Delivery bike

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Originally uploaded by Mike Horler.

notice the Hot Wheels helmet! Awesome!

Canadian Pizza

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Originally uploaded by Mike Horler.

White Tiger - Part 2

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Originally uploaded by Mike Horler.

Here tiger tiger

White Tiger

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Originally uploaded by Mike Horler.

I arrived just after feeding time, but I got to see this tiger stalk and attack some meat that was floating in the water and being devoured by the fish.

Orangutan

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Originally uploaded by Mike Horler.

The MRT

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Originally uploaded by Mike Horler.

Mass Rapid Transit - Singapore's efficient people moving system. Over 2 million commuters take the MRT each day. It's incredibly efficient, not even requiring drivers on the North-East line.

You'll notice there are glass doors that prevent anybody from entering the track area unless a train has arrived at the platform.

This is where all my money is going.

Chinese New Year Quickly Approaches

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Originally uploaded by Mike Horler.

Displays like these are rapidly popping up throughout the city.

Sentosa Beach

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Originally uploaded by Mike Horler.

Notice how close the ships are in the backround. Not the most ideal scenery, but somehow nice still.
This was the site of my first swim in the Indian Ocean.

Sentosa Scenery

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Originally uploaded by Mike Horler.

One of the fake, but pretty, waterfalls.

Lake at the Zoo

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Originally uploaded by Mike Horler.

Singapore has an insane population density, but it also has tranquil pockets of lush natural environment. This lake next to the zoo is a perfect example.

Another Week Finished!

Weekend Update – Monday, January 31st, 2005
This weekend was a pretty “touristy” weekend; I visited three of Singapore’s main tourist attractions - Orchard Road, the Zoo and Sentosa island.

Friday, January 28th, 2005
This past Friday, I worked all day and then decided to make an impromptu trip to visit to Singapore’s tribute to commercialism - Orchard Road. Orchard Road is an amazingly modern place with large hotels, stores of every kind, and large trees that are the only remaining tributes to the orchards that used to line central Singapore.

I walked the length of the road and was treated to the signs of success and excess. You can buy pretty much anything here, as long as you can afford it. Gucci, Louis Vuitton, BOSS, Ralph Lauren, Rolex, Mont Blanc were a few of the brands that I saw. I looked at at pen that cost S$32,000 (Approx. C$25,000). The Rolexes didn’t have price tags, and I didn’t bother to ask. While browsing around, I saw one of my favorite symbols of the rich and famous – the Lamborghini. Considering that a car that normally costs $30-$40,000 in Canada costs about $140-$160,000 here, it’s no surprise to hear that the Lamborghini (a Mercielago for those who care) costs around C$1,000,000.

While I have mentioned a few of the brands that are well known to North America, perhaps a little closer to my heart are the brands that have brought a smile to my face. A few of my favorites are:
S S – Sporty look (a knock off of Calvin Klein)
Long Stroke jeans
124 Eating Place (restaurant)
Kill Fire (fire extinguisher)
and . . . my most favorite of all – Canadian 2 for 1 Pizza

Saturday, January 29th, 2005
Saturday morning I slept until around 11am and then decided I should go see the Zoo before my triple park pass expired. I got on the bus and then the train. After seeing the Lamborghini yesterday I decided I wanted to see if I could find the dealership. I knew that it was at the train transfer point so I alighted (they never say exit) the train and took off on a walking journey to look for the Alfa/Lamborghini dealership. About an hour and a half and 3 MRT stations later, I realized that not only was I not going to find the dealership but also my plan to walk to the nearest MRT station was not that well thought through. I eventually caught the train again and eventually transferred to the final bus that would bring me to the zoo.

The Zoo itself was a great time. The exhibits are really well designed and it has a very natural feel – easy to accomplish in the tropical climate. My favorite animals were the tigers, followed closely by these HUGE crocodiles that float delicately in the water. Probably the best part was the lake that was next to the Zoo. It was such calm and peaceful scenery and a nice escape from the city.

