Places: Black or White: An Exclusive Evening Experience of Esplanade&Me Programme

On 15 Aug 2015, thanks to the invitation of the Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, I had the opportunity to enjoy an evening experience of a glimpse of benefits of the Esplanade&Me Programme. Find out more about it here:

Places: Black or White: An Exclusive Evening Experience of Esplanade&Me Programme

22 June 2015: Along the Freedom Trail

King's Chapel Burying Ground. Boston.

Before visiting Boston, I have heard often about the historic Freedom Trail. This 2.5 miles route runs past 16 official sites that are among Boston's oldest landmarks. The Freedom Trail tells the story of the American Revolution as it began in Boston. I learnt that the Freedom Trail was officially established in 1958 to preserve the relevant key monuments and sites.

The Old State House in a distance.

It was fairly easy to recognize the Freedom Trail. The Trail is marked by a red-brick or painted line on the pavement. All that visitors have to do is to follow the marked trail. There are also daily guided tours available from Boston's main Visitor Information Centre (northeastern edge of Boston Common south of Park Street subway station) and from Faneuil Hall.
My friend, Emz, and I walked about parts of the Freedom Trail with a clear understanding that we would not be trekking the entire Freedom Trail that afternoon. Our plan was to have dinner at the North End of Boston by around six in the evening.

Boston's Old City Hall. I walked past it on 24 June 2015.

My friend and I visited the King's Chapel Burying Ground. It was a tranquil place to visit. The ship named Mayflower caught my eyes when I was reading the inscriptions on a few of the tombstones in the burying ground.

The Old State House, Boston.

On our way, we past by the Old State House. It was very popular with tourists and there was a queue to get in . Out of the interest of time, we moved on.

Remembering the Boston Massacre.

Looking back, during my short visit to Boston in end June 2015, I could have visited or seen from a distance many of the 16 official sites on the Freedom Trail without realizing I had done so. Here are the 16 official sites on the Freedom Trail:

- Boston Common
- Massachusetts State House
- Park Street Church
- Granary Burying Ground
- King's Chapel
- King's Chapel Burying Ground
- Benjamin Franklin Statue and Boston Latin School
- Old Corner Book Store
- Old State House
- Site of Boston Massacre
- Faneuil Hall
- Paul Revere House
- Old North Church
- Copp's Hill Burying Ground
- Bunker Hill Monument
- USS Constitution.

(source: http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/freedom-trail/official-sites.shtml)

My heartfelt thanks to my friend, Emz, for walking along part of the Freedom Trail with me. It was liberating to feel safe enough to explore a foreign country. The Freedom Trail is a reminder of a time in history when people acted on and lobbied for their ideals of freedom which subsequently shaped the story of the American Revolution.

Admittedly, I would still need some help and time to fully appreciate the story of the American Revolution please.

22 June 2015: The Daily Catch

The Daily Catch.

After a visit to Christ Church in the city of Boston, also known as the Old North Church, my friend and I were deciding on our plans for lunch.

Initially the plan was to walk our way back to Boston's Downtown. In general, many of the good eating places in the North End opens for businesses in the evenings. Then again, since we were in the North End, we looked about for a suitable venue for lunch and were quite prepared that if we did not succeed, the backup plan would be to walk to Boston's Downtown.

Fried Calamari. One of the best fried calamari I have yet.

Thanks to my friend, Emz, who was attentive to food reviews in Boston, we decided it would be a great idea to have our lunch at The Daily Catch.  Along the Hanover Street, there are a lot of well-established restaurants and cafes that serve delicious food. The Daily Catch was one of the restaurants in the North End of Boston that was on the recommended list of restaurants on Insight Guides, Step by Step: Boston, by Simon Richmond.

