3 Day Week

Well this week has been interesting so far. I have become a little disgruntled with the public transportation system. Something that is only 15 minutes away by car or taxi takes an hour or two by rail to get to due to lack of direct routes. I went to NUS and it took me two hours to get there, and I was late for a meeting with a professor that I arranged, luckily she decided to stay longer and meet with me a few minutes. We discussed programs on South East Asian Studies and what my interests where in the area. It was a good meeting and I learned more about what I want to do in Graduate School.

Monday at work I learned that Siti's mother is originally from Iraq. In broken English she told me that she disliked Saddam, and supported the war in Iraq 100%. Her entire family supports Bush in the war in Iraq and says that it needed to be done before worse incidents occurred there.

I have been trying to learn from the Malaysian restaurant, however the lady that runs the store isn't too open to helping and teaching me. I have tried to talk to her three times, each time being asked to leave or some other worker mysteriously asking me to do something else after the lady spouted something off in Malay. I found out today that the head lady is Anwar's wife. I was kinda caught off guard by this because Anwar has really taught me a lot.

Work has been frustrating the past two days because I have ran out of learning opportunities and feel that I am just getting in the way. Amir, my supposed supervisor has not been around at all here lately. I called him and requested a meeting because he told me to do so if I ever wanted to talk about the business. I decided since the past two days have been 100% unproductive I should contact him and see about learning his side of the business. From talking to the others working I have found out that no one really knows what Amir does because he is never around the factory or restaurants. I hope he comes through because we only have less than 10 days left on our internships.

Tomorrow we fly to Hong Kong which should be exciting. The next few weeks will feature short trips to Thailand and Malaysia.

Bintan, Indonesia

Bintan is an island off of mainland Indonesia. It is only a 45 minutes ferry ride from the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal. We met up at the Terminal to take the Ferry over to Bintan. The second deck of the boat featured nice tables and lounge chairs for small groups of people. We claimed two areas for us and enjoyed the trip over to Indonesia and passed time by talking about our Muslim host families.

We staid at the Mana Mana Beach Resort located on Bintan's north shore. The beach was amazing and we played volleyball, read books, and swam in the coves of the South China sea. We had a pretty intense game of Volleyball in the pouring rain!

We cleaned up for dinner and took a free shuttle into town to eat an Indonesian Seafood Restaurant. We split a set meal of spicy crab, rice, squid, fish, fresh vegetables, and fresh fruit. We had a few dinner drinks our favorites where the Black Russian and Grasshopper. The town that we visited was built for tourist and featured small shops selling Bintan Souvenirs. We purchased a few 1.5 liter Cokes to take back to mix with our duty free Jim Bean and Barcardi Gold Rum. I found a few t-shirts that I liked for Souvenirs.

We hung out in the room for awhile and I played bartender for the group mixing up Rum/Jack n cokes. We then decided to head up to the resort bar where we could hear music playing for the dance floor. We had a great time dancing the night away. We staid up extremely late and closed down the bar and then took the party to the beach where we hung out in the moonlight.

I met a girl named Ica a local 25 year old girl who was originally from Jakarta. She worked at the Bintan lagoon Resort, about 20 minutes away from Mana Mana, as a massage specialist. She gave us her contact number to come to the Spa. Triv, Alicia, and myself took a taxi over and all got awesome massages. Ica gave me a 90 minute Japanese Massage and it was so relaxing. The Bintan lagoon Resort was totally awesome and featured many relaxing activities for the guests.

Breakfast at Mana Mana featured an all you can eat breakfast of eggs, franks, beans, hashbrowns, pancakes, rice porridge, fresh fruit, juice, muffins, and cereal. It was an enjoyable meal. When I was getting my food a gentlemen asked if I was really an Aggie. I ensured him I was and we talked about his son, Brian, from Rice University, who was in Singapore interning without many friends. I met his son a little later and exchanged Singapore numbers with him so we can include him in our outings.

Sunday morning featured lots of pouring rain showers, but I guess this is to be expected with the unpredictable tropical climate. It was an enjoyable experience and we all got to hang out, talk, and write postcards. Word of advice don't send too many postcards from Indonesia. It is about just in postage to deliver it from Indonesia to the US. The four that get these postcards should feel rather lucky!!

Alicia, Triv, and I barely made it to the port to take the ferry back to Singapore. We made it there just in time for the last call! Nick and Stephen Haynes didn't make it from their spa in time and had to wait for th 8PM ferry.

Indonesia was an awesome experience. The people where friendly and beautiful scenery was abundant. Bintan is an island that is twice as big as Singapore, but with only 1 million people living there. The biggest city has 300,000 and was located about 1.5 hours away from our resort.

The resorts all took Singaporean Dollars. I was able to get a few Rupia notes to take home as Souvenirs. I have a 1000 Rupia that's worth about a quarter.

Aru the Prata King

The last two days I have been working with Aru who has been teaching me to make Indian Cuisine. Dhal, Mutton and Chicken Curry, mutton and Chicken Keema, and Prata have been dishes I have learned to make. Basically all the dishes besides Prata are made in the same way.

The base sauce is made with Oil, Curry Spices (Cinnamon and other various seeds), 3 onions, 6 chills,crushed garlic, crushed lemon grass, and crushed ginger. These are sated in a wok. Then curry gravy mix , pureed walnuts, and red food coloring is added. The final stage is to add your desired meat. Keemas are just ground chicken or mutton.

Aru has been wonderful teaching me and letting me cook the curry sauces. I even had a chance to learn how to roll out dough for the prata. It is very difficult process and must be done correctly. I also learned to make whole wheat....... These dishes have all been delicious.

Dhal is a lentinel based vegetable stew with egg plants, carrots, potatoes, onions, garlic, chills, and a few others. This is probably my favorite dish so far.

Aru has really taught me alot ! He has been the most open about teaching me how to cook and about the Indian food suppliers. Aru has a family of 5 children with varying ages from 1 to 19.

Siti has a crush on me

Well I haven't talked about this yet, but I think you will all find this enjoyable. One of the young ladies that have been training me Siti has had a crush on me pretty much from the first day at the Satay Club. Siti is a 20 year old Malay Muslim girl who speaks broken English, Malay, and Arabic. I am often greeted upon arrival at the work place with Siti telling me something along the lines of "Your face is very nice." "I like your face.", "Very Handsome.", or "You look smart today."

She is a sweet hard working girl who wishes to marry and hold a strong Muslim Household. On her days off she studies the Koran. The Muslims also pray 5 times a day as called for in the Koran. Siti's favorite dish is Chicken Rice. Her favorite color is blue. She grew up in the local Arabic school.

All the people at the Satay Club are fun to work with and excited to work with the only Ang Mo or Chinese for White Person on staff. They have taught me many things so far and I enjoy working with them on a daily basis.

Asian Civilizations Museum and Fort Canning Park

Visited the Asian Civilizations Museum where I spent an hour studying about Marriage Ceremonies, House Hold Ancestor Alters, Photography, and the life of the settlers of the Peranakan Chinese and Malay settlers of Singapore. Marriages in this time period where arranged by the grooms mother. She would look for a round egg face, well formed nose, bright eyes, no sharp chin features, small mouth, medium shoulders, large hips, small feet, and a big chest. The Peranakans believed that a a good match would bring luck, fortune, and longevity for the groom and future generations to come. The couples birth date and time must be compatible when viewed by the local wise man.

The marriage Ceremony usually lasted 12 days. It encompassed many ceremonies including, hair combing, fetching the bride from her home, soleminsation at the alter, tea presented to the family elders, rolling of the couples bed by a young boy to bring fertility, and many more. The final ceremony proved the brides virginity with a blood stained napkin was drenched in lime juice. This was a tradition that was thought to be able to determine the brides virginity.

Jade jewelry in Chinese tradition is viewed as describing the soul. It is bright like heaven and compact like intelligence. Many people are even burred with Jade objects.

Ancestoral Worship is described in 5 tablets around a family alter displayed in the Museum. Chinese make offerings to their ancestors to use in the after world. Fake paper money is burned to be used there along with fruits and vegetables of their ancestors likings are left on the alter.

Remember the wisdom of one's ancestors.
Wealth ensures peace in the family

To be successful in one's career one needs the blessing on the ancestors.

It is one's duty to worship their ancestors.

It one respects the ancestors, one's future wellbeing will bring praise to
one's family.

Follow in the footsteps of your ancestors.

I then went to Ft. Canning Park. A major fort for the 1942 defense of Singapore. It has the original spice gardens that Sir Raffles placed there to see which spices would grow best in the climate. Nutmeg, coriander and several others prospered. In those days spices where like gold and made Singapore extremely rich.

Archaeological excavations prove the vitality of Fort Canning hill's history as far back as the 14th century when it was the seat of the Malay Kingdom, Temasek. According to the Malay Annals, the site was chosen for settlement by Sri Tri Buana, ruler of Temasek and the one reputed to have seen the fabled lion for which he named the island 'Singapura' (Lion City). Beleaguered by attacks from the Siamese and Majapahit, the last known ruler of Temasek, Iskandar Syah, fled from the settlement. Except for minimal portside activity, little was known of the island until the arrival of Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819.

The Malay locals who received Raffles pointed him to the hill they called Bukit Larangan, which means in Malay 'Forbidden Hill'. They were fearful of climbing the hill as they thought the palace of their ancestor kings had once stood there. Raffles had part of the hill cleared of jungle, revealing the ruins of ancient brick buildings, which gave support to the legends.

