Hot and HOT

The weather in Singapore has been really hot. When we were in Bali, the weather was really hot too, especially on the first day and the fourth day. We thought coming back to Singapore, we might get better, i.e. cooler weather. Well, it was fat chance lol.

Heat Wave

We have been experiencing some unusually HOT weather in Singapore. Even at night, it has been really warm and stuffy. It feels like I am in the sauna perpetually. Not sure what is happening with Gaia. :(

Plan B

We were supposed to go to Wulai, an Aboriginal Village today. However as it was still wet weather, we went to Plan B, wet weather plan. Otherwise it would be a similar experience as with Yangmingshan National Park.

After breakfast at 9:30am, we took the Taipei Metro from Huzhou station which is just 3 minutes away from our hotel to Neihu station. We went to the Huguang Open-air Market. It was definitely an eye-opening experience for the girls. The wet market in Taipei is different from that in Singapore. You have both the stalls selling meat, vegetables, seafood, etc and stalls selling clothes, bags, kitchen wares, etc right next to each other, and even have stalls selling cooked food interspersed in between them.

The girls on the Taipei Metro



We went for early lunch at 11:30am at a Japanese restaurant near the Huguang Market. We ordered the spicy ramen with extra bowl of ramen, charsiew ramen with extra bowl of pork don and omurice with pork cutlet. Everything tasted fantastic. :)




After lunch, we went to visit a relative who lived nearby, followed by a visit to the Miniatures Museum of Taiwan and to Hsimending. We enjoyed looking at all the miniature houses, etc. We were in awe of the incredible attention to the details. :)




I haven't never really visited Hsimending all those times I was in Taiwan. Goodness, it is crowded even on a weekday! The girls bought some hair accessories before we went to browse at Eslite Bookstore. After that, we had early dinner at 5pm at yet another Japanese restaurant haha. There are plenty of good Japanese restaurants in Taiwan. :)

The start of the Hsimending pesdestrain mall walk

An excellent Japanese restaurant in terms of taste and price :)



After dinner, we went to visit my mother's old neighbour and family who watched my brother and I grow up. It was fun watching the amazement on their faces to see that I haven't changed at all lol. :P

Snow Showers

What a change of the weather! Yesterday was a high of 21C with plenty of sunshine and today, it plummeted down to only a high of 9C! FREEZING COLD!

I was woken up by the cold actually. :P Around 8am Denver time (10pm Singapore time), I started feeling very cold. I took a peek out the window and saw that it was showering. ok but hey, what's those white specks?! Lo and behold, it is snow!! I am witnessing for the very first time in my life, snow showers! :) It was kind of beautiful to watch but very COLD lol. I was out on the balcony (on the 19th floor where I am staying), dressed only in my pj and a jacket, taking photos like crazy. I tried to catch the snow flakes both in my hand and on camera but they melted really fast as they were small. I stuck out my tongue and caught a few snow flakes lol. It was cold haha. I wish my girls were here to see this sight. :)



The Rocky in the distance after the snow showers in the afternoon

It is really cold today due to the snow showers. I didn't venture outdoors until late in the afternoon when my friend, Luis reminded me to register for my AERA Conference pack. By then, the snow showers had stopped. Thank goodness lol. :P Since I was already outdoors to collect conference stuff, I might as well have dinner too. I joined Luis for a quick dinner at Bubba Gump which is the nearest restaurant, right next to the Colorado Convention Centre haha. I ordered a Shrimp Po' Boy (under US$12): French Loaf stuffed with warm Popcorn Shrimp served with fries and coleslaw while my friend, Luis ordered a Baja Shrimp Tacos: Three spicy shrimp tacos. Both dishes looked and tasted delicious. :)

My Shrimp Po' Boy

Luis' Shrimp Tacos


By the time we finished dinner and parted ways, it was close to 7.30pm Denver time (9.30am Singapore time). I walked around the city for a while as my friend went back to prepare for his presentation the next day. Managed to take a few photos before I started to freeze. Time to go home and snuck into bed to keep warm lol.

Wintery Weather

I finally started to pack my luggage. I have been putting it off as I was hoping the weather in Denver was going to turn warm! Alas, no such luck. The temperature is still pretty cool in Denver for late April and early May, not hitting any higher than 20C, mostly in the mid 10s region, and the low can be under 5C. On Thursday, the weather forecast says it is going to be scattered thunderstorms in Denver and the temperature is going to hit below 10C for the max temperature! *Shivers* SHIVERS* :(

In goes all my winter clothing and there goes all the extra luggage space for my shopping. :(

Denver Prep

I have been checking the weather for Denver as I will be going there soon. I am pretty alarmed to find the weather fluctuates quite a bit and I mean QUITE a bit. One day it could be sunny with a high of 17C and a low of 6C and the next day could be windy with a high of 7C and a low of 1C. There is the occasional snow showers as well! :( I hate the cold. :( Looks like I will have to bring winter clothing for my Denver trip.

Wet Weather

After an extremely hot and dry February, there is now some respite with the afternoon showers over the past few days. The temperature is now cooler, thank goodness. :) According to NEA, an increase in showers towards late March is expected as we approach the Inter-monsoon season. I guess in the following weeks to come, carrying an umbrella on our persons is now in order.

Dry Spell

According to National Environment Agency, this February is possibly one of the driest February ever recorded in Singapore. February is usually the driest month in the year and the El Nino effect is now making it worst. The dry spell has also seen an increase in the outbreak of grass, lallang and vegetation fires, 92 cases in this month alone! :( That would account for the perpetual burning smell lingering in the air for the past two weeks, especially prominent during the nights.

People with weak respiratory system or suffering from existing respiratory problems are at risk from the haze. I have been affected and so were my girls. :( I am praying hard for some rain soon!

The Snowflake Test

Blogthings has a couple of new quizzes. I tried The Snowflake Test. The result is amazingly accurate lol. :P

You Are Unique Because You're Curious

Unlike most people, you are truly interested in and open to the world around you. You don't judge anything until you know it well. You are happy to step outside your comfort zone to try something new. You are rare in your ability to take in many new sites, sounds, and ideas at once. You don't get overwhelmed. Like a snowflake, you believe life is more about the journey than the final destination.

The Snowflake Test

Warm Weather

Of late, the weather is really warm and humid. It is so difficult to maintain coolness in the sweltering heat. :( Well, my hair which is quite long now, is not helping in this oppressive heat. Hmm, maybe it is time to get a haircut.

Cold, Gloomy and Wet

That pretty much summed up how I felt about today. It has been a real cold, gloomy and wet day. It started raining in the morning, not heavy but the continuous type. It stopped for a little while and the sky seemed to brighten up a little... Unfortunately, it didn't last long. The rain started again and it continued throughout the day.

It is the kind of weather that is prefect for curling up in bed and not do anything else except sleep, lol. As there was no counselling today (the school holidays), it was precisely what I did - curled up in bed and slept. I managed to sleep in which was very nice. :) Read in bed too as I just didn't want to get up from bed, lol. Finally, did get get up to have some hot soup and bread for lunch. Just wanted something soupy on such a cold day.

Went out in the aftenoon to continue my hunt for gifts for my coming Australia trip. Got a few more ideas but I think I still want to look around a bit more. Well, I still have this weekend to get everything together. Wish me luck.