Being so far away is a double-edged sword. With US politics being so depressing and overwhelming, its nice that I can just step away from the internet and have a break from it all (which I am assume is much harder to do if you’re physically in the US).
Its a different story when the news is more personal. In the same day, I found out that 2 wonderful people had passed away. When things like this happen, I really feel the distance… 12-15 hours time change makes it difficult to connect with anyone. And while Facebook used to be an adequate medium for staying in touch, its now a relentless source of bad news – death, sickness, hate crimes, and panic-inducing political updates. Its more painful than comforting to wade through it all.
Aunt Ellen was quite old and had been suffering from Alzheimers for years. Even after she no longer recognized anyone, she was always kind and full of joy. She always knew what to say or do to make the people around her happy.
When I was younger, her house was always the most fun – we would get the dogs fired up and have them run after me, skidding across the floors and barking. She had a room full of pachinko and some antique parlour games that I loved to play with… one day, I accidentally pulled one over onto myself and was crying because I thought I broke something valuable, but her concern was just that I was ok.
She was the kind of person who sent me a fondue pot, just because its frivulous and fun she knew I’d love it. She gave me the ring off her finger because I commented on how much I liked it. And when my grandfather was dying, she insisted on taking me to lunch away from the depressing hospital waiting room, because she knew I needed a break. I wish I tried harder to do more for her.
Kit was only a few years older than me. He had been battling cancer for several years, and recently taken a turn for the worse. Though he was a quiet person, he was outgoing in his own way and part of such a large community of folks. He & Kirk came to my Zumba class regularly, were always out dancing at Space Cowboy events, and willing to attend any costume party (no matter how ridiculous the theme). I don’t think I ever saw Kit without a smile on his face.
His husband, Kirk, has been unbelievably strong throughout all the chemo treatments, and did everything he could to help Kit make the most of his last days. I can’t even begin to imagine how he’s feeling or how he managed to be so brave. I hope he’s surrounded by some of the many people who love him and loved Kit – my heart breaks for him.
In my continued adventures of Zumba Around The World…
Our stay in Penang was going to be almost 3 weeks, so I was hoping I could find some great classes. I started off emailing a bunch of local instructors since I was faced with my usual troubles of trying to find accurate class info or places that don’t require monthly memberships. Only 2 instructors wrote me back.
One of the instructors let me know about a fitness studio that was having a “3 hour Halloween party” which was very close to where we were staying and open to non-members. The studio was small but had lots of mirrors, huge windows on one side, a decent sound system and small platform for the instructor… it looked promising.
As soon as the class started, I was dismayed to learn:
There was no A/C in the studio and the windows barely opened. (Penang is incredibly hot and humid, so even with the help of some fans it still felt like we were doing Zumba in a greenhouse.)
They actually intended to Zumba for 3 hours (without any breaks). My assumption was that it would be around 90 minutes of Zumba and then a party… even instructor trainings have breaks built into them!
The instructors were all in costume, which was cute. And some of the students dressed up too. (Sadly, I had no costuming with me.) I give props to the guy who never took off the Jason mask or put down the plastic axe while he lead songs. Not all the outfits were as successful, though… Ladies, if you’re going to Zumba in costume, try out some moves at home first to make sure you’re not over-exposing yourself!
There was definitely not enough cueing happening and people just weren’t moving much, including the instructors… its like they were tip-toeing around the room. Granted, if you’re going to do Zumba for 3 hours in a sauna, you do have to pace yourself!
After 90 minutes it was so crowded that I could no longer see the instructor despite trying to move to different spots in the room. And I was so sweaty it felt like I could wring out my clothes, so I called it a night.
The studio had a $20 new student registration fee, and then a 10 class minimum purchase so this wasn’t going to be my home base for our visit.
Trends
Unfortunately, I saw some common themes: not enough cueing, not cueing early enough, or verbal cueing. While the majority of instructors here are great dancers with sharp movements, that is only part of the formula for having a great class… we are repeatedly told in instructor trainings “its not about how good you look, its about your students having fun”. And your students aren’t going to have fun if they are frustrated, confused, or embarassed because they don’t know which move to do next. I pick up choreography very quickly, so if I can’t follow someone, I can only imagine how frustrated others are. And verbal cueing just isn’t as successful (even if you’re wearing a mic) since its so hard to hear over the music.
(The exception to this was Lisa – I highly recommend taking a class with her if you can.)
Classes rarely start on time here, which seems to just be how things are but it still annoys me. Even at gyms where the studios are booked back-to-back, classes often start late.
And I’ve seen too many instances of instructors prepping their playlists in the middle of class (or even when every song ends). If you must mess around with your playlist, do it before you start class or at a water break to minimize interruptions – this will ensure students’ don’t get confused about whether or not the song is done, and their heartrates will stay up since they will keep moving.
Strong by Zumba
This is a new style of class by Zumba: music-driven interval training. It is not at all like dancing – its entirely fitness-based movements like squats, lunges, crunches, etc. but the timing with the music is unlike any other exercise class I’ve ever experienced. I was initially unenthusiastic as I am such a fan of dancing, but Melissa worked some Strong routines into her class, and I have to admit, I loved it. (And my abs were sore the next day!)
I had a great time at Melissa’s class at Jatomi Fitness – it was a very friendly group in a huge studio in a very nice gym. I wound up leading about 6 songs, while Melissa did a number of Strong routines and we all had a great time!
Goofy, sweaty, post-class photo with Melissa’s fun group!
Auntie Mee Mee
One of the women I met in Melissa’s class was Mee Mee. She’s pretty much the queen of the gym – she knows all the instructors, all the gym staff, and all the regular gym-goers. She seems to be always smiling and having fun.
She took me under her wing and was quick to let the teachers know that I am also an instructor. She tried to get me a free 1 week pass to the gym, and when they said that promotion was over, she offered to sneak me into the gym with her if I couldn’t find something that worked – ha!
She’s in great shape and goes to the gym almost every day – I hope I am just as active (and happy) when I reach her age!
Bellydancing Class
As a former bellydancer, I am always hesitant to go to bellydance classes at a gym as its usually someone inexperienced leading the class, or so much compromised technique it makes me cringe. However, I had a free morning so I went to one, despite my reservations.
The instructor, Lisa Lim, is a fantastic bellydancer and also a Zumba instructor. She did a very impressive job trying to teach bellydance technique while keeping it light and fun and accessible to everyone.
Other than the rare impromptu dance around my apartment, I hadn’t done any bellydancing in years so it was a nice surprise to see my body still remembered the movements. It was a small class full of enthusiastic women and they were all very welcoming. So all in all, I really enjoyed it!
Occupy Beach Street
Every Sunday morning, the city closes down about 3 blocks of Beach Street “to popularize the idea of healthy living” and “emphasize the importance of social interactions” (plus 5 other objectives). One of the fitness studios was doing a one hour Zumba class there, so despite the humidity, I went to check it out.
I think at least 100 people were there (including Mee Mee), dancing in the streets! They were rotating instructors every few songs, and everyone was instantly sweaty and having fun even though it was crazy crowded.
Some of the many other Zumba students
Unfortunately, the Beach Street organizers decided to interrupt the class about 40 minutes in to give some speeches and have an opening ritual. I think they were so excited about how many people were there (as the street was otherwise empty) that they wanted to take advantage of the audience.
