A few weeks back, Veronica and Greg decided to visit the Singapore Turf Club, site of Singapore's horse racing. Although gambling is very popular here in the region, the population isn't large enough to support daily racing throughout the year. Instead, the races are held each weekend and rotate weekly among the tracks in the region (Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Penang and Singapore). So one recent Saturday, Greg and Veronica decided to forgo the usual grocery shopping and try their luck on the ponies. Although we arrived just as the first race was starting, the place was packed and we joined a long line (or, "queue" as they say out here) of cars pulling into the parking lot (or, "carpark" as they say out here). There was still quite a mob of people (mostly male) arriving by foot and moving towards the entrance. We purchased our tickets and approached the turnstiles, anxious to see if luck be a lady tonight. Unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to deal with Lady Luck be cause Greg was barred entry on account of inappropriate dress. Not that Greg was wearing a dress but because his clothing did not meet the high standards required by the Singapore Turf Club. While many have marveled at Greg's sartorial splendor, the men at the gate were unimpressed. It seems that in spite of Singapore's oppressive heat and humidity and in spite of its generally informal approach to clothing (members of Parliament rarely wear a tie and almost no one wears a suit), Greg's shorts were a gross violation of the rules. Evidently, the fear was that the sight of Greg's legs would either scare the horses or distract the bettors. So we were sent away; banished from the place and forced to spend our afternoon throwing our money away in a different arena -- the shopping mall.

In spite of this horrible personal offense, on Sunday, we resolved to return to the track, dressed appropriately, and win big, teaching these folks a lesson they would not soon forget. This time we arrived later and were not denied admission. After watching a race or two to get a good reading of the track conditions (soft) and study the racing program, we felt confident we were ready to start placing bets. The system is similar to that of the United States although not identical. For example, there is no "place"; you can bet a horse will "Win" (i.e. come in first) or a horse will "Show" (come in second), but you can't make a bet that the horse will come in third. In addition, while "trifectas" and "quinellas" bets are available, they have different names. We can't tell you what those different names are because we don't really know what a "trifecta" or a "quinella" is. Also, bets are made by filling out a small form. These forms are similar to the forms used in the Lotto games in the U.S. and require filling in small ovals with a pencil or pen. At this point, it is only fair to point out that while Veronica had never been to a horse race, Greg has some experience. In fact, his first horse race was at this very same racetrack (in the early 1980's). That first race was also notable because Greg won $28 on a $2 bet. Since then, Greg has been to the horse track a couple of times and the greyhound track in Kenosha, Wisconsin, several times. Unfortunately, other than that first bet, Greg has never won anything at the track. Today was no different. Even the horses Veronica chose did not win. Even selecting horses based on Veronica's father's lucky numbers proved useless. In fact, what was most notable about our selections was that they almost always came in last or second to last. After a few races and a very steady stream of losses, we decided to call it a day.

By the way, for all of you who have wondered when we are returning home, we will be moving back to the United States this July. Although we've really enjoyed our short time here in South East Asia (and very much look forward to an opportunity to experience Asia again someday), we've decided it's time to return home. The next few weeks will be quite frantic as we prepare to leave. However, we expect there will be one or two more Newsletters keeping you updated on the final days of our life here in the exotic Far East.