After taking the bus, the train, the train, and the bus, I arrived back at NTU, met up with some friends and got back on the bus, and then back on the train. We went out to Holland Village to celebrate one of the exchange student’s, Serena’s, birthdays. Interestingly enough, we ate at a Mexican restaurant and it was way better than the Mexican food in Edmonton or Calgary.

Sunday, January 30th, 2005
Sunday morning I slept in again, got some food, and headed off to the bus and the train. This time my destination was Singapore’s resort island – Sentosa. Sentosa is a unique blend between the natural and the artificial. The main portion of the island is real, but the beaches, and small outlying islands, are completely artificial. The government has turned the island into a resort area with hotels, a golf course, ornate gardens, an underwater theme park, and other small attractions. I was there to watch the NTU sports competitions where students competed in beach volleyball, beach soccer, and a hunk and babe competition. I have to say the “hunk and babe” competition was quite funny because Singaporeans are so shy by nature. The people participating didn’t even speak loud enough in the microphone to be heard. Once again, it was very much a contrast between the shy participants and the loud host.

Following the competitions a few of us stayed around for the magic fountain and light show. This free attraction was quite entertaining with music, a laser light show, and an animated monkey. The show is very much a family show and I think I would have appreciated it a lot more had I been about 10.

After that, I headed for home, ate some food on the way and was in bed by midnight. All in all, a good weekend.

Check out the pictures below (or above, depending on how quickly this post loaded).

Thaipusam

Tuesday - January 25th, 2005
Thaipusam is a Hindu festival that commemorates the devotion of Idumban, a devotee of Lord Subramniam, who received great blessing by scaling a hill with heavy burden of offerings.

In modern day Singapore, Hindu's celebrate this festival by a parade where devotees pierce themselves and carry heavy objects between two temples. The 3KM route may not seem all that long, but when you see the elaborate kavadis and the numerous piercing, it quickly becomes obvious that this journey is not easy.

I must say that this was by far one of the most unique visual displays I have ever seen. It was as though it were a parade route that stretched across 3KM, but the whole way was filled with Hindu observers. I joined in at about midway point and actually followed the path of the devotees where I quickly found myself in a line of thousands of people all waiting to get into the temple. As quickly as I had entered, I was surrounded by hundreds more behind me. It was quite a strange feeling, being an obvious foreigner in this homogenous mass. However, everybody was very peaceful and orderly and it was strange to be almost comfortable and claustrophobic at the same time. Below are a few of the pictures I took of the event.













PS: I also went up to the 70th floor of the Swiss Hotel. It's an awesome view and it was worth the effort.

Weekend Update!

January 23, 2005 – Weekend Update
This weekend was a long one because of Hari Raya Haji – the “festival or the pilgrimage” or the “festival of the sacrifice”. During this holiday people of the Islamic faith celebrate the day of pilgrimage to Mecca by sacrificing a cow or goat and offering the food to the poor. Although I was out and out about I did not see any sacrifices but I did see many Muslim families dressed in their finest clothes.

Friday, January 21st, 2005
Friday, I took a train to Singapore’s downtown area with the mission of going up the Suisse Hotel to the 70th floor. Unfortunately for me, I was dressed in “short-pants” and did not meet the “long-pants and covered shoes” dress-code. The day was not a total loss because I took some pictures around the neighboring Raffles Hotel, and then toured the waterfront – including Singapore’s signature Esplanade theatres. The Esplanade theatres are architecturally unique and look much like durian – a local fruit that smells like rotting sewage.



Saturday, January 22nd, 2005 - East Coast Park
This past Saturday Cristel, another intern/student, and I ventured across the island to one of Singapore’s only beach areas – East Coast Park. East Coast Park is not the easiest place to get to (two hours trip including a bus, a train, and a taxi), but once we were there we didn’t see another tourist.