Everyone immediately ignored all the speakers and took selfies with each other. Then there was some taiko drumming which was actually good, but at this point 20 minutes had gone by and people started leaving. They said they would start up more Zumba again “soon”, but then they started taking a bunch of different official photos (almost like a wedding)… most of the attendees were as annoyed as I was and people were leaving rapidly, so I also bailed. Hopefully next time the organizers won’t disrupt their own success!
Fun with Sue
My good friend Sue came to meet me in Penang. She was formerly my bellydancing teacher, then troupemate, has come to my Zumba class since day one, and is always game for trying out any kind of dance class.
We first went to Lisa’s Zumba class. As I already mentioned, Lisa is easy to follow so we both managed to keep up pretty well even though we didn’t know a single routine. And even when we got a little lost, we managed to improv our way through it!
On our last day in town, we decided to try something called Sh’bam… it looked very similar to Zumba so we gave it a shot. The instructor, Mabelle, was really easy to follow. The music was very similar (and sometimes identical) to Zumba, so at least that was familiar even through the choreography was different. We were able to pick it up quickly and I think at some point we were distracting Mabelle by embellishing the choreo.
We loved watching the other students and seeing how much fun they were having. The guy behind us was super into it but always seemed to be one beat off… so the room would jump right and then a second later his head popped up as he followed. He was having the best time and not at all self-conscious – we loved watching him.
All in all, it was a great way to end my workout time in Penang!
Short-term Options
If you find yourself in Penang and are looking for Zumba options (that don’t require monthly committments), here’s what I found:
Chi Fitness will give you one free trial class (register on their website), and offers a pay-as-you-go plan for about $9.50/day (or cheaper if you buy 5 or more). They have quite a lot of Zumba classes, and a number of locations throughout Pengang.
Jatomi Fitness also offers a free trial class on their website. And though its not advertised, you can get a 2 week membership for about $28 (and no registration fee). They have a large dance studio with mirrors, A/C, a platform for the instructor, and mats if needed (which the staff cleans after every class). The gym itself is a massive space with floor-to-ceiling windows facing the ocean, nice equipment and a decent locker room.
Zero Fitness: when I emailed them to get more info, they offered to let me pay a walk-in price of about $4/class (even though they usually require a monthly membership). They have Zumba every day of the week, so its worth reaching out to them.
I also came across a few one-off events open to the public. My best bet was searching Facebook for events in the area or just going to a class and talking to other students.
We originally decided to come to Penang because my long-time friend Sue heard there was great food and nice beaches and lots of street art. Sue was originally my bellydancing teacher (about 16 years ago) which evolved into being troupemates and great friends. After this plan came together, my friend Dave said he also wanted to meet up. Dave and I met in high school in England (though he is originally Australian and now lives in SF). Sue & Dave picked overlapping dates so it was incredibly nice to spend some time with two very close friends, especially during the election… There was no need for superficial travel talk – we jumped right past that to politics (lots and lots of politics), life plans, and inappropriate jokes/insults.
We used Dave’s arrival as an excuse to check into a cute little boutique hotel in the middle of the Heritage area. It was walkable to all the street art and best food spots, plus there was so much free stuff in the hotel I doubt we’d have a chance to try it all – breakfast, afternoon tea, wine on the roof deck in the evening, movies & popcorn & ice cream at night. (We did make it to wine one night, and now we understand why it was free… everything else was great, though!)
Penang Hill
One thing all the locals mentioned was going up Penang Hill for a view of the city. We bought tickets for the funicular, which was a surprisingly fast trip to the top (it only took about 10 minutes to get to 833 meters/2700 feet).
Once there, you were rewarded with a decent view of George Town… but not much else. There was a small collection of hawker stalls selling food, a hindu temple, and then a bunch of strange tourist attractions like an “owl museum” (which was just sculpture of owls, based on the posters), a “typhoon experience” (still not sure what that was), and stalls selling annoying bird whistles to children or wax sculptures of your own hands (why?).
At the top of Penang Hill
We had a quick look at the temple and saw some wild monkeys behind it. I also had what turned out to be the best coconut milkshake of the trip before Dave suggested we try walking down. The top of the trail looked like a nice, wide paved path of stairs. I knew that this was deceptive, yet I still agreed to follow the guys anyways (in my sundress and sandals, carrying my purse).
About 90 minutes later we finally made it to the midway station, sweaty and filthy. As predicted, the nice path rapidly deteriorated into a steep, muddy slope. At one point, I nearly slipped into what I can only assume was a river of sewage based on the smell. There were plenty of mosquitos plus many other large insects along the way. (Why do I keep doing this to myself?!) On the plus side, we did see more wild monkeys. While I have to admit it was much more exciting this way, I was very happy to take the funicular the rest of the way down.
You can see Dave on the”path” to the left… to the right is a small river of sewage surrounded by slippery cement.
Food Tour
Once Sue arrived we signed on for a Penang Food Tour. Given that Sue can’t eat cilantro, Dave is allergic to peanuts and I am vegetarian, it seemed wise to get a guide. (The German eats everything and loves spicy food, so at least one of us made it easy on them.)
We spent 4 hours going to 5 different stops and ate entirely too much food. The locals don’t have any prescribed order, so it started with dessert, then appetizers, some salted fruit, then “dinner”, and the final stop included Indian desserts and curry (presented in that order). It was a great way to hit all the culinary highlights in one night, and we all tried things we never would have otherwise ordered. It was certainly worth doing, and we were much more prepared for the hawker centres for the rest of the trip!
Fried tofu on the left, fried meaty things on the right
Glutunous rice covered in peanuts – considered a savoury snack
One of the Indian desserts – a paper dosa with sweet syrup dripping down it
Icy coconut milk with noodles made from rice & coconut, plus beans
Batu Ferringhi
We planned to spend a couple nights at the beach town of Batu Ferringhi. (No connection to the Ferengi race from Star Trek.)
We started in an AirBnB on the beach with a huge pool that we rarely had to share with anyone. Though it rained every day, the storms came and left quickly. The German was fascinated that Sue & I, who have been residing in drought-plagued California for decades, were so excited by all the thunder & lightening.
We seemed to alternate between hanging out by the pool, spending lots of time on the internet, or drinking away our election worries.
One Friday afternoon we found a great beach bar with a nice view of the water and the sunset. Just as we received our drinks, a thick cloud of smoke started to move in… our waiter quickly ushered us closer to shore where they had a roof and fans, but the smell was getting more and more noxious. The staff all started to cover their noses and mouths with clothing or napkins – not a good sign. It turns out the city decided to “fog” for mosquitos… right around sunset when the beach was full of people! I’m pretty sure my lungs are now mosquito-proof. (Yuck)
The cover to Dave’s forthcoming album, My Lungs are Black from Batu
Ridiculous Photos
Sue and I never shy away from a photo opportunity and Penang provided plenty of material to work with… the highlight was the “Upside Down Museum”, where they help you take ridiculous photos in strange environments. (It’s like it was made for us, honestly.) But there was also a lot of street art and random statues, which we out to good use!
Sue gets a cuddle
Jummy Choo was from Penang – who knew?
The German had a pretty amazing version of this, but forbid me from posting it.
Sue hitches a ride
24 Hours in KL
We had 24 hours in Kuala Lumpur with Sue after Dave went back to SF. We were pleasantly surprised to find our 2 bedroom hotel room was larger than two SF apartments put together. It had a great view of the city from the 46th floor and was nicely appointed – we immediately regretted we were only there for one night!
