I gathered together these strands of blogposts of one of the most enjoyable travel experiences I had. They were all over the place in my blog. I had intended to put them together in one blogpost but never did because I was too occupied with pastoral work. Now that I have retired, I remembered that intention and wanted to remember and re-experience that lovely vacation during this pandemic when we are all stuck here in tiny and humid Singapore.
I hope you will enjoy reading some of the blogposts below and it motivates you to look at some of your old travel photos. Remembering and re-experiencing events is one of the beautiful aspects of our God-given human nature. We were made in the image of God, and memory and imagination are parts of this beautiful package. We should treasure, use and celebrate them as part of our humanity and spirituality.
It was another pastor, Richard Wong, who evangelized me about the Brompton bicycle. I picked up cycling about seven years ago and it began as my means to get away quickly to the Chinese, Japanese and Jurong Lake parks for prayer and meditation. But I have never heard about the Brompton until Ps Richard Wong began to seed my fertile ground with Brompton seeds. Soon I began to search the internet and talk about it. My grown-up children noticed this and generously decided to buy me a Brompton for my 60th birthday. What a great gift it proved to be: it would give me a feeling of freedom and pleasure. I exercise without strain, and I keep stumbling into small adventures and new friendships.
With the explosion of interest in cycling during this pandemic, the waiting time in Singapore for a Brompton purchase is about a year. You are put on a waiting list. Unless you are willing to buy a second hand preloved one, or an imitation of the Brompton, that is a rather long wait.
Let me share with you the seven reasons why I am so into this bike.
THE BEST FOLD
This is one of the main reasons why the Brompton is the best foldable bike. It folds uniquely, securely, and compactly. Once you have mastered the order of the fold and the unfold, it can be done rather quickly under three minutes. It takes up little storage space in the home or office.
A compact fold that can be wheeled
THE PORTABILITY
Related to the tight fold is the portability. The basic model is about 9 kg and can be easily carried onto the bus or car boot. In the MRT station, it can be folded and wheeled through the turnstiles and onto the train with ease. You can bring it into shopping malls or leave it near you at restaurants. It takes up less space than a child’s pram or a wheel chair. You wouldn’t want to leave it parked (even with lock) outside or people will be tempted to steal it. You can put it under your desk in the office. Many have even loaded it onto a plane in a suitable luggage, and vacationed with it in a foreign country.
THE UNIQUE DESIGN
Every now and then, the Brompton I ride has turned heads because of its unique design, the way it sits when stationary, or is pushed along in shopping malls. On occasion, a brave or curious stranger would approach me and ask about the bicycle. Sometimes you suspect strangers pointing fingers at your Brompton are telling their companion about how this bicycle was the brand involved in the corruption case of a National Parks executive. This infamy has strangely cemented its reputation as a highly desirable recreational vehicle.
THE SMOOTH RIDE
The Brompton rides well. It is not a road bike, and with its smaller 16 inches tyres, it is tough to catch up with bigger wheeled road bikes. It is also not pleasant to ride on rough terrain, for which a gravel or mountain bike is better suited. It is built for commuting not racing, for leisure riding in the park connectors and pedestrian paths, not for thrilling rides in jungle paths. I have found that the six-speed system of gears sufficient for my rides along park connectors. Slopes of gradient up to 50 degrees are doable but I do not have the fitness for steeper slopes.
THE BRAND
Anybody who rides bicycles for some time would have heard of the Brompton. Their immediate reaction would be that it is expensive. Then they will gradually see that it is stylishly unique. They will realise that it is a lifestyle item worth the amount you paid. It is the Mercedes Benz of folding bikes. It is branded. It oozes class. It rides superbly. It is durable.
THE TRIBE
Unlike other famous brands, the Brompton brand is effectively made viral more by its loyal customers than by the company’s marketing department. These Brompton lovers are highly tribal, voluble and active on social media.
In most countries, the Brompton owners will spontaneously form virtual communities using social media like Facebook. They will organise trips, buy and sell Brompton stuff, get tips and advice, tell their stories and share their pictures. It gives them a sense of community and identity and this gives a nice feeling of belonging. They also get to meet new acquaintances and develop friendships.
VALUE FOR MONEY
Some think its expensive. I think it is good value for money. I got mine at $2,300 during a Christmas sales on 15 October 2015 ($2,780 before discount). It was a 60th birthday gift from my three adult children. This bike will give you good rides for at least ten years. When maintained well, this piece of solid British engineering can last twenty years and beyond. Do the sums and you will see that over 10 years, it breaks down to $20 a month.
