Real Estate Offers: Round 2

Oasis at Elias "Resort Homes" will be completed 31 December 2015.

A few weeks ago I posted photographs of urgent and unbelievable buying opportunities that have been added to the Passengers' mailbox.  Another batch arrived last week. Don't delay; act now on these once-in-a-lifetime deals.

The above flyer (front & back) details an enticing property on the northeast coast of Singapore, quite far from the city center.  That's okay because Oasis @ Elias will be like having your home in a resort community "with the beach and nature parks nearby."  The advertised asking prices start at S$640/sq ft for a 99-year leasehold from March 2008.  That means S$700,000 (about USD 530,000/GBP 334,000) for a two-bedroom flat surrounded by existing HDB towers.  The development will not be ready until 31 December 2015; only 91 years left to enjoy your purchase.

Far East Organization wanted us to come to brunch at The Greenwich Sales Gallery

The Greenwich is advertising phase two of their low-rise condominium project in Seletar in the northern interior of Singapore.  The development by local heavyweights Far East Organization includes a nearby retail space called Greenwich V, "planned to be a chic, modern and green 'village' that will capture the vibrancy of its namesake in New York."  Perhaps they should be reminded that homosexuality remains illegal in Singapore.  FEO claims phase one "was fully sold within a few days."  They also list three-bedroom units at S$1.35 million (USD 1.02m/GBP 664,500) or S$1,174/sq ft.  Hurry up because one-bedroom units for only S4825,000 should be ready by 31 December 2018 with 90 years remaining on the leasehold.

Come to the St Regis hotel this weekend for a "Singapore Exclusive Exhibition" of Battersea Reach.

Finally, a seemingly much more affordable London property in a new south-of-the-Thames developmen called Battersea Reach on the front and Spinnaker House on the back.  None of those details matter because units start at only GBP 299,995 (SGD 628,000/USD 476,000) for a 999-year lease.  Jone Lang LaSalle do not give a completion date, but I'm sure all that information will be available to buyer who come to the St Regis hotel this weekend to buy sight unseen a pied a terre in London.

Tokyo Food

A snack package of what appears to be hazelnuts in a Tokyo mini-mart.

The Passengers ate all sorts of goodness in Tokyo.  The Japanese take their food seriously in the same manner as do the French with serious refinement of standardized age-old recipes.  We didn't suffer a bad meal once during our travels. Here are some highlights, though they exclude our early morning sushi adventure.  That will be a separate post.

Ramen noodles with all the fixings.

We had ramen one evening at a small restaurant not far from our ryokan.  Diners are supposed to choose their dishes from a vending machine outside the front door.  After the customer pays money in, the machine spits out a ticket for his order, and he brings it inside the restaurant.  We tried our very best to match the Japanese labels on the selection buttons with the pictures in the window.  Finally we gave up, and we were kindly greeted inside with an English menu.  This bowl of ramen was as big as my head.  I could barely get through half of it.  Passenger H unwisely had her own bowl, too, which by the time she quit looked like she only managed to pick out the seaweed, the half-boild egg, and two pieces of scrumptious fatty pork.  The yummy noodles are underneath a big pile of extras that also includes corn, bamboo shoots, and bean sprouts.  I think we paid JPY 950 per bowl (USD 11.25/GBP 7.10).  More dishes after the jump.  Click below left to keep reading.

Beware the Trains

Sign in the stairwell at Iriya Station in Tokyo.

Tee hee.  The Tokyo Metro trains have wind.

Sushi-Dai, Tokyo

Early morning bustle around the Tsukiji Market in Tokyo.

Against our preferences for a leisurely holiday, the Passengers awoke early one morning in Tokyo to make the trip down the Hibiya line on almost the first train of the day to visit the huge Tsukiji Market, the wholesale outlet for fresh fish in Tokyo.  We wanted to see the market in action, but our prime motivation was to find ourselves the freshest sushi breakfast imaginable.

Patrons lining up for a seat at Sushi-Dai along a row of restaurants at Tsukiji Market.

Activity at the market begins in the wee hours of the morning so by the time we arrived in Ginza at 6:00 AM, a number of labors were already searching out lunch.  The rest of the city comes to Tsukiji for breakfast. Based on a friend's recommendation we headed straight for Sushi-Dai a fourteen-seat sushi counter with reportedly the best fish at the complex.  The place opens at 5:00 AM, and its reputation meant we found ourselves in a two-hour queue.