The enourmous living room
View from one of the bedrooms
We ventured out for coffee and a snack. I discovered we were very close to a vegetarian hawker center, which meant I could try any of the local dishes without fear of accidental prawns or surprise sausage. I loved it so much that I went back the next morning and had curried noodles for breakfast – they were that good.
Vegetarian Curried Mee AND napkins – all in one place! Unbelievable!
Afterwards, we got caught in a crazy flash flood – it turned from blue skies to torrential rain in the blink of an eye. We called an Uber to get us to the Pertronas Towers (the 88 story twin towers with an amazing view of KL) and in the few seconds it took me to dash out and check the license plate, I was soaked… it looked like I had just taken a shower or that we had been walking through the rain for hours. Our Uber driver carefully negotiated flooded streets to get us there. So that’s our excuse for looking so ridiculous in the photos.
Sue model the Petronas Towers Con
Obligtory Tower selfie
Conuring our best Harry Potter spell
Struggling to muster enthusiasm to enter the A/C when we are dripping wet
We wisely chose to hunker down in our awesome hotel room with wine & cheese after that.
Departure Drama
I think Malaysia liked us, as each of us had our own version of departure dramas. Dave missed his outgoing flight entirely – he misread the departure time, and didn’t realize it until an hour before his departure (and we were an hour away from the airport).
The German & I had a flight out of KL a couple hours after Sue’s so we all went to the airport together. Everything was going well, until at some point our Uber driver decided to bypass the airport and drive us to the middle of nowhere. (The German was reading on his phone and Sue & I were chatting away in the back seat as we approached the airport, so I’m not sure where it all went wrong.) As the driver blew past a sign indicating a turn to the airport and headed down a dirt road, we tried to correct him but he was reluctant to listen to us. We got to the airport an hour before Sue’s departure, which was cutting it a little close but she made it just fine.
Breathing a sigh of relief that Sue made it ok, The German and I leisurely headed to check in to our flight to Bangkok. Unfortunately, we didn’t have exit plans solidified for Thailand, so they denied us our boarding pass. Thanks to all of our UAL miles we were able to sort that out without spending a fortune, but it turned out to be lucky that we had some extra time!
I was excited that The German was able to get us lounge access thanks to his BA status – a glass of sparkling wine was necessary after all the departure stress!
I’m not even sure what to say about this one… It was amazing to have my good friends Dave & Sue here, but suffice to say a good portion of our time was spent discussing the election. I kept saying it had the makings of a bad joke… “A German, an Australian and 2 Americans were at a rooftop bar in Malaysia…”
Sue took advantage of early voting in SF before she left, and I (hopefully) managed to get in my vote from Singapore via the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot program. The German and Dave were both in the US on work visas, so not eligible to vote.
Bring 16 hours ahead of California had its benefits and its disavantages. All of us woke up early on the 9th, checking for results before they even started coming in. We went out for coffee but ultimately decided we were too glued to our phones so we should just go back to the hotel where at least we had booze and wifi. (The German and I had the foresight to stock up in advance for the occassion.) We hunkered down on the roof deck with a bottle of vodka, our preferred internet devices and news sources.
Despite lots of jokes on the preceeding days, we were all in shock that Trump actually won. It was tough not to be in the US to help comfort our friends and family, but also good to have some distance to process the events. Media coverage slowed considerably when the US was sleeping, so it gave us some relief and the ability to collect our thoughts without feeling the need to constantly search the media for more info.
This wasn’t the President I wanted, however enough people in America did and that is eye-opening. I still can’t believe that voters either support his misogynist, racist, hypocritical remarks, or are so desparate for change that they would overlook those traits (plus his terrible track record in business) and still elect him. Either way, it is hard for me to see anything but a sad state of affairs.
Less than 56% of eligible voters participated in the election. It is so important that people participate within the system, and also use other means to influence the results. Whether or not you like the system, it is your money that funds it, your voice that influences it, and you benefit from all the services provided – whether its fire fighting, roadworks, public schools, etc. And there were many things on the ballot besides President, yet so many opted not to participate. I really wish it was mandatory to vote (like in Australia).
More than ever before, I am motivated to try and make the US a better place – so many people were so unhappy with the candidates that they couldn’t bother to vote, or so desperate for change they voted for someone like Trump – we must make things better.
At the same time, I have zero desire to move back to there when my travel is over… I just don’t think it’s a place that I want to be right now.
If you aren’t registered to vote, please register now. If you qualify for citizenship but never bothered to deal with the paperwork, start now – your tax money is going to this government whether or not you vote, so you should make your voice heard.
Please be kind to each other and help those in need. It is breaking my heart to hear about all of the hate crimes occuring. Never before have they been so close to home – friends of friends are being targeted for being homosexual, a woman on BART is being threatened just for speaking a middle eastern language on her phone. It is disappointing that Trump hasn’t tried to discourage this behaviour, given that he fueled it during his campaign. While there’s no sense worrying about things that haven’t happened yet, there are plenty of horrible things taking place right now. Please look out for each other.
When we entered Singapore, we needed to have exit plans in order to secure our visas. We made plans to rendezvous with some SF folks in Penang in early November and accommodation looked good and cheap, so we decided to spend some extra time in George Town. It’s not yet clear if that was a mistake.
Our first AirBnB was nicely furnished, had ample space, very fast wifi and was only about $75/night. It had floor to ceiling windows looking out over the bay, and though it was a little south of George Town, it was in an area with lots of restaurants and bars and at least 4 coffee shops within 2 blocks.
While it looked great, it had an equal amount of issues… We went from having the nicest kitchen imaginable at our pet sitting place in Singapore, to one of the worst. The fridge was dorm-room sized, which was a challenge even though we don’t really cook that much. (I broke a bottle of wine when it tumbled out of the over-stuffed fridge – tragedy!) The electric kettle nearly caught fire, smoking and cinging the wall outlet. The cutlery was barely a step above disposable and constantly falling apart in our hands, and the single-burner cooker was a mystery to use.
It was also surprisngly noisy for being on the 20th floor… I expect it’s all the A/C units, but there was constant rumbling coming from the walls that I couldn’t manage to ignore. And we resorted to sleeping on a mattress on the floor due to the uncomfortable bed and uncontrollable A/C. So not exactly amazing, but we have stayed in much worse.
Street Art
Penang is known for 2 things: food and street art. The street art actually started with a government-initiated project to celebrate the history and people of Penang. So in other words, the goverment hired artists to come grafitti up the town to encourage tourism. It has grown considerably since then, and you see groups of people wandering the streets in late afternoon/early evening (once the temperture had cooled slightly) to take photos with the most famous pieces.
I loved how many of them incorporated real objects – chairs, motorbikes, swings, etc. The less-famous pieces were just as delightful, and so many of them included cats!
Holidays
Its very interesting to experience unusual holidays, or see how other cultures experience familiar holidays. In Singapore, we only passed one bar with any kind of Halloween decorations and the Christmas lights were already going up in mid October. In Penang, some bars promoted Halloween party on the preceeding Saturday night, but Diwali is apparant everywhere.
