The Oriental Hotel, Bangkok

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A peek at the poolside with its canopied beds, The Oriental Hotel, Bangkok

The Chao Phraya river, with its deep green waters and numerous junk boats languidly making their way up and down its vast length, lends a sight of utopia to the many luxury hotels that make the Bangkok skyline today.

The oldest hotel in Bangkok, and even slightly older than the Raffles Hotel in Singapore, The Oriental Hotel parallels Singapore’s Raffles Hotel some, in terms of history of famous writers being there and era of being. At 132 years old this year, The Oriental Hotel is the grandest dame that sits by the warm and musky Chao Phraya.
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Valentine’s Day by the Chao Phraya River

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JE Nilsson, Cheryl Marie Cordeiro-Nilsson 2008

At The Peninsula, Bangkok for a Valentine’s Birthday celebration!
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro-Nilsson 2008

Thank you all who sent me Valentines and Birthday wishes. A few days ago when we arrived to Bangkok most street names were a mystery and the city had grown immensely since I was here at a conference, presenting a linguistics thesis, a couple of years ago. At that time I didn’t have the time to travel and sightsee Bangkok either.

Valentines Days table decoration

Table decoration replete with teddy bear and gorgeously bound menu in red,
at The Peninsula for Valentine’s Day

Cheryl Marie Cordeiro Nilsson 2008 Lebua, State Tower Bangkok

By now we are finding our way much better even if the traffic is a nightmare swept in pollution so thick you can cut it with a spoon. I think the main observation I can share with those who’ve possibly not been here before is that I would choose the roadside food stalls for the food and the up market Hotels, for the view.

Reflections from Sentosa hotspot KM8

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At Sentosa hotspot KM8
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro-Nilsson 2008

The speed at which Singapore transforms never ceases to surprise me. When back for Chinese New Years celebration with family and friends after just a few years in Sweden I hardly recognized the most basic sights. The national library was gone and where we used the take a shortcut along Orchard Road, a new six star hotel has already been opened.

Thursday the 7th was dedicated to personal relaxation and the outfit of the day, a tie-dyed cotton sarong and sun protection factor 55. The destination, the manmade paradise island just off the west coast of Singapore. When I grew up in Singapore, Sentosa was a historical relic with ugly memories from the war. Then modernizations set in with the purpose of creating a nearby beach area for the stressed out Singaporean working population. Continue reading “Reflections from Sentosa hotspot KM8” →

Culinary couples: Singapore and Sweden

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Appetizer at Buko Nero, a blend of rucola and pomelo

Buko Nero, Singapore

Type in the words Buko Nero in a google search and you’ll find a long list of reviews, mostly enthusiastic and positive, on this small and personalized restaurant in Singapore, located along Tanjong Pagar Road.

The restaurant with a seating capacity of not more than approximately 25 persons or 6 tables, looks literally as its name suggests, a ‘hole in the wall’. It’s an easy location to miss, being situated amongst the larger bridal boutiques and pubs that line the stretch of shophouses along Tanjong Pagar.

What makes this place special is the fusion of Italian and Asian flavours that lace most dishes they serve. The fusion of flavours perhaps being a reflection of the background of the Italian husband and Singaporean wife team, Tracy and Oscar Pasinato. Continue reading “Culinary couples: Singapore and Sweden” →

Common footwear in Singapore

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The flat sandal

Even before I landed in Singapore this time around, most girlfriends of mine who were in Singapore often spoke about getting their manicures and pedicures done. Pedicures these days are considered almost a must for the well groomed woman in Singapore and you need not be a tai tai (a Chinese term for women who married well and need not work) these days to have your toes done. At SGD$12 – $17 (ca. 77 SEK) per pedicure session, it isn’t considered by many women to be all that a pocket blowing hobby to indulge in or make oneself happy. Continue reading “Common footwear in Singapore” →

Meeting up with Anders Thorsell

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Portrait of Cheryl at the east coast of Singapore, Wednesday 16, January, 2008.
Photo: Anders Thorsell, FFAgency, Sundsvall, Sweden

If there was a place for me to visit in Sweden next, then I’d like to visit Sundsvall, because Anders Thorsell is the second interesting person I know of that has a relation to that small and somewhat off the beaten track city of Northern Sweden. The first being the founding father of the Swedish East Indiaman “Gotheborg” project, Anders Wästelt, which I have told about earlier.

Anders doing some sight-seeing on his own, visiting the Singapore Tiger Brewery

Portrait of Anders at the Tiger Brewery in Singapore, Wednesday 16, January, 2008. FFAgency, Sundsvall, Sweden

An established writer and frequent traveler with a photography agency of his own, he’s in Singapore for the third time now. Anders was in Singapore last in 1999, touring with the Miss Sweden Universe 1999 contestants and we barely missed meeting each other then. He found a taped interview of me and, well, as they say, if you’re fated to meet, then you will. And this time around, I promised to bring him around.

I absolutely enjoyed having a walkabout with Anders. A sincere and very pleasant guy to work with, it was fun to show some of the sights and sounds of Singapore to someone that has seen so much of the world. As for his travels stories, I think those are best told by himself in his own blog.

Cheryl

Suburban kampong

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Suburban Singapore

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A plot of land in the midst of high rise apartments in Singapore

Being a tourist in most countries often means that one doesn’t get the opportunity to explore local living. You’re scuffled around to designated shops that work on tourist commissions, famous landmarks that everybody goes to see and take pictures, and you find yourself even eating places ‘for tourists’. Continue reading “Suburban kampong” →

Swedish Christmas Julbord Buffét 2007

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The Christmas Julbord buffét at the Sjömagasinet restaurant, Göteborg, Sweden

As the Christmas season rolls in, most restaurants in Sweden begin to offer a smörgåsbord of delights, known as the Julbord or the Christmas table. This line of buffet consists of traditional Swedish Christmas foods such as herring preserved in a variety of marinades, the marinades of which are as inventive as the chefs are themselves. Last year, we tried herring marinated in Coca-cola, by a chef called Mikael Sande, as one of the more unusual / eccentric dishes to the Christmas buffet.
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13th December: the festival of St. Lucia with Lussekatter

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Our batch of Lussekatter or saffron bread this year, for Lucia

I’ve asked some Swedish friends of mine, the significance of the festival of St. Lucia in Sweden. And few knew its actual significance, except that it arrived from Italy, back when Sweden was still Catholic (today it is more Lutheran), before 1700s.

Traditionally, Lussekatter are baked without raisins in them, but as you can see from our batch above in the picture, we cheated some with adding raisins in the dough. The bread is extremely fragrant, with the smell of saffron. It does tend to dry out quickly, also because of the saffron but we hope that with the raisins in the dough, it’d stay moist just slightly longer. The saffron bread, as with most breads, tastes best fresh out of the oven. But if left for the next day, it helps with heating the bread in the oven or in the microwave oven before eating. Enjoy with a warm glass of milk!

I found a fuller account of the festival of St. Lucia via a quick search on the internet. The information below is from the website of New Sweden

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