Because of the beautiful view the hill commanded, Raffles chose to build his bungalow and to establish the first botanical garden here in 1822. Until mid-19th century, Singapore's governors were residents here; thus the epithet 'Government Hill'.

Around 1860, the colonial government turned the hill into a fort bearing the name of Viscount Charles John Canning, Governor-General and the first Viceroy of India. From that time until he 1970s, Fort Canning was used as a military base, first by the British, then by the Japanese during Second World War, and lastly by the Republic's armed forces.
Once the forbidden hill of ancient Malay royalty and later the Far East Command Centre of the British, today's Fort Canning Park beckons visitors to a tranquil, green oasis. Capitalizing on the rich historical assets of the old citadel, the National Parks Board has revitalized Fort Canning into a unique city park with many popular art performances, events and concerts to serve the populace of Singapore.

Rained Out Zoo Visit

I woke up early and worked out at Yio Chu Kang Stadium Sports facility early dismorning. I had all intentions to head to the Singapore Zoo for a morning with the animals, however about two exhibits in the daily rain hit earlier than usual. I luckily was able to get my ticket revalidated for a return visit.

I then went to work in the afternoon where I worked in the Chinese area of the Restaurant. The guys taught me how to make a vegetable dish with bell peppers, carrots, cabbage, baby corn, sea cake, squid, and shrimp. I added a few hot peppers for my spicy kick! I was taught how to use a wok and how to care for it by cleaning it with a bamboo brush after each dish is cooked.

Following work I met up with Stephen D, Jennifer, Paige, and Sam for a tour around Arab Street. We ate Thai food. Since I had eatten at work I tried several Thai Desserts. We shared Tarrow Root ( Tapioca Source) covered in cocoanut Milk, Pumpkin, Lotus Paste covered with Egg yolk, panda Leaf and cocoanut Jelly, and some plain jelly. We saw the markets on Arab and Baghdad Streets. Sultan Mosque is the national Muslim Mosque in Singapore. Here is a timeline on the construction of the Mosque.

1824
Sultan Hussain Shah, the Ruler of Temasek (former name of Singapore), proposed to build a Mosque. Sir Stamford Raffles promised that the East India Company will donate $3000 to assist in the builing of Sultan Mosque. It was ready two years later. It was a brick structure with an area sufficient for the Muslim population to do their prayers.

1879
Sultan Alauddin Shah, grandson of Sultan Hussain shah, the ruler of this period handed over the administration to a Board of trustees consisting of Five Muslim leaders.

1914
The lease of the land where Masjid Sultan was situated was extended by the Straits Settlement Government for a further 999 years. A new Board of Trustees consisting of twelve members was formed.

1924
The Board of Trustees proposed to rebuild a new building for the mosque on the same site. Construction went through phases so as not to disrupt the prayers in the Mosque. The new builing costing $200,000 was completed fours years later. The Mosque building with its unique architecture is still the pride of Singapore Muslims today.

1975
The Masjid Sultan was declared a preserved historical building under the patronage of the Preservation Monuments Board Act. It has become one of our heritage.

1987
The Government of Singapore approved the application by the Board of Trustees to carry out an extension project for the mosque. The project is to builda three storey annex building on a 1,184 sq. meters land adjoining the mosque. Consequently, with the declaration by the government to conserve the Kampong Glam area as our heritage, the Mosque will invariably be a focus under the Malay Muslim theme of our heritage.

1993
The Completion of the project has upgrade the facilities in the mosque and provided the infrastructure for educating the people on Islam as a religion and a way of life. Wide variety of activities has been conducted in the Annexe building.

Cooking Lessons

Work featured a cooking lesson!! Anwar taught me to make Malay Raja. This is a dish where crushed peanuts, prawn paste, green chili, red sugar, and tamarind juice is mixed together and then poured over pineapple, cucumbers, and fired bean curd. It is a unique meal with a sweet and spicy taste.

Anwar then took me to Woodlands Block 15 a government owned facility where many Food Manufacturing Plants are held in a 4-story building. The government offers lower rents and is able to control the food manufacturing process through this consolidated building. We toured the oil processing plant, which supplies our cooking oil. Rice Cake factory boils rice and compressed it into cylinders. The boiling takes about 3 hours and 1000 units are made each day. The customers can order vacuum-sealed or fresh rice cake bars. They also make fermented soybeans in the same plant.

Anwar also went through the order sheets with me and translated the list from Malay to English for me. I am now learning a little bit of Malay to communicate with our workers in the factory and restaurant.
Today in the factory I observed the process of making Chicken Satay. The company has engineered a machine that runs on air pressure that will compact the meat into a mold and then push the bamboo sticks into the meat. Approximately 7500 sticks can be made in one day. It is interesting to see the difference in a meat-processing factory. Last summer I worked at Tyson Foods in a Chicken Processing plant in Monroe North Carolina. Even thought Singapore is strict on sanitation it is a far cry from what the USDA demands. This could be due to the lack of HACCP Certification in the factory that I am working in this summer.

China Town

Went to Chinatown for a self-guided tour! I first went to Sri Mariamman Temple, the oldest Hindu Temple in Singapore. Sri Mariamman is known for her powers to cure epidemic diseases. The temple is famous for the annual Thimithi festival where followers walk on coals for their piety, deep respect.

Hinduism is known more as a way of life than as a religion. It was originally called Santana Dharma or Righteousness Forever. Hinduism governs the evolution of the individual from birth to death to rebirth until he finds final salvation. Unlike other major religions of the world, there is no single divine prophet responsible for its origin and development. The religious beliefs of the Dravidians combined with the philosophy and rituals of the Aryans form the basis of modern-day Hinduism. The Dravidian practice was based on the worship of guardian sprits such as elements of fertility and the mother goddess. The Aryans deified abstract concepts and natural phenomena such as the sun and fire. The basis of Hindu worship and practice is set out in hymns known as Vedas, which were originally transmitted orally. The Vedas are considered the foundation of the Hindu way of life. Hindus do believe in a trinity- made up of Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, Siva the absorber- together with Amman, who is also known as Devi, have gained prominence in the Hindu pantheon. There are several other deities who have substantial followers. Temple priests must have full knowledge of the Vedas and be able to perform offerings from followers to the deity.

I visited the Eu Yan Sang Chinese Medicine Pharmacy and Clinic where Chinese and others purchased herbal medicines. Birds nest is sold here and used as a high protein cure. The birds saliva that holds the nest together is believed to have a curing affect on the body.

Coolies where Chinese immigrants who where sold upon arrival at port in Singapore. Kwong Hup Yuen is the largest remaing coolie house left in the condition. The rooms where the slaves where kept didn’t proved proper sanitation, air, or treatment. The strong where sold first and weak where left to fend for themselves.

Many of the shops around Chinatown were used as entertainment social clubs formed. The clubs where based on social status and by invitation only. Along club street there are only a few of these social clubs still intact.

Wak Hi Cheng Bio Temple was built after the safe passage by Chinese immigrants.

Thein Hock Keng Temple is devoted to the Heavenly Happiness God. It is the oldest and most interesting of all the temples in Singapore. When this temple was first built it was near the harbor. Singapore has reclaimed lots of land from the South China Sea.

After walking around the area and exploring I met Kirsten Kwa, a friend I met at A&M before coming to Singapore, for Lunch. Kirsten’s father will be teaching the Environment of Asian Business Class I am taking in the fall. Kirsten and I went to the People’s Place Shopping Center. She is working at the Deloit Consulting firm working for the DHL client. She is working on automating employee-training programs. We had an awesome lunch and hung out until it started pouring. We weaved through many shops and stores trying to stay dry but we were not successful!!

Jurong Bird Park

We slept in and god up and running around 11am today. We grabbed some brunch at the shopping center connected to the Swissotel. I had Ya Kung Kaya Toast which with the Singapore Food festival had a by one get one free meal set. I had eggs, toast spread with the Kaya Jam, and a cup a coffee for less than three dollars.

We decided to head out to the Jurong Bird Park. Jurong is the industrial area of Singapore where many factories have found their place. We passed by several large factories before arriving at the park.

The Jurong Bird Park was truly amazing. The park houses the World's biggest walk-in aviary. The park has over 8000 birds and 600 different species. Some 20 hectares (50 acres) of land are enclosed by a huge net! The park also features the world's largest man made waterfall! I will let the pictures speak for themselves on the beauty of the birds!

Sentosa

We met up at 10:30 at the Harbor Front MRT station to take the bus to Sentosa Island. We got to hang out on the beach and swam across to smaller islands of the coast. Sentosa has man made beaches but are very relaxing and easy going.

We then explored the beautiful Orchid Gardens. Look at the updated Sentosa Pictures to see all the beautiful flowers.

We then sat and listened to the Jazz bands playing at one of the restaurants on the beach.

Nick and Steven Haynes joined us on the beach for awhile before the last once of daylight escaped. Jennifer, Sam, Paige, Drew, and myself went into downtown to check into the hotel for the night.

We staid in The Hammond's Swissotel where the Olympic Committee had recently to announce London as the next host of the Olympics in 2012. We staid at the same place where Tony Blair, Hillary Clinton, and several other sport stars recently staid just a week before. We can all say that I walked through the same door that Tony Blair walked through! The hotel ran us about $35 sing apiece which wasn't very bad for the nice accommodations in downtown.

