Honeymoon in the 'Nam

So where could possibly even be MORE romantic than Bali??? How about Vietnam?! We purchased our plane tickets there with our Aeroplan points, and got to fly business class for the first time. And it was SO worth it. It actually makes flying FUN (which might also have to do with unlimited free booze). In the airport lounge they even had a free breakfast buffet! How awesome is that? While they did have some toast and similar items, they also served Pad Thai, and Congee (rice pudding - and not the good kind). By the time we landed in Vietnam I was stuffed, and slightly hungover. Good times!

Hanoi is an absolutely beautiful city. Colonized by the French, the architecture and cuisine has a decidedly French twist. Women selling pastries and baguettes on the streets are a constant feature all over town, and ornate wrought iron and mouldings are over many of the older buildings. It was a cosmopolitan city, lots of trees, great shopping, and pretty awesome museums.
My favourite was definitely the Military History Museum. The museum featured items from their ancient past, up until the present day, obviously with an emphasis on the Vietnam War. It was quite exciting and eye-opening to hear about the war from the point of view of theNorth Vietnamese. The photos of American protests to the war featured strongly...and boosted the morale of the Vietnamese to see there was so much dischord within the American public. The outdoor display of captured and shot down American planes, choppers, and artillery was really stunning. They included stats on how many aircraft were shot down by Vietnamese soldiers, which was really shocking. The most upsetting items on display

was the clothing of killed US Airmen, as well as their ID cards and personal effects. I couldn't help but wonder if their families had any idea their son's final effects were in a display triumphant display in a Hanoi Museum. Other items included the clothing of children who had been shot and bombed by the Americans, as well as colonial French helmets, samurai swords and a variety of bicycles used in various wars. Quite fabulous overall!

Soooo....we're married!

So by the time I've gotten around to writing this, its pretty much old news. Well, 21 days old by my Facebook counter anyway. Getting married this way was definitely a good idea. So relaxed, so laid back, and so....us. I guess neither of us could imagine having a huge wedding with all the bells and whistles, and years of planning and budgeting, not to mention the insane stress-factor. This could not have been any LESS stressful. We started the day with a long hike, then just relaxed for the afternoon, got cleaned up, and got hitched! We just wanted the day to be about us, and about our love for each other, and avoid all the other drama and pitfalls that can so easily happen. So it was a pretty fabulous day. And even though it rained (HARD), it was still perfect.

Bali - Part 2 - The Resort

Since we were in Bali for a few days to get married and have a mini-honeymoon, we decided to go all out. We stayed at The Four Seasons Sayan. Located in the central part of the island, which is the cultural centre of Bali, as well as its agricultrual heartland. Mostly jungle, there are also many rice paddies surrounding the village. Its amazing. The entrance to the hotel is enough to blow your mind. To get into the main building you must cross a walkway that is placed high above a jungle valley. The views are spectacular.

The building has a very modern design which blends into the landscape. For the first two nights we stayed in a suite. Each suite has 2 levels, and 2 patios overlooking the Ayung River. The last 3 nights we had a villa with a private plunge pool overlooking the valley. It was fabulous! And peaceful...at least for the first night. Our visit happened to coincide with a local Hindu Festival. Which is cool, except it meant that from sundown to sunup, for two nights, we had to listen to the most bizzarre stuff being blasted on loudspeakers across the village. Traditional Hindu music is okay with me, but the creepy laughtracks were...creepy, and the whistling was really insane. I couldn't wait to go home and get a good night's sleep!

The most impressive thing about the hotel was the level of service. Everyone knows your name! For the first two days I was Miss O'Mara. And by 5pm the third day I was Mrs. Hurren. People we hadn't even interacted with knew us on sight! It was incredible! I even asked the manager if there was a photo of us behind the desk that the staff had to study! He laughed, and said it was Balinese culture...they are just really great with faces.

On our last day we checked out and went to the Hotel's Jimbaran location, which was conveniently closer to the airport to kill time. There we sat on the beach all day, soaked in the sun and generally relaxed. They even provide showers for us before flying out. While we loved Jimbaran, we preferred the Sayan location...it had a much more chill vibe that I loved. And the nibblies at the bar were better in Sayan!

Bali - Part 1 - The Journey

We flew to Bali on ValuAir. It was such a value that they didn't even have printers! Our boarding passes were HAND WRITTEN. That has GOT to be some kind of security violation! Our luggage tags...also hand written. Our flight cost: all in for both of us, $666.00. That has got to be unlucky.

But we arrived n Bali safe and sound a couple of hours later. And so did our bags.

It was about an hour drive to our hotel from the airport, and the infrastructure in the country is less than perfect. Tons of motorbikes, no lights, no barriers, nothing. Bare bones. We asked our driver if there are a lot of accidents, and he replies, "Oh yes, there are more people killed on the road every year than in the Bali bombings of 2002! Haha!". Uh yah. Great stat. Thanks.

