Introducing "Onions"

Last day of Guoming Jie and my friend Rob was in town for a couple days on his way to Indonesia.  He wanted to head out to the Great Wall, so it was back to Jinshanling.  We had a beautiful day.

So when you date somebody, it's not "official" until one of your friends meets the significant other.  The trip to the wall was Eric's coming out as the guy I am dating.  Here's Rob (left) and Lu Jiacong (which sounds like Lu "add onions" so I've nicknamed him "Onions".

Yeah, he's shorter than me.  But in many ways he's the more mature of the two of us.

Yes, my suggestion.

It started out as a joke but now is a daily work tradition.  But I send him a selfie and include a word or phrase that we've talked about or joked about.  Here's the first set.

"Colonoscopy"

"Hot Pot"

"Singapore"

"Fasting"

"Hungry"

"Logarithm"

"Sushi"

"Raisins were mailed"

Singapore Highlight - Meeting Vincent and his Friends

So, through the power of social media, I sign on and start chatting with a guy named Vincent.  We go out to dinner one night, and then the next day he texts me and invites me out to dinner with all of his friends.

All six are gay and are kind of like their own Singapore version of "Sex In the City".  The two of the left are twins.

We went to eat......Beijing style Chinese food.  That's Justin in the center and Joseph on the right.

The reason for the dinner was.......

To say good bye to their friend Joseph.  Joseph is the boyfriend, and soon to be husband of an American who had lived in Singapore for six years.  The American moved back to the States last year. But then because the US Supreme Court ruled that the US immigration laws had to recognize marriages from all states that allow gay marriage, Joseph is moving to the States to get married in Connecticut.  And thereby be able to apply for a visa, then a green card and eventually become a United States citizen.  It's amazing how the US Supreme Court affects lives all around the world.  The dinner was so great, as Joseph's friends were asking him about his new life and what he's excited about and scared about.  Friends taking care of a friend.  I was honored to be invited and it was such a great way to see real people's lives in Singapore.

Scenes of Singapore

Marl, Alan and I ordering Indian food from an iPAD. I had never seen this before.  Is this the future of restaurant service?

After strolling through Little India and an Arab neighborhood, the three of us ended up at the famed Raffles Hotel.  Stepping inside was like entering Britain.

The most expensive fruit punch drinks ever.....the virgin Singapore Sling at the Raffles Hotel.

The next day, Marlene and I visited Har Paw Villa.

It is the estate of the man who invented (maybe) and marketed (definitely) Tiger Balm.

The scenes in the villa gardens remind visitors of Chinese legends, creating myths and fables.  Here is one about filial piety, where the son, his knees, prays hard enough to free his mother from imprisonment.

Lin Ze Wu who is famous for his anti-drug campaigns and his attempt to stand up to the British importation of opium into China.

Ring ONCE for prosperity!

The man on the left helps a tortoise back into the water.....

Years later, the tortoise saves the man from a sinking ship.

Two friends in the woods come upon a bear, the one flees and leaves his friend, who survives by playing dead.  A fable of bravery and false friendship.

Along the southern coast of Singapore is a greenbelt.  There is some fascinating architecture, one of them being this wooden bridge.

It's called the Henderson Waves bridge. 

The bridge looks cooler lit up at night, but alas, we didn't see it, only pictures.

Looking out across Singapore and a cool set of new apartment buildings that Marl pointed out.

....Only in Singapore

The greenbelt also has a forest walk where there is a long set of pathways at tree top level.

Back at the subway.....this is how serious Singapore is about their graduation exam.  It's not a college entrance exam...it's a test to pass out of high school.

Gardens By the Bay -- Singapore

Cloud Forest Building

You enter in and are greeted by this amazing waterfall.  The cloud forest simulates....cloud forests, those forests that grow at high altitudes.

Start by walking around the base, which simulates the forest floor, plants that don't need much sunlight.

Then, an elevator to the top of the "mountain"

Venus Flytrap!

From the top, you walk down the ramps through the mist.

The Cloud Forest Building is part of the Gardens By the Bay Complex, which is from reclaimed land.  The Marina Bay is protected by the Marina Barrage, which is the dam and it's complex with the green (grass) roof.

I LOVE industrial and engineering things....probably more than nature.

I wanted to go INTO the pumphouse, but it's not allowed.

Getting onto the roof.

One of the other sites of the Gardens by the Bay are these "Supertrees".  They serve as both decoration and serve all the functions of a normal tree...photosynthesis, rainwater collection, etc.  The plants are slowing grown up the trunk.

There is an aerial walkway between the trees. 

At night, the trees put on a light show.  Every night at 745PM and 845PM.  No need to change the time for the seasons....as Singapore is 1 degree North latitude.  Singapore is the nearest to the equator I have ever been.