Happy Ox Year

In the year of the Ox, I finally got to celebrate Chinese New Year with my family after two years. During this period that I was home, it was great to catch up with my family and friends. Of course, I also missed my mum's cooking.

Lunar year of Ox pictures.

Posting pictures of myself

If you had been reading my past postings or visited my Webshots albums, I hardly posted pictures of myself. Mine were more of scenery, flowers and animals. I am actually a private person though I may be gregarious.

The feedback I got from friends was that they would like to see how I look (fat or slim etc). Debbie also mentioned that she would develop pictures of her son periodically and give them to her parents so that they could see his physical development.

This struck a cord in my heart since I am overseas and my mum would also ask occasionally if I had put on weight. While back in Singapore recently, I also flipped through my old photo albums which brought back many memories.

So, starting this year, lookout for portraits of me intersperse in my postings.

An idyllic Pulau Ubin

As my nephew, Emmanuel wanted to visit Pulau Ubin, a small island northeast of mainland Singapore, we arranged to go there on my last weekend in Singapore.

The sea breeze felt good as we sat in the ferry (S$2.50 per person) and the sun was partially covered by clouds.

I had always enjoyed being in P. Ubin as it was undeveloped with no high rise building and lots of greenery. Houses were made of planks and zinc. Pace of life was slower than in Singapore. Residents used to farm and grow orchard but relied on tourism nowadays.

We rented mountain bikes and cycled towards the highest point on the island which overlooked Ubin Quarry. We had to take a forest trail to reach the summit, passing by two lower viewpoints.

The scenery was fantastic with turquoise water as backdrop. One could see Johor Bahru in the north and Singapore in the south.

Next, we proceeded towards Noordin Beach where there was a barricade in the sea to prevent entry of illegal immigrants swimming across the Straits of Johor.

We were lost in the mangrove when we wanted to take the route to Mamam Beach. Our bikes and legs were covered with smelly mud. After backtracking, we were able to get back onto the tarmac road.

We went back to Singapore around 4pm and headed to Changi Village market where I had beef noodle and ayam penyet.

Pulau Ubin pictures here.

Culture shock in Singapore

Imagine a Singaporean feeling culture shock in his homeland after three years away.



The first impression I got was an overwhelm of Chinese since Baltimore has a majority of African Americans.



Most of the youngsters I spotted had dyed hair with funky hairdos. I found it irritating to have my vision obscured by strands of hair!



While waiting at City Hall Mass Rapid Transit Station during evening rush hour for my polytechnic friends, waves of commuters just kept 'pouring' out and in through fare gates. I felt claustrophobic. Foreigners were aplenty.



Another change I noticed was while hunting local dishes at hawker centers, there was an increased number of Chinese nationals working behind the stalls or clearing the tables. Formerly, these were taken by Singaporeans and the elderly. I had to see who were mending the stalls first before speaking Hokkien or Teochew. At one hardware store, I asked the stall helper in Chinese and he replied that he spoke English.



I also saw a surge in the number of cars on roads. New taxi companies were established. Cars here are parked facing out while in USA, they are often parked facing in. I was also confused with traffic direction. A few times, I looked in the opposite direction from the oncoming traffic.

Things are changing fast and I felt out-of-place.

A new beginning of 2009

Since my last posting on my NYC Christmas trip, I had been busy preparing to go back to Singapore for a holiday after two years away.




By shifting my flight date from Jan 5 to Jan 10, I saved USD$240 and I had more time to settle administration for the period that I would be away.


Fortunately, my flight from Baltimore to Detroit was smooth with no delay due to bad weather. However, it was snowing at Detroit and we had to wait one hour in the plane for ground staff to spray anti-freeze chemicals on the exterior of the plane. Thereafter, it was a long 13-hour flight to Narita, Japan.




As we were delayed for one hour at Detroit, I had little time left for the connecting flight to Singapore. Worse, we had to go through security screening again. I wondered why since we had passed security. Anyway, I managed to get on the connecting flight in the nick of time and it was another 7-hour flight. I tried to adjust my biological clock 13-hour ahead by staying awake watching three movies.



The plane touched down at 12.35am on Jan 12, Mon and I was surprised to see Debbie and her family waiting for me. We had arranged that I would take a cab to her place to sleep for the night since I wanted to surprise my mum in the day. I managed to recover one of two checked-in luggage at the carousel and reported the other as missing.

