Christmas in Singapore

As expected, Christmas decorations in Singapore are simply grand. Amazing. Excessive. 

No cheap and understated choices have been made anywhere in the city. Christmas carols have been playing in the shops since mid-October. Jingle bells? Ok. Have yourself a merry little xmas.... sure, we'll do our best. Let it snow? Well that's not likely now, is it. 

Frosted Christmas trees, toadstool forests, life-sized ginger bread men, have decorated Shopping Malls and given spots for thousands of selfies to the Orchard Road and Tanglin Mall visitors. Abundance is the only word that comes to mind to describe this feast of commercial adverts.

But there is no real Christmas feeling or atmosphere. And I am not talking from a religious point of view, as I wouldn’t know what has been going on in the various Churches. I am talking from an excitement point of view. The commercial side of Singapore is truly astounding. The number of people shopping at the weekends completely obliterate any desire to be out there. It's even driven Marco to prefer to sit by the pool. But it lacks a little bit of soul, of genuineness. What's missing..... cold dark evenings accompanying the last working days before the break. Anticipation as we get closer and closer to parties. Knowing we will soon be spending time with family and friends, eating sweets, playing games, exchanging presents. We have that in flashes; last weekend I wrapped presents, getting ready for our trip to Europe. Our anticipation will be condensed and concentrated into a trip to the airport and our flights to Norway and Italy.

But right now for us there is a certain calm. 

Our colleagues will take a long weekend. For them xmas will be over quickly. The new year, the one we are used to, will pass. And then we will build to the real main winter event - Chinese new year. 

What a massive pikachu! Part #2

In between my 2 trips to Japan we had the Singapore xmas meal. So different from the Japanese one; firstly it's lunch, and in a land where good quality food is common and large quantities are expected, where better than the Pan Pacific hotel all-you-can-eat buffet in The Edge restaurant. I'm not sure we need to travel to at least half of Asia any more as we tried the food from most countries at that buffet, and once you've seen one temple.... It was a very nice meal, delicious food, the dessert bar especially was magnificent. I'm not into durian but Auntie Mary managed to pack away upwards of 10 durian mousses. The sulfurous end apart, a very pleasant meal in a very nice place. Biggest buffet in Singapore someone said.

Two xmas meals, two parties, one team - mine - and yet so different. The cultural differences are never more apparent than from these 2 events. Oh, that and getting off the plane today at Changi airport and immediately being cut up by a local resident who was so desperate to get off the plane before me, and then promptly walked like she was pulling a fucking tractor and not a tiny suitcase. And this was indoors in the aircon. Imagine how slow she will walk outdoors. Compare that to the bell boys at the dai ichi this morning at 6am, bowing as my taxi pulled away to take me to Haneda. Where is home?

Where you live or where your heart is?

So what about this pikachu? Well, Singapore may not have invented Pokemon but they have embraced the Pokemon go culture and even had loads of Pokemon on display at the airport! Look carefully though - is that me with a massive pikachu behind me, or a normal sized pikachu with a midget walking up my arm? Either way, pretty standard for Singapore.

What a massive pikachu! Part #1

I've been to Japan twice in the last 3 weeks. The land where Pokemon were conceived, where those cheesy Godzilla movies I used to watch on late night channel 4 many years ago were made. The land of Battle of the Planets and Mazinger Z and Jeeg robot and of course Goldrake! Although they have different names out there. Gatchaman and UFO robot Grendizer...neither of which I managed to find in the manga museum in Kyoto. But then there was a lot of manga...

The Japan team xmas party was much more sedate than I expected. I suspect that's because the colleague there are so well trained in dealing with alcohol that it simply doesn't have an effect. Free flowing prosecco, wine and beer and all they did was get loud, more talkative, friendly. But they held it all together. I just love the seat swapping too. Every meal in Japan with large numbers of people when they have a visitor involves them swapping seats, to all spend time talking to each other and the visitors. Arancini and mozzarella di bufala to start. Wagyu grade A5 beef with salad....the most delicious beef in the world, for main. Then the pasta dishes, then the dessert and coffee....a wonderful night with new friends. The previous night was one of those "didn't expect to drink so much" evenings. Japanese food with sake and beer and wine, and then Miyoshi insisting that we should have one more in a "traditional pub". The little place under the railway bridge, fried food on sticks - think it's an izakaya bar, warm sake with chicken kebabs. I walked him....held him upright, to get at cab home at the dai-ichi hotel. At the party he was certain he had caught the train home. On the basis of the resistance that he has developed over 30 years of hard drinking, that must have been some serious alcohol consumption even by his standards. Morning of the party I was rough. He looked it too during our goals review. But he perked up by noon and was ready for round #2. Meanwhile I needed to go back to the hotel and have 3 hour lie-down. It was only the prosecco at the party that saw me through the night! God bless prosecco and its medicinal powers.

More shortly - and is that a massive pikachu I see....??