We wanted to go out clubbing, however the word didn't reach everyone we where going to go out clubbing so everyone didn't bring clothes to get into the clubs. Steven Haynes decided to go home and get some spare jeans and shoes for everyone to get into the club. After two hours of being gone we still didn't have enough clothes to get in. We unsuccessful attempted to get everyone into the club, however we had a pretty good laugh at attempting to figure out a solution. We ended up just splitting into two groups one going to New Asia the others going to Boat quay.

I was in the group(Nick, Alicia, Drew, and Steven) that went to the New Asia bar on the 71st floor of the Swissotel. This is the highest bar in Singapore. The music was the same we hear in the clubs back home. We had an amazing time meeting new people and hanging out with them. We actually met a T-Sip who had been working in the Houston area for sometime, but recently moved back to continue his career in Singapore. It was a great time!

We then crashed at the room and heard about the adventures of (Jennifer, Kent,Sam, and Stephen) at Boat Quey. The found an awesome Irish Pub and had a good time.

We'll defiantly have to try to go back to the New Asia bar as a large group, but at an earlier time so we can get a table.

Asian Church BBQ

Jet Lag was getting to the Ags that just arrived in the area, however Drew and I have both been in the area for several weeks before arriving in Singapore. Drew met a girl named Eunic on the airplane over and has been hanging out with her on several occasions. She invited us to come to a Church picnic at one of HD housing areas.

Turns out the BBQ was just down the street from my house at one of the HDH buildings. We arrived around 11PM. Asian BBQs are similar to the ones we see in Texas. Hotdogs, Steaks, Chicken Wings, Satay, and Stingray are all grilled over charcoal. It was a great late night snack. We hung out talking to several people there and where invited to attend services if we where in town on Sunday. The students where very receptive and we had a great time.

I decided to go to the Satay club to see it in its final hour of operation. I talked to Mr. and Ms. Raffi for an hour or so over coffee before the club closed down. Hajj and several others all ride to work together so they offered me a ride home. I greatly accepted because expensive taxis are the only method of transportation available at those late night hours.

Tomorrow is a day on Sentosa Island!

Rocky's Western Food

Today I observed in the western foods concept area of The Satay Club called Rocky's. The club clumps pretty much all foods besides Asian food into this concept. The club serves fried cutlet chicken, spaghetti Bologna, rue Chicken, Lemon/Honey Chicken, and several other favorites. The food isn't like normal food it has been adapted to the local Singaporean taste.

Most of the people who work in the kitchens are from Malaysia and commute to work each day. The Ministry of Man Power deals with these type of immigrant workers and only allows them to work for two years in one place. The commute to Malaysia is 45 minutes by motorbike. I worked with Sen the head western foods chef today.

I also talked to the man we call Hjji about Islam today. Islam views Mohammad as the last prophet of God. Islam views Jesus Christ as a profit but not the savior. Hjji explained to me that he viewed religion as good as long as you find and obtain something good for yourself by worshipping a supreme being. He agreed with me that we are all trying to reach the same Heaven just taking a different route to get there.

Royal Halal and Night Life

Today I worked at the Gazebo Shop portion of the Satay Club. I learned the accounting inventory processes and made some suggestions to help out with the inventory of canned drinks. The drink section is very un-organized and the inventory sheet is not in alphabetical order.

In Southeast Asia, vegetarians and lactose-intolerant individuals favor hot, malt-based drinks such as Milo, Ovaltine, Horlicks, and barley- and rice-based drinks. Teas are sweetened with milk and sugar. Teh tarik, or pulled tea, named for the way it is prepared, is a sweet, frothy, milky tea made with condensed milk. I learned to make this pulled tea with the help of Yati and Siti two girls who have been working at the club for several years. Im not as good as them but am getting better.

I also learned about Asian Desserts and how they are made from mainly ice. Yati taught me to kachang . Red beans, sweat cream style corn, and grass jelly are placed in the bottom of the bowl, underneath the ice layer. The ice is laced with a mixture of condensed and evaporated milks and brightly colored syrups, made at the restaurant. We also use a brown sugar syrup to top the ice. It was quiet good and made several for the customers, for it is the most popular dish.

So far I haved determined several issues fobringingng this concept to the USA. They are listed below

1. Thicket meat cuts
2. Sanitation issues on Department of Health
3. HAAC protocol via USDA
4. FDA Regulations
5. Suggested variety of dipping sauces for the American Consumer
6. The Western foods concept would need to be revamped
7. Dessert Gazebo would need revamping for American tastes.
8. Issues with mutton not being an acquired American taste.
9. Labeling of cleaning supplies in American Restaurants.
10. Sanitation issues are a big change within the restaurant.

I enjoyed working with Yati and learned lot of .

I met up with the Aggies at Clarke Quey on the Singapore River. This area has many clubs and restaurants. We ate at a Mexican Food Restaurant where we enjoyemangojo Margaritas! We also got to have some food from close to home. I choose an option that I had never had at home, it was Shrimp Quesadillas with Habenero sauce. It was awesome.

We then went to Muhammad Sultan road the premier clubbing area of Singapore. It was quite dead on a Thursday night but we found quaintnt Wine Bar were we enjoyed a bottle of White and Red Australian Wine. We taught Drew about the differences in Wine and what is served with each meal. I introduced him to my favorite variety called PORT! He liked ia lotot better than the house wine.

We had a great time and enjoyed talking about the trip and making plans to visit Sentosa Resort this weekend.

Little India

6AM wake up call!!!! Got up early for breakfast to make my way down to the Little India portion of town. I left the house and made it to downtown by 7:30. I was a little early before a lot of shops opened so I sat down at a coffee shop and ordered a glass of Coffee-0, or black coffee. Most coffee is served with condensed milk and sugar, just a little too sweet for my taste.

I was invited to join a small group enjoying rice prata and coffee for breakfast. It was nice to talk to a new group of people from Little India. The two ladies and older gentleman worked for the Little India Arcade, a shopping center, as building supervisors for the shops. Mr. talked to me about the problems of the world and that talking is the key to solving the issues. We should put away our difference in religion and come to the table as human beings. Talking heart to heart, human to human. Talk about what each side needs and why they need those claims. We also talked about America and Singapore's relations and the Prime Minister and Bush meeting at the White House. We talked for a little over an hour!

The first temple I visited was the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple, a Indian Hindu Temple with black statue dedicated to Goddess Kali, the ferocious incarnation of lord Siva's wife, Meenachi,. This is thought to be the first temple in Singapore to venerate her. This temple served as a shelter when war broke out in Singapore in 1942. Devottess, believing in Kali's protection, sought shelter withing the temple walls from tea bombs that rained through out Singapore. Perhaps they were right, the temple all all its statues emerged from the war untouched.

The temple's outside is very ornate with Hindu God's stacked on top of one another. I witnessed Hindu followers making offerrings to their gods at various locations throughout the temple.

Another area of Little India lies on Beatty street where Chinese immigrants built dwellings in the Chinese Baroque style featuring colorful tiles white flower decorations on green facades.

Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple is the popular site of the start and end points of the annual Thaipusam Festival procession. This temple is dedicated to Lord Peruma (Vishnu) the second god of the Hindu triumvirate and the Preserver of the Universe who represents mercy and goodness Every year in January or February, Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple bustles with the celebration of Thaipusam, a Hindu Festival of Thanksgiving. Devotees carry a kavadi, which would be in the form of a simple wood frame or metal frame with spikes and hooks that are pierced through their skin. The kavadi bearers walk from here to Sri Thendayuthapani temple at Tank Road, accompanied by family members carrying milk pots.

In this temple I viewed worshippers playing music with traditional drums and windpipes.

Leong San Buddhist Temple, or Dragon Mountain Temple has elaborate clay sculptures on the roof that originate in the Fujian Province of China. In 1913 a Buddhist monk came to Singapore bearing only a statue of Kwan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy, and aun urn. He wanted to establish a lodge for treating the sick. In 1926 the lodge consisted of only a few huts and had grown into an elaborate temple, known to locals as Leong San See. This temple also houses a statue of Confucious which attracts a large local Chinese following. The hubburd inside the temple contrasts with that of the Hindu temples. There is also a large space at the back dedicated to the dead where Buddhists leave food and fake money for their ancestors to use in the afterlife.

Across the road is the famous Temple of 1000 lights, officially known as the Sakya Muni Buddha Gaya Temple. The Buddha is amazingly large with a grotto underneath dedicated to the dieing Buddha. Within the temple houses a piece of bark from the tree where Buddha was sitting when he found enlightenment.

In Little India there is also an Indian Muslim Mosque, or the place of worship for Islam. House of prayer in Islam. A mosque is symbolically very important to Muslims, and is a humble way for man to recreate pure divine presence on earth. More information on the Mosque can be found by clicking Mosque.

All around Little India ladies dawn traditional Indian Dresses. The sari, simple, understated yet supremely elegant is increasingly becoming a fashion statement in urban India. One of the most commonly worn traditional dresses, it is essentially a rectangular cloth measuring about 6 yards, though in Maharashtra, women wear the nine yard sari which is passed through the legs and tucked in at the back. The sari comes in a profusion of colors, textures and designs, determined largely by the region. There are several ways of draping a sari, which is first wound around the waist, before being pleated seven or eight times at the centre and tucked into the waistband. These pleats are called the patli. The remaining sari, called the pallu is then pleated again and draped across the left shoulder to fall gracefully behind. There are regional variations, like in Gujarat, the pallu comes from the back, and drapes across the front over the right shoulder. The sari is worn with a tight-fitting choli or blouse. The style and length of the choli varies according to fashion trends and from region to region

In India, as elsewhere, accessories are an integral part of the ritual of dressing. The world over, Indian women are associated with the 'dot' in the middle of their forehead, called Kum Kum or bindi. Traditionally round, the bindi is now available in various colors, shapes and sizes. A bindi was traditionally a sign of marriage, or in some states, was worn as soon a s a girl reached young adulthood. Today it is for the most part an adornment. Vermilion or sindoor applied at the parting of the hair indicates a married woman.