When we were about to drive off from the airport car park, I got a call informing me that there was a black bag with my luggage tag. I was puzzled since mine was a blue nylon bag. Upon claiming it, it was torn and wrapped up inside a black garbage bag which explained why I could not recognise it.

We had seafood hor fun and fish soup from Tian Tian Seafood Store for supper and I slept at 3am plus. I woke up at 7.30am and was hungry. Luckily, there was a key left in the door for me to get back in. I ate wanton mee, four zui chuay (rice cake), one you tiao and two cups of coffee. This habit of eating various dishes at one meal was repeated till today. I had gained 3 kg (6.5 lb) within nine days.

As for the surprise, I lied to my family that I would arrive on Jan 19 instead of Jan 10. In the afternoon, I called up my mum to chat with her, giving her the impression that I was still in USA. After hanging up, I immediately went to the door and took the candid shot of her surprised look. She was speechless and only said, "You, you, you ...." (in Teochew). Haha... I also got to see my nephew, Maximus who could recognise me since I last saw him at age two.

In summary, I had ate a lot of local dishes, drank lots of concentrated coffee-o and caught up with friends. My daily schedule included swimming at least 40 x 50m laps in the morning and running for 30 minutes in the evening to slow down my weight increase. I have three more weeks of eating and basking under the sun before I head back to the cold bitter winter. Till then, I am just enjoying myself back home.

Look out for River Hong Bao pictures soon.

Blessed Christmas

I received a pleasant surprise on the eve of Jesus' birth. There was a call from my condominium concierge, informing me that I had a package from Santa.

Thinking she was joking about Santa, I went down to collect it.

The package was in a Macy's shopping bag with a red ribbon. Written on a star-shaped card was my name, unit number and Santa?

I am keeping this card to compare the handwriting of my friends where I will undertake a crash course on graphology to narrow down the 'suspects'. So to Santa, beware! I am coming after you to unveil you (smile).

Inside the package was a nativity set where I displayed on top of my TV which faced my bed so that I would sleep and wake to it.

The nativity set is a good reminder of God's love.

Thank you, Santa (whoever you are)!

Christmas lightup at NYC, Dec 12-14

I had never been to the Big Apple during Christmas season nor took pictures of it at night.

On Dec 12, I was guided by Tom, an ex-New Yorker, to walk along Fifth Avenue where Lord & Taylor had wonderful, traditional window displays. As I did not like to use flash because of the harsh light effect on subjects and the light bouncing off the window, I had set my aperture to F3.5 and shutter speed to 1/20 seconds.

It did not help that I did not have a tripod and fellow viewers were walking into my view and looking at the displays too. Timing was essence.

The star-war effect was taught to me by Charles where I set my shutter speed to 1/20 seconds and twisted my zoom lens while capturing a Christmas tree.

At Rockefeller Center, there was a sea of people gathered at the Rockefeller Plaza where angels with trumpets drew your attention to the eight-ton, 72-foot Norway spruce in the center. Below the gigantic Christmas tree were people skating at the Rockefeller Ice Rink. Opposite to the tree, snowflakes danced to a tune on the facade of Saks Fifth Avenue. Bare trees around the rink were adorned with lighting, adding to the Christmas mood.





Thereafter, we proceeded to Times Square where I had a "light" overload. Lighted billboards, advertising musicals, brands, etc, were on every corner. We also went inside a M & M's store that had three floors of merchandise related to M & M's such as towels, mugs, jewelery, etc, and of course, chocolate.

The next day, we passed by Central Park Zoo which used to be free. The giant 'web' was the roof of a pavilion in the park.

My hand was frozen and painful at the end of the day when I took New Jersey cityscape from Manhattan pier. The wind made the cold unbearable.

Overall, I enjoyed this trip, having a deeper insight to life in NYC since I would not have ventured to tour the less-touristy places on my own.

Christmas at NYC photo album.

Stretching your dollars

In this bad economic time, thriftiness is a virtue. Here are some ways to lower the grocery bill by changing our daily habits.