Come early; bring cash.

Once we got inside Passenger J opted for the full Omakase selection at JPY 3,900 (USD 46.25/GBP 29.25) for 11 pieces of sushi, miso soup, maki rolls, and a bit of omelet.  Passenger H decided that as the smaller member in the pair she needed the smaller option at JPY 2,500 (USD 29.65/GBP 18.75).  We did not go away hungry.

Marinated tuna with a dollop of wasabi.  Pickled ginger sits on the right.

We took our seats at the counter on a rainy August morning with the air-conditioner steaming up the view of the hopeful customers waiting outside.  After our early start to the day we were ready to eat.  All the sushi pieces were impeccably chosen and brilliantly crafted.  The three sushi chefs placed their offerings directly on the top-shelf counter.  Patrons ate using both their fingers and chopsticks.

Passenger H's set included mackerel braided over rice.  The omelet and the fish-based miso soup appear in the background. 

More pictures of sushi after the jump.  Click the link below left to keep reading.

Singapore Grand Prix

The Singapore Flyer stands above the race course Sunday night beside the newly completed Marina Bay Sands Casino

 The Passengers watched last night's 2010 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix from an apartment office perched high above Marina Bay.  From our hosts' festive eyrie we had a commanding view of about half of the street circuit.  In the photo above the Formula One cars start underneath the Singapore Flyer ferris wheel, which hosted the pit lane, and return there after zooming past the stands of the National Stadium overlooking the water.  The photo below shows the circuit at left running between the government buildings and the dark, grassy padang.  The drivers then reemerge into view at the lowest part of the illumined track, where they make a sharp turn beside the Fullerton Hotel before racing across the straight along the bridge and past the Esplanade theatres (those shiny Durian-shaped buildings).  I tried to post photos of good quality.  Click them for a larger view.

The Marina Bay Circuit illuminated for the 2010 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix

The action was loud even from our vantage sixty-eight floors above the water.  The rain held off all day, despite a few dark, overcast moments, and racing fans were rewarded with exciting competition.  Ferrari driver and pole sitter Fernando Alonso carried the day with Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber right behind.  This was the third running of the Singapore Grand Prix, and the event is expected to become a fixture of the Formula One calendar for some time, though an extension has not been announced.

Japanese Baseball

Hiroshima Carp batting against Yomiuri Giants at the Tokyodome.

Now an overdue entry on Japan.  During our time in Tokyo the Passengers took the opportunity to see a baseball game at the Tokyodome: Hiroshima Carp vs. Yomiuri Giants.  The Giants are Japan's equivalent to the New York Yankees, the nation's most storied and successful team, and they turned in a very good performance during our Sunday afternoon visit.  Starting pitcher Asai pitched 7+ innings of shutout ball, and the offense put in two home runs.  The quality of play was every bit as good as MLB in the US and Canada. The tickets I bought online cost about as much, or even a little less, than an MLB game in a major American city, too.

The right-field stands lead the cheers for the home team.  They rolled out this banner in the middle of the seventh inning.

None of that was too surprising.  What I really wanted to experience was the atmosphere of professional baseball in another country.  I was not disappointed.  The fans of both teams proved incredibly dedicated with organized cheers for their batters.  The Carp brought in a host of supporters wearing red in the left-field stands.  The Giants had the whole stadium on their side, all the fans chanted while waving around bright orange towels over their heads after scoring runs, but the right-field seats hosted the die hard supporters that led the cheers.  They even had two large flags waving in tandem.

In the foreground ladies sell beer and snack food.  Cheerleaders dance on the field.

Additional entertainment came from the ladies.  Beer and snacks were sold throughout the game by young women wearing brightly colored kit.  Beer was dispensed from pony kegs in insulated bags hauled up and down the stands.  All the usual staples could be found in the Tokyo Dome: beer, peanuts, soft drinks, cotton candy.  However, the concession windows offered bento boxes and outrageous ice creams.

The team also had cheerleaders dancing between innings, sometimes with the Giants' family of orange furry mascots.  After a Giants home run the dancers stream onto the field for a celebratory routine while one of the troop jumps up and down behind home plate waving a souvenir stuffed animal.  The Giants players all come out of the dugout and form a line to politely congratulate the batter after he circles the bases.  Once the last runner crosses home plate he is given the stuffed animal, shakes hands with everyone in the receiving line, and then tosses the orange plush toy into the crowd.  The whole affair seems designed to spread the success around to everyone.

