I'm back! Also, Bali

Hello, dear people. First off, I would like to extend my sincerest apologies for not posting for like ten days. though it pained me to go so long without bragging about my life, I had good reason not to post, for I was in Hong Kong. And then I came back to Canada. These two factors combined to limit my available free time and prevent me releasing any posts. But whatever, I'm back now and still unemployed, so I will continue posting.

Do note that though I am now in Canada, the next two or three posts will still be about my adventures in Singapore, as I have not yet had the time to post about everything I have done.

So, Bali. Or rather, the island of Bali within the country of Indonesia. It was a bit colder than the perpetual 31 degree weather of Singapore, but the vegetation looked just like Singapore would have looked like if it hadn't been covered by a city.

We went to Bali for about 3 Earth days, and my uncle and I spent part of the 2nd day boogieing around Bali on some buggies, during which I took the above picture.

This handsome devil took the last red buggy.

We buggied for a good two hours, and by the time we were done I could have built a sand castle out of the dust that had accumulated on my body. The guide said that it was either buggy in dry weather and get caked in dust, or buggy in weather and get caked in mud. It would have been nice if they had told us to bring goggles or something.

At one point we almost got lost, but some nearby cow shamans were able to point us in the right direction.

Though nothing was ever too far away, it always took forever to get anywhere. I never figured out if the long travel times were due to the traffic or the taxi drivers or the road system, but when being driven anywhere my impatience was usually overcome by terror and a strong distaste for the lack of Balinese traffic laws.

Though driving between places was occasionally terrifying, Bali is beautiful, and there's lots to look at. The people have built temples everywhere, and every other house contains a guy who's really good at making religious sculptures.

Bali was nice. I recommend it.

Fishers of Shrimp

Due to popular demand, I present a post detailing the fine art of prawn fishing, and my experiences thereof.

Roughly a month (I say a month, but I really have no idea) ago, the Abrey collective and I stopped by a holiday camp of sorts on the way back from purchasing some bags of water to refill my Uncle Paul's fishtank with. And yesterday, because of overwhelming public demand, I returned again to that land of mystery and intrigue, in order to once again try my hand at...

...PRAWN FISHING!

In need for an adventure, my Uncle and I decided to again forge our way through the wilds of north-western Singapore to find the collection of shacks that has become a haven for the bruised and beaten of society to cast aside their cares and fish for prawns. Though not much to look at, experience has shown that this humble construction is home to some of the greatest prawn fishers this side of the Serengeti.

Though not terribly full on arrival, new customers quickly filled up the little shack as word of my arrival spread. A newcomer I may be, but an amateur I am not.

Now, the shrimp filled pool was quite a sight. I am as yet unacquainted with whatever witchcraft causes the liquid to remain opaque, but it should be considered an admirable achievement, as it prevents the fishers from directly viewing their quarry, therefore retaining the delicate balance between hunter and hunted.

My uncle and I wasted no time in grabbing a rod with which to do battle. Now you may be thinking, "Josh, are you not taking this whole prawn fishing thing a little seriously?" And I would say, "Nay, good citizen, for until you have matched wits against the raw fury that the prawn embodies for yourself, you can't hope to understand the intense mental preparation the fisher must undergo to prepare himself for such a task."

Fortunately, they had rods for each of the four elements.

I will not bore you with talk of the fishing itself, for descriptions of my constant victories would become monotonous after a while. I will tell you that I caught about ten prawns in an hour, a number that any respectable gentleman would be proud of.

Vile creatures, aren't they?

After completing our task, my uncle and I passed the prawns to a young lass who had more use for the prawns than we did. But before we left, I noticed that the fire magi had set up a clever device for frying the beasts they had captured then and there, beside the pool.

As we prepared to leave, I noticed that some of the wise men who seemed to run the place were unfurling a series of tarps that lined the prawn house.

I don't know how they knew it, but the heavens opened and drenched the area with a mighty slew of rain not ten minutes later. Though I don't know for sure how they knew it would rain, I wager that it probably has something to do with the uncanny way that the old prawn men can commune with nature.

Now my friends, I bid thee farwell, and I wish you luck on all your upcoming endeavors. I complete this task and move on to another, and I hope I am as successful in my quests as you are in yours. For what can the world hurl at us that can possibly give us pause? Us, with intimate knowledge of the delicate art of prawn fishing? Nature, I say thee nay! I defy your weak attempts to dampen my spirits, just as the mighty prawn defies the rod that hooks him! I will not go quietly into the night! Like the prawn, I will stand and fight! Carpe diem!