Toiletries come in different containers and shapes. For example, a pump bottle would need a certain minimum volume of liquid to dispense. In the first picture, I found there was still about 1 cm of moisturizer left which could not be dispensed. By cutting the bottle, I was amazed at the number of times I could apply with the remaining moisturizer. Do cover the opening with a Saran wrap to prevent evaporation.

The next picture was my shower gel bottle. Because of its viscosity, most of the shower gel would adhere on the inner wall before reaching the opening. By inverting the bottle, all the gel would be collected at the opening. To get the last bit out, you could dilute the gel with a tiny volume of water. Similarly, you could dilute shampoo and conditioner with water.

The third picture depicted a rolled up toothpaste tube. Squeezing along and rolling up the tube as you used helped to consolidate the paste for easy squeezing as recommended on the tube.

The last picture was my facial cleanser which I cut into half. There was still a lot left on the inner wall though I could not squeeze it out. So, invert and let gravity does its job. Remember to keep the opening folded to prevent the cleanser from drying out.

Avoid grocery shopping on an empty stomach as I found that I tend to buy more food.

Check through your home for the things running low and make a grocery list to prevent buying unnecessary things or items you already had.

Buying things in bulk or larger size is usually cheaper.

Buy items on discounts offered at supermarkets which often rotate items on sale. I often buy toiletries to store since they have no expiry date. Use coupons and mail-in-rebates.

Thanksgiving and Black Friday weekend (Nov 27)

After celebrating my birthday with lots of eating, the next feasting occasion was Thanksgiving which followed closely behind. Thanksgiving was celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November,

I had a pre-Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday where I had a East-West Thanksgiving dinner of sambal prawn, pork braised in dark soya sauce, traditional stuffed-turkey, pecan pie etc. Cecilia and Josephine co-hosted this wonderful dinner and I avoided alcohol since I had to drive back to Baltimore from Camile Drive in Potomac, MD.

On Thanksgiving, I was invited by Yih Yng to his Singaporean Thanksgiving of chicken rice, salmon sashimi, Thai-curry pork, Szechuan soup and roasted beef. His culinary skill was superb. I realized I could not gorge as much as before. Sign of aging and lack of exercise.

On Black Friday, Joe, his family, and I headed to Hagerstown Prime Outlet, armed with discount coupons printed online. We reached around 9am and collected our membership cards which we applied online. With our new membership card, we split the cost of a $5-coupon booklet.

Thereafter, I headed straight to Adidas where I spent $77 on running gears. As I was looking for a humidifier and a travel hair dryer, I went into Black and Decker. There was no sign of either item but there were lots of Jo!e products which I had been collecting. There were pans, spatulas, measuring equipments, fridge magnets, tongs, cutting board etc. After spending $65, my collection would be almost complete. Yipee.

We only left Hagerstown around closing time, clocking my record of a 12-hour shopping spree! In total, I spent about $400.

On Saturday, we met again to do grocery shopping. I had not gone to AA Supermarket or HMart since Jianshi's in-laws came one month ago. I had to replenish Thai jasmine rice, leafy vegetables, tuna steak, and Chinese dumplings. We also dropped by Sam's club. My grocery bill came up to $150. To end the day, we had a delicious dinner at Szechuan House in Lutherville.

We visited Jianshi's newborn son and went to Towson Town Center on Sunday. I just bought a facial cleanser at Nordstrom Rack as mine was running out.

After five days of driving around shopping, doing errands, and eating, I was exhausted. Life returned to normalcy today.

Patterns in the sky

These were the photos taken at DC where my theme was sky.

The first was shot at The Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard, inside the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery.



This was taken during dusk when the evening sun was peering through dark overcast.



The picture was blurred which is why I need a monopod.

Celebrating my birthday

I celebrated my 33rd birthday today and I am touched by the many surprises, well wishes, gifts and love I get from around the globe!

My first gift to myself was my promotion from a postdoctoral fellow to a faculty position as a research associate at Johns Hopkins University. My other satisfaction would come from publishing my influenza manuscripts.

My first surprise was on Thu, Nov 20 when my Singaporean friends wanted to give Wenmin a pre-birthday surprise. So, we gathered at her apartment corridor with a side table and a waffle maker while she emerged from the elevator. She was surprised and touched by our gesture. She kept covering her face or turning away while I took pictures of her. Then, my friends suddenly took out a photography catalog with a $100 gift card and presented to me. I was truly surprised because I did not tell them my birthday. I had thought we were only celebrating for Wenmin's.