We arrived at our hotel about 11 pm. It was quite dark so we couldn't see much, but we didn't fail to notice the INTENSE security to get into the resort. We were stopped, searched by a bomb dog, examined with those mirrors on a stick, and questioned. Felt quite safe. NOT!

But it was all done with the friendliest smiles and saluations, so I guess that's okay. At least they didn't check our bags. That was likely due to our innocent appearance. Being born white pays off again!

Weird Things that are Different - Part 3 - Television

I have been meaning to write about this topic for quite awhile. I find many things about watching the tube here interesting:

1. Programming
TV in our apartment is definitely slanted toward an Anglo viewer. We have History Channel, Discovery Channel, MTV and other things you would likely be familiar with. The difference is that these shows all have a distinctively Asian twist: History spends more time airing stuff on Asian historical events than European or Canadian ones. The Discovery Channel airs more shows on Travel and local flora and fauna than back home (obviously)

Also, America has imported some of its best, and some of its worst shows. CSI airs here at least twice a day for EACH spinoff show (awesome). Law & Order also airs daily (awesome-r), even Oprah is on daily, Family Guy, Seinfeld, and the Simpsons!

But there are also soooo many bad American shows that it is almost embarrassing: TNA Wresting airs ALL night EVERY Saturday, along with WWE and Smackdown - which might be the same thing...I have no idea. And ever wonder what happens to unsuccessful shows with only a season or two back home? Yep! They get picked up in Asia and shown ad nauseum. For example: Bionic Woman, Terminator: The Sarah Connors Story, Dirt, etc etc.

2. Commercials
I dont know what the laws are, but commercials here are completely different. They don't advertise products, only other TV shows. Its strange, but much preferable, in my opinion.

Also, the skip a lot of commercials. Like every other commercial during Oprah is just skipped. They fade to black and then reappear instantly. So what do they do with the leftover time since they dont take up the full hour? you might ask. Simple...show clips from other shows! Other Oprah shows, clips from a movie, or a little interview with a Hollywood Starlet.

3. Random

They play the same shows on at the same time, every night. For example, they will play the whole season of Lost in 2 weeks. Cause a new episode is aired every day. Which is great, unless you are busy one night a week..then you're totally confused! They do this with Amazing Race, Last Comic Standing and many other shows. So when they run out of new shows, they just take it off the air and replace it with something else! So you can never really bet on your fav show at all. So annoying!

4. Subtitles

If a show is in English, it is subtitled in Mandarin. After awhile you don't even notice, but I have to wonder how they can possibly read all those characters so quickly!
If a show is in Japanese or any other language, it is subtitled in English. This is because most people here also speak English.

Overall, this is far too much analysis of television, and I'm kind of embarrassed for having written this at all.

But there you have it! Everything you wanted to know about TV in Singapore!

Singapore's Top 10

I have come to notice simply by watching MTV Asia that Singaporeans have the most questionable taste in music. This does not include any reviews of the current Mandarin or Japanese hits, only the largest English-language hits, (I think we can all agree that I am not equipped to judge the likes of Jay Chou or Prince Michael!) I think you may be surprised at what made MTVs top 10 songs this week:

• "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow" Randy Jackson feat. Paula Abdul
• "No Air" Jordin Sparks feat Chris Brown
• "All Amercian Girl" Carrie Underwood
• "Like Whoa" Aly & AJ
• "Outta My Head" Ashlee Simpson
• "Hands on Me" Vanessa Carleton
• "Feels like Tonight" Daughtry
• "Slow me Down" Emmy Rossum (who I believe played Christine in the movie adaptation of the Phantom of the Opera)
• "Run the Show" Kat Deluna
• "Touch my Body" Mariah Carey

Its unfortunate that I only got around to writing this list this week...because the songs that were in the top 10 even 2 weeks ago were even worse (like that awful Colby Caillat song...you know "starts in my toes and I wrinkle my nose, and it comes and goes and I already know, and thats a good show and I like snow" song) Simple Plan and Avril Lavigne are also super popular. I am by no means a music snob...but listening to the radio in this country is like listening to nails on a chalkboard. North America is just not quite exporting their best, in my humble opinion.

Shuffle Shuffle Spin!

Every Saturday, our building is home to a bizarre and wonderful phenomenon. Weekly, from 6:30 until 9 pm, Singaporeans from all over the city state gather here to do 1 thing: line dance.
Its true! We noticed them since our arrival, however never got sneaky enough to take any pictures. But we HAD to...because the sight is just so ridiculous that you wouldn't believe me unless I had concrete proof.

Last night we got bold enough to take a few shots.

Notice the man in the white shirt and jeans... he seems to be the ringleader. Everyone pays a fee to him to dance every week, which likely goes to paying the DJ and equipment rental. And yes, there IS equipment. And lots of it!

Last night we also saw a couple in matching Stars and Stripes mustang shirts and matching hats, and matching white cowboy boots. Its a good look!