A traditional Indian woman is rarely seen without jewelry. A mangal-sutra, a necklace made with black and gold beads is considered sacred, and in many areas is always worn by a married woman. Many women wear ornately crafted nose-rings. Gold, silver or colorful glass bangles are another favorite, dating from the tradition of never having your hands bare. Women in Rajasthan wear bangles that go all the way to their shoulders. Indian women generally have their ears pierced, and commonly sport ear-rings.

Men are considerably less traditional when it comes to dressing. They have adapted to a western style of dressing. Some men generally wear kurtas, a knee length shirt-styled tunic, with lungis, dhotis or pyjamas. The lungi is a piece of cloth wrapped around the waist. A dhoti is longer than a lungi, has sari style pleats and is draped through the legs. In some ares men wear a safa or turban on their heads.

I found an Indian Hawker center and tried a spicy chicken dish that I have pictured on yahoo that only cost 3 dollars. I also purchased some Sugar Cane Juice! I found an Indian Dessert shop in the area. Most of the desserts are made from condensed milk with dried fruits and coconut.

Mornings Off

I found out that for the majority of the time working in Singapore I will have the mornings to myself. Today I worked out at IYSWIM and then went to pick up my Camera Hunan IT Mall. The fixed it up quite well and guaranteed the work for atleast 3 months for only 11 dollars. I then Met up with Stephen Haynes and Paige for lunch in front of Caltex House. We went for lunch at a Malaysian place. Malay food consists of rice topped with an assortment of choice meats and vegetables. It is different from other Asian food because of the variety in one dish.

I then headed back home to change for work. Amir is stationing me a day at every part of the restaurant and the factory to learn the entire process of the company from production to consumption. I met up with Anwar the operations manager and I learned to grill Satay. The meat is cooked on a long slender grill with open coals. The fire must be fanned to keep the coals from getting too hot.

The majority of the people I work with are Singaporean's of Malay Decent. The facial features of Malay are very well distinguishable from Chinese, Japanese, and other Asians. Facial hair is more common in males, and the eyes and nose is a lot different.

Through work I am learning about Islam and what the Muslim people believe. One of the older gentlemen is called Hajj because he has made his pilgrimage to Mecca, an Islamic Mosque that is considered the holiest Islamic Land.

Every year, millions of Muslims gather in Mecca, Saudi Arabia for the annual pilgrimage, called Hajj. Arriving from every corner of the globe, pilgrims of all nationalities, ages, and colors come together for the largest religious gathering in the world. For several days, millions of pilgrims in Mecca will pray together, eat together, and celebrate the glory of Allah. Following the pilgrimage rites, Muslims around the world will celebrate the largest holiday of the year, called Eid-al-Adha (Festival of Sacrifice).

He has told me to feel free to ask whatever I want about his religion. I want to learn as much as possible from him to share with others. Islam, in today's American Society, holds a negative light. I want to share the better side of this when I come home. It is the few extremists who make this religion looked upon in ill light.

Wednesday has been declared Family day! We decided that we have activities planned every night and are away from our Host Families too much. Wednesday nights for the remainder of the trip will be spent in the Host Family Household or doing a family activity. Everyone thought that this was a great idea.

Family night for me consisted of going to Eng Chiang's daughter's(SUSAN) Condo for dinner. Eng Chiang's grandbaby is named Ran Xi, Chinese for Noble Pure Fresh Spring Water. He is only 8 months old and is very active beginning to walk.

Susan comes in from work around 8PM from the Ministry of Man Power where she deals with securing a work force for the growing population of Singapore. She deals with this in as an international perspective of immigrant workers from Indonesia and Malaysia. She also suggested some activities to do in my mornings off and invited me to go to church with her when I am here on the weekends. Hearing her stories about Oxford and the challenging curriculum was interesting.

I turned in early because I wanted to get up at 6AM to tour Little India.

Workin up a sweat

random Singapore Fact: Singapore's resident population of over 3.48 million inhabitants is comprised of 77% Chinese, 14% Malay, 8% Indian and 1% others. English is widely spoken.

Today I got to get my work out on at the Yushin Stadium Fitness Center. It was great to get to run and lift weights, something I love doin back in the states. Its quite confusing doing this on the metric system with kilos and kilometers. All in all it was a great workout and I plan on going each day possible.

The humidity is horrible here. You step outside and your drenched with sweet. The heat isn't much more than Texas but its the dang humidity. Everyone carries around small packs on Kleenex to wipe the sweat from their forehead.

I met up with Amir at the Satay club to discuss more aspects of the business. We talked about the government interaction with Food Manufacturing in Singapore. We discussed the components of The Ministry of Man Power, The Agrifood and Vet Authority, National Environmental Agency, and the Ministry of Environment. Each of these work with foodstuff, hygiene, and worker/employee relations.

Amir and Anwar introduced me to the owners of the company Mr. Mohammed Raffi Bin Bashir Ahmed and Madam Jalilah Bte Surip. Mr. Raffi is originally from Pakistan while his wife is of Malaysian decent. Mr. Raffi has a strong vision for his company to expand across international lines with several restaurants in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and eventually the USA. We talked about the opportunities to view sources in Malaysia and Indonesia and he asked if I would be willing to accompany him when he went to view these. I was excited about the opportunity to visit these locations. We discussed my background in the food chain. We also talked about his respect for all religions. His own (Islamic/Muslim), Jewish, to Christianity. He explained it to me as being a few different chapters in the same book of life. We all started out in the same Chapter when Adam and Eve conceived, but no one knows what the last chapter will hold.

Mr. Raffi is an intelligent man with a great outlook on life in general. He operates his business in away that is satisfying to himself and his customers. The company has lots of potential, but needs funding to make this happen.

Ms. Surip, Mohammed's wife is a very quiet woman of a few words. Amir told me this ahead of time. Ms. Surip has been influential in the creative marketing ploys that the Singapore Satay Club has attempted. Through marketing via Media Outlets it has been possible for the company to steadily grow.

I met up with the Aggies in Downtown Singapore at the La Pau Sat Hawker Center. This is an open air dining area, or Al Fresco Style Social Dining, where several vendors have kiosiks selling different types of food. La Pau Sat street is behind the center where the area started off as a street vending Satay area. This is where Royal Halal got its start in the Satay Business. At the request of Anwar and Amir I tried the satay to test their claim as the best satay in Singapore. The test held up. The peanut sauce did not have as much flavor, while the meat was a low quality fatty cut.

I introduced the Aggies to some tropical fruit from the area. I shared Wax Apples, Sout Sop, Pineapple, and my personal favorite, Dragon Fruit. Some enjoyed it some did not. It just depends on your taste preferences.

We talked about the days work and how everyone is enjoying the job.

Drew seems to be getting a good take on all the Caltex business by visiting all aspects of the company.

Paige is working with some advance Statistical Analysis of the Variability in Products.

Stephen D is working with the asphalt Division.

Stephen H is working with financial analysis.

Jennifer is working for the Promotional part of Caltex.

Sam is still looking for an engineering firm to work for.

Kent seems to be doing great at the entrepreneur's program.

Triv has been doing more stuff with his host family and on his own so I assume he is doing well. He was a little under the weather but seems better now.

Alicia is working with a publishing company that caters to the Asian Millionaires that make 5 million+ a year. She is working on an article featuring Sentosa's resorts.

Nick is working with polytechnics and is dealing with some cool 3D electronics.

The group working at Caltex's has been our communication Hub. Since they work together it is easier for them to communicate and quickly get the word out to the rest of the group.

The First Day of Work

Today was my first day at work at Royal Halal. I met my boss Amhir Hamzah who will be mentoring me throughout the process. I am including some background information on the company below:


Royal Halal Background
Royal Halal Pte Ltd was incorporated on the 8th December 1995 as a limited exempt private company by Mr. Mohammed Raffi Bin Bashir Ahmed and Madam Jalilah Bte Surip.

Royal Halal is currently the holding company of several subsidiaries involved in the halal food industry. One of which, Jalilah's Sate Solo (previously known as Jalilah's Sate Solo) is in the business of manufacturing and distributing of satay, both fresh and frozen as well as other food pre-mixes and sauces.

Royal Halal brings together years of tradition and experience of serving consistent and high quality halal food in the local food industry. Under another company, Singapore Satay Club, the company has successfully run it's first satay club for the last three years.

Background
Jalilah's Sate Solo has been operating in the manufacturing industry for more than ten years, specializing in manufacturing satay, pre-mixes, instant food as well as food ingredients. The current owners are the second-generation management of the company.

In the last few years, the company had automated most of the satay manufacturing process. The company had a manufacturing plant in Singapore and this plant is already operating at maximum operating level.

In 1999, the management of Jalilah's ventured into the F&B industry by starting up Royal Halal Pte Ltd. Jalilah's has been the supplier of pre-mixes, recipes as well as raw satay to Royal Halal's Satay Club.