See it as an investment in health. So rather then end up paying more than $3,000 for all kinds of medical treatments or hospitalisation due to poor health, pay an advance and enjoy the ride to better health.
By the way, should you want to give up cycling for some reason, you can still sell your pre-loved Brompton for a decent price. It holds its value well, as I have seen in past years, and particularly during this pandemic. Take a look at Carousell and you will see what I mean.
I have seen bikes bought cheaply and the ride became squeaky after a year, and the chains rusted, and the PVC seat showed signs of tear. Such cheaper bikes will break down and add to the many problems you already have in life.
For Brompton, you get excellent design and solid build for the price you pay. You really do get what you paid for.
It all started when my brother Victor found mum’s recipe for making curry powder. Mum used to buy bulk the various spices needed for her recipe, and would wash them and sun them dry. Then she would go to the Indian spice blender and get the spices ground and mixed. She would pack them up and sell them to neighbours and friends. Mum was diligent. Her powder was quite “powderful” and popular. So my brother did the same thing for remembrance sake, and passed some curry powder to me. I missed my mum’s curry but cannot exactly remember how it tasted, but surmised that I would recognize it if I were to taste it.
TRYING OUT DIFFERENT RECIPES
I did not know how my mum made her curry and wished I learned it when she was around. Nobody else in the family knew how. So I looked around YouTube for recipes that used curry powder to make curry. I found one of an Indian version and tried it out. It was a light curry but tasted nothing like my mum’s curry. Thankfully it was edible and my wife and daughter and myself finished it up. Edible, as I said.
The second time, I again surfed YouTube and found a Malaysian recipe. Maybe, this was how mum cooked it, the Malaysian style. This was a total disaster. It was too salty. I had marinated the chicken in too much salt. I had to ask my wife how to salvage the dish. In the end, we added potatoes, removed the chicken and soaked it in water. I also had to make more curry gravy to dilute the saltiness of the old pot. These did the trick and again the curry was edible. We finished it. Edible, as I said.
Thank God my wife and daughter were patient and not fussy eaters. I had an evaluation after two failures of replicating my mum’s curry, and thought that maybe this pursuit would be futile. First, I cannot replicate what I cannot remember clearly. Second, when my supply of curry powder is gone, who is going to make the next batch? I should develop my own curry making process with curry powder that is available commercially, for example Baba’s curry. Or just settle for those commercial ready-made rempah by brands like Prima or triple A or A1.
DISTRACTED BY DUCK CURRY
Recently, a friend, Pastor Patrick of Enjoy Church, invited me, Pastor Lawrence Koo of New Horizon Church, and Pastor Andrew Khoo of New Hope Community Services for lunch. It was a sumptuous lunch, all cooked by him. Only two other pastors I know cooked this well, my former colleague the Mandarin congregation pastor Edmund Loong, and my pastor friend Koh Seng Chor. The star dish was his duck curry, he declared. That caught my attention. I liked the taste of it. It was quite unique. He told me how it was done and it seemed relatively easy to follow. I will try this one day.
Pastors Patrick, Lawrence Koo, Andrew Khoo, Kenny, Piteulia
The delicious tangy duck curry
JAPANESE CURRY
Yesterday, in an emergency, I had to cook. I decided to use those Japanese instant curry mix which I had in the kitchen cupboard. Cubed the potatoes, onions and carrots and chopped two chicken thighs into pieces. Fried three beef burger patties and eggs and dinner was ready. I was tempted to forget about all the long-drawn process of making curry using curry powder – simply buy those off-the-shelf ones and in less than an hour it is done! The Japanese curry was edible and it was finished. Edible, as I said.
I was thirsty that night. Must be the amount of artificial monosodium glutamate in it. I am back to wanting to find a sustainable way of making curry, good curry (without ajinomoto). I hope to do it before my heart gives way.
It has been over a year since Covid-19 disrupted normal life. Travel has been impossible. What we used to enjoy regularly and took for granted is now so uncertain. Even if travel restrictions are eased, what would it look like, and where would we go, and how much would it cost? One way to mitigate this pain and loss is to go back to old photos and videos of past travels. Images – still photos or videos – can stir memories of sights, feelings, tastes, and scents. Our imagination fills up the blanks in our attempt to remember the details.
