Where Globe-Trotting meets Beach-Combing
This is an article I wrote to preview Saturday’s festival for the Kanto Stripes—see it now in this week’s paper: “If you’d told me a year ago I’d be dancing a traditional Japanese Awa Odori dance with the renowned JMSDF Awa Odori dancers, I wouldn’t have believed it. And that really means something, because exactly…
The gold onion dome of Sultan Mosque is visible from most corners of the Arab Quarter, or Kampong Glam. Kampongs were little neighborhoods drawn out for the various culture groups immigrating to nineteenth century Singapore under the Crown. The Arab Quarter adjoins the Malaysian Heritage Center, which sits on the sight of a mansion where…
Ships sailed in and out of the harbor while waves crashed on the jetty below me. The water rose and covered all the little melodramas being played out by orange-clawed crabs vying for the best footholds. They scuttered around trying to push each other off, some washing away in the surf. All these palm-sized sea…
My mobile texts me about 30 seconds before my house starts shaking. This is slightly ridiculous at 5 am, a time I’m unlikely to be awakened by a scant buzz-buzz-buzz. But fear not; I seem to have my very own personal Earthquake Early Warning System in the form of animals. Pounce was going absolutely NUTS…
I was bargaining for a thank-you present in Little India for someone who loves on my cats (thank you!) when Chris and I can’t. The guy told me his price, I feigned disinterest. I picked out the ones I liked, then walked away. The price came down, I looked at some other wares, then wandered…
One languid, tropical evening Chris and I strolled down the wide verandas of the Raffles Hotel in search of pre-dinner refreshment. Less than 24 hours in the city and we were already dazzled by its orchids and charmed by the whitewashed arches of one of the world’s most famous hotels. We ordered a Singapore Sling…
Tree branches met over the road, filtering the streetlights for the 2 am drive downtown from Singapore’s Changi International Airport along the South China Sea. An orange, waxing moon floated along a haze of humidity as the trees gave way to tall palms and bougainvillea. This stretch of highway can be cleared for airport use…