@ Royal Halal Pte LtdRoyal Halal specializes in manufacturing and distribution of the most delicious and the highest quality halal satay under the name of Jalilah's Sate Solo. Royal Halal is also operating widely its satay clubs through the franchising scheme. Under the franchising scheme, we will provide uniforms, training and the necessary equipments such as sate- grillers to our franchisee.

@ Jalilah's Sate Solo"Quality Spices, Premixes & Ingredients"Jalilah's is famous for its unique preservative free handmade exotic sate based on a rich concoction of authentic traditional Indonesia spices and lean tender meat. Our range of satay covers chicken, mutton, beef, babat, prawn, squid and vegetarian delicacies. Beside the selling and manufacturing of raw satay, we also manufacture and distribute pre-grilled satay, pre-mixed spices, instant food and food ingredients.

Mission Statement
Jalilah's Mission is to manufacture and distribute the most delicious and the highest quality products.

Our Vision
Jalilah's vision is to be an international brand known for pre-mixes, instant food as well as food ingredients. In particular, the company wants to be known globally as the Asian brand for the above range of products.

Business Philosophy
Jalilah's believe in doing business with integrity - that customers, employees and business associates are all treated with respect.

Sembawang Satay Club Background
Sembawang Satay Club was incorporated on 3rd Jan 2000 as a limited exempted private company by Mr. Mohammed Raffi Bin Bashir Ahmed and Madam Jalilah Bte Surip.

More information can be found by clicking Royal Halal

Amhir took me to a coffee shop where we discussed the background of the business and their future goals. The company has a strong passion and vision for being a global restaurant chain in the future. Amhir emphasized the importance of finding secure food resources for Singapore. The island lacks significant land to house an agriculture industry, so they must turn to Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand. These countries offer an abundance of land and labor at cheap prices. The company is looking at moving their small Satay factory to Malaysia to produce their product and then importing it to sell in Singapore. This would allow the company to make a better profit margin per plate.

Amhir also works with the government to pursue opportunities to expand the business into Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand. The Food Manufacturing Boad of Singapore met in Malaysia yesterday with the Malaysian and Singapore Prime Ministers in order to discuss the opportunities. Amhir was invited to the meeting to discuss these opportunities. It is a possibility that I will get to travel to Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand with Amhir to look at sources and attend meetings.

Amhir gave me the afternoon off due to his meetings in Malaysia. He asked me to meet him back at the Satay club for dinner and to meet the operations manager of the Satay Club. During my time off i went downtown to the Funan Digital IT mall to get my camera fixed. There was a small problem with the toggle switch on it. I alsp purchased a small digital camera that will slide into my pocket.

Dinner at the club was awesome. Satay comes in three varieties Chicken, Mutton (baby lamb), and Beef. The meat is seasoned with cumin, tyrmic, sugar, garlic, ginger, and blue ginger. It is also served with a spicy peanut sauce. The dish is also served with vegetables and a compressed sticky rice bun.

Anwar the operations manager talked to me about the profit margins on the dish. It is a 60% profit for the company. The dish costs $5 sing.

Following dinner I met up with Ags who where still out. We met at the Raffles long bar home of the Singapore Sling first concoctated in the 1800s. It is a really nice bar with fine wines and high prices. We sat around talking about the internships. Kent is working with a university in the business entrepreneur program. Alicia a publishing company. Drew, Paige, Jennifer, and Stephen are all working in different divisions of Caltex, the Singapore branch of Chevron Texaco. Stephen H is working for a polytechnics school. Sam is currently working for the same place as Kent, but its not the experience in Engineering he wanted so Affandi is working on finding a substitute.

Stephen D, Stephen H, and I met up following the long bar and went downtown to the Singapore River where we found Harry's Jazz Bar. We hung out there listening to music and had a good time until 11:30 when we went home.

Sentosa

I woke up to a breakfast of half hard boiled eggs (basically hard boiled eggs not boiled long enough), toast, OJ, and Cereal.

EC has been having back problems. The Chinese culture uses acupuncture as a form of healing. This stimulates certain nerves and muscles in order to relieve pain. He went to see his acupuncturist dismorning after breakfast.

Following breakfast we hung around the house an finished up my laundry. EC does all the house chores around the house. He washed, dried, ironed, and folded all my clothes. The family is very nice and allows me to make myself at home. EC has also been helping me learn the bus and metro system throughout the city. Asian Hospitality is so amazing, and i feel so spoiled at times. From talking to the other Aggies we all have very nice families.

We went out to find Royal Halal where I will be interning for the next few weeks. It is only one bus ride and a free shuttle away. It wont take too long to get to and from work each day. I basically live and work in the same general area of Singapore.

EC took me to Simbabwa Country Club located near the Airbase that he served at. The base offers free membership to all past and present members of the military. The club has a workout facility, pool, 18 hole course, a jackpot/casino room, and a cafe. We enjoyed a tiger beer at the club while picking up Joon. We then went to get lunch which consisted of Duck Rice and Roasted Duck. This was my first meal that consisted solely of duck. It was also served with duck gizzards, bean curd, and duck eggs.

In the afternoon I made my way into downtown Singapore to meet up with the rest of the Aggies at Suntec City. We went on a moonlight tour of Singapore's man made island, Sentosa. This is the most southern point of the Malayan Pennisula. The island is absolutely beautiful containing river boats, romantic cafes, and a theme park. We went to a water light show that was gorgeous. The graphics where absolutely amazing. I wish I had better pictures but i do have a few videos to share with you when I return.

Tomorrow I start my first day at Royal Halal, Im sure it will be interesting! Wish me luck

The first day

In the morning we went on the Wacky Duck and Hip Hippo Singapore tours. We saw many of the city sites. Check the Singapore pics for update pictures of the city sites! We saw Raffles hotel which is named after the founder of Singapore, Sir Thomas Raffles. The Rafflese Hotel runs at about $600 a night and has featured such guests as Michael Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor, and Jackie Chan. Singapore's modern history commenced from 1819 at the arrival of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, a British East India Company officer, who found Singapore as a "British Trading Post". Legend states that when Sir raffles sat foot on the island he first encountered a lion and named the island Singa Pura, Lion City.

An exert about Singapore:

To arrive in Singapore is to step into a world where the muezzin call to prayer competes with the bustle of capitalism; where old men play mah-jongg in the streets and white-clad bowlers send the ball flying down well-tended cricket pitches; where Chinese fortune-tellers and high-priced management consultants advise the same entrepreneur. This great diversity of lifestyles, cultures, and religions thrives within the framework of a well-ordered society. Singapore is a spotlessly clean -- some say sterile -- modern metropolis, surrounded by green, groomed parks and populated by 2.7 million extremely well-mannered people.

Although the Malays, Chinese, and Indians account for 97% of Singapore's population, other ethnic groups -- from Eurasians to Filipinos, from Armenians to Thais -- contribute significantly to the nation's cultural mix. Understandably, the heritage of the British colonial stay is profoundly felt even though Singapore became an independent nation in 1965.

Following the tour we went to the country's highest revolving restaurant to see the city from far above. As far as the eye can see are large sky-scrapers. Most of these are businesses or HD Housing. HD housing stands for High Density Housing which is partially government funded. 85% of the population is housed in this type of housing.

After lunch featured the most exciting portion of the day! Meeting our host families. I am living with the Yio Eng Chiang family in the suburbs of the main city. The area of Singapore I am living is was built by Great Britain to house pilots who worked at the nearby Air Base. Mr. Yio is a retired combat fighter who has traveled throughout Europe and American bases for training. Joon, pronounced June, is En Chiang's wife. She enjoys playing golf with her family and friends at the local Raffles club. Mr. And Mrs. Yio have both won numerous golf trophies. Joon enjoys playing MahJong in the afternoons. I have

The Yio family has twin brothers and one older sister. Calvin and Alvin are currently serving their required military service. We picked up Calvin today as he was coming in from his basic conditioning camp. He will return to camp later tonight. His brother Alvin is at an advanced camp and is then leaving to go to the Singapore National University. Mr. Yio's daughter studied Politics and Economics at Oxford University in London. She currently works with Singapore International Affairs. She has been pictured with Japan and Singapore's Presidents signing trade agreements. It will be interesting to meet her because international affairs is a career path that I am interested in. She also has a one year old daughter.

The house I am living in is a 2 and a half story semi-detached home. Semi-detached simply means that the house is attached only to the next house. I have my own room on the second floor of the house with my own bathroom, large closet, and air conditioning. The house also has a small yard where Mr. Yio enjoys upkeeping his bonsai and fruit trees. Having a yard in Singapore is a sign of wealth due to how limited and expensive the land is. En Chiang also enjoys drinking Guiness Stout and I joined him in having one today. Im not quite the stout drinker as he.

The Yio family also has their own car. Before purchasing a car you must purchase a certificate in an open auction. Once you have the certificate you can then purchase a car. This brings the purchase price of a small car to approximately 75000 US. This doesn't include the annual tax and payment to use the actual roads. The road system is quite different here in Singapore. The British influence is very apparant here, in the way the country drives on the opposite side of the road. It will take some time to get use to getting into the left hand side as a passenger. The British influence is also apparant in the Singapore Accent. Imagine an Asian accent intermingled with the British Accent. Top-Up is to fill something up. Cheers is to say thank you.

