Naturally everyone has their own shortlist of things to do when swinging by their hometown and when the opportunity arises. One of those pit stops on my list is to hit the pretty touristy Long Bar at the Singapore classic Raffles Hotel.
Settling for the classic Singapore Sling at the Long Bar, Raffles Hotel, Singapore.
Text and Photo © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro 2012
Nasi padang and ice-lemon tea in Singapore.
Text and Photo © JE Nilsson and CM Cordeiro 2012
The perpetual question when coming home to Singapore from a long stay abroad is – what developments will I discover this time?
The rapid speed of life in general and the perpetual state of flux and development in Singapore make for that the only constant one can expect in Singapore, is change itself. In the background would be the distant rumble of hundreds of gigantic diesel engines of the more than 400 container ships and tankers anchored along the skirts of the Singapore shoreline. The humidity, the temperatures and along the East Coast, the curious intermingle of the salty sea air and the familiar aromas of various types of food – Malay, Indian, Chinese, Nonya etc.
One of the distinctly comfortable things to find is that there still exists home made ice-lemon tea, and with it why not a portion of the Indonesian influenced Nasi Padang in a heartland coffee-shop of the East?
A comfortable lunch in a non-air conditioned place – a priceless comfort in a rapidly developing world.
Late morning marketing at Kuta market, Bali.
Text and Photo © JE Nilsson and CM Cordeiro 2012
If you live in Southeast-Asia, a piece of information you neeed is the opening or business hours of the morning wet markets. Some beginning as early as 05:30 hrs in the morning, where by late morning at about 10:00 hrs, business is concluded, the stalls washed and goods neatly stashed for the next day’s trading.
In search of pulot hitam at Kuta market, near one of the almost invisible entrances.
Having had some requests for specific goods only to be found in Indonesia and likewise, Bali, I conveyed my brief shopping list to a local taxi driver, who was happy to be our guide to the island. He quickly settled where to go and so we were off towards one of his favourite markets – Kuta pasar – though I had gathered from what he told, I would need to improvise with my spattering of the Malay language since Balinesian and Indonesian languages differ, in order to do my shopping as no one in this market would speak English.
Cleaning up for the day at Kuta pasar.
True to marketing times, when we arrived in the late morning at Kuta pasar, the floors were being washed, and the white tiled counters cleaned. It took a brief moment to orientate ourselves, across language barriers, I managed to locate the stall that sold most items I had wanted to purchase, including pulot hitam, that is black glutinous rice that they call nasi hitam, and gula Bali, a variant of palm sugar produced right on the island.
This narrow corridor leads to houses behind the market. On the left and out of sight, food stalls that cater to the local area.
The ground floor to this market is compact, with stalls selling wet goods situated in the center of the square and shops selling dried goods and vegetables, lining the outer rim of the square.
Through one of the back lanes, a narrow path leads to the village houses where two or three stalls selling food can be found. We were invited to try their variety of food from nasi campur (rice with mixed food) that included ikan goreng (fried fish) to mee ayam (chicken noodles).
Kuta pasar, Badung. The sign to look for.
Compared to the enormous wet market at Denpasar well equipped with supply chain outlets running as arteries towards the main centre of activities, I think I’m most grateful to the taxi driver for introducing us to this little market square, as another peek into the lives of the locals of this island.
Residing in Batuan village and founded in c. 1020 AD, the Batuan Temple is a conflux of Indian Hinduism with Indus architecture.
Text and Photo © JE Nilsson and CM Cordeiro 2012
The surprising aspect of this temple visit is the realisation of how accessible local religion and philosophy is made to you as visitor in order to partake of their song, dance, rituals and daily activities that mean a lot to them. One could of course reason that it is all part of the tourism industry here in Bali, but at the same time, there’s the feeling of there being something more to it. There is nothing imposing in the Balinesian behaviour towards visitors, rather it is their subtle invitation and hospitality that make you feel all at once at home on this island even if for a few days.
Religion and religious philosophy are inextricably interwoven into the daily lives of the Balinese people, where in one of the island’s oldest temples in Batuan village, the event of the full moon continues to be celebrated with ritual and festivities in the Pura Puseh Desa Batuan (Batuan Temple).
The Garuda.
The village of Batuan that was perviously under the control of the Royal Family, is located on the road between Denpasar and Ubud, two of Bali’s larger towns today. The village is known for its heritage of artistry and craftsmanship that one can still find today in the numerous works of paintings along the street towards the temple.
The Barong.
Garden.
In Hinduism, the philosophy of Brahman is the point of view or belief in the one supreme, universal Spirit that is the origin and support of the phenomenal universe, sometimes referred to as the Absolute.
