Jumbo Seafood Restaurant

Jumbo Seafood is a well respected restaurant in Singapore. I have been several times and have found that respect well earned. The food is great. The service is decent but not as good as I would hope for.

Recently I enjoyed a very nice set lunch at S$38 lunch on Clarke Quay (I also took in the Dreams and Reality exhibit at the Singapore Art Museum, that day). Not cheap, but very good value for the cost in my opinion. The meal started with a set of 3 appetizers including chilled jellyfish which interested me. If someone told me the jellyfish was just noodles I would not have know the difference. I can’t say the jellyfish was very tasty, but it was nice to have tried it.

photo of jellyfish and two other appetizers

Jellyfish and two other appetizers at Jumbo Seafood

The corn soup with fresh fungus, and other appetizers where very tasty. The Lobster was also excellent.

photo of lobster tail entre

Lobster tail - which was great.

I realized after I left I never received my Mango pudding (which was suppose to come with the meal). As I mentioned service leaves a bit to be desired. Still the food is easily worth the visit and I look forward to returning.

Related: Chez Papa French Bistro (Johor Bahru)The Village Briyani Cafe (Johor Bahru)

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Dreams and Reality: Museum D’Orsay Exhibit at the National Museum of Singapore

photo of gallery in the Singapore Art Museum, temporary D'Orsay exhibit

Room in the Singapore Art Museum D'Orsay exhibit. All photos are by John Hunter.

The Dreams and Reality exhibit at the National Museum of Singapore (now until 5 February 2012, it opened a few weeks ago) is excellent. Musee D’Orsay is one of my favorite museums; it is located in Paris, with many other great museums including the Louvre.

photo of Edgar Degas painting showing dancers climbing a staircase

Dancers Climbing a Staircase (1886-1890) by Edgar Degas, one of my favorites.

The exhibit includes many exceptional paintings by artists including Van Gogh, Monet, Manet, Degas, Rousseau, Pissarro, Mondrian, Cézanne, Gauguin and Renior (multiple paintings by many of them). I must say I don’t think the Monet and Manet paintings are their best work, but really who am I to judge them. This exhibit is definitely worth a visit for any art lovers in Singapore. If you are traveling to Singapore before February 2012, plan on stoping by to enjoy the paintings.

Related: Curious Cat Travel Photos: museumsCurious Cat Travel Photos: PaintingsTake Action to Your Dreams Come TrueThe Met Museum in NYC

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Don’t Leave Your Dreams Hidden Away, Make Them Come True

Great post by Benny Lewis on why why you (yes, you) can be live overseas and travel. Benny, from Ireland, has been traveling for 8 years now and started with no cash. Another of his posts explains why you don’t have to be rich to travel the world.

This isn’t the life for everybody, but if you want to do it, you can. The challenge is mainly being willing to accept the challenge. I certainly would put the difficulty below what most of our ancestors faced in their lives. At least for me, right now the nomad part is a bit too much. But if you want to give being an expat in Singapore, go ahead and try. Or if you are in Singapore and want to try elsewhere, do that.

Everyone just wants validation, love, security, enjoyment and hopes for a better future.

I believe this. Not only across cultures but across generations. Quit all those posts about generation x,y,z, a, b,c. He has many great points:

Deferring your happiness to the future is a terrible idea…
Spending time exclusively with people who agree with you on everything would never challenge you and allow you to learn so much more…
There’s no shame in saying “I don’t know”…
The Internet is the greatest tool ever available to us, but daily use must be capped…
Don’t take anything for granted. I couldn’t afford to pay for accommodation one night and had to sleep outside on a rock because of it. Ever since then I appreciate having a bed, couch or hammock, no matter how small or where it may be, because I know what it’s like to not have one…
Make sure that every day you have someone (family, friends, lover) to remind you that you are special. If you postpone this part of your life until later, after you get or do that thing you want to do, you will continue in that lonely path indefinitely…

Lots of great stuff. Ok, he is just crazy on some things like capping the amount of internet use; unless he means capping it at about 20 hours a day 🙂 Seriously read this entire post. And think about taking on the challenge of living abroad. It isn’t the easiest thing to do. But our lives our not very long. The value this can bring to your life is huge.

I lived in Singapore and Nigeria as a kid and travelled a great deal with my family. It was wonderful. It was also a big pain at times and I sure complained about it. Now I am living in Malaysia and looking at Singapore out my window. Getting settled has been a bigger hassle than I imagined but I am very happy. And I look forward to traveling around: Singapore, Thailand, China, India, Australia

Finally, living overseas is not going to be something a majority of the people reading this blog do (your kids though, I think a majority may well live outside your country for more than 5 years of their lives – the world is changing). Most of these ideas can be applied in a life where you live right where you are now.

Related: Singapore Ranks Highly as an Expat DestinationNew Graduates Should Live FrugallyHow About Only Enforcing Copyright in a Country if the Owner Allows Citizens Access

Megazip Adventure Park, Sentosa Island

For those looking for adrenaline rush, Megazip Adventure Park is the best place to go. Featuring various activities that offer different levels of extremity push yourself to the limit and try any one or all the activities in store for you.

Located at the top of Imbiah Hilltops, the park creates a unique and challenging adventure for tourists with guidance from specialists in this field.

Megazip
This is considered Asia’s most extreme adrenaline pumping zip line experience for adventure hungry tourists. Slide from the top of Imbiah Hill through the jungle canopy of 75 meters high and 450 meters sliding at a speed of 50 kmph.

MegaZip Adventure Park

MegaZip Adventure Park by alantankenghoe

Climbmax
This consists of high rope course where visitors need to cross while at 15 meters above the ground. Cross from one Eucalyptus tree to another while crossing through various rope courses.

Megazip on 26 March 2011

Megazip by 24seven Communications

Parajump
Overcome your fear of height and fear of falling. The Parajump is developed in UK where visitors will climb up 50 feet from the ground for the dropoff point for the Parajump.

Northface
Test you skill in climbing wall with the 16 meter wall climb considered the highest challenging wall climb in Singapore.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5254/5564373074_78acd3f383_b.jpg

Megazip on 26 March 2011 by 24seven Communications

Watch the video to have an idea of what Megazip Adventure has to offer.

Related: Resort World Sentosa, SingaporeBattlestar Galactica: Human vs. Cylon (Universal Studios Park – Sentosa)Fort Canning Park

Singapore Light Rail from the Airport

photo inside Singapore subway car at the airport

Photo by John Hunter of a Singapore subway car at the airport.

I took the light rail from Changi Airport to downtown last time I was in town and it was very easy. The subway was crowded (eventually – the photo is at the airport stop, where it was not crowded). Getting down town was quick, easy and cheap (S$2 versus $30 for a taxi).

Related: Online Resources for Moving To and Living In SingaporeFort Canning Park