Archive for July, 2012

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Travel By Book: Bryson’s Britain

July 31, 2012

Posted by Kanga.

Bryson, Bill. Notes from a small island. London: Black Swan, 1996. Print.

During this two week stay at home vacation I am visiting Britain through the eyes of Bill Bryson. We have a very similar sense of humor and perspective on the world, so reading a Bryson book usually results in my laughing out loud and then reading the passage aloud for DaddyBird.

Bryson is at his best when he is making up words, like imaginary (but believable) place names – the Buggered Ploughman pub, Ram’s Droppings bypass, or the rail crossing at Great Shagging. Or mocking the formality of a restaurant menu by asking for “a lustre of water freshly drawn from the house tap and presented au nature in a cylinder of glass.”

His description of Daniel’s department store in Windsor makes me want to explore it. The sad part is that it is probably not there anymore. In this book Bryson is describing his “farewell tour” of Britain in the early 90’s. He combines flashbacks to the 70’s when he first arrived in England and his 90’s observations giving a taste of nostalgia for the things already lost to the passage of time. His travel plan was to use only public transportation (bus and train), but 1990’s reality was that much of the public transport network had disappeared.

Travel by book means that I have no pictures to show my daily adventure. However, having been to Britain a time or two, I will slip in one of my favorite pictures from a previous trip.

street in Southwark

Southwark, London 2009

Posted in books, England, travel adventures | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments »

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Jigsaw Puzzle Cat

July 29, 2012

Posted by Kanga.

white cat laying next to a jigsaw puzzle box

As I am on vacation, I decided to do a puzzle. Oliver, of course, decided to help. He wasn’t crazy about the fact that I wouldn’t let him chew the puzzle pieces.

puzzle almost done, except for the sky section

It always comes down to the sky pieces, doesn’t it?

white cat sitting in the puzzle box

Oliver is being very helpful by holding down the puzzle box. Boxes have a powerful cat gravity.

white cat sitting on the partially assembled puzzle

Then he decided to be unhelpful.

completed puzzle

But, I finished in spite of his help.

Posted in cats, toys | Tagged , | 3 Comments »

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UPDATED: How to be a Happy Boy

July 28, 2012

Posted by Kanga. (With input by DaddyBird below.)

One evening we were exploring the bookstores of Fujairah. Bookstores do have a few books, but they are mostly stationary supplies. Some of the stock looks as if it has been on the shelf for 30-40 years. It can be an amazing adventure.

In one of the stores we saw this poster. It was tacked up above the shelving where educational posters were stored. We searched through the shelves for a copy to purchase, but did not find one. We went away, disappointed. But, the next time we were in the store, DaddyBird asked the storekeeper for one. He looked and was unsuccessful, as we had been. DaddyBird then asked if we could buy this one. It took a little convincing because the storekeeper couldn’t fathom that we would want it. In the end he gave it to us for free, because it was old and dusty. Who knows how long it had been tacked up there. We would have gladly paid, but accepted his offer.

poster showing things a good boy should do

A happy boy:

  • Love his father and respect him
  • Love and help his mother
  • Help the poor people
  • Love his friends and help them
  • Love his brothers and sisters and respect them
  • Cut his nails
  • Visit the sick in hospital
  • Brush his teeth morning and evening
  • Help the old people

I’m glad that fingernail hygiene rates up there with respecting people and visiting the sick.

DADDYBIRD’S INPUT: In addition to the poster being old and dusty, the storekeeper didn’t want to sell it to us because it was damaged. He said it had been cut down so it was small enough that it could be displayed within one of the panes of the front window of the store- the “Happy Boy” title had originally been at the top of the poster, but was cut out during the process and glued in its current position- and it was naturally faded and sun-damaged from having been in the window for some time. I’m glad that he relented and gave it to us when we convinced him that we really did like it and want it, but I certainly wasn’t expecting to get it for free! (We did buy a number of other items while we were there, including another similar educational poster that had not been modified. We’ll post a photo of that one soon as well.)
It’s a delightful poster to me. It reminds me very much of the the sorts of posters I used at times in the past when I was teaching Christian Sunday School in America, even though this particular poster is aimed at an Islamic and Arab audience. Despite the differing contexts, the message is much the same. So I like the poster on its own merits of wise content and endearing presentation, but also for the bit of nostalgia it invokes for me.

Posted in culture, Fujairah, Shopping, signs | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment »

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Golden Fork

July 21, 2012

Posted by Kanga.

A new Golden Fork restaurant opened in Fujairah recently. Of course, we had to try it out.

two soup bowls

Not knowing the size of items, we ordered too much food, starting with soup. I had the corn soup and DaddyBird had a seafood bisque.

plate of three spring rolls

Followed by vegetable spring rolls.

grilled salmon, fried rice, tapsilog

Then the rest arrived – grilled salmon, fried rice, and tapsilog (rice, fried egg, beef). The waitress was cute when DaddyBird ordered tapsilog. She didn’t think he understood what he was ordering because it is a Filipino dish and she didn’t expect a big white guy to order it. It wasn’t strange or spicy, so I am not sure what the potential problem might have been.