I was looking at the analytics to see what people have been reading in my blog. One of them is the Osaka-Kyoto vacation in April 2018. I went there with one of the cell groups in the east: the Marine Parade cell led by Jasmine Chan. When I looked at my blogposts about this vacation, memories of cold, wet and grey came to mind and delicious smells of grilled eels and beef, and being wedged into a crowded Starbucks cafe because of the drizzle outside. Memories: the good, the bad and sad stuff surfaces at random. Nevertheless, it is nostalgic to re-visit and conjure the experiences of this vacation. It is like comfort food for the pandemic fatigued.
Have a look at these posts, and then go take a soak in some of your old travel photos. Don’t do it hurriedly, but give time for memories to conjure the magical moments, feelings both pleasant and unpleasant.
I first heard about Rowers Bay from Dr Jimmy Tan, a lecturer in Trinity Theological College. I saw lovely photos on a chat group and I decided I must plan a cycling jaunt there. So I enlisted two other pastors in transition to join me Pastor Eng Hwa, formerly of Praise Evangelical Free Church, and Pastor Richard Wong, formerly of Singapore Christian Canaan Church.
Beautiful blue waters, cool breeze at Rowers Bay Park
ROWERS BAY PARK
We met at Rowers Bay. I parked there and unfolded my Brompton. Eng Hwa rode from his home for 30 minutes to get there. Richard rode his Brompton to a MRT station on the North-south line and stopped at Khatib MRT, unfolded his Brompton and rode to the destination. On the way back, I gave Richard a lift, and two Brompton bicycles could fit into the boot of a Toyota Allion. One of the beautiful things about the Brompton bicycle is its simple, compact, elegant fold that can be transported on the bus, train, car or even a plane.
I was stunned by the blue of the Lower Seletar Reservoir, the cool breeze and gentle morning light. It felt like I stumbled into a hidden lake. I felt I could idle on a bench and bathe in that charming atmosphere the whole morning. But that had to be left to later. My friends arrived and we left for the Hampstead Wetlands Park via the park connector.
HAMPSTEAD WETLANDS PARK
The Wetlands Park was a small lake carpeted with water lilies, and surrounded by lush mature trees. Here I felt like an intruder. There were many birders with their mammoth cameras on tripods waiting patiently and quietly for that timely bird shot. We were a bit too noisy for them I think. They probably resented us. We were ruffling their feathers with our posing and selfies and wefies. It felt a wee uncomfortable and I was relieved (and so were they) when we left for nearby Brompton Road.
Hampstead Park is home to beautiful birds
I didn’t want to go there there again but it was nearby and pastor Richard wanted to take a lovers’ picture there of his titanium Brompton with the Brompton Road street sign. It seems to be a ritual that distinguishes the genuine Brompton lovers from mere admirers or owners. I didn’t buy that myth but I am easy on such non-essentials, and went along for fun.
Deja vu – we did this in 2016 too
DEJA VU
Interestingly, we had tea at a vintage attap kopitiam called BOH GEH (Hokkien dialect meaning “toothless”). It serves economical food for the employees of aeronautical companies in the Seletar area. We sat outside with coffee and “tua pau” (big pork buns) and talked about our transitions, sharing life honestly. Five years earlier, I had been there with pastor Richard and I was certain, though he was doubtful. Deja vu. I went to my blog and searched out this blogpost HERE. I saw a picture of a round marble table with chairs and a yellow metal three seater and I showed it to him as final proof that this coffeeshop was the same one we went years ago.
A beautiful thought – even Mona Lisa biked
BEAUTIFUL CAFE
We rode further to visit a bicycle themed cafe called Soek Seng 1954 at the side of a warehouse or factory. I was surprised at the attention that went into the gorgeous interior design of the cafe and took many pictures of the cafe. The coffee and the food there was above average too. Our conversation was dominated by talk about the fall of Ravi Zacharias. Our discussions surfaced the organisational, theological and spiritual issues arising from the sad and shocking moral failures of the world-renown apologist. God willing, I will write something about this. I am still reluctant to read the detailed investigation reports. I don’t have the stomach for reading such sordid stuff. And if I write my opinion without reading the investigation report, wouldn’t I be dismissive of the gravity of the sins?
By the time lunch fellowship ended the sun overhead was bearing down on us intensely and we rushed back to Rowers Bay and from there went our separate ways.
Lord, thank you for a beautiful morning, refreshing friendships, charming parks and wonderful rides. Amen.