East Coast Park is actually reclaimed land and is in the process of becoming a beautiful beach. It has the classic East Asia water with light blue hues and welcoming temperature. What East Coast Park also has is a tremendous view of Singapore’s shipping traffic. As your eye travels from the beach to the horizon, you are rewarded with sand, water, swimmers, wind-surfers, sailboats, tug-boats, and container ships. What’s even more shocking is how all these elements interplay with each other, save the sand and the swimmers. These huge ships are never far away and there are tons of them. I counted 50 before I got tired of counting. It was quite the sight to see. I didn’t bring my camera because I wasn’t sure if it was a swimming trip or not. Next time . . .

Sunday, January 23, 2005 – Jurong Bird Park
Today I got up early (9:00AM on a Sunday) and went to the Jurong Bird Park with a group of other exchange students. Singapore has a climate such that they can host hundreds of species of birds without a problem. I would tell you the impressive species that I saw, but in truth there were far too many for me to take note of their names. What I can tell you is that we were presented with a lot of tropical birds with bright coloring, a few birds of prey (including the world’s largest bird of pray – the Andean Condor), penguins, and flamingos. Similar to the Night Safari, a lot of the birds are not in cages, but in big enclosures that you walk through. This gives you an up close look at a lot of really unique birds.

Raffles Hotel

Raffles Hotel
Originally uploaded by Mike Horler.

As mentioned before, the Raffles hotel is famous in Singapore and throughout the world. The facade is very impressive.

Peanuts are bad!

This past Wednesday, I had the privilege of attending “Singapore Perspectives 2005” a high level conference that was directed at Singapore’s top business people. The conference covered topics ranging from Singapore’s political and social outlook to its foreign policy and relations with surrounding countries. The conference took place at Singapore’s 5 star Shangri-La hotel and was in a beautiful conference room with glass chandeliers and rich wood (see lobby picture). Needless to say, the conference was a great introduction to the Singapore business world. Unfortunately, it was also an introduction to a few proteins I had wished to avoid.



As part of the conference we were served lunch. I had dutifully informed the organizers of my severe allergy to nuts and the meal should have been safe. Ironically enough, this is my first meal in a hotel and my first “western” meal since arriving in Singapore. It also was my first meal to bring about an allergic reaction.

I first noticed that I was a bit itchy after lunch, but I wasn’t sure what was causing it (I actually thought it might be because I had just bought some local shampoo and used it for the first time earlier that morning). However, I began to get more itchy, I drank some water, but soon I realized that I must have come in contact with nuts. I excused myself from the conference and took a cab to the nearest pharmacy. I got a fast acting liquid anti-histamine, but by this time my arms were beginning to form rashes and I could tell that I was swelling up. I took a gulp of the anti-histamine, jumped the queue for a taxi and asked the driver to take me to the nearest hospital.

On the way to the hospital there was a medical clinic so I got dropped off there instead. It was the hyperbaric medical clinic but the doctor saw me immediately and gave me two needles – one a strong anti-histamine and the other a steroid to prevent asthma from occurring. Luckily, this took effect immediately and the itchiness began to subside within 5 minutes.

Both anti-histamines I had taken were “drowsy” forms and I quickly began to be extremely tired. I can only compare it to being quite drunk because I had a little trouble walking (I had to concentrate not to stumble) and I found if I stood still I would start to almost fall asleep. So, I hailed a taxi from as far from the road as possible (so I wouldn’t accidentally step into traffic) and headed home to my dorm room. My room-mate must have thought I was crazy because I came in and went right to sleep. However, also by the time I got home my rashes were gone and I was no longer feeling any effects of the allergy (except when I threw up about 15 minutes later on).

So, moral of the story – don’t trust hotels – they’re evil.
PS: I had my epipen with me, but I didn’t get into the stages of shock, so I didn’t have to use it.

Chinatown Street Market

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Originally uploaded by Mike Horler.

This market is only a couple of blocks from my work and has that stereotypic busy Asian street market feel to it.

My humble desk

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Originally uploaded by Mike Horler.

What's nice is that I have a skylight right above me. I get to see how bright it is or if it is raining.

35 Ann Siang Road

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Originally uploaded by Mike Horler.

The home of my office.

Batey Buildings

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Originally uploaded by Mike Horler.

This is one of the Batey buildings in the area I work in. It's right across the street from the Batey Research and Intelligence Centre.

