Dragon Boat Races at Boat Quay....

It was a dark and stormy night.....actually, it was 2:30 in the afternoon! As you can see, there was quite a storm brewing on the east side of the island! It's hard to believe, but we just had a sprinkle of rain on our side of the river. These pictures were taken from the comfort of the "Penney Black" Pub on the Singapore River.

Dragon Boats waiting for the next crew. One of the crew beats the cadence on the drum so the paddlers can stay together.

This boat is heading for the starting point, as another race is going on in the background.

A photo finish in this heat.....you can see the boat behind #4 is barely a "nose" (snout??) ahead!!

As the sun went down, we were rewarded with a full rainbow arcing across the sky!

On November 22nd, we made our way down to Boat Quay to watch the Dragon Boat races. Joni Plomp's husband, Laurence, is a member of the American team..so we went to cheer on team USA! We also caught the final rugby match of the season on the telly! The New Zealand "All Blacks" upset the Aussie team. A fun day of Dragon Boats, Rugby, Tiger beer and pub grub!

Tour of a Wet Market....

Fresh flower shop. You can buy orchids for less than an dollar a stem!

Freshly made tou fou, sold by the block....also sacks of noodles in the back.

Beautiful, fresh veggies!!

Artfully displayed papayas and mangos.

Fresh fish stall. You must arrive early for the fresh fish. These stalls close by 11:00.

After shopping at the wet market, we had lunch at the "Hawker Center". Pictured here: Beef Kway teoh, fried carrot cake, fried tou fou, otah, chicken rice, won tons, and steamed buns (pau).


My Singaporean friend, Valerie Tan, took a group of us to a wet market for a question-and -answer tour. She explained the different veggies to us and even showed us how to gently haggle for the best price! The wet market is really the very best place to get fresh produce. I have a certain stall I go to for my fruit, and the owner always picks out the best, ripest fruit for me. He always asks me if the fruit is for today or tomorrow...

After the shopping, we had lunch at a hawker center. That was a learning experience too! I have a few things I've discovered at hawker centers, but many more I've been afraid to try. We sampled several new things, and it was all yummy! Sometimes it is best not to know what the ingredients are....oh well! Be adventurous!

Barclay'sSingapore Open

The leader board at the 18th green.

Our view of the 18th green. We stood right behind this sign and had the best seats in the house for the final hole. See the crowd in the background? They were all following the leaders around the course. Note also my giant umbrella....compliments of Stan's great putting!

Ernie Els from South Africa blasts one out of the sand on the 18th. He ended up in a tie for 2nd with Padraig Harrington (Ireland) at -5.

Jeev Singh from India lining up his last putt. He won the tournament at -6.

Phil Mickelson at the 9th hole. He ended up -1 for the tourament.

On Sunday, November 16th, Stan and I went to the Barclay's Singapore Open. This was the first time I had been to a professional gold tournament. Phil Mickelson was the best U. S. player there, and was one stroke from the leader going in to the last 9 holes. He ended up well off the lead, but we did get to see him make an amazing putt on the 9th hole.

It was a very hot, sunny day. Stan and I got TOASTED, but he won us 2 enormous umbrellas

putting at the Tiger Beer booth. He had to sink 3 putts to win the umbrella....it was hot...we were burned...he came through for Tai-Tai!!

Birthday Greetings...

HAPPY 21ST BIRTHDAY GRANT!!! Celebrate in moderation please!!

Girl's Night Out...

October 30th my friends Sarah, Joyce, and Tracy and I had a "girl's night out". We had dinner at Capella's at Chijmes, then went to the Raffles hotel to see the play The Blonde Bombshell's of 1943.

At the theatre. I guess Joyce and Tracy were our very own "Blonde Bombshells"!

Take-away juice...

This is one of the unique things about Singapore....take-away juice. There are these stalls where you can get fresh fruit juice made. You pick out which fruit you want, or a combination of fruits and veggies, they throw it in a juicer, and voila! fresh, yummy juice. When you ask for it "to go", or "take-away" as they say here...they put it in a plastic bag that has handles on it, give you a straw, and there you go...take-away! My favorite is watermellon juice, which I am drinking here. Oh yeah, they put hot coffee in these bags too....it looks REALLY gross...brown liquid...plastic bag..ICK!