En Chiang took me to dinner at a nearby Indian Restaurant where we enjoyed a dish called Roti Prata. This is a sort of fried croissant, originating from south India. The wheat flour that is used makes for a dough that can be tossed and stretched till it is paper thin. Then it is folded over a few times, to create separate layers. The result is a many-layered partly-crispy-partly-soft pancake that resembles filo pastry. The pancake is fried on a hot, oily griddle until it's cooked, and marked with brown spots, then served with a curry gravy. For some who do not like it spicy, instead of eating their prata with curry, they can sprinkle sugar over it and turn it into a savory-sweet pancake. The prata that we had was stuffed with beef, onions, eggs, and topped with mutton curry. It was very delicious!

Following dinner I came home to eat starfruit! Another one of my favorite tropical fruits. The fruit when sliced makes a star shape. We then sat around the TV watching CNN's coverage and talked about America and its international views.

The family is also providing me with a cell phone if you need to contact me please do so at 65 94469873: I have free incoming calls so feel free to call if you have an international phone card!

If you would like to mail me something you can send it express to the following address. If you do not express the package or mail it will take over two months to travel by boat.

6 UPPER NERAM ROAD

Singapore 805970

The Aggies have arrived alive and well

Last night I got the opportunity to talk about Chinese Culture Revolutions with Mr. Han. I learned about the government splitting families up to live in different areas so that they can learn about the entire Chinese Culture. This was done when China citizens where allowed to have more than one child. China, due to over population limits households to one child. The harsh government can force adoptions and abortions if the mother becomes pregnant again. I learned alot that farmers live very primitively and as the farm land is developed the farmer looses there source of income. The farmer is left with only skills as a laborer and forced to work at cheap wages in the many Chinese factories. It was an enlightening cultural experience!

Today I woke up to a lovely breakfast of eggs, fresh shrimp, and rice and red bean porridge. It was a great Chinese breakfast! Red bean is a sweet type of bean that is used to sweeten many Chinese desserts. There is even a red bean ice-cream! In Vietnam they use the green bean as a sweetener. The beans are quite tasty and provide a healthy alternative to sugar.

The Han's where really hospitable to me. They provided me with a phone card to call the US and an EZ link card for the MRT and bus systems. Ms. Han also gave me a small dog toy because in the Chinese Calendar I was born in the year of the Dog. I hung out at the flat until about 3:00 and then I caught a taxi to the Crown Prince Hotel in downtown.

Affandi, the in country coordinator for the MSC LT Jordan International Living Abroad Program met me in the lobby to check me into the hotel. I settled in and took an awesome shower. It was probably the best one I've had in two weeks. Its amazing how much you underappreciate the little things like a decent shower. I felt so refreshed. I decided to go out into the city and do some exploring.

Singapore is hosting the Asian Food Show, similar to the Food Marketing Institute I attended in Chicago, throughout the summer. Vendors from most of the Asian countries come together and present new products and cuisine to try. Dinner tonight included chicken steak with mushrooms. It was so delicious and a welcomed change of pace from Vietnamese food. I also tried the redbean ice-cream I talked about earlier. I got some fresh fruit with chili sauce. I forgot to tell you about chili Sauce in Asia. Americans eat ketchup with nearly every meal, the Asian Culture eats spicy chili sauce with each meal.

I then found a super market to explore within the convention center that was hosting the food show. I smelt the pungent odor of Durian. This is a spiky fruit on the outside with a sweat yellow fruit in the inside. The key is getting past the odor! There are actual signs posted that say No Durians allowed in this area. I saw many familiar fruits that I saw in Vietnam such as longums, lychee, and pineapple. Singapore is defiantly influenced by the western world. I saw an Old Elpaso Taco Mix Display in the store. Whoop for food from Texas!!

Singapore has malls everywhere! Orchard road, where our hotel is at, is the prime shopping area of the country/city. I walked through the area for several hours and found good buys on some items. I decided to wait until I get settled in with my host family before purchasing anything.

I decided to stop into a bar called the Honky Tonk bar. I walked in and found the atmosphere to be similar to that of the Texas Hall of Fame. Asian's wearing Cowboy hats and wranglers was an interesting site. Before I could even order a drink I was approached by several young ladies. I thought it was odd. I looked around and saw lots of youn asian girls, and every single white guy had a lady talking to him. I knew I was in the wrong bar. I quickly finished my drink and left the bar and my newly acquired friends. I went through several shops one my way back to the hotel.

When I got back to the hotel I sat in the lobby for awhile watching CNN's coverage of the London bombings. I then turned in and awaited the arrival of the Aggies.

Around 2:30Am they arrived! IT was great to see familiar faces in foreign places! Affandi took us to a night food hawker where we enjoyed Singapore's famous spicy crab. We enjoyed catching up with each other and hearing about the journey to Singapore.

We all turned in at about 4AM.

Things Learned in Vietnam

Vietnam was an amazing experience. Visiting a country that was a war zone only 30 years ago is an amazing opportunity. Everywhere there is propaganda promoting 30 years of unification of North and South Vietnam into the The Peoples Republic of Vietnam.

The people here are young with the average age only 25 most do not remember the war, while in America it seems to have a day to day reminder of what and who was lost to this horrible war. We have a bad taste in our mouths of Vietnam, one that will take many more years to wash out. The elderly, especially those in South Vietnam, are friendly towards Americans. It was a hard loss for the South and for America.

Things learned in Vietnam

1. Three best friends can become even closer than they where after experiencing a poverished company.

2. I learned the origin of Hong's mannerisms and belief system.

3. You truly learn more about one's friend by visiting and experiencing one's home.

4. Work for an American Company and get paid US Dollar, and spend Vietnamese Dong and you can live like a king.

5. Bush truly has given Americaán's a bad name on the international scene. I only met a few people from Europe that weren't disgusted by the fact I was an American.

6. Just like in America the food from the whole in the wall joints is much better than the high class restaurants. Trust me if you ate at just one of the places I haveeatenn at in the past two weeks you'll never hesitate to eat in ANY American restaurant again.

7. Vietnamese Families go out to eat dinner each night. Its just as cheap to eat out than to cook. The average meal cost is around 10000 dong or less than one US Dolalr. It is simply not possible in America.

8. Vietnamese music is amazing.

9. Two people can love and truly care about each other without being able to speak the same language.

10. Buddhismm doesn't confine one to simply attending church, its a day to day lifestyle, as should be Christianity. We're all enroute to the same destination, just on different airlines.

11. Always be at the airport atleast 1 hour prior to boarding.

12. Schedules are merely a suggestion and usually means 2 to 3 hours after a stated time of departure.

13. Entertainment in Vietnam is cheap. I was online for over 5 hours straight and had two cups of coffee for less than $1.20.

14. Im having achoreographedd wedding reception! LOL

15. Everyone wears sandals in Vietnam.

16. Tile floors are the norm in every household.

17. AC is limited to units only in certain rooms.

18. Showers are just a shower head above tile floor next to the toilet.

19. You have not lived until you've had to use a squat pan toilet.

20. You also have not lived until you've found out there is no toilet paper and water is the only source to clean your self.

21. Three guys can talk about more than just girls on a roadtrip.

22. Tiger Beer is much stronger than good ole Coors Light.

23. The American way isn't always the best way.

24. It can beextremelyy cold in a tropical country in the middle of summer.

25. When they say rainy season they weren't kidding.

26. Fresh fruit is awesome in tropical countries.

27. Avoid the milk at all costs. trust only that in the box.

28. Traffic is crazy but just go with the flow.

29. There's no way to find shoes to fit Americans in Vietnam, unless custom made.

30. Oranges can be green on the outside and still be ripe! just a different variety.

31. Vietnamese weddings are awesome!

32. Riding on a moped can be extremely tiring if doing it all day while shoe shopping.

33. No price is set!

34. KHONG = NO

35. There's a little bit of Asian in all of us Caucasians.

36. Durian fruits are spiky green on the outside, and yellow andextremelyy smelly on the inside.

37. Nuch Mon or Fish Sauce made from rotting fish in a barrel is so great and served with every meal.

Im sure I could go on and on with this list but I wanted to jot down a few important items I wanted to share with you before I got too carried away with settling down in Singapore.

Leaving Vietnam and Heading to Singapore

Well we woke up early today to make the trip to the airport. Before leaving I presented a 100,000 dong bill to the housekeeper for all of her extra work she did for me. She washed and ironed all my clothing before leaving and I really appreciated the help. Hong's Father and Hong accompanied me to the airport at 8Am as planned. We made it on time!! THANK GOODNESS!! I had to pay $68 US to get my baggage to Singapore because it weighed 15 Kilos too much. If I had been going to the US in 15 days it would have been fine, however I wont leave until August 20th.

I sat around the airport and ate some coconut snacks that where so great! I really enjoyed them.

The flight to Singapore was less than 2 hours long! Arriving in Singapore was a totally different experience. Coming from a 3rd world country to a developed country was really apparent in the lobby. The atmosphere was really modern and resembled American airports.

I made my way throughout the terminal and immigrated to Singapore. I got my baggage and met up with my friend's, Shou Han, mother. I made arrangements prior to leaving the USA to stay the first night in Singapore with her family. The rest of the Aggies will not be here until the 9th at 2AM. I will meet them in the hotel.

Ms Han took me around the area of their home. The majority of people in Singapore live in government flats. Extremely tall buildings with 40 floors. They are similar to large apartment buildings in America. Each flat has 3 bed rooms, kitchen, living room, sitting room, and a balcony.

She then took me to exchange my American money to Singapore money. We walked around the area and you can defiantly tell this is a developed country. The first sign I saw out of the apartment complex was none other than, McDonalds. Americanized food is near so I feel at home!

