Mine gold in your backyard
As belts tighten, it feels good to go local, eat local this festive season
By Chua Mui Hoong, Straits Times 30 Nov 08;
I used to think only faraway places offered nature lovers interesting flora and fauna. I was in love with America's national parks. Until I came home and discovered Singapore's own nature reserves and nature areas.
I have almost forgotten what the inside of an aeroplane looks like these days.
Okay, I exaggerate a little.
But it has been nearly a year since I got onto an airplane to fly anywhere. The last flight I took was during a family vacation to Australia last December. Since then, I've been grounded.
This is a strange experience for me. I used to be one of those afflicted with wanderlust, who got itchy feet if she had to stay put in staid Singapore for three months at a stretch.
London and Boston topped my list of favourite cities to holiday in. For a few years, my annual vacation was taken up totally by a long sojourn in the United States: visiting friends from university in Boston, travelling around the New England states or stopping over in sunny California.
And then, this year, my circumstances and priorities changed. And now I find myself grounded for a year.
My family did discuss whether to take a break somewhere.
'How about Turkey,' I asked.
'Turkey?' queried the two teens, my niece and nephew, noses wrinkling in distaste.
'Or Europe?' ventured my sister.
'I want to go to Germany,' proclaimed my niece, 12.
'Anything,' said my nephew, 17.
'Europe is so far and expensive and cold. How about Australia?' I suggested.
'Gold Coast or Melbourne?' asked my sister.
'We just went to the Gold Coast last year,' protested the teens.
'How about Perth or Western Australia? Except I've been to Perth and I feel I know the Pinnacles by heart,' I said.
'Stay at home,' said my nephew.
'Taiwan?' I said.
'Been there,' said my niece and sister.
'Vietnam?' I suggested.
'Maybe,' said my sister. 'Or how about Cameron Highlands?'
'Or Pangkor?' I asked.
A typical Chua Family Council. No consensus was reached. With a financial downturn looming, and teenagers who appeared happy hanging around doing nothing during the school holidays except sleep, eat, tease each other and irritate their parents and aunts, no decision was taken.
Looks like we may spend December in Singapore.
Scanning the immigration stamps in my passport, I realise I have been content with short breaks to neighbouring Indonesia and Malaysia by road or ferry.
A weekend in Bintan here, several trips to Sebana Cove there, and leisurely road trips across the Causeway to whichever hotel takes our fancy - these short jaunts have been enough to satisfy this oncerestless soul.
I still feel the urge to venture to distant shores, but I'm learning also to appreciate what lies in my own backyard.
Or as the Chinese phrase goes, jiu di qu cai - from this very ground you can pluck whatever fortune or needs you require.
And with belts tightening in the face of a possibly protracted downturn, that's a pretty good perspective to take when planning your family vacation, or what to do or where to eat or what to buy.
Here's my one-line tip to staying happy as budgets shrink and belts tighten: Look for gold in your own backyard.
This applies as much to travel and recreation as to food.
I used to think only faraway places offered nature lovers interesting flora and fauna. I was in love with America's national parks.
Until I came home and discovered Singapore's own nature reserves and nature areas.
I've spent many happy hours along MacRitchie's lovely trails, the Petai being my favourite. Had heart-stopping moments spying on birds catching prey in Upper Peirce, seen flamingos in Sungei Buloh.
Now I can even watch birds from my own flat. Straw-headed bulbuls perch on the tree in front of my living room, call to their mates and display their plumage. Flights of white egrets and the occasional migratory crane flits by. A resident Brahminy Kite scans the sky for prey in the mid-morning. White-throated kingfishers wait by the canal for lizards.
The other day, I walked part of the new Southern Ridges at dusk, awed by overgrown banyan and fledgling bamboos on the way out, and admired bats flitting about on the way back.
I am learning that one does not need to travel far to have magical moments.
A recent interlude in Malacca opened my eyes to the wonders of this Unesco World Heritage city.
Sitting on the steps of the ruins of the nearly 500-year-old St Paul's Church perched on a hilltop, looking down at the twinkling lights of Malacca and the river, and giving thanks for my past 40 years, I felt a sense of pilgrimage and a sense of returning home. After years admiring cathedrals in distant lands, I am learning that beauty and wonder lie also on one's doorstep.
Digging for gold in your own backyard extends to food, where it makes sense to eat local.
It used to be that when I was in Singapore, I would look for expensive Western food for its sheer novelty.
In Boston, I would seek out Asian supermarkets for char siew or green leafy Chinese vegetables. When I hosted parties for fellow students, Penang-style char kway
teow at US$50 per platter was de rigueur for its sheer exotic appeal.
These days, I'm learning to make do with whatever local produce is available.
Why look for risotto or paella when fried rice and nasi goreng are in abundance? Or duck confit when the neighbourhood kopi tiam sells you a nice roast duck drumstick for $4?
This December will probably see me stay put in Singapore or nearby environs.
Come to think of it, I've not been to Chek Jawa after the boardwalk was erected. I still want to check out Labrador's rocky shore at low tide. There's the rest of the Southern Ridges to explore.
And the entire Makansutra guide's worth of hawker stalls to try - and a few more gems I could add to that guide.
And if the appeal of Singapore gets stale after a while, there's the whole Malaysian peninsula worth of riches to delve into.
muihoong@sph.com.sg
What are your favourite local places of interest? E-mail suntimes@sph.com.sg
