Birthday week begins

I know it is early to start celebrating, but you never know how many more birthdays you're going to have, so I think you might as well make the most of them. We spent a good part of Thursday searching out a new phone for me as my present this year. My last one was so often out of power and more trouble than it was worth. In the meantime we also bought Eric a new camera battery and lens hood. In the evening Peter came around for dinner and shared the corned beef Eric cooked the day before, complete with cauliflower and white sauce, potato and beans, To complete the experience we shared out the mince pies Peter left in our freezer more than 12 months ago with brandy sauce and ice cream. Talk about traditional tucker overload. it was fabulous!

On Friday morning we returned to Tanglin Halt area, via Wessex Estate, to try to find the Jerdon's Baza again, the one we saw last week just as Eric's camera battery died.  But that was expecting too much. Fortunately we didn't see the spitting cobra either and Eric enjoyed good light for some more wildlife and at the same time I tried out the camera on my new phone. From there we continued north along the rail trail then found an exit that led to a park connector which delivered us to Dover MRT. A new app has just been released with all the park connector trails so that will be helpful to us in the next few months.

Travis, a new teacher at Punggol branch, is a good photographer and he has been talking lighting, composition and Fstops with Eric who is now highly motivated to explore all the features of his camera. He has been viewing online courses and experts' blog sites so soon there will be even more pics to share. It is great to be in the company of someone at work who understands all this and Eric can tap into the knowledge. 

Once again the weekend flew by and before we knew it another week was over. I was given a lovely surprise in the last break on Sunday with a birthday cake to share with colleagues.

We finished the week with friends at Saturday House, just down the road, and then enjoyed a sleep-in as the scheduled walk was from Stadium to Satays by the Bay in the evening. Having run out of excuses, I got on with the belated tax return that I have been procrastinating over for the last few months. And what do you know, most of it is done already. 








A good sized group joined the evening walk which was cool but well lit. 

On the way home, after dinner, a small group of us finished the evening with a walk over the helix bridge and around Marina Bay. Lots of night shots were taken. How do I decide which are the ones to post? 

They are gearing up for Chinese Hew Year here, so plenty of decorations are under construction on the pontoon and in the area under the stands. This will be the year of the Monkey, Eric's celestial character. The Chinese New Year Day of Red Monkey Year is on February 8. Unfortunately, it is said people born in the year of Monkey won't have good luck during any Monkey years, however that is not a complete picture. I sought out an astrologer and Eric ........

We continued the walk to Esplanade theatres where we had a drink at Barossa Bar, then climbed to the roof for more spectacular views across the bay and a close-up of the durian roofline. Can you call that a roofline? 

And then Google did something special. They used those pics to create a photo story which you can view here. Just click on the arrow if you hover to the right of the screen. Then it was Australia Day, and my birthday. For us, it began with a train trip to Raffles Place then breakfast in Dome at the UOB Plaza in Boat Quay. We were rewarded with a window seat from which we could watch the morning light brighten the day and people scurrying to work along the riverside as we ate a delicious breakfast. It reminded us of our occasional Sunday morning bike rides followed by Big Breakfasts in Darwin. We look forward to getting back to them. Then we set out to walk as far as we could along the river, something we haven't done before. First there was Boat Quay with its colourful cafe umbrellas right by the water's edge, the supreme court with Peninsula Excelsior (our first abode here) behind, bronze statue of a boy with his dog and the Elgin Bridge.

Then we hit Clarke Quay, another picturesque area famous for its nightlife. During day,  when all the pubs and bars are closed, you get a better chance to admire in details of the colorful, refurbished shophouses, and the social creatives project artwork as you pass through the pedestrian underpasses. Street art and murals are illegal here, unless commissioned, of course.

On to Robertson Quay, now the largest of the three quays, but this area was originally mud flats and swamps at the upper reaches of the river. As the population and commerce of Singapore increased, the area was reclaimed in the mid nineteenth century.  Alkaff Bridge, Singapore's pedestrian art bridge, is a colourful landmark. It is situated near the former Alkaff Quay owned by a prominent Arab family, who were among the wealthiest at the time. Now the banks on either side are lined with imposing hotels, one of which has retained the birdsong corner. The other footbridge here is Jiak Kim Bridge, named after a man who was a wealthy businessman, member of parliaments and made generous donations to Singapore's development.

Once beyond Roberson Quay the river becomes Alexandra Canal for a further 2.5kms. Near Tanglin Road it has been decked over to create an interesting water cascade and play area for children and where you can enjoy the reed beds of the wetlands. We found turtles, and white-breasted waterhen doing the same, while sunbirds flitted between the flowers on the trellis. 

We left it there, although a walking trail does continue where the canal continues underground. We were only two blocks from Red Hill station so we went home for a late lunch. In the evening we met up with a number of friends at Wine Mansions in Outram Park to celebrate my birthday. Kim had a birthday just three days earlier so we made it a joint celebration. Jo wrote a poem and we all received a screaming monkey (Syd had a birthday just recently too). Mine must have got up to some mischief on the way home because the next morning he was filthy! 

All i know is I wished I hadn't made that 10am hair appointment for the next morning. I really didn't need to look at myself in the mirror for that long after a very long night. Feeling my age.