The Daily Catch is an eating place that specializes in Sicilian seafood and pasta. The seafood here are fresh and tasty. This place serves tasty calamari of a texture that seems just right - not too tough and not too soft. In a way, fried calamari seemed to be a niche that The Daily Catch has so nicely filled. It was no wonder that I had initially mistaken the name of this lovely eating place to be Calamari Cafe. I would say that the calamari dishes from The Daily Catch are delicious. One of our orders was the fried calamari. The squid was freshly prepared and when I chewed on the fried calamari, the taste of the seawater seemed to linger in my palate. 

Monkfish Marsalla.

We also ordered a Monkfish Marsalla. The sweetness in flavour of the Marsalla wine went very well with the pasta, mushroom and the monkfish. Lunch was memorable with the company of a good friend and delicious food. Many thanks to my friend for her recommendations. I could have missed The Daily Catch if not for her suggestions.

This is an eating place that I will recommend my friends who visit Boston. Please expect a queue as The Daily Catch is pretty popular with the locals as well as the tourists. I suppose happy people at The Daily Catch serves tasty food?

The Daily Catch.
A cosy and humble place that serves delicious food.

Please take note that only cash is accepted at The Daily Catch.

The Daily Catch

323 Hanover Street

Boston, MA 02113

Tel: +1 617 523 8567

http://thedailycatch.com

Read: Stephanie Dowrick's Heaven on Earth

Image source: Amazon.com

Title: Heaven on Earth: Timeless Prayers of Wisdom and Love
Author: Stephanie Dowrick
Publisher: Jeremy P. Tarcher/ Penguin, New York, USA.

Stephanie Dowrick is one of the authors whose writing I have enjoyed reading. In this book, there is a compilation of prayers and poems. It was a tranquil and very human experience reading some of the prayers and poems that were printed in this book. A comforting read. This is a book I had read over a period of at least seven months, and I was reading many other books in between.

I think reading Stephanie Dowrick's "Seeking the Sacred" before reading "Heaven on Earth" had helped set the context that was useful in facilitating me to appreciate many of the prayers and poems in this book. I wondered if it would be even more beneficial to get an audio book of "Heaven on Earth" and hear Stephanie Dowrick herself reciting the contents?

22 June 2015: Old North Church

Old North Church.

On 22 June 2015, after attending a free guided tour that started out at the Faneuil Hall, my friend and I were at the North End of Boston. As we walked about, we found ourselves at the Old North Church.

This church, Christ Church in the City of Boston, is Boston's oldest surviving church. It was founded in 1722 and is known to all as the Old North Church. The interior of the church, I read, was painted white since the year 1912. I personally enjoyed the large courtyards and the gardens in this church's compound.

The Old North Church offered a sense of tranquility which I appreciated.

In addition, I was intrigued by two interesting sections in the Old North Church. When I was exploring the Old North Church with my friend, we chanced by the Clough House and were delighted by both the historic Printing Office of Edes and Gill and the Captain Jackson's Historic Chocolate Shop.

Printing Office of Edes and Gill, Old North Church.

Printing Office of Edes and Gill
The 18th century printing press and the colonial printing process intrigued me quite a bit. A master printer demonstrated the printing process for visitors and I appreciated the thoughtfulness involved to showcase that segment of printing technology that is now known to most as a forgotten past.

Captain Jackson's Historic Chocolate Shop.

Captain Jackson's Historic Chocolate Shop
At the historic chocolate shop in the Old North Church, I learnt how chocolate was enjoyed by the people in Boston back in the 18th century. I learnt how colonial Americans had prepared and consumed chocolate in those days. In those days, chocolate was enjoyed as a drink.

Together with my accompanying friend, I had managed to watch a demonstration of how chocolate was made and consumed. I like the richness of the chocolate drinking. This is worthy of a good visit and we could also show our generous support with donations towards the Old North Church.


Old North Church
193 Salem St
http://oldnorth.com St, 
Boston, MA 0211

22 June 2015: Faneuil Hall and beyond

Faneuil Hall, in the evening,. Taken on 24 Jun 2015.