Depending on the school of philosophy, Brahman can be conceived as both personal and impersonal, encapsulating the dialectic logic of and/or rather than “and” or “or”, where an enlightened human being is said to have realized his / her true infinite self through an understanding of this apparent contradiction of the “and/or”, “neither/nor” philosophy. The aspect of infinity in itself.
Fern.
Kendi.
The temple is rich in Hindu architecture and culture, reflected even in a small kendi placing at one altar.
The kendi is a familiar vessel form in the region of SE-Asia, where it plays a significant role in the rituals and daily life since ancient times. Originally made in precious metal to hold holy water in the rituals of purification, they are now made in terracotta, earthenware and clay, appearing in sculpture and painting as objects in the hands of the Hindu gods Brahma and Shiva.
Preparations.
Offerings.
The indigenous spirit of the people of Bali are reflected in their various works of art where even in close range, the Ubud Style of art differs from the Batuan Style of art, the latter using bolder colours and depicting more daily activities and scenes of living than the former. Visual texts are also more prominent in Batuan than in Ubud. The variations of these art forms that no doubt resonate towards the political arena of the island, are also reflected in this Batuan Temple.
Along the side streets towards Pasar Badung in Denpasar, off Jl. Gajah Mada, you’ll find a small curry shop passionately preparing the foundational ingredients to many local dishes.
Text and Photo © JE Nilsson and CM Cordeiro 2012
The daily trading activities in Southeast-Asia (SE-Asia) are still focused around the centrally located wet markets. Located as they often are at traditional crossroads of land and waterways, they are the natural center of the community with space for religious ceremonies as well as today, offering convenient parking lots for cars and mopeds. Around these markets are also the arteries of the supply chain of all kinds of supplies that will go into the products offered at the market.
Pasar Badung in Denpasar, Bali’s capital, is one of the largest wet markets on the island with four storeys of goods that range from ready cooked food sold just outside the building, to fresh fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, preserved foods, spices, cakes, buns, biscuits, up to and including almost all items for the kitchen and household should you need them.
Clothing for men, women and children can be found on the upper floors of the market. Perhaps in close comparison in terms of array of and combination of goods sold would be that found in the heart of Chinatown or Little India in modern Singapore, though true wet markets now tend to have a space of their own these days.
Continue reading “A walk through Pasar Badung, Denpasar, Bali”
The trade winds blow cool in the mornings in the tropics of Sanur, Bali, where the full flavoured smaller apple banana variety is abundant and pleasantly enough included in abundance in the breakfast buffet.
Text and Photo © JE Nilsson and CM Cordeiro 2012
It took five security checks through the various airports from Scandinavia to Indonesia and though it has been about ten years since the Kuta bombing in Bali, security on the tourist island remains tight, the islanders looking apologetic for yet another security check even at the roadside. Considering the peaceful island’s serene philosophy and religion that is 80% Hindu with visible Buddhist influence, and that the small island’s main livelihood is tourism, one feels a tinge of sombre even as tropical sun rays streak across azure skies in this beautiful and untainted Southeast-Asian island paradise.
Continue reading “At the west end of the Lesser Sunda Islands”
Mälar Paviljongen, the café and bar, has also its own cozy flower garden filled with various pots of herbs that lightly scent the air.
Text and Photo © CM Cordeiro 2012
Just about 20 minutes walk from Stockholm’s T-Centralen or central station, along Norr Mälarstrand is this cozy, part floating on water café, restaurant and bar that lets you enjoy the sunset in Stockholm to the sounds of cool lounge.
Continue reading “Weekday chill at Mälar Paviljongen, Stockholm”
These ‘rock cookies’ were made lightly compressed in paper cupcake forms.
Text and Photo © CM Cordeiro 2012
My first encounter with the Rock Cookie – if it wasn’t also the first thing I learnt to bake – was actually in Singapore in a cooking class in the all girl Convent in which I grew up.
The name of the cookie derives from the appearance of the cookie itself, the roughened shape resembling a rock. In line with going back to basics and using the simplest of ingredients, the original recipe for this cookie contains just five ingredients – flour, sugar, eggs, raisins and a pinch of baking powder.
Traditionally, butter and sugar are beaten till smooth in consistency, eggs added into the mixture and then flour and baking powder, with raisins following last. The cookies are then spooned onto baking sheets, with not too much fuss about the form of it, since part of its charm was for them to look artfully misshapened.
What I’ve done here in this variation of mine was to cut in the butter into the flour, drizzle sugar thereafter without having the sugar thoroughly mixed into the dough, leave out the baking powder instead adding a pinch of sea-salt. This mixture was then lightly pressed into paper cupcake forms and baked for about 15 minutes on 175C, where the melting butter and sugar are left to naturally bind the mixture together whilst baking.
