Chinese people in China (vs. overseas Chinese) seem to have a love affair with wearing pajamas in public, despite government pressure to stop. Someone once explained to me that only richer people can afford pajamas, so they're kind of a sign of affluence. Anyway, I saw this guy today playing badminton in a hutong (old alley neighborhoods) in his pajamas. Maybe his neighbors think he's cool, but I think he looks silly.

I've regularly seen covers like this protecting wheels on parked cars in Beijing, but I've never known what they were for.

Today, my friend Stacy pointed out to me that they're to keep dogs from peeing on the wheels! Sure enough, a high percentage of uncovered wheels looked like this on the street we were on today. Who lets their dog pee on cars? Gross.

Saw this restaurant sign today in a hutong (traditional alley/neighborhood) in Beijing. I don't think they really serve dog (as a meal), but the sign is a bit confusing. The Chinese words don't shed any additional clues (it just says "Small Love").

One of these things is not like the others...

I haven't shot flowers for a long time, especially with an extension tube (which allows you to focus must closer, resulting in a better close-up). The morning we spent at the Singapore Botanical Garden gave me a great opportunity to play with my gear and get some OK flower shots.

 

Singapore is at the crossroads of many cultures. Aside from it's recent history as a British colony, S'pore is between Malaysia and Indonesia; they've also had huge populations of Chinese and Indians. In addition to the national cultures, I think most of the major world religions are represented in force. In many ways, Singapore is proof to me that people can actually get along. Anyway, here some random snaps I took around the island that illustrate the richness of the culture.

A sign with all four official languages of Singapore: English, Chinese, Malay, and Tamil.

Sultan Mosque

Older building around Arab Street.
 

Shop sign in Arab Street

Dressmaker services near Arab Street

Outdoor, seaside dining at East Shore.

Store sign in Little India

Frieze on Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple in Little India

Menu board showing Indian fish head curry, a local favorite.

A few weeks ago my family and another family went down to Singapore and Indonesia for Spring Break. Michelle and I went to Singapore for our honeymoon many, many years ago. Singapore is one of the best places I've ever eaten in the world thanks to their diverse culture and high standards. Everyone I've ever met from Singapore was a foodie. That said, among the embarrassment of riches in Singapore, since our honeymoon we've both dreamed about the quintessential Singaporean local dining experience: hawker stalls.

These are food centers, like a food court but standalone instead of in a shopping mall (althought there are awesome food courts in Singapore too like Food Republic.) There are dozens of stalls cooking a range of food that mirrors Singapore's diversity: chili crab, pepper crab, satays, grilled seafood, curries, roti, shaved ice, ramen, Chinese vegetables, and more. Other stalls have beers, awesome limeade drinks, and other drinks. Each table has a number on it. You choose a table and then go from shop to shop ordering and leaving your table number. They'll deliver the food, which is when you pay.

Newton Circus is probably the best known and most popular among tourists; it's convenient and very good (and nice on pleasant evenings since they have outdoor seating). However, we really preferred the more local Chomp Chomp. Aside from the obviously awesome name, the food was better and the scene less touristy/pushy. Many, many thanks to our friend Meng who recommended Chomp Chomp and other fantastic places to eat.

The entrance to Chomp Chomp.

The scene at Chomp Chomp:
 

A master at work grilling chicken wings over a wood coal fire; he's using the fan to help control the heat.

Grilled (huge) prawns

The most awesome pork and beef satays as they're meant to be: hot, bite-sized, and in quantity.

This was perhaps the consensus favorite: grilled skate wing covered in sambal sauce (kind of a chili sauce). The bowl of heavenly goodness to the left is peanut sauce for dredging satays though. My mouth is watering as I write this.

The other thing we really all loved was chili crab, with a side of fried rolls for sopping up every drop of the mind-blowing sauce. Unfortunately, I couldn't hold myself back long enough to take a photo before diving into the messy, spicy treat. Chinese vegetables stir-fried with sambal sauce were also ridiculously good.

Hawker stalls are local food at its best -- inexpensive, a reflection of the society and land, and just plain awesome.

Here's a sign near our apartment in Beijing. Apparently, the construction project behind this sign isn't really the best.

I saw this ad near our apartment in Beijing. Not quite sure what they're really advertising, but it looks like the robot had a tough night of drinking and is not talking on the porcelain telephone to God. ("Oh God, <cough cough> oh God...")

I saw this ANA 747 on the tarmac at Haneda Airport in Tokyo yesterday. Pretty cute! Too bad the kids weren't with me to see this.

As I mentioned in yesterday's post on Chinese New Year fireworks in Beijing, the action is fast and furious and often very close to buildings. Last night, The Place, a shopping mall across the street from our apartment put on an hour-long show in the bike lane directly in front of their buildings. We watched from our apartment for a while, then Andrew (12) and I went down to the street to get a front-row view.

It was absolutely nutty as you can see from the photos. The flaming bits regularly hit the buildings with some parts flying up over the buildings on nearby rooftops. I suppose it's not a real danger, but it did give me pause. I don't think you'd ever see this in the US; maybe we're just too wimpy...

View from our apartment:

At street level you can see how close these are to the buildings.

This is a 1/90th second shot (pretty short for fireworks shots). You can see how bright it got. Lots of boom.

Andrew really enjoyed watching the fireworks up close.