Singapore Day 9 - Tuesday

Roger got up early and worked a couple more hours so that he felt mostly prepared before he took off for work. Joseph, who took us to dinner a week ago with his wife, called to tell us he'd pick us up tonight at 7:30 (when Roger gets home on a good day) for dinner with his family. I went to the fitness room for a quick workout and when I returned I had a phone message from Kathi Nielsen, the RS president, inviting me to join her for lunch and a tour of Orchard Road, the main tourist shopping trap in Singapore.

I found out from the concierge which bus to take and headed over to the bus stop across the street to wait. Usually the bus driver is well informed and helps us know when to "alight" from the bus, but this one didn't speak much English and I got to walk a few blocks. That just gave me a better and closer look at Orchard Road, so not a problem. I met Kathi at the ION Mall and we walked to Takashimaya, another huge mall (They are all gigantic) where we found the Crystal Jade Restaurant that Belle Nef, another ward member recommended. We chose between 3 Crystal Jades - and decided on Korean. I ordered a seafood pancake which had vegetables, cuttle fish, and prawns backed in and a soy/sesame sauce to dip it in. Kathi ordered steak and rice. The first thing the waitress (in Korean dress) brought to us was about 6 or 7 small plates with condiments, including pickled radishes (yummy), some kind of floss (grated fish or pork fried which we tasted and left alone), vegetables with some type of fish - Kathi thought squid or octopus, but the waitress said cuttlefish (surprisingly I LOVED it!), bean sprouts, a cabbage roll (which was too spicy for me but she loved it), and spinach. Also a small bowl of rice. We decided to share it all and each took home leftovers.

Then we walked up and down Orchard Road but since neither of us is a shopper that didn't last more than 1/2 hour when we decided to order some gelato from a street vendor. I had chocolate hazelnut, subtitled death by chocolate. Very very dark chocolate and quite yummilicious! We sat down to eat it and continue visiting. She was very friendly and easy to talk to and I enjoyed my time with her. After the ice cream we walked to her apartment complex which happened to be right next to the bus stop I would need to get back to the hotel. They have a very very nice condominium on the 16th floor. We had told each other all about our wonderful children and their families, so it was nice to see photos of her family. I headed home around 5.

Roger arrived at 7:30 with an odor. He brought with him some durian, a very very pungent fruit that the people here think is a delicacy. I first heard about it last week from Sarah, and then again from the girls who took us to dinner. From what I heard I wanted nothing to do with it. Roger said one of his fellow workers insisted on buying it for him during their daily lunch break. (He has eaten at a variety of hawker centres for lunch each day.) He couldn't talk the guy out of it, even though he reminded him that he had to ride home via MRT and bus and the odor is so strong that it is banned from both. And from taxis! Instead, the guy had the seller wrap the durian 3 times and then place it in a bag. Somehow Roger was able to sneak it home, but the moment he walked into our hotel room I could smell it. I assured him I wouldn't be trying it. He placed it in a well-ventilated part of the bathroom and we left to meet Joseph.

Joseph's sister, Betsy, came with him. She is a retired flight attendant and very warm. They took us to Joseph's home (a condo in another tall building not far from here.) We met Joseph's mother, Agatha, his daughter, Angie, her husband, Cal (a palestinian), and their 3 children Sarah (9), Hannah(6), and Adam (1). We saw Joe again (Joseph's friend who was with him in the hawker centre when we first met them) and met his wife, Anita, and Joseph's wife, Theresa, who had taken off work early to prepare so many traditional and delicious foods for us - curry chicken and potatoes, chicken w/ sweet and sour sauce, fried prawns, It was all quite tasty.

Hannah became my friend instantly and kept bringing me love notes. Eventually we exchanged addresses and I assured her I will mail her a letter from NY. She's in K-2 because here they have 2 years of kindergarten. We enjoyed a wonderful conversation with all and with each individual. All are very educated. Joe used to Singapore's ambassador and gave us an autographed copy of one of the 3 books he's written, with a photo of him with Russia's Gorbachev in it. We visited down by the pool after dinner until after 10. Joseph and Theresa drove us back to hotel where Roger retrieved the contraban durian and they drove us to a beach park so we could all share in the delight of eating it. Roger was soooo brave and bit right in. Eventually I ate 2 tiny tastes of it, unable to convince myself to be a better guest. Joseph and Theresa ate the rest happily and told us this was a medium-grade durian and that a higho-grade can cost as much as $60S! They said they sometimes splurge and get one when they are in season. Lucky us to be here at the right time!!!