We walked about two miles to the bank at the mall. The exchange rate is 1.6 Singapore Dollars per US Dollar. In Vietnam 100 dollars equaled 1.6 million dong, and that would go a long way. Considering each meal was usually less than 16000 dong, or 1 US dollar.

Singapore resembles America as far as what I have seen. It is an extremely clean country and you can see this first hand on the streets. It is extremely clean and you never see any trash on the streets. Singapore is the most densely populated country in the world and the cleanest.

Ms. Han then took me on the Mass Rapid Transport System, or MRT, to eat Chinese Fried rice, Shou's favorite dish. The MRT is a subway. We then returned to the flat and I took a nap and the watched some tv. I just got to meet Mr. Han who came in from work.

Tomorrow I will meet up with Affandi at the hotel and meet the rest of the Aggies late at night!

The Last Day in Vietnam

The next day we slept in and hung out at the house. We went to another market that was several stories tall. The basement sold food, first floor sold fabric and shoes, second floor sold clothing, and the third sold decorations. I purchased a large bag of jack fruit chips to bring to Singapore with me. They are really tasty.We then went to inspect the house that was being built by Hong's Parents. I actually got to pick the roof top color. I hope I choose correctly. I'll get to see it next time I come to Vietnam.

We then went back to finish packing up all the gifts given to me by the family and rest some before going to dinner. We went to eat more Chinese food near downtown. We then went back to say my good byes to the family. His grandmother told me she thought of me as one of her own grandchildren and hoped that Hong, Charles, and I remained friends throughout the years.

Saying good bye to his uncle, he presented me with a Geneva Pocket watch with chain to remember him by. This uncle was one that served as a South Vietnamese general during the war. The South Vietnamese where on the American side during the war. I took pictures with all the aunts and uncles and then went to move my luggage from the guest house to the family house so we could leave from there early the next morning.

We then went to eat Ice Cream with Nam in downtown Saigon. It was one last ride on the back of the moped through the heavy traffic. I forgot to tell you how traffic is here! You seriously don't ever stop you just slow down and make your way across the street when you want to cross. It amazingly works and I only saw one wreck the entire trip.

I had some awesome coconut icecream in a coconut shell. We then went to get coffee at the Trung Nguyen Coffee shop for one last cup of joe before before returning home.

The Day Charles Left

We woke up early to finish packing Charles' luggage and to say our good byes. We left the house with what we thought was enough time to make the flight, however we found out to check baggage you had to be there 40 minutes prior. We made it through the heavy traffice with only 30 minutes to spare. Charles couldn't board the flight with all of his luggage.

So the next thing to do was figure something out! We had to move quickly to get it all settled. We had to go from the airport all the way downtown to the Vietnam Airlines office, which took an hour in travel time, just to get started. We found out that Charles' ticket had no value and that the only option was to pay for another ticket to get to singapore at 5. If he didn't get to Singapore before his 6Am Tokyo flight he would be stuck until July 28th! Not a good thing! We tried everything to not have to pay for the ticket. We even went to the US Embassy, but they where closed for lunch, "Come back later." said the guard. We where like "REJECTED by our own embassy in an emergency!" We had no time so Charles purchased the ticket and got back on track to the USA.

Trying to deal with all this was mentally exhausting since we had been up the entire night. We weren't going to let this happen to me! We planned to pack everything the night before and leave at 7:30 AM. I would rather sit in the airport for several hours than have to pay for another ticket.

The rest of the day was spent sleeping! We where so exhausted! While Hong slept I did some major updates on the blog and posted pictures online.

Around 10 we went to get some dinner at a Chinnese Restaurant! The sweet and sour sauce here is SOOOO much better than in the US! We then watched some DVDs and then crashed for the night!

Happy 4th of July

Today we woke up early to meet Hong’s friend from Singapore for a Chinese Breakfast. It was very good and a welcomed change in the cuisine. I am not sure exactly how to spell her name; however Hong is giving me her contact information in Spore so that I can contact her to take me around the city. She was a very nice girl who is studying Economics in Singapore which is the financial capital of Southeast Asia.

Following breakfast we went to another tailor where Hong’s mother had arranged for us to get shorts and a pair of dress pants made. The shorts are really nice and comfortable and fit perfectly. As I had said in the past Hong’s family has treated us extremely well. Hong’s Aunt, who runs a clothing manufacturing operation, is treating us to lots of clothes. She gave us Valentine business shirts, silk pajamas, undershirts, ties, Vietnam Tourist shirts, and various other things. She said that this is her gift to us for coming to visit. I am set on business clothes for a really long time! Hong’s aunt sent us out to look for dress shoes also as a gift. We spent the majority of the morning looking at various stores, but Americans just have too wide of feet. So no luck on the dress shoes here in Vietnam.

After being on the back of the moped all morning, we where extremely exhausted and decided we needed to have a little fun and celebrate the 4th of July. We went to the Diamond Plaza in downtown Saigon to go bowling. We signed up for a lane, but they never got to our names for some reason. We played billiards with Hong’s friend Nam. He was much better at pool than Charles and I. They play another form of billiards called 3 ball in Vietnam. You have three balls on a pocketless table and the goal is to hit two balls with the Q-ball. You score 1 point for hitting one 3 points for hitting both. Nam is an awesome guy who has been hanging out with us. He told me today, you might not have American Brothers, but you have two brothers in Vietnam, Hong and I. It was really special to be considered his brother. It has been fun hanging out with Nam and helping him learn English. I will miss him when I leave in a few days.

The rain set in as we played billiards but we decided we wanted to get out of the downtown area. We got a little soaked but all was well. We went to a book store to find a Vietnamese Flag, which is a yellow star on a solid red background. I purchased it for less than two dollars. We then went to Cho Lon, or China Town, to look for a dragon costume to take back for a friend of Charles. We weren’t successful in finding one that we liked and in our price range.

We then went to pick up our suites from the Mangrove in downtown. Perfect fit and I absolutely love the colors I choose. They will look really professional for interviews and other events. Tailor made suites in the US usually run 400-500 US, but here only 85 and that’s expensive here.

Hong’s family lives all on the same street. It is similar to what my Uncle calls FM 485, Hollasville. It is nice to have family nearby! We went to family dinner at a seafood restaurant. We had my favorite soup called Crap and Corn soup. Crap refers to a mixture of seafood including squid, crab, and fish. We also had fried squid, spring rolls, and various other traditional Vietnamese dishes. We where full as usual.

The Karaoke rooms where our next stop! Hong’s cousins and brothers all took there turn signing Vietnamese songs and Charles and I sung That Old Time of Rock and Roll and You’ve Lost that loving filling! I did alright scoring an 86. I tried my hand at signing a Vietnamese Song to work on my pronunciation, and I scored a 100 on the song. I totally sing better in Viet than English. Vietnamese songs are amazingly beautiful to hear, and usually talk about love.

The bars all close at Midnight here, however we where finished celebrating the 4th of July and Charles’ last night in Vietnam. We went to downtown Saigon to find an all night bar. We found one where several tourist where hanging out. We had a few drinks and hung out pretty much all night. We met four ladies from the United Kingdom, Lucy, Zennie, Alice, and Kate, who had been traveling for six months. Taking six months to a year to travel around the world seems to be a very popular thing to do in the UK following completion of an undergraduate degree.

We staid at the bar till about 4 AM! We then went to eat noodles at an all night shop. We came in at about 5 and went to sleep. Charles wanted to stay up all night like we both did before coming to Vietnam. Staying up all night helps to adjust to the American time difference as you travel!

I put some pics up on yahoo photos. Check it out at: Brandon's Photos

Around Ho Chi Minh

Today we hung out at the house watching movies until about noon. We really needed some rest and relaxation to recover from the trip.

Today we went to the local grocery store where we purchased rice wine to take back with us. It was interesting to see the different types of foods displayed in the grocery store. The store also sold clothing. I tried finding a pair of dress pants, but they fit really differently in the thighs. I found a nice pair of beach shorts for two dollars.

Today we went to get back massages at a local massage parlor. Hong's dad took us and treated us to the massage. It was really relaxing to get massaged and then to sit in the steam room. We where relaxed and ready for the rest of the day. The roughness from the roadtrip really wore us out!

Today has been one of the most rewarding days of the trip. We went to Hong's friend's Vietnamese Wedding Reception. The wedding ceremony consists of two parts. On the first day the groom with his parents and a small group of family members or friends-goes to the bride's home to seek her parents' permission to marry her. Often, the groom presents the traditional offering of betel leaves and areca nuts to the bride's family. After the groom has made this formal proposal of marriage, the bride's family makes a similar request to its ancestors at the family altar. On the second day, there is a celebration after the bride and groom performed certain rituals at an altar set up for the occasion. Traditionally, at this ceremony held at the groom's house, the tutelary god of marriage, the Old Man in the Moon, is asked to bless and protect the couple. Three tiny cups are filled with rice alcohol. The elder who leads the ceremony bows before the altar, takes a sip from one of cups, and passes it to who does likewise. The groom then takes a piece of ginger and rubs it in salt, and both bride and groom eat a little of it to signify their lasting love. Only then are they ready to exchange wedding ring. It is traditional for a married couple to care for the man's parents; subsequently, it is very important to have a son!

The wedding reception is the portion we got to attend. The bride and groom greet each in attendance at the door. Guests present, instead of gifts, red envelopes containing Vietnamese Dong. Hong, Charles, and I presented the gift to the couple and where welcomed to the reception. Talk about being the only two white people in the crowd! We sure did get our fare share of stares when we entered the room.