My uber religious alter ego

A special thanks to Tyler Botten for alerting me to "horler.blogpsot.com" (switch the p and the s).

I don't know how this happened but obviously I have a twin out there somewhere that strongly believes in the bible, or something.

So, if you need to pick a church, get an audio bible, or looking into salvation for a loved one, head on down to the "other Horler"'s site. Be sure to listen to the voice of Satan - a must for every visitor.

Working at Batey/Redcell

So, I have begun my work at Batey/Redcell (for more information on the company go to www.bateyredcell.com.sg). The project I'm working on is to answer the question "What does it mean to be ethnic Chinese in Asia today? So far, I have done some research into cultural research, but over the next few weeks, I hope to define further the project as well as its intended goals.

Batey is an interesting place to work. It does some very high profile advertising and I would love to see a shoot for a Mercedes commercial - although we'll see if that will pan out or not.

On that note, I got the opportunity to meet Mr. Ian Batey - the founder of the agency. He seems like quite the gregarious fellow and a person with high expectations for his employees. I hear he has homes throughout the world as has done quite well for himself with his ad agency.

Anyhow, more news on the work front later on.

Dumplings for Breakfast

In order to prevent the verbal diarrhea that was the descriptions of my flights, I'll give you a brief run-down of what I have been up to so far:

Day 1 - starting 6PM local time
1. Arrived in Airport
2. Took a taxi to Nanyang Technological University - my home for the next 3.5 months
The taxi ride was gorgeous and I got to see how diverse the city is. Interestingly, there is very little grass, it's all deep green lush growth on the ground.
3. Met up with student representatives - received my keys and that was it
4. Tried to clean up some of the area is my room (was very dirty when I arrived)
5. Unpacked a little
6. Shower (it's so hot and humid, you sweat like crazy) and Sleep

Day 2 - starting 7AM local time (I am now an early riser)
1. Shower
2. Walk around campus, get relevant forms, stop and eat dumplings for breakfast
3. Illegally rode the bus (maybe, I paid $1.20 but I have no idea if that was enough. I tried to ask the bus driver but he didn't speak english and just motioned to the pay device and the back of the bus).
4. Rode the train
5. Went to the immigration building, got a number, waited for 2 hours, left without my passport, but with instructions to return tomorrow at 9AM
6. Searched for the site of the office I'm working at (35 Ann Siang Road)
7. Walked around the area
8. Took train and bus back to NTU (total time approx. 1.5hr)
9. Went to computer
10. Met American exchange student
11. Met a bunch more exchange students
12. Went on a night safari (9PM - 12AM) - really cool, you get to see all the animals up close because there are no cages. Also, you see all the nocturnal animals awake and roaming around. They have small pits that keep the dangerous animals away (Tiger, Lions) but other than that only some vegetation separates you from the animals. When you go through the flying squirrel and bat area there is no separation and we were very close to them. Bats are scary.

Day 2 - Started about 8AM (perhaps I'm slowly going to lose my early morning rising)
1. Went back downtown
2. Got in line at immigration office
3. Got a number
4. Went up to counter
5. Had to go get money on my transit card to pay to get my passport back
6. Got in line
7. Got my passport - now with student pass secured to it
8. Walked around Raffles hotel
9. Had a Singapore Sling at the long bar - very cool, but definitely not worth the $18.65
10. Walked around the water front
11. Ate a peppered crab - soooo good, but soooo messy
12. Took transit back home
13. e-mailed and updated blog

Wildlife seen so far (aside from the night safari):
- Small black birds with yellow beak
- Loud bright yellow birds
- Crane of some sort
- Cats (without tails)
- Lizard - gecko of some sort
- Big birds that make noise but don't let you see them because they fly away into the bright sun light


PS: It's hot and humid!

NTU Campus - Outline

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Originally uploaded by Mike Horler.

Can you tell where the campus begins?

View from my window

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Originally uploaded by Mike Horler.

Dubai Airport

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Originally uploaded by Mike Horler.