The gift card story began on Nov 14, when Tiah Ling overheard that I was interested to buy a monopod or tripod. So, she emailed me on the pretense of seeking my advice on which to buy. Instead, I told her it would depend on how she would use it. I was very 'politically correct'. Thus, she got nothing out of me and decided to get the gift card.

My friends from France, one studying in Germany, and my best friends and Godson in Singapore emailed, skyped or left well wishes on Facebook. My young nephews, Anselm and Maximus, called and sang to me the animal birthday song which they learned from the movie Madagascar. This is the lyrics: Happy birthday to you. You live in a zoo. You look like a monkey, and you smell like one too. Listening to their innocent voices singing this song brought a big smile on me.

I also had a delicious dim sum lunch yesterday when I 'dragged' Tom to Silver Spring. It helped to satisfy part of my food craving that I had built up over two years away from Singapore. Also, I got my bath scale which I had wanted to buy. I am putting on weight as I have put off going to gym and eating out often.

On Sunday evening, Vladimir, Dijana and I had gone for a walk around Loyola College. On our back, Vladimir treated me to dinner at Petit Louis Bistro, a French restaurant, at 4800 Roland Avenue. The restaurant was cozy with a fireplace, food was delicious and the prices were reasonable.

I had a restful sleep with my stomach stuffed with good food from Sunday.

This afternoon, Wenmin passed by my lab to give me a card, Cape Cod potato chips and M&M's (R) Premiums Triple Chocolate. After watching the program Unwrapped on the Food Network, I had been searching high and low for this brand to try out the salt and vinegar flavored potato chip. Now, I know where to get them.

As for today's dinner at Szechuan House Corporation at 1427 York Rd, Shiying, Clive, Tiah Ling and Yih Yng sacrificed their studying time to accompany me even though they had final exam tomorrow. Food was delightful and the company was fun. Shiying casually mentioned to the waitress that it was my birthday today. After clearing our table, I was wondering why it had taken so long for the waitress to come out with the fortune cookies. When she emerged, she was carrying a cake and sang the normal birthday song. It was an ice cream cake on the house. Life is full of surprises.

Counting my blessings

Lady Luck began smiling at me when I won a ticket lottery for the musical, Wicked, which saved me $65 on Oct 23.

Recently, I won my bid for "Basic Economics" by Thomas Sowell on eBay, saving only $2.22. Though the saving was little, it was better than none in this bad economic time. This was my second attempt at bidding for something and won.

In time of job retrenchment and high jobless rate, I have a choice of two good positions for my career.

Paraphrasing Thomas Sowell "Life does not ask what we want but offers us choices."

Capturing autumn colors in Baltimore City

Initially, my Singaporean friends had intended to take pictures of fall along Skyline Drive in Virginia. However, no one was interested to drive 6 hours just to take the pictures.

So, I decided to cycle around Baltimore City since there would always be subjects to capture if I looked hard enough. It would also serve to showcase Baltimore's charms, which coincidentally is one of Baltimore's slogans, called Charm City. Unfortunately, most of the trees had shed their leaves by the last weekend due to wind and rain. I had to find trees with leaves and not just branches.

My hunt took me to Guilford Avenue where colorful row houses lined the street and Jones Falls Trail with the arc waterfall, reminding me of Niagara Falls on a much smaller scale.

As the sun set earlier at 5pm, my last shots were along Roland Ave where the golden rays illuminated a line of trees with yellow leaves. The driveway was covered with fallen leaves which left a deep impression of the beautiful colors of red, orange and yellow.

Baltimore fall pictures.

USA Presidential Election 2008

I considered myself fortunately to witness a historic presidential election during my stay in USA. The political scene and campaigning is different from back home.

I especially get a kick out of watching Saturday Night Live Presidential Bashing where politicians are the butt of jokes. Politicians were game to play along with the acts. The political freedom here is truly something.

Way to go for electing an African-American to be president. Change for the better is on the horizon.

A 'clip' on my Achilles

After experiencing a nagging pain around my right heel in June, I have not been running since then.

