The Cookblog by Brian Cook

Three Signs You Are In Singapore

Singapore was my home for 3 years during high school and I have very fond memories of the country. One of the most fascinating cultural differences is in the national sense of humor, which is either unexpected or nonexistent depending on the occasion. The signage found throughout Singapore provide some perfect examples. Here are a few of the better ones:

Who knew that urinating in lifts (elevators) is a problem so rampant that it requires its own sign? Especially in Singapore, where most non-essential actions are forbidden? Better safe than sorry, I suppose.

For those few Singaporeans who can’t read either Malay, Chinese or English (three of the four official languages), this sign makes it pretty clear what might happen if you stick around. Apparently, not even putting your hands up in surrender will spare you.

There’s a nice symmetry about this sign. Smoking and flammable goods could combine with catastrophic results. The same can be said of eating and durians. If you aren’t familiar with them, durian is an onion-like fruit with a wickedly pungent smell. Just the same who bans fruit? Honestly.

A Brief List of My Travels

Traveling is so great for so many reasons. The fresh experiences, bonding time with companions and poorly-made souvenirs really do enrich one’s life. Most frequently, my memories of places I’ve been are triggered by smells. There’s the smoky scent of Nepal, the honeysuckle musk of Singapore and the mossy odor of Bali. Fortunately, I got to do a lot of traveling in my high school and college years. While I don’t get to take off quite so frequently these days, plans are in the works for a mega-tour of France, Italy and other European destinations in the summer of 2008. Until then, I’m happy to remember this list of places I’ve seen with my own eyes, smelled with my own nostrils, trampled with my own feet and been sick on with my own mouth (I’m looking at you, Nepal).

1. Antigua
2. Australia
3. Bahamas
4. Bermuda
5. Canada
6. China
7. Dominica
8. England
9. Fiji
10. France
11. Germany
12. Grenada
13. Guadeloupe
14. Hong Kong
15. Indonesia
16. Italy
17. Japan
18. Luxembourg
19. Malaysia
20. Martinique
21. Nepal
22. New Zealand
23. Philippines
24. Singapore
25. South Korea
26. Spain
27. St. Lucia
28. St. Vincent & the Grenadines
29. Switzerland
30. Taiwan
31. Tonga
32. Trinidad & Tobago
33. Turkey
34. U.S. Virgin Islands
35. United States

Places I want to go? All of them! But mostly Greece, Morocco, Argentina, Egypt, Russia, Peru, France again and Cuba a nice Caribbean island with four letters and good cigars. How about you?

Reminiscences of the Intracoastal Waterway

In the spring of 2004, my brother and I bought a sailboat, which we christened Audentes. We spent several weeks patching fiberglass on the hull, laying on gallons of hyper-expensive paint, and doing our grocery shopping at Walmart while we lived in a squalid, dusty boatyard. After launching, we took a short shakeout sail to the Bahamas with our parents, then we sailed north through the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway.

Though we were forced to motor slowly for much of the time, the ICW proved to be thoroughly enjoyable. We crept up the coast through protected channels, passing through towns like Belhaven, Norfolk and Elizabeth City while listening to the music of Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan on the ship’s speakers. Locals waved lazily from the shore as they enjoyed the warm evenings, and we’d drop anchor right in the river, grilling up burgers or cooking baked beans before settling in for the night. There were deer and rabbits on the shore, dolphins and fish in the river, birds and mosquitoes in the sky.

There were obvious drawbacks like the vicious insects buzzing around our heads, the floating logs in the Dismal Swamp Canal, and running out of gas in the Chesapeake Bay, but it was a wonderful leg of the trip. I’d like to go back sometime, and I’d recommend the same to anyone else.

Aaron’s Article in Ocean Voyager

My brother, Aaron, with whom I went sailing for a year before I started working, has an interview published in the prestigious Ocean Navigator. You can pick up a copy at West Marine for $6, or you can view the article for free here. And no, I didn’t airbrush his beard on.

Aaron’s Article – Page 1
Aaron’s Article – Page 2
Aaron’s Article – Page 3
Aaron’s Article – Page 4
Aaron’s Article – Page 5
Aaron’s Article – Page 6

It’s a very good interview with some excellent pictures, especially the one where Aaron is tying a pillow to the spreader. You don’t learn that reading Nigel Calder.