Author Archives: andrew

I’ve taken many photos over the past few days, but almost all of them were taken at night and are terrible. I’m sure that my camera can take good long-exposure shots but I have to dig up the manual and … Continue reading →

I’m on Orchard Road in order to visit an Apple store, which is in this building, here: Orchard Road is the ‘nice’ part of Singapore, which means the expensive, vaguely European part.  I just had a not-very-good breakfast in the … Continue reading →

I passed these dumpling-makers on my way to the train station this morning.  They seemed baffled when I wanted to take their picture, but they were working behind a big plate-glass window which was clearly installed in their kitchen expressly … Continue reading →

It is incredibly nice to be in a place with infrastructure!   A few hours after arriving I ducked into a 7-11 and bought a sim card for my cell phone — it cost about US$10 and took 5 minutes … Continue reading →

Just now, T threw a combination Deepavali/birthday party with a bunch of his relatives.  It was very nice, and there was an excellent home-cooked meal (including, if I understand correctly, some dried, steamed shark). Everyone made me feel most welcome. … Continue reading →

I spent last night in a hostel (and froze under an overzealous air conditioner) and then immediately bolted for a room in Novena. It’s very nice, and the owner, T, is quite friendly and helpful. Also self- and home-employed, so … Continue reading →

Both times I’ve flown here there’ve been a few minutes of panic as I leave the airplane.  The flyer says that prohibited items are prohibited, but it doesn’t enumerate them!  It says that chewing gum, tobacco, and endangered animals may … Continue reading →

I had a very bad time immediately after taking the above photo. I was dragging my enormous roller-bag towards the subway station, and realized that I was in no mood to ka-bump, ka-bump, ka-bump, ka-bump it down 4 flights of … Continue reading →

I’m editing these pages on my laptop, on an Airbus.  And the Airbus is equipped with music-on-demand, so I’m listening to a Who album while I type.  So, already I’m immersed in all kinds of crazy sci-fi technology.   Still, … Continue reading →

The first time I played pachinko (as a 5-year-old) the owner of the machine explained to me that it cost 1 yen per ball, which meant you got 200 balls for a dollar.   In addition to normal inflation, the … Continue reading →