I limp slightly when I wake up each morning, and my right heel hurts if I run or even do a brisk walk. After resting for three months, the pain was still there. I finally consulted with my doctor who referred me to a podiatrist at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

My appointment was on Election Day, Nov 4 2008. As I filled up their questionnaire online, I could arrive 10 minutes prior to appointment in contrast to 30 minutes and the specialist kept thanking me for filling it online. Strange.

I had to wear a lead gonad shield to protect my heirloom from x ray during three exposures.

Instead of developing the films, x rays were downloaded to a computer where I saw some bone growing around my Achilles tendon, thus restricting my movements. My diagnosis was Achilles tendinitis.

His advice was to stretch my calf muscle four times daily to compensate for the shortening of the Achilles tendon.

My advice: Warm up before running and down after running. Living with it is troublesome.

Fatten up before visiting the Windy City, Chicago

After completing my first draft of my manuscript on Oct 21, a deadline which I gave myself, I went for a vacation in Chicago, Illinois. As I had been working on it for months, I needed a break so I could revise it after this trip with comments from my supervisors.

On Oct 22 (Wed), I nearly missed my flight as I had forgotten to check the schedule for the MARC train. My flight was to depart at 9.21 am and I was still not check-in at 8.30 am. It did not helped that the train was traveling slower than usual because of a delay ahead!

Upon reaching the Baltimore-Washington International Airport Station, there were only two cabs in sight. I intended to hail the first cab but the money-minded driver said he would not take me and told me to wait for the free shuttle to the terminal. Shortly, another passenger came and he took off, earning $55. How I knew he earned $55 was because I had to listen to the second cab driver complaining that I should have sat in the first cab, without telling him where I was going. Initially, he also said that he was not going to take me. I told him I would pay him $20 for the short trip to the terminal and he relented. After he had cooled down, we chatted about the weather and where I came from. He seemed to be a nice guy; he was just irritated by the work ethics of the first cab driver.

Due to security rule concerning fluids on flights, I had wanted to check-in my haversack but was told that the gate was closed. After getting my boarding pass, I ran quickly towards security, inquiring a Transportation Security Administration officer if I could bring my tubes of moisturizers and a used bottle of Cepacol spray for relief of sore throat. She said they were fine after checking them but I did not zip up the side pocket containing the fluids and passed my haversack through the x-ray machine. There was a fluid alert after my haversack went through and the officers checked that they were less than 3 ounces (100 ml).

After security clearance, I 'flew' to my departure gate and arrived in the nick of time. It was boarding my section. During the 2-hour flight, I read up a Chicago 2000 travel guidebook on places-of-interest and transportation maps, hoping nothing big had changed.

On arrival at Chicago O'Hare International Airport, I gained 1 hour because Chicago is in the central time zone. The airport had five terminals and I had to navigate through the big maze to take the blue line subway. Thinking I would hop on and off the public transportation a lot, so I bought a 3-day visitor pass ($12). It took about 50 minutes to Downtown.

I headed towards Chicago Cultural Center which was a former public library but is now a cultural center and has a visitor information center. The interior design is beaux-arts style and the 38-foot dome in the Preston Bradley Hall is the world's largest Tiffany stained-glass dome, worth an estimated $35 million. Music lovers can attend free concerts during weekdays at 12.15pm.

From the visitor center, I chose a river architecture cruise along Chicago River where a certified guide gave anecdotes of tall skyscrapers along the river. The wind was chilly. Behind me in the background is Sears Tower (with two poles).

While walking along the street, I noticed staircases leading down. I decided to investigate and saw it was a separate 'world' of streets and garages, lit by lamps. There was a bum who saw me taking pictures and headed toward me. I fled up the stairs before he came near to me.

I also saw Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate at the Millennium Park. I liked his work after seeing them at Boston's Institute of Contemporary Art. People were amazed at the visual effects standing under the Cloud Gate. Other interesting features include the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, BP Bridge, The Crown Fountain and The Lurie Garden.

At dusk, I had intended to go up Sears Tower to take pictures of sunset. My plan was upset when I was held up, having to go through Sears Tower presentation. It is the tallest building in the Northern Hemisphere and the third tallest building in the world. The sun had set when I was at the Skydeck. I tried my best to capture the twilight with Chicago lit up while holding my breath to prevent blurring.

