Nov3

The world has turned upside down

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The world has turned upside down

When Sensei mentioned he was going to Singapore for work, I responded:

Ha. Yeah right. Crazy. Buuuutttt…

“Ju-Lyn! Sensei (from my blog) is flying to Singapore for work. I told him I was jealous b/c you and I had so many things on our to-do list for my visit. He said he’s free Sunday, asked where you lived, and said maybe he could do some of the things on my behalf. Totally not the same, but…”

She responded, “Hello hello! Sunday as in tomorrow? Please pass on my phone number. Singapore is very small so wherever he stays will be close enough to me.”

This can’t actually be happening.

I passed along her message to Sensei who responded, “So she has nothing to do on a Sunday and is willing to meet a stranger with only a few hours notice?”

Me: “Yep!”

And so…

Sensei with Ju-Lyn and her family. UN-believable! How? HOW?

This is wilder than when he came to Jiu-Jitsu with me and I felt my worlds collide. What next, he’s going to run into my boss while scuba diving The Great Barrier Reef? Since my boss, who lives in Louisiana, is an avid around-the-world diver, and Sensei has done the same, it could actually happen. I think my brain would explode.

In regards to this dinner get-together, one of my friends said:

“It was great fun! We talked about you – you are the light in our lives!”

From the other, I got:

“I asked her why she was friends with you, cause you’re kinda weird.”

Typical.

Can you guess who said which?

I had mentioned to them both several things on this fabled “to-do list:”

  • Try a durian–the fruit so stinky it is banned on public transportation
  • See a giant monitor lizard in the wild
  • Have an ice cream sandwich that uses actual bread(!)
  • Sculptures! There are always sculptures! (Ju-Lyn has shown a bunch.)

Before they met up for dinner, the two of them conspired, without me knowing, to at least cross one thing off my list.

THE ice cream sandwich cart! Ju-Lyn blogged about this ages ago, and I thought an ice cream sandwich with bread was so wild!

Unbelievable.
I’d be tempted by durian, but also… yam? YAM?! I might get that because it’s so bizarre, even more so than the sweet corn, and what on earth is red bean? Wait a minute. Attap seed at the top? Never mind the yam. I’d have to get whatever that is.
Of course he got chocolate and liked it. And yay, he got the rainbow bread! Though he neglected to find out what’s in it to give it the pink and green colors. Ugh. Some people. I can’t send him anywhere.
Durian! Peeled in front. The spiky things in back are fresh ones. I didn’t realize they were so big!

Did he get one? No.

“Wasn’t going to buy a big chunk of fruit just to taste a piece.”

“I guess that’s fair,” I grudgingly conceded.

Then, “Here is your monitor lizard,” he said.

Uuuumm…

A real monitor is the size of a baby dinosaur and would be holding him in its hand. Okay, not really, but I was struck by the pics of monitors ambling across Ju-Lyn’s running trail because they were HUGE! They would creep me out, for sure, but I still wanted to see one. Or, if nothing else, have my proxy do so for me.

Ju-Lyn apparently told him it was “serendipitous if you come across one.”

Fiiiiiiinnnneeee.

However…

Yaaaaaaayyyyyy!!! I think I’ve seen these on her blog!
Not this one, but still, a fun Singaporean sculpture and a cool building!

Then these bonus pics:

I feel like Ju-Lyn has indeed photographed wild roaming chickens. They are so beautiful.

And then!

A snail with the cool conical shell! This one was FOR SURE on my list, but I had forgotten about it. Ju-Lyn and I have totally talked about the differing snail shells in our respective parts of the world. This was a bonus!

So, would I have liked to see these things myself? Of course. Will it ever happen? Don’t know. Having someone from my town be there and meet Ju-Lyn and her family is still pretty cool. The internet does an amazing job of connecting people who would not otherwise have met and makes this rock we live on feel like a small world after all.

Thank you, Ju-Lyn and Sensei!!!

Readers, what would you most liked to have seen in Singapore? Have you already been? If so, what’s your favorite thing there? Would you have tried the stinky durian? And most importantly: which flavor of ice cream would you have gotten? On the rainbow bread, with wafers, or in a cup?

And the answer from my last post to “my all time favorite song of all time” is “Wish You Were Here” by Pink Floyd. I don’t know why. It just is.

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89 responses »

  2. How about that! That is so cool! A dear friend who I met through blogging is currently visiting Japan and having (if her Facebook posts can be believed) a great time. I’ve never had the urge to visit, but maybe I should rethink that. It looks pretty awesome.

    Durian looks like Jackfruit… readily available here. Is it the same?

    You know, even huge Monitor Lizards probably start out fairly small. From your description, I think I’d rather come across a newly hatched one.

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      • Yes to Old Town… the second half of November and most of December look a lot less crazy than the last couple of months have been. Good to read that you are considering having a book launch party… which of course you’ll invite me to, but I don’t want to wait until mid-2025 to connect.

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      • Yes on the launch party! It was your idea! At first I was scared by it, but, after more thought, decided to get on board. I wasn’t able to secure the band for my birthday this year, so now they OWE me. 😉 Already talked with the guitarist. He’s down for the launch party, and I’m sure his band mates will be too. So, be ready to be treated to some good music! (And, yep, of course I was going to invite you indeed!) So many of my worlds converging in one place will be epic. And for such an occasion! Let’s email again to try to plan Old Town. 🙂

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  5. That is pretty cool. Weirdest thing of all is the bread with ice-cream! I’ve never met any fellow bloggers in real life, but 2 Summers has promised to plan an epic vacation if I ever make it to South Africa. So I gotta go.

