FUN-travel: Malacca, Malaysia – Day 48
April 11, 2016 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Malacca, Malaysia – Day 48
Sunday, March 13th
- We boarded our luxury motor coach at 8 am. With front row seats our view out of the city was pretty spectacular. The perfectly manicured landscape consisted of colorful bougainvilleas and jacaranda trees mixed with palms and pines running down the center median and on both sides of the motorway. Every overhead pedestrian bridge had flower boxes that ran the entire length and were overflowing with fuchsia and magenta blooms.
- Upon arrival at Casa del Rio Melaka we received a very warm welcome served with refreshing ice cold wash cloths and yummy sorbet. This sweet city was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008. Dubbed “The Historic State” it is located on the southern region of the Malay Peninsula.
- We set off to explore the city and get some lunch. Under normal circumstances I would never choose a chain restaurant over a local one, let alone an American one in a foreign country! And I really hate to admit this… but I succumbed to the lure of sitting with “full on” air conditioning at the… Hard Rock Café. In Malacca? The last time I was in one was in Tokyo in 1992! Oh well, apparently they’re still hip.
FUN-food – Seafood Char Kway Teow – stir fried fat rice noodles tossed with bean sprouts, fish cake, egg, prawns, squid, sweet and spicy soy sauce and thinly sliced red chilies in oil on the side.
FUN-fact – The most famous person Melaka has produced: Datuk Wira Dr. Gan Boon Leong AKA the “Father of Bodybuilding in Malaysia.” Born in 1937, he is Malaysia’s most successful bodybuilder – having won countless prizes, including Mr. Asia and even Mr. Universe.
Word-Of-the-Week #609: Hubris
April 7, 2016 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word-Of-the-Week #609: Hubris
Hubris – unyielding arrogance.
Have you ever experienced a person who continually talks about how great they are? Do you know someone that appears to strut around with their chest puffed out as if to say, “Look at me, you should give me something for all I do?” Are you watching all of the election coverage? Anyone come to mind?
I love this word and so I am taking the liberty of rerunning this WOW from 2008. The first time I heard this word was when I lived in Chicago back in the ’80’s. Harold Washington, who was the mayor at that time, used this word often. I hardly ever see it in print; however, I saw it in an extensive article on human nature and genes in the San Diego Union.
Several weeks ago my WOW was pride. As it turns out, pride is one of the seven deadly sins. Surprised me! Researchers have surmised that pride is a universal trait. And one type of pride is described as hubristic. “It is more likely to occur when people attribute their success to something stable about themselves — like their ability –rather than their effort. It’s accompanied by feelings of egotism and arrogance, and people who experience it tend to be disagreeable, aggressive, hostile, narcissistic and prone to shame.”
“Hubristic pride may simply be the cheater’s version, allowing individuals to garner social esteem and reward without actually doing the work.”
This quote made me think of all of the athletes who have been accused of using performance enhancing drugs.
And Wikipedia writes this, “Hubris often indicates a loss of contact with reality and an overestimation of one’s own competence, accomplishments or capabilities.”
This week’s focus is on hubris. How would you rate your “sense of pride?” Do you have a tendency to be disagreeable or hostile? Do you take credit for others work? Do you know someone who is arrogant and egotistical most of the time? Are they someone that you like to spend time with?
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FUN-travel: Disembark – 20th Port – Singapore – Day 47
April 5, 2016 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Disembark – 20th Port – Singapore – Day 47
Saturday, March 12th
- “Enough is enough!” – quipped the husband, as the couple with suitcases in tow, joined us in the elevator. To which I replied, “You got on in San Francisco too?” After one last hot cappuccino we were so-o-o ready to get off the ship. And apparently we weren’t the only ones who thought “half a world cruise” was about half too long! The “Full Monte” is 103 days. Can you imagine?
- Running the Immigration Gauntlet – A huge ship had come in and the line snaked for miles! Fortunately for us we had the Crystal Express Line so it only took us about 15 minutes. Then we grabbed a cab to our hotel on Orchard Road, dropped our bags, and had more hop on, hop off FUN in this amazing city.
- Sizzling Singapore – Thick clouds mixed with the occasional blue skies and a brief breeze gave us a SFI (Sweat Factor Index) of 7.5.
- Well Preserved Boat Quay – Situated on the south bank of the Singapore River this is one of the oldest and most historical areas in the city. The stately Cavenagh Bridge built in 1867 stands like a soldier welcoming visitors and the original warehouse buildings now house hip bars and restaurants.
FUN-find – Wine Connection – and just steps from our hotel! With a retail wine bar, you pick what you want, and take it to your table. An extensive menu with decent pricing made this a favorite.
- Clean, Green, and Pristine – Modern skyscrapers tower over the occasional Colonial buildings in this compact city with artistic sculptures dotting the city.
FUN-fact – Singapore is the world’s only island city-state. How can an area of only 247 square miles with a population of 5.5 million people not have traffic jams? Cars cost a bazillion dollars!
FUN-travel: Slow Boat to Singapore – 20th Port – Singapore – Day 46
April 5, 2016 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Slow Boat to Singapore – 20th Port – Singapore – Day 46
Friday, March 11th
- The Singapore Cruise Terminal was like an airport with 2 floors of stores selling everything you can imagine. We found the Duck & Hippo counter (their version of the Hop on, Hop off bus) only to discover that the lone attendant was out to lunch for ONE hour. Fortunately the lady at the next counter told us we could take the subway 2 stops and hop on in China Town.
- With map in hand we headed to the subway. After attempting to use the self-service kiosk to buy tickets we discovered we needed smaller bills. We were thrilled to find an actual person in a ticket booth to sell us a ticket. But no, that would have much too easy! He gave us change and sent us back to the kiosk.
- China Town was bustling on a Saturday afternoon. After twenty minutes of map and street sign reading we managed to figure out where the bus would pick us up.
1st and only stop today – Wanna guess what we did? What all tourists do…go to the world famous Raffles Hotel. This colonial-style luxury hotel was opened in 1887 and was named after British statesman Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore. The hotel’s Long Bar is where the Singapore Sling was invented and just celebrated its 100th birthday.
The Most Expensive Beer on Earth!
- With palm shaped fans swaying overhead, peanut shells littering the floor, and speakeasy music softly playing in the background, we kicked back and sipped a pint. YIKES! The bill came to $51.00 ($38 US) clearly making it the most expensive beer ever!
- Magnificent “Marina Bay Sands” is a 2,561-room hotel complex that contains a mall, museum, two large theatres, seven “celebrity chef” restaurants, two floating Crystal Pavilions, a skating rink, and the world’s largest atrium casino with 500 tables and 1,600 slot machines. It’s topped by a 1,120 foot long SkyPark that can accommodate 3,900 people and a 490 foot infinity swimming pool. All this set on top of the world’s largest public cantilevered platform, which overhangs the north tower by 220 feet.
FUN-fact – Wanna know why Singapore doesn’t have a baseball team? …
They’d all be caned to death for spitting!