Destinations

My aunt and I had some congee for dinner one night at a small small shop in an alley in Bangkok. It was right outside the hotel, which was in a neighborhood just north of the Mo Chit BTS station.

Fresh Congee in Bangkok

My aunt and I had some congee for dinner one night at a small small shop in an alley in Bangkok. It was right outside the hotel, which was in a neighborhood just north of the Mo Chit BTS station. Having grown up eating congee, usually the plain kind, I can really appreciate a nice hot bowl of congee. This isn’t your typical Bangkok street food, but it’s delicious and healthy! I had never thought to get congee in Bangkok, but it’s a nice alternative to fried food options. Continue Reading

We bought 2 mangoes, with a package of warm sticky rice, and small bag of coconut milk. We brought them back to my hotel room to cut and assemble for a delicious dessert.

A trip to Or Tor Kor Market for fresh mango with sticky rice, my favorite Thai dessert!

If you have never had Thai golden mangoes, then please feast your eyes on this photo of delicious fresh cut mango with sticky rice and coconut milk! I went to a famous Bangkok food market to get some.

A few weekends ago, I was in Bangkok, Thailand for meetings, but had some time to hang out with my Aunt who lives there. She took me to this market where they sold the best quality of every fruit or traditional Thai food you could think of. It is called Or Tor Kor Market. This is the place to go for the freshest and best tasting fruit and produce you can find in Bangkok. It is a bit pricier than other markets, but all items have made the cut to be presented there. They are definitely worth the extra money for the occasional splurge! These mangoes were so delicious that I don’t think I can eat mango in Singapore (or possibly anywhere else) ever again. Really! Continue Reading

First press conference, Fall Out Boy at the Butter Factory!

Fall Out Boy was one of my first favorite rock bands, and I think they just might become a favorite again. Tonight I got to seem them in the flesh at a press conference for their 2013 album titled “Save Rock and Roll” at the Art Bar in the nightclub Butter Factory here in Singapore.

Fall Out Boy at the Art Bar

Press conference for “Save Rock and Roll” at the Art Bar, the Butter Factory, in Singapore.


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Moving to Singapore from USA: general tips and best/worst

Moving to Singapore from USA was a big deal for me, since the climate is so tropical and it is really far from home! Here are some general tips and my list of best/worst decisions I made when making the move. Hopefully they’ll be helpful for your move if you are planning one! You can find more resources on this page. (Updated 09 November 2016)

If you are instead interested in moving to the USA, check out my other post on that topic. You’ll also find more general tips on my resources page for moving to Singapore. Continue Reading

Reasons why I’m not living on campus

I chose not to pursue on-campus housing at National University of Singapore (NUS), mostly for personal reasons. I could probably get by living in dormitories, but I feel like I have already outgrown it a bit and below are some reasons why I’m so happy living off campus. I do have to pay a bit more for rent, but I think for me the benefits outweigh the costs. Continue Reading

Newest food weakness: salmon pepper rice

Salmon pepper rice from Pepper Lunch

The griddle is super hot and sizzles for at least 10 minutes after you get it.

The salmon is raw when they place it on. The rice has pepper, corn, and scallions/chives on top with butter and sauce on the inside. You mix it all up, letting the salmon and rice cook, then dig in! So delicious that I eat this at least once a week! I would eat it more often were it not 400+ calories and so greasy. But still, 400 calories isn’t bad! You can also ask for extra salmon or an egg. I sometimes would scoop out the butter from the center of the rice pile if I didn’t feel like having so much butter. I would also save some of it for another meal if I got full. A good way to do it could be to get the double salmon serving and save half of it for another meal (bring your own tupperware!).

Graduate student expenses in Singapore (updated monthly budget and sample spreadsheet)

I made a preliminary budget a few months ago, and now after having settled in and miscellaneous moving costs have been covered, I am going to aim for this budget and track what I spend. I was tracking my spending at home too in NYC, but now it is even more important for me to do this because my income is lower and I have more expenses. (FYI, I receive a monthly stipend of SGD$2000 from a scholarship to cover living expenses. This would increase if/when I pass my Qualifying Examination…) Continue Reading

Rethinking worldliness

What would you do if a gang of monkeys threw coins at you? How would you escape out of a bus if it fell on its side during a rainstorm? I thought about these on my trip to India. In mid-2012, I was lucky enough to be sent off to India for work purposes, and was able to take vacation days to stay around after the meetings and see more than just the inside of a hotel.

At the airport, the hotel had sent 2 people to pick me up. We arrived in the perfectly luxurious hotel, tucked away from the center of Delhi. Meetings are what they are, but it was interesting to experience the biggest blackout in Indian history that took out most of Northern India but also be minimally affected by it. It is easy to complain. The elevators were not working. The lights flickered. The A/C turned off in the middle of the night. But in the bigger picture of things, many more people suffered much more devastating results. Continue Reading