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  6. This is just so fantastic beyond words!!! The last time we were there was 26 years ago!! So, because I’ve been there, I’m not terribly jealous that Sensei got to go again…but I would have loved to meet Ju-Lynn!!!

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  7. Durian fruit…interesting: Looked it up.

    Durian is a fruit with a unique flavor that’s often described as sweet, rich, and creamy, with notes of vanilla, caramel, and almond. Some say it tastes like cheesecake or whipped cream with chives, while others compare it to garlic and caramelized sugar. The flavor can be complex and nuanced, and it can leave a long-lasting impression.

    Durian has a soft, pillowy texture, similar to room temperature butter. It’s often used in desserts, but it can also be used in savory dishes.

    Durian is also known for its strong smell, which has been described as a combination of sulfur, sewage, fruit, honey, and roasted and rotting onions. Some say the smell is overpowering and that durian is not for everyone. In fact, durian is banned on public transport in many countries due to its odor.

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  10. Great photos, Betsy! I went to Singapore with my dad and my daughter 29 years ago. My sister in Hong Kong made all the arrangements for us. Ice cream in bread!! I believe that. Even Pizza Hut or McDonald’s had some local items when I visited.

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  11. I once wrote a computer program that monitored the status of about 2,000 servers at one time. We called it Komodo because it was the biggest monitor program we had …

    That’s an engineer’s joke, we don’t have many, but … well …

    Sadly I don’t know anything about Singapore, except that they made some of my favorite computer chips

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  13. How cool when your offline and online worlds collide! So much to catch up on now with both your friends!

    Singapore is a city I’d like to visit, for its renowned cleanliness, food and architecture. And advances in technology. Their airport is also something else.

    And yes, the stinky durian too! 😆

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    • Ooooh, wow. I’ll have to ask Sensei to tell me about the airport. I did get some cool building pics from his as well. I’m not much of a city person, so they didn’t delight me like the other things did. That’s why I didn’t share those here. I still recognized that there were some seriously unique ones, though. Go, Singapore!

      Liked by 1 person

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    • Interesting! What a shame about how small the actual fruit wound up being. And strange that it seems to smell and taste a little different for everyone. Well, maybe it’s not that strange. The taste testing of beer you mentioned on that post sounds like fun. When my parents were last here, I had them do that with all the creamy liquors I have here. Fun game. 🙂

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  15. How wonderful for you! Hope you get to meet her soon.
    A few years ago my daughter and her husband met my penfriend in France. They spent a day together and I spoke to Sophie on my daughter’s phone – the first time we heard each other’s voices, in our 40-odd years of friendship!

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      • Well, once upon a time there were magazines that had names of girls and boys who wanted to be friends. Sometimes there were people who knew people who were were related to girls and boys who etc etc. Sophie and I became friends when we were around 17. Her English improved, I forgot my basic French and we’ve been corresponding via letters, emails and Messenger. Now she writes to my daughter, too.
        Sorry for the loooong reply.

        Liked by 1 person

      • That is super duper neat! I love that it’s been going on for decades. People need human connection in order to function. This story of staying in contact from across the globe, and the thought of how delighted both of you undoubtedly were every time you heard from each other, makes me happy. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  16. Red bean is a paste made out of – you guessed it – black beans!

    J/K. Red beans. It’s made out of red beans. And often sweetened for use in desserts in Asian cuisine. Growing up in Hawaii, red bean was a popular shave ice flavor. Don’t think I ever tried it myself, but if in Singapore, that’s the one I’d go with just because it’s so different.

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    • I have to reorient my thinking that beans can be made into a dessert. Sweet corn and yam are easier to… swallow. 😉 😉 But, yes, I figured, MARK, still. The only beans I’ve heard of to go in ice cream are cocoa and vanilla. I probably would’ve gone with attap because I haven’t the foggiest. I’d ask what it is as it’s about to go in my mouth. Props to you for also choosing something different. If you were with me, however, I would insist you let me try it. 😛

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  17. So much fun! And hey — I just finished my spin class and guess what the last song was? Yep! “Wish You Were Here”. Pink Floyd is ruling today…love the serendipity and your Singapore story. xo! 🥰😜🥰

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  22. Woweee!! Betsy, how wonderful that you could connect Ju-Lyn (who I also know here on WP) with your Sensei. I am not surprised at all that Ju-Lyn and her family made your Sensie so welcome and seems they had a very special time together. Oh, I am smiling at the ice-cream sandwich. In Sweden we literally have just such a name of ice-cream, with vanilla ice-cream in between two chocolate wafers. Yummy! I loved this post, the photos, the sense of warmth and community spreading far and wide! So much to celebrate in life! Xx

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    • Indeed, Annika! Ju-Lyn and her family are amazing. (Wish it could have been me there, but oh well. 😦 )

      And the American version of ice cream sandwich is basically what you described. The Singaporeans get points for creativity!

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  26. When I told my friends I was going to China to teach ESL, they humored me, but I learned later that they didn’t actually believe me. I was in China for a couple of months before they started asking each other, hey, maybe he really did go.

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