Halloween has always been my favourite holiday. Candy & costumes – what’s not to love?! It is a particularly huge holiday in SF (usually spanning a week) and I’m especially missing my friends and all the fun costumes they create each year. I am sad that it was nothing more than a regular day here – no costumes, no parties, no pantless nun handing me candy. Even worse, there was torrential rains and flooded streets, so any attempts to find some Halloween activities were thwarted.
That said, Diwali has been exciting to witness since it has taken over the whole town. There are a lot of lights on the street and fireworks started at 12:01am on Oct 29th and went until dawn. These aren’t the huge 4th of July-style displays, but rather a constant popping of smaller explosions (which we were initially worried was gunfire – guess I’m still American at heart!). From our AirBnB we had a view of most of George Town plus mainland Malaysia, and we could see the colourful bursts exploding all around.
Plus this thing was parked in front of our building all week… I’m assuming its related to Diwali.
The Food
We got off to a bit of a rocky start with food. Shopping in one of the largest grocery stores didn’t yield very good quality or selection of produce. Despite seeing chickens on the side of the road, even the eggs didn’t seem very fresh. We also made some poor choices on eating out – partially due to our first AirBnB location, and partially due to my vegetarianism. (Most of the local dishes are based on meat or seafood… when I asked for something “vegetarian”, I wound up with prawns.)
We did ultimately find some good spots for local food, though, and now I understand why Penang is so well-known for it. There is a very popular Indian place that is open 24 hours – the curries were flavourful and the naan was some of the best I’ve ever had. We also found a cafe that did vegetarian versions of more traditional dishes – I loved the coconut stew with tofu (instead of seafood). There is a Din Tai Fung (famous for dumplings) which was even better (and cheaper) than the one we went to in Singapore. And coconut ice cream is fresh, amazing and everywhere.
Vegetarian Laksa
Big buns!
XLB filled with chocolate!
(Western) chocolate cake next to a loca dessert of glutunous rice with coconut
Coconut veggie stew with tofu
The Number 4…
…is unlucky here. In Chinese, the word for “four” is very close to the word for “death”. So in buildings, the floors are numbered: 3, 3A, 5 and 13, 13A, 15.
So far, everyone has been very nice and most things are cheap. Our accommodation hasn’t been entirely comfortable (the second one had a kitchen stocked primarily with saucers and unreliable wifi) but it could be worse.
We have been saving a lot of the tourist activities for when our friends arrive… I am very excited to see Dave & Sue!
Its been a few years since I’ve lived with a dog. First and foremost, I am reminded of how low-maintance cats are. 🙂
Roxy
Roxy is a young Australian cattle dog mix. She’s very sweet and also very energetic. Unfortunately, there are few places in Singapore where dogs can be off-leash (and I’m not about to break any rules in Singapore). I think she would love a place to run and play with other dogs, but there just aren’t any nearby.
I suspect this is partially because many adults are afraid of dogs… Roxy is not very big and her tail is always wagging, but adults will look visibly nervous, cower, and even cross the street when they see us on a walk. One day, I encountered a woman walking a schnauzer. The dogs seemed interested in each othr, but when Roxy went over to say hello, the girl quickly jumped away and told me she was scared of dogs… despite actively walking one! So bizarre!
The other thing that could be throwing everyone off is that I’m white. Singapore expat familiess often have “helpers” – these are live-in help, women usually from the Phillipines or Sri Lanka, who take care of the pets, cooking, cleaning, shopping, childcare, etc. Based on what I’ve seen, they are the only ones taking the dogs for walks.
The helper industry is an interesting one. It is heavily regulated by the government, ensuring that helpers get one day a week off (typically Sunday) or compensated for working extra. This is why the lavish champagne brunches happen on Sundays, and hotels often have a room where people can leave their children while they eat. The helper’s employer must provide health care, all food & accommodation, airfare for a yearly trip home, plus an annual bonus. The helpers seem to get paid somewhere around $500-$700/month, and then the employer must pay the government an additional $200/month.
This is the typical size of the herlper’s bedroom (There is a small attached bathroom to the right.)
The helper’s quarters seem awfully small and I’m sure the hours are long, but based on what people have told me, many of them support their entire extended families on what they earn. And the goverment oversight helps ensure people don’t get taken advantage of (hopefully).
I find it all fascinating. (And obviously, this family doesn’t have a helper or they wouldn’t need us to pet sit.) I tried to be friendly to the girls I saw walking other dogs, and while they would return a smile or “hello”, I also got the sense they weren’t sure what to make of me.
It was nice to see what it could be like to live in Singapore (albeit a 5 bedroom house with a private pool is probably not in the cards for us). The metro is fast and cheap and easy to use, and there are enough opportunities for Zumba classes. However, diets are so different here that many of my staples (decent cheese, hummus) are difficult to find, plus wine/alchohol is super expensive as the government taxes it heavily. That said, there’s plenty of places to get good (and cheap) Asian and Indian food. We both agree that we could certainly live here if the right opportunity presented itself, though the humidity would take some getting used to. (After 3 weeks there, it still seemed overwhelming every time we stepped out of the house.)
The Zoo
Singapore is home to the best zoo in the world (at least I think so). Last time I was there I was blown away by how few cages they have. I really think this can only happen because people never break the rules – in the US, so many of the barriers are necessary to protect the animals from people, more than the people from the animals.
The orangutans have a network of vines so they hang out above your head.
They have a part of the zoo that is only open at night, appropriately named the Night Safari. Its much smaller than the main zoo, but a really unique experience since its mainly nocturnal animals. They have a free tram that runs through part of the park, and then walking paths which cover the rest of it.
Its a great chance to see different kinds of animals, and they have tried their best to minimize cages wherever possible. While sometimes it was hard to spot the animals in the dark, other times they were incredibly close… you felt the rush of air on your face as the free-range bats flew past you, and the tram went through several open areas for antelope and other hoofstock who were close enough to touch if you just reached your arm out (which no one did since they repeatedly reminded you to not touch the wildlife, and no one breaks the rules here because punishments are severe).
These rules afe strictly followed in the metro…
They don’t beat around the bush with the language.
There were many kinds of animals I’ve never seen before, or even heard of. They had a pangolin (a critically endangered mammal that looks like it’s related to an armadillo), binturongs (a “bear cat” which they said smelled like popcorn, but I think popcorn smells good and this animal certainly does not), slow loris (who are not slow at all), markhors (the world’s largest wild goat), and sloth bear (who also surprisingly active, given their name).And there were plenty of big cats, who were much more active at night.
Taking photos was a challenge due to the low light, but it was also good to just enjoy the animals without messing with your phone. Howeever, I did get one good one:
The bats put on quite a show…
Molecular Gastronomy
Singapore is home to many Michelin-rated restaurants and celebrity chefs. My current (lack of) paycheck doesn’t support an excessive amount of those indulgences, but we have found that we prefer to be conservative on accommodation costs in favour of eating well.
I couldn’t resist going to the Tippling Club. Its a molecular gastronomy dining experience, and I’m happy to report it did not disappoint – from the scented cocktail menu to the gorgeously plated, creative cuisine. One highlight was a tomato, basil and olive oil “lava lamp” – presented as a soup shot, the basil slowly bubbled to the top just like the name suggeted. It was all so fun! We sat at the counter and watched the open kitchen and also had a pleasant chat with the chef. I highly recommend it.