Golden Fork is a Filipino restaurant chain. Filipino food strikes me as a strange mix of the exotic and mundane. Seafood and white toast/peas/carrots. I suppose that from their perspective the seafood is the mundane and the white bread/peas/carrots are the exotic foods brought in by the colonizers.

Posted in food, Fujairah, restaurant | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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Shopping for Pinkos

July 20, 2012

Posted by Kanga.

mall store named Pinko

If you are old enough to remember the Cold War, this store name probably has more meaning than they intended.

Uranus travel and tours business sign

When you run out of vacation spots on Earth, there’s always Uranus.

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Déjà Vu

July 15, 2012

Posted by Kanga.

Remember this in Singapore?

three towers with a structure across the top connecting them

This is in Abu Dhabi –

three towers under construction with a connecting structure across the top

Gate Towers at Shams Abu Dhabi on Reem Island

Posted in Abu Dhabi, construction, Singapore | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment »

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Vacation Reading

July 13, 2012

Posted by Kanga.

You may not be dying to know what I read during vacation, but I’m gonna tell you anyway.

First, some context:
1. I am a high school librarian, so I tend to read children’s and young adult’s literature.
2. My students are all male and the epitome of reluctant readers. English is not their first language.
3. They are interested in horror and scary stuff. Due to cultural sensitivity concerns, I have to read the books before adding to the library collection.

Two Demonata series books by Darren Shan, Skulduggery Pleasant: Death Bringer by Derek Landy, Death Note vol. 2, A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

The two books by Darren Shan are actually four books (double bound editions, two titles per book) in the Demonata series. I attended a session by Darren Shan at the Emirates Airlines Festival of Literature. I decided to try his books, now I’m hooked. The characters are believable, well-developed, and easily relatable. They may not make the best decisions, but that’s what makes them realistic.

Skulduggery Pleasant: The Death Bringer is number six in the Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy. I enjoy this series because it is smartly written, witty, egalitarian, and action packed. I generally tune out during fight scenes in movies and books, but the fight scenes Derek Landy writes are gripping and easy to visualize. I especially like his villains who can be incredibly funny, Vaurien Scapegrace being the king of hilarious villains. Valkyrie Caine is a marvelous, strong female lead character. She is the anti-Bella. She may make some bad boyfriend decisions, but she’s honest with herself about how bad those decisions are. I haven’t finished this volume, yet, mainly because of it’s physical format. It is too big and heavy to travel in my purse, so it is a recliner/bedside only read, which limits the amount of time I have to read it.

Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba is the first manga series that I have enjoyed. It is well written and the plot line is interesting. I have only read the first two volumes of the total 13. I’m curious to see where the plot goes from here. Graphic novels, in general, usually put me to sleep. Reading them seems to be more tasking for me than straight text. The few manga titles that I have tried before this were either too complicated with new characters being added each volume or poorly written with characters yelling at each other in non-sensical ways.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness travelled along with me, but technically I didn’t read it on vacation. I have read it before and intended a second read, but my obsession with the Darren Shan books got in the way. The main character of this book is a young boy, so it has been labelled as “young adult fiction” when the truth is that adults can enjoy and appreciate it. It takes on chaos, family dynamics, and death – some serious issues. It is an unpredictable story and told in a very creative way. It has won awards for both the text and the illustrations. This is a highly recommended read, in my opinion.

Travelling via Books

I’ll be taking another three weeks of vacation in August, but we’ll be staying home. My plan is to travel by reading. I’m looking to select a few titles for my book vacation. If you have a specific title you can recommend, please post it in a comment. I’m looking to travel to other countries, cultures, times, or planets via fiction or non-fiction.

Posted in books | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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The Road Home

July 10, 2012

Posted by Kanga.

silver tear drops

Singapore Airport has the best piece of public art. It is hundreds of silver tear drops, each suspended on a transparent thread and animated to move up and down in a variety of patterns. Very zen.

silver tear drops

It was mesmerizing. We could have easily missed our plane while watching it.

silver tear drops

Luckily, we tore ourselves away and made it back to Dubai safe and sound. Our plan for getting back to Fujairah from Dubai was a reverse of how we got there (taxi – bus – taxi). We fully expected to have a long wait in the heat waiting for the bus, however, we could not have timed it better if we tried. We arrived at the bus stop at 2:40 pm. A bus was waiting and it departed at 2:45 with us on it.

view of the front of the bus from inside

Posted in Dubai, Fujairah, Singapore, travel adventures | Tagged , , | Leave a Comment »

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Singapore: Days Twelve & Thirteen

July 7, 2012

Posted by Kanga.

