Afternoon Tea

I love Afternoon Tea. It is a cherished ritual. I had one of the best Afternoon Teas at Clark and Nadia's home this Sunday. It was beautifully conceived as you will see in the following slide show.

*Artwork by Clark and Nadia's daughter.

Ah, but it was not just the Afternoon Tea that made this day remarkable, we were among raconteurs and were given magical glimpses of Marrakech, Fes and the Sahara and were transported there with stories of Omar and other denizens of this mysterious land. And this is how midnight arrived so quickly.

Thank you Nadia and Clark. It was a pleasure to meet you Leah.

Individual pictures. Click to enlarge.

Lemon Curd

I have just made Lemon Curd for the first time. Mum made it at Christmas and New Years. It have always loved it. I just had to taste that memory today, so I made my first batch. It was just like the curd she made, but perhaps a little tarter (if that's a word).

Here is a link to the recipe I used:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/mar/07/nigel-slater-lemon-curd-recipes

And here is to you Mum.

On my way home

Hello Family, Friends and Neighbours:

Good bye Singapura.

I am on my way home today. I am flying to Hong Kong and staying overnight. I leave Hong Kong on Monday and arrive in Toronto Monday around 6:00 pm. I will be greeted by the chilly fall air.

I have seen so much during this trip. This planet is amazing.

Please continue to follow our blog if you wish. I update it frequently.

All my love,

April

Singapore Sling, Raffles Hotel, Long Bar

Finally a trip to the Raffles Hotel's famous Long Bar. I would have tried the Singapore Sling, but at S$25 I gave it a pass. Robin thinks it is a "girlie" drink. Now I can say I was in the bar.

Here is the recipe. Enjoy.

IBAspecified ingredients*	4.0 cl (8 parts) Gin 2.0 cl (4 parts) Heering Cherry Liqueur (cherry brandy) 0.5 cl (1 part) Cointreau 0.5 cl (1 part) DOM Bénédictine 1.0 cl (2 parts) Grenadine 8.0 cl (16 parts) Pineapplejuice 3.0 cl (6 parts) Fresh lemonjuice 1 dash Angostura bitters
Preparation	Pour all ingredients into cocktail shaker filled with ice cubes. Shake well. Strain into Poco Grande glass. Garnish with pineapple andmaraschino cherry.

Fleeing the Khmer Rouge, Sophal Ear

Compeling story about a family who escaped the Khmer Rouge.

Another Storm Brewing in Singapore

We have had electrical storms every day since my arrival. We are in the Southwest Monsoon season which is from June to September. Southeast/southwest winds prevail. Showers occur late morning and early afternoon. Early morning "Sumatra" squall lines (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squall_line) are common.

You can barely see the Marina Bay Sands Hotel in the cloud formation, www.marinabaysands.com. I wonder what it feels like on that roof, the boat.

Fact Sheet

Thailand

Area: 513,120 sq km (slightly more than twice the size of Wyoming)

Population: 65,998,436

Government: Constitutional monarchy

Cambodia

Area: 181,035 sq km (slightly smaller than Oklahoma)

Population: 14,494,293

Government: Multiparty democracy under a constitutional monarchy

Vietnam

Area: 331,210 sq km (slightly larger than New Mexico)

Population: 88,576,758

Government: Communist state

Slideshow of Robin's Vietnam Pictures

Traffic in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

There are no traffic rules in Ho Chi Minh City, absolutely none. It is frightening and mesmerizing to watch bicycles, cars, motorbikes and trishaws dance around each other and pedestrians. We successfully navigated two or three crossings on foot before we decided it was a teeth clenching exercise.

Robin and I lost our presence of mind and decided to take a trishaw to our shopping destination in the city. I chattered none stop during the excursion; it is the sound of fear.

This video is seven minutes long. It may not as be as scary for you as it was for me.

Rex Hotel:

The Rex Hotel was made famous by American troops during the Vietnam War when its conference room hosted a daily press conference, by the MACV, derisively named The Five O'Clock Follies by cynical journalists who found the optimism of leading US military officers to be misguided. The rooftop bar was a well known hangout spot for military officials and war correspondents (wikipedia).

Mekong Delta

Cuu Long (Mekong Delta)

The Mekong Delta is the bottom half of Vietnam's two rice baskets, the other being the Red River Delta in the North. This delta is created by the deposition of the tributaries of the Mekong River. The Mekong River originates in the Tibetan highland plateau 2,800 miles away. From Tibet, the river makes its way through China, Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Cambodia and South Vietnam before flowing out into the South China Sea. The Mekong's Vietnamese name, Cuu Long, means Nine Dragons for the nine mouths that terminate the flow of this river as it is absorbed by the sea.

The people of south Vietnam are proud of the richness and vastness of this land. Today, the region is one of Vietnam's highest producer of rice crops, vegetables and fruits. (www.vietscape.com/travel/mekong/index.html)

Mekong Delta and Ho Chi Minh City