Surprisngly, not poop! Charred peppers with a miso sauce
“Air Baguette” filled with cheese foam and topped with hazelnut caviar
This martini had 4 different flavours, depending on which side of the glass you sipped from
Basil lava lamp
Beets and burrata
Strawberry cheesecake (in pill form)
The palette-cleanser of sorbet
Tonka bean galette
Garden City
Singapore is said to be “a city in a garden, not a garden in a city”… the humidity and regular rainfall means everything is naturally very lush. But nature doesn’t get all of the credit – Prime Minister Lee Kwan Yu in the early 60s outlined a vision to “transform Singapore into a city with abundant lush greenery and a clean environment in order to make life more pleasant for the people” (and presumably encourage tourism and foreign investment). Elaborate landscaping is evident everywhere – even the plants in the medians are well-considered and cared for.
Gardens By The Bay is one of many examples of the government’s committment to engaging people about the environment and greening the city. The 250 acre park only opened in 2011. The highlights are the two glass conservatories which give you a very surreal impression of being on another planet. They are pleasantly cool on the inside, contain plants and flowers from all over the world, and have no interior columns so you have clear views of both the plants inside and the tall buildings of Singapore outside.
Both conservatories were designed to have a minimal footprint on the environment – rainwater is collected from the buildings and sent to the cooling system, which is powered by the Supertrees in the middle of the park. These tree-like structures are vertical gardens with a massive array of solar cells. The solar energy is used to power most of the park.
Its a gorgeous display of plants and a strong message about the environment and conservation. Even if you don’t usually get excited about flowers, it’s still worth a visit.
ArtScience Museum
We were already intrigued by the unusual lotus flower-inspired building that is the ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands. Once we saw a poster for an exhibit called “Future World: Where Art Meets Science”, we figured we had to go.
The Future World exhibit wasn’t quite what we had hoped for… it looked like it would be a bunch of cool, immersive, interactive art. However, a lot of the exhibits lacked the polish and performance we’ve come to expect from technology. Children seemed highly engaged, though, and the ideas behind a lot of the pieces were interesting even if the execution could be improved.
The final piece, which was a LED-filled room intended to make you feel immersed in the cosmos, was particularly fantastic and made up for any disappointment in some of the other pieces.
It’s full of stars…
Lucky for us, there was also a MC Escher retrospective. It was fascinating to see how his work evolved into the impossible scenes he is reknowned for. The gallery did a great job with the installations and added their own interactive elements to it:
Chinatown Bars
Sriram & Tanya decided we were missing some quintessential Singapore experiences, so we headed to Din Tai Fung to eat our weight in dumplings. They are quite a famous chain and I can see why – the dumplings and steamed buns were all excellent! There is an army of highly trained chefs making them to order, and surprising amount of vegetarian options.
We then headed to Chinatown, which recently has become a destination for hipster cocktail bars. One place required a password to enter, then you had to find the door in a mirrored box in order to get through to the bar area. Another had really creative tea-infused cocktails in a laundry-themed environment. It was fun to explore the city and nice to feel like we were having a normal Friday night out with friends.
The washing machines were showing videos of laundry.
Platinum Movie Experience
I had seen promotions for a “platinum movie experience” so we decided to check it out. It is comparable to the difference between First Class and Economy on a flight.
You have a special place to collect your tickets, and a pre-show lounge that looks similar to a business class lounge in an airport (minus the free champagne, unfortunately).
The seats were ridiculously enourmous, reclined almost flat, and came with cozy blankets. And there was a promo running to get free snacks, so all said and done, it didn’t wind up being that expensive.
The seats really did look like this. (Thanks to The Cathay for the image.)
The food & drink wasn’t nearly as good as somewhere like the Alamo Drafthouse, but it was still a fun twist on a movie outing. And the theatre only had 32 seats in it, so we never had to deal with crowds or people talking or someone kicking your chair.
So now we are headed to Malaysia. We are planning to spend the next 6-8 weeks exploring SouthEast Asia. I’ve never had a strong pull to any of those countries, so I’m going in with little information and no preconceived notions about what it will be like… I know it will be cheap, warm, and food will be good but cheese will probably be in short supply.
After failing to make it to any classes in Dubai, I was determined to get back into action in Singapore. Its was a mixed bag, especially in comparison to Cape Town, who really spoiled me.
I did my usual pre-arrival emails to local instructors. I discovered a large amount of incorrect/incomplete info on zumba.com… its surprising how many people don’t keep their class info up to date! How do they find new students? Is it entirely through word of mouth?
I also came across quite a lot of “requires a membership” venues, and not just for gyms… dance and yoga studios either had mandatory year-long memberships or made you purchase packages of classes. I was struggling to find anything that would work for a short visit. (one place was around $15,000 to join… it was more than just a gym, but still!)
Hip Hop/”Swag Fitness”
My first success was Rhomeiny’s class. I found him through zumba.com but he let me know in advance that he was in the process of transitioning his class to something he calls “Swag Fitness”. It’s predominantly hip hop and pop music, and the choroeography is more complex than Zumba but it is still easier than a regular hip hop class. I figured I’d give it a shot.
Overall, I loved the music and enjoyed the challenge of more complex routines. There wasn’t as much cueing, though, so suffice to say I was the white girl bumbling around in the back of the room. The toughest part is that he used a lot of the same music as I did for Zumba (like Dessert and Shawty Got Moves), but the routines were totally different. This meant my body wanted to do something other than what my brain was telling it to do, which often manifested in some less-than-graceful results. Still, the class was a lot of fun and I imagine it would get easier over time (especially some of the crazy footwork).
Jammin’ with Gerald
I managed to secure a spot at a Jam Session with a Singapore instructor, Gerald. (Jam Sessions are classes held for Zumba instructors to learn new choreography.) In addition to leading jam sessions, he teaches regular classes every day of the week. He knew everyone in the room by name – I suspect he’s a local Zumba celebrity.
It was a generously-sized studio for 30+ instructors, with plenty of mirrors and a platform for Gerald so it was easy to see him. He was super-sassy and very positive – I loved his sense of humour and all 4 of his routines were great (which is a rarity for a jam session – usually there’s at least one I don’t love.)
The session was non-stop for over 3 hours. (Typically there’s at least one break built in.) We rarely stopped moving! First we all danced through the 4 songs, then broke down and repeated the individual sections, and then everyone took turns leading them. Gerald was particularly organized how he handled who led which song, which I appreciated. I was surprised (though exhausted) when the time was up!
I love that he set a theme, even though I didn’t have any camouflague workout clothes.
Zumba with Erich
Classes here are pretty expensive… anywhere from $11-$15 (or more). I was excited to find I could do a free demo class at True Yoga, which in addition to offering a million yoga classes also has some Zumba. Erich’s class was a lot of fun. He did a lot of pantomiming to the song lyrics (including pretending to take shots) and ended every song with sassy poses. I absolutely loved it, of course, but I felt a bit bad as the other women in the class weren’t as enthusiastic about all the campy fun.
The studios were all gorgeous and they have very nice facilities – they provide towels, yoga matts, and have a lounge with free wifi and drinks in it. Unfortunately, the smallest number of classes I could buy came down to $29/class, so I won’t be going back.
1Fiesta Zumba
Halfway through our visit I moved to our pet-sitting gig across town, which meant starting all over again with the class hunt or spend over an hour going to and from each class. I was excited to find a studio closeby, but then disappointed when it appeared it was actually of business (despite still having events posted on MeetUp.com and a website advertising classes). Sigh.
