Food - I specifically avoided eating McDonalds in the airport because prior to the flight I really wasn't that hungry and I assumed I could find something to eat when I got home. Half way back on the flight to Singapore I started to get a little hungry, but the offer of a "sardine puff" from the flight attendant squashed that. I decided it best to just take a nap for the next half hour to be safe. The taxi home was pretty fast, but not as speedy as the driver 2 weeks ago who claimed to be a "professional driver." He had driven a taxi in Bangkok for 5 years though, and after having spent a weekend in Bangkok, anyone who is still alive after driving there for 5 years just may be a professional.Anyway, I got home, threw some shorts on and strolled over to the hawker centre. The problem is, there are always more places open to eat during lunch and then it turns out that my go to dumpling ramen shop is closed for about a month. This makes sense since we have been feeding them money on a weekly basis. By the time we leave we may have put one of their children through college, $3 at a time. The only place open was a claypot chicken shop I hadn't noticed before. It was OK, but had a lot of items I wasn't entirely positive about their origin. The big Kingfisher beer made me feel classy at least. I actually had had claypot chicken in Penang for lunch and can report that I have now found food that is better in Penang than Singapore. This sample of two hawker shops isn't exactly the most scientific conclusion, but the Penang one has rice, chicken, chinese sausage and a fried egg on top. Plus the chili sauce is better. Advantage Penang.
After being stymied on the food front Friday night I went over early Saturday to stock up. Banana prata, plain prata, chicken puffs, bananas, and pineapple. I was set for the day. This got me thinking though.... was I doing the equivalent of making a fast food run in the US? I had rarely eaten fast food back home, but now go grab hawker fare on a regular basis. Maybe I should have just eaten McDonalds in the airport Friday.
Activities - the reason I had to load up on food was I spent the day working at the kitchen table. Since Sarah was done with school someone had to keep the seat warm. Plus, she set up a new bookcase so you wouldn't even be able to tell that the table had been the study station for the past 3 months. I couldn't go into the office because they were shutting down the power for 36 hours. It would have been open in the morning, but you potentially could have gotten stuck on the 14th floor. Not wanting to walk down that many flights of stairs, I opted for the day at home. I did meet up with some friends for drinks in Clarke Quay at a New Zealand bar for a few hours. We looked pretty tame compared to the New Zealand bankers who had been there since noon. We weren't breaking glasses like them or wearing costumes (I think they had Christmas confused with Halloween) so I'm considering that a win for us.I tried sleeping in, but couldn't even make it past 8 AM. I had big intentions of getting out and meandering around the city, but watching a replay of the Big 10 Championship Game (Go Badgers!) was just too tempting. The rest of the day turned into a Netflix bender, but sometimes you just need one of those.
So there you have it - good thing Sarah will be rejoining me for 2013 so we can continue on our adventures that will involve more than cheap food and football on the couch. The curry quest is still on though, hoping for a report in early 2013.
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