Universal Studios

Up until I came to Singapore, I had never been to a theme park. I had been to Wonderland and had ridden roller coasters, but I had never been to a place where the goal was to over-advertise the sponsor's creations via mechanized rides. After going to the park and seeing the sights, I feel that this definition suits it best, as the focus was not on crazy roller coasters, but on slightly lesser rides intended to bring attention to the many movies of Universal Studios.

Universal Studiooos!

Anyway, it was new experience, and I was impressed. We arrived in the wee hours of the morning, before the usual crowds had gathered. The first thing we saw was an animated Shrek 4-D short, in which the audience gets to sit on these chairs that shake when things get smashed and spray water on you when Donkey sneezes.

As i said, I was impressed. To enter the park ,you need to walk through a stylized street that looks like this:

After that you find a giant boat that was built in support of the Madagascar movies.

And there was a giant Egyptian gate.

And a castle.

We also went to a live-action show based on the movie Waterworld that ended with the nearly everything on the set exploding and falling apart.

Later we passed through a 1920's New York street that featured, in true 20's style, a group of Asian breakdancers.

Someone was confused.

18th Birthday

And so it has come to pass that I proceed from the tender teenage years of yesterday and become a man. As if I wasn't manly enough already. Anyway, I have turned 18. It's pretty good so far. Also, I didn't really take any pictures, so this is going to be a text-only post.

For my 18th birthday, my Aunt Sheryl and Uncle Paul took me to the Altitude Bar. It gets it's name because it takes up the 63rd and 64th floors of what seems to be the tallest building in Singapore. I say "seems" because when looking at other buildings from the top floor, it seems to be the tallest, but I don't know that for a fact.

So, after taking the private club elevator to get to the 63rd floor, we were let into the dining area and were seated at our reserved seats. I guess this place is in pretty high demand, because there are two seatings, and we, being in the first one, had to be out of there by 8:30 in order to make way for the next wave of patrons.

I must say, the food was very good (I tried liver!), but the choosing of said food was complicated by the fact that the menu, in keeping with the style of all fancy restaurants, was crammed with long Italian words and references to vegetables I never knew existed. After appetizers, I ordered a simple steak, that was accompanied by potatoes, a strange salsa sauce, and snail salad.

After dinner (and a darn rich chocolate cake thingy), we migrated one floor up, to the more clubby part of the joint. There wasn't a roof, and the only thing preventing one from falling off the building was a four foot high inch-thick piece of plastic that lined the walking area. We collectively drank some stuff, talked about nothing important, and failed to take decent pictures of each other. I had a very good time, and we left after the bassy dance music had become so loud it was difficult to hear what each other was saying.

Jurong Bird Park

On the weekends, my Aunt and Uncle get a break form their jobs, allowing them to cart their kids and I to all sorts of groovy Singaporean attractions. The latest of these excursions was to the Jurong Bird Park, which is, in case the name isn't clear enough, a park full of birds in Jurong.

Similar to the rest of Singapore, the park was beautiful. Many of the animal housings are open, so the birds are allowed to fly round freely. Our family did the circuit around the park, going to each of the pavilions or cages in turn. I remember that we ate some mediocre food in a mightily crowded zoo cafe, walked on a few boardwalks, but then my memory devolves into a blur of feathers and people screaming things about sausages.

I enjoyed myself. However, it drizzled rain the whole time we were there. I do not like being wet, but my griping was moderated by my Aunt's observation that without the rain it probably would have been unbearably hot.

So without further ado, here are some of the pictures I took at Jurong Bird Park. I suggest you listen to this song while viewing said pictures: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBbgZauYL1Q

This is the sound that I imagine this bird makes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-33i2b17nc&list=FLcg1TxryMIBQW_hEwRRmLFw&index=3&feature=plpp

This guy wouldn't stay still.

Palau Ubin

I recently went to the small Singapore-owned island of Palau Ubin. Aside from the nice new welcome sign below, Palau Ubin looked like it hadn't changed since the 60s.

Remember the Singapore from the beginning of Pirates of the Caribbean 3? Minus the pirates, explosions and British soldiers, Palau Ubin looks just about like that. Everybody lives in these little wooden shacks, there's swamp everywhere, there are abandoned huts everywhere, and the forest is beautiful.

And remember my post about bum boats? I mentioned something about how the bum boats used for tours were rather clean and nice; they must have replaced the old dumpy ones. Well, the old bum boats are what were used to ferry people back and forth from the island.

So I spent the afternoon on a rented bike cycling around the eastern third of the island. I came across numerous interesting locations, such as this empty drink stand:

...And a temple:

So, Palau Ubin is darn pretty. I may very well go back later and explore more of the island.