Luckily, I discovered 1Fiesta who offered drop-in classes in 5 different locations around the city. They offer multiple classes every day and have a bunch of different instructors (like Gerald).
Some classes were better than others, and that’s partially because of the attendees. I wound up in one mid-week morning class that was mostly older ladies. The class was so shoulder-shimmy inept that the instructor tried breaking it down for them. These women barely moved the entire time… the instructor was trying her best to amp them up and I was trying to be extra-energetic to support her, yet they were somehow just sucking the life out of us.
Tomomi’s class was particularly good. She’s very high-impact so I got a great workout, plus my arms were sore the next day (a rarity!). I was a little worried as I was the tallest (at 5’6) and whitest woman amoung the 40 students, but Tomomi was easy to follow so I didn’t stick out at all.
And Gerald’s regular class was just as great as his jam session – he’s got an enthusiastic group and he is very playful with everyone. And as you’d expect, he’s very easy to follow.
Classes in Singapore are very quiet. No clapping at the end of song or cheering or singing along or shouting “hey”… I’m not looking for a cheerleading squad, but its a little weird that its absolutely dead silent between songs.
One instructor was trying so hard to get her class to make any noise at all, I thought I’d compensate for their silence with my booming American voice. It was comical – the two of us shouting, call & response style, in a room full of slient people. It was almost like I had Zumba tourettes.
Classes At A Gym: Zumba, Kpop, HipHop
I had to buy some additional workout clothes since I was going to class so much (and was tired of doing laundry every day). At the shop, they gave me a 7 day pass to a local gym. I was especially excited as not only was it free access to some Zumba classes, but it would only take 20 minutes to get there (whereas the other studios were 40 minutes away or further).
I should have known it would be too good to be true. Just finding the gym in the massive mall was problematic. Then I had to deal with a very pushy sales guy. He didn’t listen to anything I said about my experience or fitness goals, gave me a half-hearted tour (which included no practical info, like how to sign up for the classes), followed by a hard press to sign up for 12 months (even though I hadn’t even used the gym yet). When I repeated that I wasn’t a permanant resident, he was reluctant to honour the pass and then badgered me to give him names & phone numbers of friends he could call and try and sell memberships to!
While the gym had a great view of the harbour, the facilities were pretty tired. The dance studio was nice, but the gym equipment was old and the locker room was far from inviting. And they don’t keep the class schedule updated, so you might show up for a Zumba class and find that it’s something else.
The first class there was with Tomomi, so at least I got one great Zumba class for all the time I spent trying to get the guest pass out of them.
Later in the week I went for a class which was called “Kpop” (with no supporting description). I assumed it would be like Zumba, but in reality it felt more like a dance workshop for professional dancers learning music video choreography… except that everyone in the room was far from being a professional dancer.
In less than an hour she tried to teach us 40 seconds of very fast choroeography for the chorus of this music video (:58-1:38). (I have new respect for those girls in the video – they make it look easy!) The moves were cute, but she was going through them really quickly, not breaking them down very much, and not giving us much time to run them. I’d wager she spent as much time cueing up music as we did dancing.
Suffice to say, everyone in the room was lost. It wasn’t even clear when we should start dancing since she wasn’t always counting us in. And then there was a part where you supposed to trade places with the person next to you… people were literally bumping into each other.
Then she very abruptly proclaimed it was the last run-through. We all bumbled through it one last time, then she grabbed her stuff, and ran out the door. No cool down, no “thanks for coming”, nothing. It was very odd.
Since I didn’t feel like I got any kind of a workout, I decided to stay for the next class. The schedule said Zumba but when I went to the front desk to sign up for it, they let me know it was going to be Swag Fitness instead. (Why can’t anyone provide accurate info here?!) At least this was a pleasant surprise. While his format is certainly a little harder than Zumba, it seemed like a breeze compared to the Kpop class and I was certainly glad I stuck around for it!
So while it took a lot of effort (and commute time) on my part, I did manage to go to 4 classes a week throughout our stay! I also spent some time recording myself and then watching it back for places where my movements could be cleaner or my cueing could be better. (We used to do this for bellydancing all the time – why have I not done this for Zumba before now!?) It was a little tough to watch, but a very useful exercise. I definitely want to continue doing this.
Next up is Penang, Malaysia… its a much smaller place, but I know they have Zumba there. Fingers crossed I can find some drop-in opportunities!
We took a red-eye from Dubai to Singapore on Singapore Air, which is now my favourite airline. Even in economy, the flight was actually pleasant!
While you’re watching a movie, the remote displays the remaining flight time.
When we booked the flight, I was surprised at the selection of meals they had available – everything from specific allergies, to religious meals, to non-carb, and of course, vegetarain. The flight attendants were all very friendly (and have some pretty nice uniforms, too). And the seats were well-designed… there’s a cup-holder for your drink, a small mirror embedded in the tray table, and the entertainment system had a cool second-screen display on the remote. Considering it was an economy flight, this is the best food we’ve had, the largest pillows & blankets, and the most leg room. If you have the chance, I highly recommend flying them.
Singapore feels really easy to me. I know this is partially because I’ve been here before (unlike Dubai or Cape Town), but also because its so clean and safe, easy to get around, and everyone speaks English. I’m particularly impressed with the metro, which is very cheap and easy to use – we went across town for less than $1 and the driverless trains are always perfectly punctual. People even stand back and let others exit before getting on! So civilized!
We started our visit by staying near Orchard Road, which is the main shopping street. After Dubai, I didn’t really need any more mall time, but there were also lots of dance classes in the area, cinemas, restaurants, etc., plus easy access to many other parts of the city.
I jumped at the chance to go see Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (the latest Tim Burton film). The Chinese subtitles were only slightly distracting, and the large cinema had really nice reclining seats with headrests. I loved the film and would like to pay a visit to wherever Miss Peregrine shops. While Singapore is far from being a cheap city, we later relalized we paid less than $13 for the 2 tickets, so it was nice to learn that not everything is expensive here.
We met up with a former Apple colleague who lives in Singapore. It was great to see him and meet his wife. They took us for our first “hawker center” experience. Its basically a bunch of food stalls – kind of like if food trucks never moved – so you have access to all kinds of tasty food for very reasonable prices. Satay (aka “meat on a stick”) is very popular, plus there’s Indian, Japanese, Chinese, etc. And its all very affordable.
The German enjoying the meat-fest!
And then there was a stall which sold “cold desserts”, which sounded very appealing in the extremely muggy weather. This turned out to be shaved ice with all sorts of strange toppings, including corn, red beans, coconut milk, etc. After the third bite of indistinguishable gummy stuff, The German declared he’d had enough.
They tasted as strange as they looked.
We followed it up with a drink at the sister bar to a place we loved in Cape Town. It was Friday night and everyone was out on the streets. Its so nice to be out late and not worry about which streets we walked down or how we were going to get home.
Our former colleague, Sriram, and his wife Tanya at Operation Dagger
One of the highlights from my last visit to Singapore was the champagne brunch at the Grand Hyatt. More than a buffet, they have 7 different cooking stations where chefs are preparing sushi, malaysian cuisine, british-style roasts, eggs, oysters, etc. The cheese table was an impressive array of imported cheese and accompaniments, and I could go on for days about the desserts, which seemed to run the length of the dining room. And the best part? Every time you took 2 sips of your Perrier-Joeut champagne, they were there to top up your glass! We stayed for hours, then took tipsy selfies on the way back to pass out at the hotel.