It was a sunny day on the Monday morning of 22 June 2015. I had the good company in one of my friends, Emz, who accompanied me to start our journey at Faneuil Hall. Fanueil Hall is one of the sixteen official sites on the Freedom Trail.

I read that the current building of the Faneuil Hall was designed by Charles Bulfinch in 1805. The original hall was built in 1742. Faneuil Hall has served as a marketplace and a meeting hall since 1742.

When Emz and I reached Faneuil Hall, we made enquiries regarding the guided tours. To our pleasant surprise, we were told that there would be a free guided tour, if I was not wrong, by one of the National Park Service Rangers.

Quincy Market, Boston.
The guided tour started nearby.

Allegiance to Revolution
The title of the tour that we went on was "Allegiance to Revolution". Honestly speaking, I would need some help to better appreciate the history of the United States. I wondered if our guide would be somewhat consoled that I could at least be aware that the two key persons in history who were mentioned in the "Allegiance to Revolution" tour were Thomas Hutchinson and Paul Revere? Essentially, the tour that we went on were about making decisions that eventually changed the lives of the two characters.

The guided tour took us to the site of the Big Dig, the North End of Boston, St Stephen's Church, Paul Revere Monument and more. By the time that the tour concluded, we were at the North End of Boston, near the Paul Revere Monument.

The pedestrian mall above where the Big Dig had taken place.

One of the heritage sites related to Paul Revere.

Paul Revere Monument

Back to Faneuil Hall once again
After having lunch at the North End of Boston and exploring the Quincy Market, Emz and I returned to explore more of Faneuil Hall and the nearby marketplaces.

The Great Hall.

It is worthwhile to spend some time at the Faneuil Hall. The second floor is a meeting hall, also known as the Great Hall. There was a historical talk by a ranger when we were there. He spoke about Peter Faneuil and a lot more about the American revolution.

The Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts museum and library.

On the fourth floor of the Faneuil Hall is the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts museum and library. Given the historical significance of Faneuil Hall, it was natural that the historical artifacts in this museum and library were also of importance too historically. The Faneuil Hall seemed to transport me back to the 18th century and I was rather glad to spend the afternoon there.

I felt thankful to step into and explore the Faneuil Hall, a historically significant site.

Faneuil Hall
1 Faneuil Hall Square
Boston, MA 02109, USA
http://www.faneuilhall.com

22 June 2015 and etc: Thinking Cup

Espresso in the cup at the front. Thinking Cup.

About less than 10 minutes walk away from Hostelling International Boston is a cafe named Thinking Cup. It is known to serve the well-praised Sumptown Coffee, which is said to use the finest coffee beans from around the world.

On the morning of 22 Jun 2015, while I was visiting Boston, I met up with one of my friends, Emz. On our way to explore the Freedom Trail of Boston, I noticed that we were walking along Tremont Street. My recollection reminded me that there was a cafe worthy of a visit that was located there. As the name of this blog-post suggested, the cafe was the Thinking Cup.

Many thanks to Emz for a treat to espresso. The espresso there was well-balanced and has a fruity and citrus flavour. The ambience was cosy and enjoyable. It took us a while to find a table for two at the morning peak hours yet it was overall a good place to catch up with friends and to enjoy specialty coffee and other beverages. Pastries, sandwiches and other breakfast options are also available from the Thinking Cup.

Thinking Cup.

The Thinking Cup. 165 Tremont Cup.

Thinking Cup was so conveniently located nearby HI Boston that on one other occasions, I went there too to give myself treats to espresso beverages.

Affogato, from Thinking Cup.

At the time of publishing, Thinking Cup has two other branches in Boston. One in North End of Boston and the other in Back Bay. While I was exploring the North End with my friend, Emz, we were pleasantly greeted by the outlet of Thinking Cup at the North End.

Thinking Cup.
North End.
236 Hanover Street, Boston, MA, USA.