Reporters and onlookers stream onto the field for the post-game awards.

The post-game press conference was another unusual moment because it takes place on the field with a horde of press reporters and photographers.  As seen in the pictures, the cheerleaders and mascots flank the stage as the day's outstanding player is awarded the game ball, which deservedly went to pitcher Asai.  He makes a few comments into the microphone for the benefit of the crowd and the media.  For some reason the onlookers included a giant Pikachu Pokemon.

There are a couple more pictures after the jump.  Click the link below left to view them.

Singapore Grand Prix Sunday

The skyline is not quite right, but it's a good overall impression.

Practice runs have already begun on the Marina Bay circuit ahead of this week's Formula One race in Singapore.  The contest is a true grand-prix style race on the downtown streets of the city,  called the Marina Bay circuit: around the new casino, under the giant Singapore Flyer ferris wheel, along the Padang parade grounds and its government buildings, and beside the high rise office towers of the Central Business District.  The twist?  The race begins at night, 8:00 PM local time, which puts it in the traditional  Sunday afternoon motorsport timeslot in Europe: 1:00 PM in Britain, 2:00 PM on most of the Continent.  The BBC has a slideshow of the preparations here.  

The Singapore race is happening amid a big-time title chase featuring some of Formula One's most recognizable drivers. Unfortunately, we have had afternoon rain showers every day this week, including now as I write.  Though the evenings have been dry, the tropical humidity lets all that moisture linger and is creating tough conditions on the racetrack.

The Passengers plan to watch the event tomorrow from a friend's downtown apartment that happens to overlook part of the racing circuit.  At the very least it will be loud.

City Hotels - Tokyo & Hong Kong

Our room in Tokyo at Sakura Ryokan.

I have been writing furiously (on academic subjects) for the past couple of weeks so I have not had a chance to post here for awhile.  I owe pictures from Japan, but the Passengers just spent a fabulous weekend in Hong Kong, and I am still jazzed about that. Allow me to somehow combine the two.

Above is a picture of room in Tokyo at the Sakura ryokan.  We had a lovely stay in this traditional Japanese B&B.  The futons are pretty good for sleeping and we stayed in the old-style Asakusa neighborhood.  Our room did not have an en-suite bathroom and breakfasts were served downstairs at communal tables.  It definitely took me back to days of student hostels, but in a good way.

Our bedroom at JIA in Hong Kong.

 Last weekend the Passengers decided to go to Hong Kong in celebration of wedding anniversary number two. Since it was a commemorative event we decided to splurge for a couple of nights at JIA (sound alert). It's a boutique affair, opened by a Singaporean I think, designed by the ever chic Philippe Starck.  There is, of course, lots of white-on-white decor, and the only untinted mirror stands above the bathroom sink. But one doesn't spend a weekend in a design hotel in Hong Kong for practical living.  Quite the opposite, really.

Main room of our suite at JIA.

 The staff were very kind to upgrade us to a suite so we had plenty of space to spread ourselves.  I didn't include pictures of the kitchen or bathroom, but all the facilities are excellent.  The hotel even gave us a discount card to use at some of the shops near the hotel in the Causeway Bay neighborhood.  They also booked us into one of Hong Kong's private members clubs Halo on Friday night.  We were exceptionally well treated.  I have heard of people being placed at JIA for a number of weeks while working on business assignments.  Can someone get me one of those deals?

Dining table in the main room of our JIA suite.

Reading nook behind the television and stereo.  Love the gnome seats.

More on Japan soon, I hope.

Excellent mascots

The Passengers are enjoying a weekend in fabulous Hong Kong. Last night we propped up the bar at a basement members club. Here is an extract from the best conversation of the night:

Passenger H & Passenger J are introduced to another patron of the establishment.
Pleasant Stranger (to Passenger J): So what do you do?
Passenger J: I'm an Art Historian.
Pleasant Stranger: That's great! I went to Art School!
Passenger J (interested): Oh really! Where?
Pleasant Stranger: Rhode Island School of Design.
Passenger H (excitedly, over J's shoulder): Go Nads!

For those of you who are not well versed in the mascots of university ice hockey teams, the RISD team is called the Nads.  Passenger H has been waiting for the opportunity to work that one into  a conversation for a very long time and was ready when the moment came.