What results is a light crumbly version of the original Rock Cookie, the surface shape of the cookie resembling pebbles on sand.
The ingredients are:
300g plain flour
120g butter
80g brown sugar (add more if you wish for the cookies to be sweeter)
2 eggs
pinch of salt
80g raisin
The cupcake forms help keep the shape of the cookies if you need to transport them to a picnic outdoors. Otherwise, they can just well be removed from the paper forms and served as is, with coffee to that Swedish summer’s afternoon.
Enjoy!
Message from Ken Ang, owner of Wavelength Innovation Technologies (Singapore), via FB, 3 June 2012.
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If a govt’s role is to be a provider of a platform for businesses to conduct their business activities and at the same time foster entrepreneurship and helping various industries move up the value chain.
But i dont really see that here in SG or just half-hearted attempts that fizzle out after a few years like IT or Life Science.
What really bothers me is that GLCs are competing directly with local SMEs and subsequently monopolizing the relevant industries, even pawn shops are now.I have read about China decentralizing and privatizing their state entities like the big four banks and airlines but in SG i see how govt through GLCs are consolidating and strengthening their stranglehold on the industries they engage in.
What is your outlook for SG’s economy and youths in the next 15-20 years, given this climate?
I always feel that we are a sprinter and not a marathon runner, and we lost the plot from the very beginning; as early as the 60s and 70s by not enforcing joint ventures with the foreign investors who set up their manufacturing facilities here and then allowing them to relocate in the 90s; while not having learnt anything valuable from them other than gaining a few decades of tax and job opportunities.
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Photo and Text © Alen Cordic and C Cordeiro-Nilsson 2012
Hi Ken,
I can see that we are not focusing on quite the same issues when talking, but I will try to address your question and point of view.
With my post of Paddy Ashdown’s TedsTalk on FB, the point of fascination for me relates to how global processes are right now forcing even academic theories in various fields to come up with more integrated theories in order to explain and understand current phenomena in the field of international business that relates to my work in research.
Your questions and concerns however, seem related more specifically to the role of the State, which in my view, is interesting only to the extent of how that role is currently being defined in relation to other agents of change on the global scene, and then again, back in relation to my field of research.
In other words, the matter of state governance is interesting but not primary to my interest with my posting of Paddy Ashdown’s talk.
When it comes to the governance of Singapore per se, I will need to say that this space is not intended for such debates – my FB page, albeit open to public, remains still a personal space, currently used as a means to keep in contact with my network of family and friends, and I would prefer to keep it as such.
There are however other forums of interest that you can find over the Internet that might prove more interesting and useful for your purpose – the Online Citizen for example is one such forum that you might be interested in joining (?).
But having said that, I could share my point of view on what you wrote and asked above, with regards to the ”Singapore climate”.
Continue reading “A perspective on the “Singapore climate” – a response”
Tonight’s read: “The Work of Managers: Towards a Practice Theory of Management”, edited by Stefan Tengblad, 2012. Oxford University Press.
Text and Photo © JE Nilsson and CM Cordeiro 2012
It was Professor Sune Carlsson who first published the book Executive Behaviour in 1951 that earned him recognition as one of the founding fathers of the field of Scandinavian management studies, his perspective being that management work is more an art rather than an applied science. The compilation of articles that Stefan Tengblad has put together in this book follows through on Carlsson’s point of view where managerial work that is often thought of as rational, organized and planned that numerous theories on management behavior have thus far argued for since the mid-1900s, is really revealing itself to be a process that is much more social and serendipitous in action and solutions to problems. And while the study of management lends itself to scientific analysis, what researchers in Sweden have found is that good managerial practices develop also rather independently from management science. It is also just about here that I realize again, how useful the Swedish fika as a session can be when it comes to even managerial work practices.
There is also a point of view of an effort to move away from the use of the word “leadership” in the Swedish academic circles of management studies, since the idea of studying leadership is much like studying the ethereal – the study of leadership does not come from studying ‘leaders’ or top managers of organizations per se but rather from the variables of the surrounding context that contribute to the concept. For example, a group of middle-managers tended to attribute ‘leadership qualities’ to the person in top management who was perceived to have made good decisions for the group as a whole. And a person in top management who was trustworthy with perceived sound judgement by the group with whom s/he worked was also attributed qualities of charisma.
This book reflects generally, a Nordic perspective and a Scandinavian tradition of management research that very much includes qualitative aspects of management science grounded in narratives, organizational symbolism, mythmaking and ‘the irrational of decision-making’ where formal rationality often times limits the ability to understand organizational life and behavior.