I felt thankful for the precious moments to catch up with one of my friends. Many thanks to Emz for her generous treat to espresso. I also appreciate the dedication that went into creating flavoursome cups of espresso beverages at the Thinking Cup. I felt enriched by a good cup of espresso at the Thinking Cup.

Thinking Cup
165 Tremont St
Tel: 617-482-5566
http://www.thinkingcup.com
Nearest T-station: Chinatown

22 June 2015: Breakfast at Hostelling International Boston

The kitchen area at HI Boston. 

Simple pleasures in life can bring a lot of joy. Even a breakfast that is simple yet wholesome.

One of the pleasures of waking up early in a foreign land is to be among the first few people to enjoy a wholesome breakfast.

Staying in an international hostel as a solo traveller somehow prompted me to be more sociable than I would usually be. I decided to step out of my comfort zone to greet fellow guests in the hostel and see what responses that could bring.

That morning, I got to know a few new friends.

While waiting for breakfast to be served at seven o'clock in the morning, I was so early that I had the time to notice the environmentally-friendly measures that HI Boston take to help the environment. In addition, I realized that there quite a bit of effort required to set up the kitchen and dining area so that it will be ready for breakfast.

Breakfast at HI Boston was simple yet in good style. I like being able to look out of the windows and enjoy a lovely scenery of the rest of the world outside the hostel building. Many thanks to the team of people at HI Boston for making my travel experience a positive one.

Hostelling International Boston
19 Stuart Street
Boston, MA02116
USA
http://bostonhostel.org

Places: A visit to Singapore Pinacothèque de Paris

Singapore Pinacothèque de Paris.

Would you be interested to get a glimpse into one of the latest private art museums in Singapore?

I have made a visit to Singapore Pinacothèque de Paris a week ago.

I like the architecture of the familiar Fort Canning Arts Centre as well as the experience of appreciating artworks that were curated using the approach of transversality. It was interesting to view and appreciate Western masterpieces in dialogue with tribal art and artworks from another era in time.

Find out more here:

Places: A visit to Singapore Pinacothèque de Paris

21 June 2015: Arriving in Boston on Summer Solstice

Waiting for Silver Line SL1 at the Boston Logan airport.

Summer Solstice: The solstice at midsummer, at the time of the longest day, about 21 June in the northern hemisphere.

After hours travelling by plane, I finally arrived at the Boston Logan Airport. It was a wet weather day. One of the thoughtful services that I had appreciated when I was at Boston Logan airport was a help-desk service that gave directions on how to travel from the airport to a guest's destination. In addition, Massport provides a free shuttle bus service, Silver Line SL1, that serve all the airport terminals, A, B, C, E, the South Boston Waterfront & South Station with free connection to the red line. I greatly appreciated that the Silver Line SL1 buses have low floors for ease of boarding. 

Little things matter and thoughtfulness were appreciated. Many thanks to the team at both Massport and Boston Logan Airport for the thoughtful services.

Lobby of Hostelling International Boston.

While I was in Boston city, I chose to stay at Hostelling International Boston. It is conveniently located at 19 Stuart Street next to the Chinatown T station. The hostel is centrally located and close to some of the key places of attraction in Boston. I also like the fact that toilets and the rooms are generally clean. I stayed in a 6-bedded room. Staying in an International hostel was quite a positive experience for me. I get to meet and make new friends.

Phai Thai. My Thai Vegan Cafe.

My Thai Vegan Cafe

Nearby the hostel, there are a number of food and beverage establishments. I had dinner on the evening of summer solstice at My Thai Vegan Cafe at the 2nd floor of 3 Beach St, Boston, MA02111. My Thai Vegan Cafe is well known for its bubble tea and cakes. I ordered a plate of Phad Thai. The food was tasty and the service was thoughtful.

