Hong Kong – Po Lin Buddha
Lunch In Singapore
Ku De Ta – Marina Bay Sands
Easily one of the best views in the world, be it breakfast, lunch or dinner.
The food was very nice as well, albeit pricey by Singapore standards. Though, as my brother-in-law quite rightly pointed out, we were paying for the view.
What do you think?
On the topic of movies…
Movies – literally projected pictures that move – changed the scape of entertainment as well the shape of our civilisation. They elevated a hitherto obscure and much maligned art form to an almost godlike status and presence.
In times of traveling performers and small, underpaid troupes of actors, acting itself was not seen as a decent occupation for respectable folks. Indeed, one could watch a performance and then pay a little extra afterwards for a private performance, if you know what I mean.
Not so today. Far removed and aloof actors and actresses move in realms inaccessible to ordinary mortals.
And this is where my gripe lies. I do love movies and the entertainment they bring. But the people in the movies are actors and actresses, not gods. These people are not curing cancer or busy solving the world food crisis. They act. Period.
And get paid unbelievable amounts of money.
This tiny point is just another signpost of our civilisations steady decline into irrelevance and obscurity.
“You are putting the wrong em-PHA-sis on the wrong syl-LA-ble.”
Indeed, we are.
Nudges
Once, maybe twice,
not too often,
stirrings are felt
ever so subtle
the inner whisper
nudging, barely touching
featherlight and hidden
We would do well to heed the nudge
Kopi Tiam – the next day
Love the traditional Singaporean breakfast. It’s cheap and delicious. Something funny happened though on this occasion.
As I am a largish Caucasian, the lady that was serving at the counter initially refused to give me the soft boiled egg, insisting I would not like it. I tried to explain that I had had it many times and am quite fond of it.
Lucky for me, a compassionate Singaporean standing in line behind me explained to the lady behind the counter in Chinese that the large white man in front of him, did indeed want the soft boiled egg. Owing to his intervention I soon walked away happily with my Set A.
I would like to thank my anonymous benefactor. Without you I might not have been able to secure one of my favourite breakfast meals that day.
Dinner in Singapore
We ate at Vivo City, upstairs in Foodrepublic. If you have not been to a Foodrepublic, you must go! The variety is excellent and the quality is superb. It is sort of Hawker Food for beginners. After Foodrepublic venture out and sample the street food all around Singapore.
I have been eating in Singapore on many trips over the years and not once did I get ill or encounter bad food.
This particular night I enjoyed some very local morsels…
Live long and prosper! (Spoiler alert – do not read if you have not watched Into Darkness)
Yes (surprise, surprise), I am a Trekker, not the derisive and belittling Trekkie, but a dyed-in-the-wool, self-proclaimed, die hard Trekker.
Starfleet, come and sign me up.
On that note, the much dreaded reboot of the franchise did not suck, nor did the sequel – the lovingly crafted Into Darkness, with many a nod to people like me, referencing constantly the almost infinite Star Trek Universe.
My brother astutely observed that the new Trek movies are following the pattern of the old ones. So, this installment really was the Wrath of Khan – and what a Khan we now have!
(In case you were wondering, the actor portraying Khan is also portraying Sherlock Holmes in the British modernisation of Doyle’s classic.)
My favourite scene in the movie was Spock crying out:” KHAAAAAAAN!” Much like Kirk did in the original Wrath of Khan, and then having Kirk expire. After all, it is new timeline.
What is next then? The search for Kirk? Well, no, as Kirk was not jettisoned into a planet that was just about to undergo Genesis. Hmmm, maybe Khan’s blood alters Kirk and it will be -> The search for Kirk, the Freudian vector, with our protagonist spending hours on the couch searching for his true self.
Probably not though.
One thing is for certain, I am enjoying the new franchise and look forward to the next installment of a future I hope humanity will have.
Singapore Day 3
Breakfast at the Hyatt.
Need I say more?
I have stayed in many hotels in cities all around the world over the years. The breakfast buffet at the Hyatt in Singapore is by far the best.
Peruse the pics at your leisure.
The ambiance, service and variety and quality of the food are all outstanding. Even though it is a large space, they have managed to create a cozy and comfortable atmosphere, intimate and exclusive even. At an extremely reasonable rate.
I cannot recommend this place highly enough – Die, die, must try!
Another Haiku?
Frozen wings;
Lonely dragons unbound
Skyward suspected
Stormy seas
Adrift in an ocean of indifference
Purple streaks cast across your shipMATES
Little thought
Little mind
Little anything
Just hunger, naked, raw
waves lapping against your skin
Almost a feeling then
fleeting
then – opaque vistas
waters rising against an unreachable horizon
mecci - It's Shiny in here... 