The Bride and Groom sat at the back of the room facing the stage where the MC started the show. The Brides Maids and Grooms Men all participated in a choreographed stage dance dedicated to the couple. It was an amazing presentation, and I've decided I am having my wedding party do a stage dance like the one I saw.

Next the bride and groom join the wedding party on stage. The runway, where the bride and groom stood, slowly moved towards the main stage area. The MC introduced the couple and balloons exploded with confetti around the reception. The respected Mother and Father of each the bride and groom took their opportunity to say a few words to the crowd. Wine is then poured into glasses that are arranged in a pyramid where the wine filters into each glass from the top down. The couple then serves each of the parents and they toast to a successful marriage. The cake is then cut, but not served for reasons unknown.

Following these festivities a large traditional Vietnamese dinner is served. We had fried squid, pig tongue, salad, Mekong Spicy Soup, Fried Baby Pig, and jelly. Throughout dinner friends take turns singing songs to the couple. Tiger Beer is served and plenty of celebration occurred! It was really hard to keep up with eating and drinking as much as the table of Hong’s friends where doing. 1-2-3 YOOO! or Cheers is heard throughout the room! Glasses are clicked together and someone yells 50%, 100%, or whatever is preferred. Whatever is yelled is how much you must drink from your glass. I don't think that I have ever been that full in my entire life!! The Vietnamese people, I'm convinced, have bottomless pits for stomachs. They eat and eat and eat and eat. I usually stop 3/4s of the way through the meal. I just can not each that much! It’s really hard to say no to them also!

The bride and grooms family where really appreciative of our attendance at their special occassion. They got us to take pictures with the family and where eager to talk to us. We felt really welcomed by the family.
Following the reception we went to a coffee shop where Hong and his friends chatted about good times in high school.

Around Ho Chi Minh City

We went to the Ben Thanh market in Downtown Saigon to try our hand at bargaining with the vendors. I cut a very good deal with a vendor on three statues so that Charles and I could get a cheaper price overall. I got a nice Happy Buda statue for about 2 bucks. The vendors are constantly grabbing at you "Can I help you sir?! Look here sir!" Charles found it a little overwhelming, as I did the last time I was in Vietnam.

Following the market we walked four blocks to the Mangrove Tailor Shop that made my suites two years ago. On the way to the tailor saw a beautiful eggshell painting that I really wanted. The price started at 50 US and I got it down to 20 US Dollars. That’s the best thing about Vietnam is that in most places there aren't set prices for items. It was an extremely good deal.

The Mangrove Tailor shop was very nice to us, especially when I told them I had been there before to get suites. They took our measurements and said our suites would be ready on Monday at 4PM. It started pouring down rain so we hung out at the tailor for a little bit. We decided that it probably wasn't going to let up so we grabbed a taxi to take us to the DVD shops. It is the rainy season here in Vietnam from April till November; it rains pretty much every afternoon.

Next we went to the DVD store where I purchased nearly 50 DVDs. I know it probably sounds expensive, but here they are only 1 US dollar apiece.

Two years ago when I came to Vietnam I met Thi, a professor from the Agriculture and Forestry College in Ho Chi Minh City. I contacted her prior to coming to Vietnam so that we could meet up and possibly tour the campus, however the National Entrance Exam, similar to the US SAT, was being conducted and no visitors where allowed on Campus. Since we couldn't visit campus we decided to meet up for dinner and coffee. We had a good time catching up and remembering the trip two years ago.

We then returned to Hong's house where we watched Catch Me If you can on HBO with the family. We had a milk drink with Jack Fruit, Longons, and Jelly. I learned my lesson on drinking milk here! I defiantly was on the toilet alot the next morning, however it wasn't too long before I had it under control.

Leaving Da Latt

We started the six hour trip from Da Latt to Ho Chi Minh today! We had several stops planned along the way back to Ho Chi Minh. Our first stop was the highest mountain in the Da Latt area. The park area featured small jeeps that drove you to the summit where you could view the entire city of Da lat. Village people live on top of the mountain and try to sell you hand sewn bags and similar souvenirs. I purchased a purse and a few other items to give to friends back home. The view was absolutely breath taking. You know you are high in the sky when you're above the clouds.

We traveled to Prenn another waterfall park. This park was one that we visited two years ago. Prenn is unique in the fact that you can walk under the falls with out getting completely soaked from head to toe.

We then went to the largest waterfall in the area. It was 500meters down the side of the mountain. The trek down was worth the view of the large falls. Climbing back up was difficult and we tired quickly. The mountain air is a lot thinner and we can defiantly tell that we are breathing harder as we walk up and down the mountains. Pictures soon to come.

We visited one other water fall on the next river that was extremely wide before the weather changed for the worse. We drove most of the way home through the coffee and tea production area of Vietnam in the pouring rain. We stopped at a roadside stand to purchase coffee. The best coffee in the world is known as Fox Dung Coffee. There is a particular species of fox that is considered the concierge of coffee beans. Farmers collect the dung from the forests and then process the undigested coffee beans. I have not tried it yet; however, Charles and I did purchase a bag to share with our friend back home.

We arrived back in Ho Chi Minh around 10PM. It was still an early night so Hong and I decided to go get coffee while running an errand for his parents. Charles wasn't feeling to well from the rough bus ride so he decided to call it an early night and rest. Following coffee we went to downtown Ho Chi Minh/Saigon and found the tailor shop that made my suites two years ago. Luckily we found it! Tomorrow we will go and get fitted for our suites and also visit the market to purchase souvenirs.

Da Latt

Today we traveled from Nha Trang, on the coastline, to Da Latt in the highlands. The traffic on the roads up the mountain is totally insane. There is a system to the madness but one that I have not mastered! People pass on blind corners on the side of the mountain, all intertwined with mopeds. Its a little nerve racking. The added poor road conditions and lack of shocks on the bus added to the uneasiness of the road trip.

All in all the trip wasn't too unbearable. We made it to Da Latt in a about three hours. Da Latt is a large Agriculture area in the highlands that produce alot of Strawberries and other berries. Da Latt is extremely cold throughout the entire year. I have been to Da Latt during the winter time and new it was cold, however I expected it to be a little warmer during the summer months. It was cold! I luckily had brought my jeans and long sleeve shirt so I was fine!

Da latt is known as the Vietnamese Honeymoon city. You see lots of young newly weds touring the city. We went to a park in the mountains called Love Valley. It featured areas where you could ride horses through the mountains, listen to birds chirping, paddle boats in the large lake, and small huts for private dinners and drinks. The park was extremely beautiful!

It was interesting to visit a town that I had been to before. We went to the market where I purchased a bottle of Da Latt wine and some strawberries. The wine in Da Latt is extremely good, something I learned last time while in Da Latt. We walked around the large lake where we were approached by several people asking if we needed a ride. Khong is Vietnamese for No! This was our standard reply throughout the night. It started raining so we decided to slip into a coffee shop to pass the time. We enjoyed peach tea and coffee as we warmed ourselves from the combination of rain and frigid temperatures.

When the rain let up we walked back to the hotel and found another coffee shop across from a disco club. It was interesting to watch the couples and singles leave the bar late at night. People watching is something that Charles and I love to do. We try to figure out how the people interact and what they are doing.

It was still an early night but the town was shutting down so we returned to the hotel where we laid in bed and all read our books for an hour or so. Just to show how chilly it is in Da Latt none of the hotels there have Air Conditioning due to the fridget temperatures. Charles, Hong and I have truly bonded from the challenges we have faced from the trip. We all talk about the wonders of life, what the future holds, and the human race and challenge each others thought on theses subjects. It has been not only a cultural experience, but truly a thought provoking trip.

Nha Trang 2nd Day

Today we traveled to several water fall parks in the Nha Trang area. The first park was a man made water fall area that was fed by a natural spring. We went exploring around and found a large pool of water to swim in. We relaxed and enjoyed reading our books in the shade for the most part of the morning.

The next park was an all natural park. Talk about rough terrain. The rocks around the stream where all granite. It had rained earlier that day so the rocks where supper slippery. Myself and the others fell several times as we made our way up the rough terrain towards the water fall. We picked up a guide along the way who assisted us with manuevering along the terrain. If it wasn't for her we would have made it through with a lot more bumps and bruises. The guide was a beautiful older vietnamese lady with large eyes and a round face. She had lived in the waterfall area for her entire life. Thank goodness she helped us out to reach the summit.

When we finally made it to the top. We cooled off by drenching ourselves under the water fall. It was so refreshing. We where drenched in sweat from the rough terrain we had just faced. After relaxing for an hour or so we decended the falls and met back up with the family.

We sat for awhile because again we where extrememly exhausted and alittle bunged up from the falling we did on the slip rocks. Thankfully no injuries.

When we got back to Nha Trang we cleaned up before dinner. Hong's parents took us out for Pho, a vietnamese noodle soup with beef. The rest of the family had eatten while we where adventuring around the waterfalls. We had the entire bus to ourselves. We took a night tour of the city on the bus to see the coastline at night.

Following dinner we met up with Hong's friends at the hotel to head out on the town. We then went to the night market where we purchased fresh mangos, asian pears, pineapple, and my favorite, dragon fruit. I absolutley love the fresh fruit in Vietnam its always a treat.

We all where exhausted from the adventures and we decided to call it another early night to recoop from the rough day.

Will update with pictures as soon as I cant get to a better internet connection!