Getting myself a phone SIM card

After dinner, I went to get myself a wireless phone SIM card. There was a convenience store about 5 minutes walk from Hostelling Internation Boston. While I was waiting to settle the payment for the wireless phone SIM card, I realized it was already past eight o'clock in the evening. Yet, interestingly, the sky was still bright. Summer solstice indeed. This would be my first experience of summer solstice in the northern hemisphere. The day was long and the night was short.

I had a bit of challenges activating the SIM card. Thankfully it was resolved about 24 hours later, the next day. Many thanks to the professional and excellent help-desk support of H2O. I ought to have called the helpline earlier when I had challenges with activating the SIM card on summer solstice. Having a SIM card when I was travelling in the United States for about two weeks has proven to be helpful.

***

Hostelling International USA Boston

19 Stuart Street

Boston, MA 02116 

USA

Toll Free Tel: +1 888 464 4872

http://bostonhostel.org

***
My Thai Vegan Cafe

3 Beach St

2nd Fl

Boston, MA 02111

USA

Nearest T station: Chinatown

Tel: +1 617 451 2395

Travelling tips: From Singapore to Boston

At Dubai International Airport. Waiting for the connection flight to Boston.

Being prepared and well-planned for the trip from Singapore to Boston, United States has been helpful for the solo traveller in me to feel safe and at ease.

I am thankful for the generosity of one of my friends, Emz, for being gracious to share useful information about travelling to Boston with me. Thanks to her, I had a relatively easier time figuring out what are the important travelling issues to take note of even though I was a first-time traveller to United States. A few other friends have also contributed useful tips for me.

Travelling tips for a Singapore citizen travelling from Singapore to Boston, United States:

1. Travel authorization will be required for a Singapore citizen to travel to the United States. There will be an administrative fee to be paid to apply for travel authorization. To apply for the ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization), please visit: https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/

2. A citizen of Singapore as well as citizens of any one of the Visa Waiver Program countries are eligible to apply for admission to United States under the Visa Waiver Programme.

3. However, for Singapore citizens who intend to visit the Unitied States for more than 90 days, or are travelling to the United States for a purpose other than short-term tourism or business, or a few other circumstances, it will be necessary to obtain a visa to travel to the United States. For more information, please visit: https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/WebHelp/ESTA_Screen-Level_Online_Help_1.htm

4. Physical inspection of baggage by the US Transportation Security Administration is to be expected. It will be very helpful to use locks that TSA approved. If we are using luggage bags with built-in locks, it helps to ensure that the built-in locks are TSA approved. Otherwise, if the locks are not TSA approved, in the event of physical inspection of the baggage, the officer may be forced to break the locks of the bag, and TSA will not be liable for damage to the locks resulting from this necessary security precaution.

5. It is fairly convenient to travel about Boston and Greater Boston using public transport. It helps to plan our trips about Boston and Greater Boston using the online Trip Planner services available on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. The T-Pass is worth a consideration for visitors who are travelling on the subway, local bus, inner harbour ferry and Commuter Rail Zone 1A for at least 4 days while in Boston and Greater Boston.

Ambivalence and resolution: The journey to the United States, 20 Jun - 5 Jul 2015

The flight to Dubai.

Is it a common human experience to encounter ambivalence? Was there a time in your life you had the thought of travelling to some place on Earth, yet there were concerns that have made you think twice before travelling?

I have had the ambivalent experience whether to travel to Boston, Massachusetts to attend a music seminar which I know will be enriching. The decision to travel to the United States, specifically Massachusetts, began with ambivalence. To go or not to.

The process of resolving the ambivalence involve asking myself the following questions:
1) What is the best possible outcome?
2) What is the worst possible outcome?
3) What is the most likely outcome?
4) How can I make this travel plan a reasonably favourable experience?
5) How do I manage the potential risks and costs involved in going for the trip?
6) What will be my opportunity cost if I do not go?

In the end, the outcome was clearly stated in the title of this post. I decided to make a trip across the miles to Boston, Massachusetts to attend the music seminar.