This is about one-third of the dessert selection
Cheese, glorious, cheese!
I’ve never seen so much caviar in one places (though I am vegetarian)
Now we’ve moved into an incredible house in a residential part of the western side of the city. Some American expats that I found through Trusted Housesitters needed a dog and cat sitter for 10 days. We were pleased to discover that not only are the people and the animals very nice, but the house is a gorgeous modern home with a pool table, small swimming pool and blazingly fast wifi, plus its just a short walk to the metro.
We took a red-eye flight from Cape Town to Dubai. Emirates was easily the nicest economy flight I’ve had – the plane was clean and in very good condition, the in-seat entertainment system was remarkably easy to use and had an option for viewing exterior cameras (which I love), the food was decent, and the people were incredibly nice. The Emirates flight attendants are some of the few who still exude glamour to me… from the red lipstick to the well-tailored uniforms.
Despite all of that, a 9.5 overnight flight means we arrived feeling completely exhausted, even though it was only a 2 hour time change. Our first day was spent basically bumbling around and making mistakes.
We chose the slowest moving line at immigration – so much so that our luggage was sitting alone next to the empty conveyor when we finally got to it.
I got selected for a random luggage xray at customs, where they decided to go through all of my stuff to extract the water purifier I was carrying. (Its essentially a battery-powered UV light that makes tap water drinkable.) They started to confiscate it, and after I inquired why, it became clear that they had no idea what it was. Once I gave a small demo, they let me keep it.
We then went to get a taxi to our hotel, and through a confusing series of interactions wound up in a black car instead. I did try resisting but they assured me it was the same price as a regular taxi (which was a lie – it was triple the price). Sigh. Welcome to Dubai!
It really is hot as an oven here, and humid as well. And this is the mild season – in summer its usually around 113° every day. Hotels have to chill the pools to keep them at a swimmable temperature, and all of the bus stops are air-conditioned. Pretty much everyone minimizes their time outdoors until the sun sets, so we did what the locals do and went to the Dubai Mall.
This is the largest mall in the world (by size, not by number of stores). It includes an aquarium, a waterfall, a cinema, an ice skating rink, 1200 stores and a bunch of restaurants, salons, etc. Just outside there’s a great view of the Burj Khalifa, and they also have some dancing fountains (like the ones at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, only much bigger – supposedly these are visible from space).
The top of the Burj Khalifa
(Part of) the waterfall
Pretty much every store you can think of from anywhere in the world is in this mall. Its really interesting to see familiar brands translated into Arabic.
This is “BeBe” in ArabicI’m assuming everyone recognizes this can…I appreciate that The Gap did their best to retain their signature font.
I’m fascinated by some of the women I see walking through the malls – they may be predominantly covered by burqas and hijabs, but their makeup was flawless and a number of them were wearing some pretty fierce stiletto heels.
Its apparant that going to the mall is a favourite pasttime here. While it was pretty empty during the day, by evening it quickly became crowded.
There were just as many men in white thawbs and women in black hijabs as there were people in western clothing. All malls have prayer rooms in them and at the appointed time, all sound systems play the call to prayer… its very eerie to have all the various store soundtracks replaced with a single, unified chant.
As a former bellydancer, I love middle eastern music. Each time we entered a shop or restaurant where it was playing, I started to get excited… as if its some surprise that there is middle eastern music in the middle east. Ha!
We got to spend an evening with an old friend of The German’s (Hergen) who has been living here for 10 years. It was very interesting to hear about life as an ex-pat… it sounds like no matter how long you’ve lived here, you will always be treated a little differently. His girlfriend has been here 12 years and loves the sun and the sea and the safety of Dubai.
They informed us about some of the cultural standards – kissing in public can get you 3 months in jail, its best to dress more conservatively (essentially, make sure your shoulders and knees are covered), and people like cab drivers or waiters will always address the men first (“out of respect”, but I found it hard not to get annoyed by this).
Alchohol is incredibly expensive, and drinks are only for sale in hotels (presumably to placate non-Muslim tourists). There are only limited places where you can purchase bottles of alchohol, and those require a special license. (It seems like everyone living here just brings in as much as possible from Duty Free when they travel, which is what we did.)
I really wanted to see the desert so The German found a great tour that included a camel ride and a falcon demonstration, followed by a bedouin-style dinner. As it turned out, it all took place on a natural reserve that is owned by some of the royal family. They have their own private zoo there. There is also some serious irrigation happening to they can have excessive amounts of trees around the area where their daughters stay, so the girls can feel free to wear whatever they want. Its a generous amount of land and they really aren’t there much, so they created a tour company to lead these events on part of their property.
The drive to the desert took about 45 minutes. Along the way our guide pointed out some very nice villas – 3 or 4 bedroom homes with manicured yards. If you are local and marry a local, the government gives you one of those villas plus about $40,000 as a wedding gift. And while its fine for men to have more than one wife, they must all be treated equally. So if he wants to give a Ferrari to one of his wives, he must give a Ferrari to all of them. (I think our tour guide was obsessed with cars – all of his examples were car-related.)
Once at the desert, they covered our heads to protect us from the sun and then we were ready for our 45 minute camel ride! The camels seemed very relaxed the entire time, though we were told we needed to move quickly when it was time to get on or off of them. It’s quite a dramatic rise when they go from kneeling to standing and I have a new appreciation for just how tall they are! Their gait is certainly not as smooth as a horse’s, but it was a pleasant ride with great views of the sand dunes and we saw a number of wild sand gazelle.
Our ride, Lalli
Throwing Dubai gang signs for “peace & love”
We had a great view of the sunset as they brought out one of the royal falcons. They are actually faster than cheetah when they fly, and it was surprisingly interesting to hear about how the bedouin used to rely heavily on them to assist with their hunting. Hunting with falcons is no longer permitted in the UAE, so when the royal family wants to train their falcons, they fly them to South Africa… in their own first class seat on the plane, of course.
Finally, we went to a bedouin-style camp for dinner. It felt like the right mix of authentic with modern… They welcomed us with rose water for washing our hands and arabic coffee, plus there was spiced chai to drink, a shisha smoking area, and someone giving henna tattoos (which I don’t think was really originally bedouin, but still fun). They had very moden bathrooms, placed discreetly around the corner so as not to ruin the atmosphere. Dinner was served in extermely hot covered areas. It started with traditional lentil soup, which was the standard Bedoiuin meal. Then there was an appetizer course of hummos, salads, etc. before they moved onto roast meats, including camel. (Thankfully, not the ones we rode over.)
The shisha area at dinner
There were a few traditional dance performances throughout the night, excessive amounts of food, and I loved getting henna on my hand (which was something I used to do regularly with my bellydancing troupemates). We arrived back at the hotel sweaty and covered with sand – so it was pretty much everything I hoped for in a desert experience! If you’re ever in Dubai, I highly recommend it.
I finally managed to secure a pet-sitting gig through Trusted Housesitters! The house was large and very comfortable, plus I got to hang out with 2 cats and a kitten. The kitten was particularly adorable, and we had a lot of fun playing with him. I definitely miss having cats, and once we pick a place to live I know it won’t be long before we acquire a furry housemate.