I checked in to my hotel around 9.30 pm and was exhausted. My cough was worse after a grueling day of sight-seeing and the cold air. I had caught a cold in the freezing water after my intermediate white water kayaking trip on Oct 19.

Early next morning, I had complimentary breakfast at my hotel. I set out around 8 am which was too early for any attraction to be opened. I decided to walk from Diversey Parkway towards Downtown.

First in the list was Lincoln Park where I visited The Notebaert Nature Museum which had a free admission for that day. It had environmental exhibits catered toward children. However, I enjoyed taking pictures of butterflies in the Judy Istock Butterfly Haven.

Next, I visited the Lincoln Park Zoo which is free and opens 365 days. The animal exhibits are good, considering it is free. I managed to see wolves up close since I did not see any during my Yellowstone trip. Bald eagles were within camera shot. I detoured to the Lincoln Park Conservatory which houses tropical palms and ferns before finishing the 35-acres zoo.

Some of Chicago’s most expensive real estate and and most historic architecture can be found in the neighborhoods of State Parkway, Lake Shore Drive, and Astor Street, nicknamed The Gold Coast. Residents living along Lake Shore Drive could have a good view of the stupendous Lake Michigan.

There were actually choppy waves in the lake which resembled those at sea. The water was cold and wind was strong.

Thereafter, I walked along the Magnificent Mile, akin to New York's Fifth Avenue. I also visited John Hancock Observatory since I did not take pictures of Chicago at daylight. Visitors could also drop by the Old Water Tower and Pumping Station to inquire at another visitor information center.


As the weather forecast for Thursday night would be raining, I did not want to wander in the rain or stayed at my hotel. So, I thought of catching the musical, Wicked in the evening. I traveled to Ford Oriental Theater three times. First, when I wanted to buy the ticket; but at $90, I was not keen. The cashier told me I could enter for a lucky draw at 5.30 pm where a pair of tickets at $25 could be won. Second time, I turned up for the lucky draw after completing my Magnificent Mile tour. I was the second winner and this was my second win in 32 years. Between then and the show, I wanted to try the deep-dish pizza for dinner. I walked towards Pizzeria Uno where I had to wait 1 hour for the pizza to be cooked because of its thickness. I had to settle for McDonald's.

I was impressed by the elaborate interior design of Ford Theater and was taken aback when I entered the hall. It had long drapes of velvet curtains and richly ornamented walls, chairs, etc. Forty winners of the lucky draw got to sit on the two front middle rows of the theater where I could even see the mole on an actress. I enjoyed the story of how the Wicked Witch became 'wicked' with reference to the Wizard of Oz story. It was raining when the musical ended.

On Friday Oct 24, I went to Navy Pier which is a great place for kids to hang out. With plenty of time to spare, I tried to have the famous deep dish pizza. There was no long line like the previous night and I sat at the bar counter. I was recommended the express personal pizza which took 25 minutes. The depth measured about 1.5 inches.

Thereafter, I visited Grant Park where the Buckingham Fountain was under renovation. The rest of the afternoon was spent at the Art Institute of Chicago which houses a good collection of famous works like Van Gogh's. The paperweight collection was colorful and intricately designed.

I had wanted to taste home food when I saw the Penang Restaurant in Chinatown. However, it ran out of business and I ate at a Chinese restaurant.

Overall, I was impressed by the architecture of Chicago and the good transportation system. The weather was chilly. It is best to fatten up so as not be blown away by wind and to insulate against the cold in the Windy City.

Butterflies pictures.

Chicago pictures.

Great Falls from a different perspective

Last year around October, I visited Great Falls and from the trail, I saw people kayaking rapids. I secretly wished I could be on the rapids though I thought it was dangerous.
By a twist of fate, one year later on Oct 19, Sun 2008, I was on an intermediate white water kayaking trip on the Potomac River.

It was a cold Sunday and we each put on a wet suit, a splash jacket, a personal flotation device, a skirt and a helmet.

We had to carry our kayaks over some distance since the launch site was far away from the parking lots.

Before heading out to the river, we practiced rolling and none was successful on our first attempt. We were not used to the bulk and the water was freezing cold.

As I head out onto the river from an eddy, my kayak was caught by the current and I flipped. I tried to roll but was unsuccessful. I had to wet exit. It was embarrassing to be the first to wet exit on the trip.