With only two days to go and a long list of things we hadn’t done, I had to beg off for a bit of a rest, so most of day 12 was spent with my feet up. Then, it was time for dinner.

plate of salmon, tuna, and octopus sashimi

Our friend, Adrianna, guided us on our evening repast adventure. First we stopped for a snack of sashimi. Our final destination was a small Japanese restaurant (Restaurant Chako) in which it is best to call/email ahead to get your order in, because everything is prepared fresh, even the sauces. Therefore, dinner can take a few hours to complete. (We all forgot to take pictures of the appetizers – oops! We had edamame [soy beans], shishamo [small grilled fish], and maguro yamakake [raw tuna with yam sauce])

soup containing mushroom, shrimp, oyster, calamari, tofu, and more

DaddyBird’s dinner was yosenabe (claypot soup with seafood, chicken, mushroom, and tofu).

eel, scrambled egg, rice

Adrianna’s dinner was unatamaju (broiled eel on scrambled egg and rice).

mackerel, breaded chicken, breaded cuttlefish, rice, salad

I had the Chako set meal (mackerel, breaded chicken, breaded cuttlefish, rice, cabbage salad, potato salad, miso soup, etc.).

tempura shrimp and vegetables

We added tempura moriawase (shrimp and vegetables). It was all very delicious. Everything was prepared fresh and it doesn’t get more authentic than this.

sliced fruit and a round gelatin dessert

We capped it all off with several desserts. Above is coffee flavored gelatin, below is green tea ice cream. Not pictured – cappuccino ice cream and black sesame ice cream. The black sesame ice cream was really interesting – almost more savory than sweet.

sliced fruit and green ice cream

Our plan for the last day was to go to the bird park, but when we woke up it was raining heavily, so change of plans. The Asian Civilizations Museum was within walking distance of our hotel and offered an escape from the rain.

walkway bordered by trees on the right and an ivy covered wall on the left

The rain had let up briefly, so it was a pleasant walk down the riverside.

carved dragon head

We joined a tour that was starting when we arrived. The subject was the influence and use of Chinese art and style in other cultures.

white and blue porcelain elephant with metal additions turning it into a Turkish hookah base

This elephant is Chinese porcelain that was then modified in Turkey with the addition of the metal parts changing it into a hookah base (shisha pipe).

calligraphy artwork in the shape of a lioness

The museum presents all cultures and religions of Asia.

white bowl with blue decoration and Arabic calligraphy

This bowl was made in Iraq attempting to emulate Chinese porcelain, but instead creating a unique and beautiful piece with a style of it’s own.

We left with a long list of places we didn’t go and things we didn’t do, but we enjoyed Singapore very much and will probably go back again.

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Singapore: Day Eleven

July 4, 2012

Posted by Kanga.

display case showing pork buns

The day began with a metro train trip to Chinatown and pork buns.

two pork buns partially eaten

These were not just steamed, but also seared for a crusty outside. Tasty!

pigeons eating rice from an abandoned plate

These pigeons had found the motherlode in the food court and were eating as fast as they could.

people lined up at a food booth

DaddyBird chose his lunch based on the length of the line at this food booth without knowing exactly what he was going to get.

soup with fish balls and tofu

This is what he ended up with -soup with fish balls and tofu.

soup with noodles and greens

I got a similar soup with greens and noodles from a different food stall.

three towers with a structure across the top connecting them

Our tourist activity of the day was to go to the top of the Marina Bay Sands Towers to the Skypark observation deck.

man taking a picture of the sunset

We purposely got there just before sunset so we could see it in daylight and night time.

view of the road below from the observation deck

The view straight down (Kris this one’s for you.)

tourists sitting on the observation deck

This is what people think of the “Do Not Sit on the Deck” signs. Let me rant a bit here about how stupid it is to create a tourist attraction without places to sit down. It is really rude, in my opinion. Tourists are on their feet all day and deserve a place to rest, especially if you want them to stick around (and spend money).

Singapore Flyer ferris wheel lighted at night

The Singapore Flyer lit up at night.

skyscrapers across the bay lit up after dark

The view across the bay.

restaurant menu

Dinner included burgers.

burger with a lot of fixings cut in half

They claim to be healthy, but the only clarification in the menu or signage was that they are not prepared ahead and kept under a heat lamp. No claims of organic or low fat ingredients. No whole grain buns. So, there is room to improve the “healthy” factor. (Correction: DaddyBird says that whole grain buns were an option listed in the menu.)

burger with lots of fixings cut in half

It looks more like a Dagwood sandwich than a burger. The patty was savory, which seems to be hard to come by in my burger experiences.

chili, cheese, fries

The chili cheese fries also beg the “healthy” factor. They tasted good, but the chili was not hot enough to melt the cheese.

Posted in food, Singapore, travel adventures | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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