Along the way, one of my friends learnt about my visit to Boston, Massachusetts. She was aware of my interests in viewing fine arts and urged me to consider making a visit to New York City. The proposal she gave was for me to visit some of the best fine arts galleries in the wold, that are located in New York City. New York City was about five hours bus journey from Boston. It will be cost-effective to include a trip to New York City together with the trip to Massachusetts than to travel specially to New York City on another separate trip some time in the future. I was eventually convinced by her suggestions and I am thankful she gave me the suggestions.

So on the night of 20 Jun 2015, I arrived at Changi International Airport to wait for the past midnight flight to Boston. While I was not expecting any friend or family to see me off at the airport, I was nevertheless touched by one of my friends, SH, who came to the airport to pass me thoughtful gifts and to see me off for the trip. We caught up over tea and snacks at the airport. Many thanks to SH for her thoughtfulness and kindness.

At the airport, I was advised by Emirates' staff that the flight I had booked was rather full and I have the option of changing to another flight that will stop by Colombo before heading to Dubai for a connection flight to Boston. Ordinarily, I would prefer not to have unnecessary stop-over. I prefer to reduce the frequency of unnecessary plane take-offs and landings. Out of the ordinary, I decided to go with the flow that night.

Setting off for Dubai before taking a connection flight to Boston.

On the plane, the usually introverted me showed my more sociable self. I started a conversations with the two gentlemen seated at the same row. I learnt that they had used to work in Singapore and they loved living in Singapore. Their compliments reminded me to appreciate the positive aspects of Singapore. Before we parted ways at Dubai International Airport, these two gentlemen (who were colleagues to each other) pointed me to the general directions where I could catch the connection flight.

So it seemed, my journey to the United States started on a positive note, with a theme revolving around friendship and kindness. While it was my very first time travelling to the United States and I was doing so alone, I felt thankful that there were people who looked out for me. Travelling solo, I was reminded, was an adventure to embrace uncertainties yet learn to trust ourselves and the kindness in humanity.

If you are curious to find out more, please stay tune.

Read: The Connoisseur's Guide to Coffee

Image credit: Amzon.com

Title: The Connoisseur's Guide to Coffee
Author: Jon Thorn, Michael Segal
Publisher: Quintet Publishing Limited

This is a guide that is accessible to read and well-researched for connoisseur's who loves coffee and the espresso drinks. The book is nicely illustrated and filled with photos to illustrate a variety of useful information related to coffee.

The first part of this book covers the story of coffee, how it spreads and what coffee is. It also presents in easy-to-read fashion the technical issues about tasting, roasting, grinding, making, and buying coffee.

What I appreciated about this book is its second section. This section is a directory covering the finest unblended coffees in the world. This director features all (at least the book's foreword claims) the specialty coffees. The directory also lists the general flavour profiles of each of the coffee from different parts of the world. Written in accessible language, this is a directory that lends a good introduction to the characteristics and flavour profiles of coffee beans from different parts of the world.

Read: The Music Business

Source: Amazon.com.com

Title: The Music Business (Explained in Plain English): What every artist and songwriter should know to avoid getting ripped off
Author: David Naggar
Publisher: DaJe Publishing, San Francisco, CA. (2013) (Fourth Edition)

This book was recommended to me by a person whom I respect. It was a very technical book to read and I admittedly struggled through it.

Then again, it was an informative book to read. There were a lot of legal issues related to the music business and the music industry that I would not have been exposed to had I not read this book. It will come in as a handy reference.

In this book, the author, David Naggar, who is an attorney in the San Francisco Bay Area, shares with his readers how to properly protect the songs one has written from being stolen. In addition, he writes about the essential issues that a recording artist would need to know. He also shares about the basic issues that a songwriter will need to know and to consider.

The main question I have is whether what David Naggar has written would be applicable to the music business outside of United States.