Ziggy in his favourite chair
Teddy, impatiently waiting for my breakfast
Kitty, stuck in a cat trap
Teddy, who is certainly not supposed to be in that plant
We spent an afternoon at the “world’s largest theme mall”, named after Ibn Buttata, who was a 21 year old explorer. The mall is themed according to the places he visited, like Persia, Egypt, India and China. It was pretty reminiscent of Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas – modern stores in aciently themed environments. A little strange, but more interesting than your average mall in the US.
Starbucks, in PersiaReplica of some famous Elephant ClockTGI Fridays, in China, with an Arabic signRandom giant angry boat, because, um…And if you’re tired, they will drive you around the mall in this car…
Hergen took us on a whirlwind tour of Old Dubai, which included the Gold Souk. I found it overwhelming even though I suspect it wasn’t a very crowded day… Every person was either beckoning you into their shop, or trying to sell you counterfeit Rolex or Louis Vitton handbags, or a pashmina, or saffron. Having everyone shouting to you constantly was just too much for me (even though I did need a purse). We hustled it out of there without even buying any ridiculously large gold necklaces, which were in every other shop window.
Next up was our fourth (and final) mall of the trip, Mall of the Emirates, which is home to Ski Dubai. The German had never been skiing, so now he can say he learned in the desert!
He was still smiling afterwards, so there might be more skiing in our future…
They run a pretty impressive operation – its real snow and the temperature stays at -3° (26°F). They provide everything you need – skis, clothing, even socks – and can get you outfitted with gear and into the snow pretty quickly.
Realistically, its just 2 runs but they are a decent length and steep enough to be fun, at least for an hour or so (at which point you’re plenty cold anyways). In addition to skiing, there is a also a small chalet at the top of the (very slow) chair lift, a zip-line over the slopes, several short sledding hills, a luge, a children’s play area, a place for penguin encounters, and a short Zorb slope (which is basically rolling down a hill in a giant inflatable ball). All in all, we had a great time and it was absolutely ludicrous to think it was 100° outside.
At the top of the slope
On our final night, we had dinner with a former colleague, Amy. We laughed about how we hadn’t seen her in years despite all of us living in the Bay Area, but here we were having dinner in Dubai. Our meal was fantastic and the conversation was even better. Amy kindly agreed to mail in my voter registration so it will hopefully make it in time. (I’ll spare you the rant, but figuring out what to do as American overseas with no predictable address wasn’t easy.)
Dubai is a fascinating place and I’m glad we came. There’s a lot I like about it – the ability to go swimming every day; the cheap and easy-to-use metro; the many “ladies only” places, from metro cars to salons to gyms – but I’m feeling ready to move on.
Spending the second half of our visit in the Sea Point area of Cape Town was definitely a good call. The apartment is much more comfortable, its great to have a view of the ocean, and it feels a lot safer. (Even though all the houses have electrical fencing, security cameras, and spikes.)
We got together for dinner with a woman we met on the wine tour. She’s a well-travelled Australian who also works in technology. It was interesting to hear her perspective on being a women in a male-dominated industry – a very familiar conversation, unfortunately, though I had hoped that the UK or Australia might be a little different. Regardless, it was nice to have a conversation that went deeper than travel stories. And the restaurant was also quite charming:
Kloof Street House Restaurant & Bar
With only a week left, it was time to power through some tourist activities!
Against my better judgement, we decided to hike up Table Mountain (instead of taking the ariel tram). It was a gorgeous, clear day so we stupidly left around noon to start climbing over rocks in what turned out to be a predomintatly shade-free trail.
The start of the trail. Yes, we walked all the way up that mountain in the background
In places where its particularly likely you might fall off the mountain, they have thoughtfully added a barbed wire railing. So if you don’t slip to your death, you’ll still walk away bleeding.
We made it to the top 2.5 hours later, after a lot of sweating and swearing. It was tougher than we anticipated (though certainly easier than Kilimanjaro) and we were rewarded with incredible views, plus an easy ride down in the tram.
Yes, I hiked in sandals.
Not a bad view of Cape Town
The next day we booked a tour to see the Cape of Good Hope and the penguin colony that lives at Boulders Beach. Our guide was originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo and spoke at least 7 languages, knew an incredible amount of history, and told us fascinating stories while also driving a large van through narrow streets. I continue to be impressed by everyone’s depth of knowledge and breadth of skills.
As we went past a large intersection just outside of town, we noticed a bunch of people hanging around, hoping to pick up work. Some had signs like “childcare” or “housework”, while others were looking for any kind of manual labour. The unemployment rate in South Africa is 26% (compared to around 5% in the USA). He told us about Nelson Mandela’s observation that South Africa used to have way more prisons than schools. Thanks to him, those numbers have been reversed. Cape Town is so modern, but you can still see the development happening.
But I digress – the stops along the tour were gorgeous, including Camps Bay beach, playful seals at Houts Bay, and the Cape of Good Hope. And of course, I loved seeing the wild penguins at Boulders Beach (even though it was exasperating negotiating our way through the large groups of tourists, jockeying for a good photo position).
Random ostrich by the side of the road near the Cape of Good Hope
Looks closely and you’ll see a lot of penguins on the rocks
The gorgeous Camps Bay beach… pity the water is always too cold for swimming.
Overlooking Houts Bay
Loved watching them waddle along the beach!
One custom I really like here is that people say “pleasure” instead of “you’re welcome”. So when someone brings me a coffee in a cafe, I say “thank you” and their response is “pleasure”. It’s a nice sentiment, and I’m going to try and work this into my regular vocabulary.
With few exceptions, everyone has been incredibly friendly and very open. As I’ve mentioned, the Zumba community has been beyond amazing, but we’ve also had very interesting chats with Uber drivers, restaurant staff, shop clerks, and bartenders…
… especially the guys at Outrage of Modesty, which was a Cape Town highlight. Its a tiny little cocktail bar with a staff of 4 friendly and enthusiastic bartender/chefs. They make incredibly creative cocktails out of fresh, local ingredients and will pair them with inventive snacks.
They identify the drink by flavour profile, not spirit or specific ingredients. I loved this as I wound up drinking (and enjoying) a number of things that I never would have normally ordered. The drinks and snacks incorporate local ingredients, foams, purees, artisan ice cubes, flames, dry ice, custom infusions and a lot of passion. We loved the whole experience, from the secretive location to the friendly staff, and of course the food and drinks.
Our pear-infused wine cocktail with a vanilla straw.
And before we left Cape Town, I also got a much-needed haircut, took a bunch more Zumba classes, did some shopping, and enjoyed several lovely dinners.
As we are leaving Africa, I’m feeling incredibly grateful for my situation… because I’ve never been a refugee or an orphan, because I can move (relatively) freely from country to country around the world, and because I come from a place with high-value currency. I’m rarely exposed to people with those experiences in the US, but here it happens daily.
I had hoped that coming to Africa would help reset some of my habits and remind me of what’s important. I think it’s done that: I’ve got far fewer physical possessions, I’m much more physically active, and my interactions with kind strangers have been the most valuable part of our time here. (And I also have a newfound appreciation for a decent internet connection.)
While traveling through Africa is not always easy, it’s always worthwhile. I hope I’ll be back again soon.
And now for something completely different, we are headed to Dubai…
Rachel Hits The Road 