The Dubai airport is amazing! It's like visit a huge palace with palm trees, a hotel, luxury lounges, glass pedways, etc.

The Irish Village - Dubai

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Originally uploaded by Mike Horler.

Where else would the Irish Village be?

Flights to Singapore

So, here is the brief outline of my flights to Singapore.
Firstly, here is the itinerary:
Calgary --> London, Heathrow
London --> Dubai
Dubai --> Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka --> Singapore

So, to follow up on the Air Canada post, no they would not let me use my upgrade and no they would not offer me an upgrade (nor would anybody else at any point of my journey). Too bad, but I didn't really think it would work out.

In addition to the seat upgrade my dad also gave me a pass for the Air Canada lounge. I got to the Calgary airport nice and early (around 4:15 for my 8pm flight) so, I figured that once I was through security I would be able to hang out in the lounge for a bit. However, I was in terminal B - which has no lounge. So I stuck it out for a while and read my book.

Once on the flight I offered to change seats with a lady that was looking to sit with her friends whom were seated behind me. I ended up sitting with a Norman, a British fellow who has houses in London and Calgary. We chattered for a while and I found him to be quite interesting. Most notably he rally races Porches in Europe and had spent 4 years in Singapore openining an office of a manufacturing firm he works for.

The flight was pretty good and nothing too exciting. Coming into Heathrow we were put in que and it was interesting to see the other planes flying in a circle above and below us. I've never seen another plane that close before. Kind of interesting.

Once in Heathrow I had to dash for my connecting flight. I sat in the huge security line-up and made it out just in time to board my flight, which sat on the ground for a while.

The Air Emirates plane I just got on was nicer than the Air Canada plane and included the personal screens in the back of the headrest. All in alll, this flight too was pretty good and nothign too exciting. Air Emirates has good airplane food.

Getting into the Dubai airport was like entering a whole other world. As it is called, Dubai is the city of contrasts. It was amazing to see the traditional Arab clothing, the mosque in the airport and the Irish pub. Yep, a good old Irish pub in the middle of this opulent gorgeous airport. The airport itself was extremely intereseitng with a whole concourse for duty free shopping where you could buy everything from books, to cameras, to computers, and even a Jaguar.

When I can, I will attach a picture of the airport, which looks more like a Las Vegas casino.

The flight to Sri Lanka was also good on the best plane so far. We stopped there, but did not de-plane.

Finally, after x number of hours of flying (arriving a total of 35 hours after I began my journey (I think)) I finally arrived in Singapore. I got my temporary pass and came into the airport.

The taxi ride to NTU was amazing. I got to see a lot of the city and really appreciate how different everything is. From people riding in the backs of trucks to driving on the left hand side of the road. Everything was very different.

Anyhow, that's it for the journey. My next post will be shorter.

Oh (Air) Canada

So, Air Canada, in keeping with its reputation, is going out of its way to prevent me from using a free executive class upgrade that was given to me by my dad. Now, I do realize that the upgrade says right on it that you can't transfer it unless the person who earned it is flying with you. However, I'm thinking that policy stinks and that they should rescind it as soon as possilbe.

If they really wanted the member to use the reward then they would just put it on their aeroplan account and automatically offer the upgrade on any flights booked for the future. Instead, I think they provide a paper document because they actually want their "elite" and "super-elite" member to give the upgrade as a gift, as was done in this situation, only so they have the pleasure of turning up their noses and saying, oh you're not "elite", well then you don't qualify for this. Go back to your Q class and be Quiet.

I'm still going to try again at the airport tomorrow, but I think I'll be riding with the bags.

Welcome to 2005

New Year's Eve for me was spent in Canmore, Alberta. We spent the evening with family friends and played scategories and then watched fireworks. It was a nice time and great to be with family and friends.

Unfortunately, my pleasant and safe evening was a complete contrast to the New Year's experienced by the people of South-East Asia. I hope 2005 will bring recovery, reflection and relief for the people suffering in Asia. Unfortunately, the tragedy is likely to continue for some time and the death toll will never be known.

May 2005 be a better year for everybody.