After getting back into the kayak, I started to enjoy the scenery and saw hikers looking down at us from the trail. It was a different view, looking up at them from the river.

Great Falls pictures.

Boston, The Walking City. July 18-21

I am catching up with my postings since I had not been updating regularly for the past few months.

As my Ph.D. supervisor was working at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts, I thought of visiting him and passing him my hard-bound thesis to him for mentoring me. It was also a chance for me to visit Boston.

He offered me his place to stay during my visit. It was located 5 minutes from where he worked. I arrived in Boston on July 21, Friday and took The Boston Subway, known as T to Longwood Station. I alighted at The Government Center to transfer from blue line to green line. Instead, I crossed to the opposite platform and took the blue line heading back towards the airport. I snapped out of my daze and jostled with the evening commute back to Longwood. That was when I learned about the inbound and outbound directions with reference to Downtown.

I also met my ex-colleagues who were currently working with my Ph.D. supervisor. I was given a tour of his laboratory by Guanglan. Thereafter, all of us went to Legal Seafood for dinner. I did my homework to check out which restaurants in Boston offered the best seafood and their chef's specialties. I ordered grilled swordfish and clam chowder. This was my first time eating swordfish and I found the meat tasteless. The clam chowder had a smooth texture and creamy taste which I wolfed down happily. For dessert, I had Boston cream pie which was rich but palatable. By the time we finished dinner, it was passed midnight as we were seated only around 10pm.

The next day, Guanglan and I went along The Freedom Trail which took us to Bunker Hill, USS Constitution, and graveyards etc. I noticed there were stones and pebbles placed on the tombstones of famous persons such as Samuel Adams. I wondered if this was an American culture.

At Little Italy, we had beer to cool down as the temperature was over 100 degree Fahrenheit that day. I even deliberately got drenched from a fountain. Thereafter, we proceeded towards Union Square Plaza where there was a farmer market selling fresh and cheap produce. I was tempted to buy a punnet of strawberries but the thought of carrying it around squashed the idea.

The trail also led us to Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market, bustling with street vendors, shoppers and tourists. We passed by Old State House, the State House with the expensive golden dome and finally to Boston Common.

Thereafter, Guanglan treated me to ginger stirred-fried lobsters, goat stew and a plate of greens which cost only $60. It was cheap for the quantity and quality of the food.

On July 20, I toured alone and went to Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. Fans were buying merchandise from the sports store and touring the stadium. Then, I passed by the Emerald Necklace, which is one of the oldest series of public parks and parkways, where city dwellers can get a respite from hectic lifestyle to garden or enjoy greenery. It was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted who also designed New York's Central Park.

To have a better look of Greater Boston, I went up the Skywalk Observatory located at Prudential Tower with an amazing 360 degree views. I could see Massachusetts Institute of Technology across the Charles River, Fenway Park, the Emerald Necklace, and Downtown.

Coming down from the observatory, I went to the shopping belt of Boston located along Newbury Street. High end stores include Gucci, Chanel and Burberry. I went into Northface to look at the prices for a kick. Visitors interested in sculptures can proceed to Commonwealth Avenue which is a mall of 14 sculptures.

For dinner, I went to B&G Oysters Restaurant where I had half a dozen of raw oysters ($2.50 each) and bacon-wrapped cod. The oysters were smooth and did not smell which was worth the price. The bacon-wrapped cod was perfectly baked and delicious!

On my last day, I went on a 3-hour whale-watch cruise where I saw whales for the first time. There were three minke whales, a mother and its calves. It was awesome to watch them swimming along our ship and diving underneath it. The wind was chilling and even though it was cloudy, I got tanned after the trip.

I also took a quick tour of Harvard main campus where I took a picture with the statue of John Harvard. His left shoe was shining from visitors rubbing it. It was rumored that students peed on it which I thought not possible unless someone was standing on a ladder. Next was Massachusetts Institute of Technology when it started to rain when I reached there.

To wrap up this great trip, I went to Penang Restaurant in Chinatown for comfort food where the waiter had to remind me that I had ordered more than enough for a person. I remembered ordering chicken satay, yong tau foo curry, beef rendang and chendol.

Boston pictures available here.