husband passed away, she lives with her children in Singapore and New Zealand. We're following her around the world.

While W heads downtown to check out projectors for the classroom, Sumathi and I walk from the MRT (public light rail) to the hotel. We continue chatting as we stroll the coastal mangrove walk. We see a snake, lots of worms, mudskippers, 5' monitor lizards, 4" snails, and little brown crabs. The crabs climb trees when the tide comes in so predators from the sea don't eat them. I snap pics of lizards, turtles, and pencil fish but forget to take a picture of us. See the lizard flicking his 5" tongue? You don't want to fall off the boardwalk into the swamp!

We end with lunch at the hawker stall across from the MRT. Food has to be fresh here. There are vegetable deliveries at the stalls as we eat.

Starting in 1997, food stalls got surprise inspections and an ABCD rating (A = exceptional hygiene; B = found a few things, doing ok; C = hmmm. clean up your act, D = fail.) D ratings meant a warning and fine. Those who missed the next inspection got more fines and a warning. The third time their cooking license was withdrawn.

In line with Singapore's obsession with constant improvement and innovation, a new award system was implemented in 2020. It's safe to eat anywhere. We rarely get ill here, no matter where (or what) we eat.

After I drop Sumathi at the MRT, I walk home. Today's 16,000+ steps are not atypical when we're here. The miles fly by because you don't have to watch your feet; the paving is even. For supper, I'm not hungry but have a homemade banana-oatmeal bar and some fruit.

Wednesday

I make oatmeal with fingerling bananas - delicious. 24 bananas are $2 Sing (about $1.50US) - they're small but sweet as honey.

And oh my! I add a scoop of Sumathi's gift from NZ: roasted nuts and seeds - I'm hooked. I must try this at home.

Mid-morning, W and I walk a short distance to another hawker center with many options.

Singapore is green: they plant trees, grass, blooming shrubs, and flowers between paving. These leaves are mint-sized, with flowers that gradually open on a long stalk above the leaves.

This thumb-sized red fluff turns deep burgundy before it drops off the plant.

W is hungry for prata, an Indian fry-bread with curry. Think: "a croissant made on a grill."

Mine is plain; his has cheese wrapped inside.

We hop the MRT to Tampines Mall for a year's worth of clothing shopping. (PS I'm not a shopper.) Between a sale at Uniqulo and discounts at another shop, I find 5 tops, 3 trousers, and 2 sneakers (2/$23US.) After yesterday's walks in 34C (93F), my feet have blisters so a new shoe shape is good.

The MRT station is typically spotless. The organizational arrows ("let passengers off first, pls") are grouted into the stone tilework. Everything built in the last decades is disability-friendly. The row of raised dots tells vision-impaired travelers they are within a meter of the sliding gates to board the train. There are ramps beside stairs.

Lunch is a quick stop at a Vietnamese place: the spring rolls are delicious.

The dipping vinegar, laced with red chilis, is perfectly spicy and sour. When I ask for a takeaway bag for the leftover sauce, the server brings me 2 new containers full.

After a free shuttle ride back to our place, I use one vinegar pack to spice up supper: homemade red vermicelli, shiitake mushrooms, shallot, and turnip slices. Delicious.

W's off to buy some lightly used shoes at 30% of retail and comes back in time for a shower and a taxi-ride to the classroom. I make tea, write, sketch the day, and turn up the AC to 23.5C, with the lowest fan speed. That's our sweet spot. Our sheets feel on the cool side which is easily remedied with almost-boiling water in empty drinking water bottles.

Singaporeans work long hours. The coastal path between the hotel and the ocean is well-lit. Cyclists and walkers use the paved trail late into the night. The early group will be on the path as soon as the sun comes up. Lights sparkle from Singapore skyscrapers (left) and from Malaysia (center), which lies just across the strait.

Read more:

*Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver? Isaiah 50:2

*The God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed. Daniel 2:44

*There was a leper who came to Jesus and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean.” Matthew 8:2

*Jesus said to the apostles, “I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom.” Luke 22:29-30

Moravian Prayer: Jesus, you are our bread of life! Thank you for promising to feed us and care for us always. You know our hunger and thirst for food, for water, and most importantly, your presence in our hearts and lives.

Give us clean hands and a pure heart, Lord, so we can raise them to you. May we give thanks to you, our greatest treasure and most important friend. You are the most high and we praise you! Amen and alleluia!