Bob...darlin'...when your checks clear, THEN, I'll send thanks...M-A-N-Y thanks...and from very far away! Happy Travels!

Hewy Fuen, when you get a chance, where do you get clothes made in Singapore? And is there a store like SJ there?

Carol...Yes,the dollar is low, but I've rented an apartment and paid it out in full, back in January, and in dollars....so the dollar fluctuation didn't hit me like it usually hits me when I reserve a hotel room and then pay when I leave. I used a N.J. company that doesn't raise its prices that much. They only needed a $300. deposit which I paid many months ago and then the balance was due two months before departure.
Last week they mailed me the apartment keys, so when I get there all is set up.
It's in my neighborhood of nearly 30 years and I know there's a supermarket down the street and a whole street lined with other food-related shops on the same street, a block away. So, I'll cook...which I prefer to do anyway as I've never been fond of French food. And on days I don't cook, I'll go to the French vegetarian/vegan restaurant that I've eaten at since the early 80s. It's just down the street...same owner and her family.

Also, one of my Thai restaurant-
owner friends here, just told me, two days ago, about a great Thai restaurant just south of me. I'll be in the 6th, the restaurant is down in the 13th.
So, once one has gotten the accomodations taken care of and the food thing squared away, then the rest isn't as bad as it could be. It's all about working around the drastic fall of the dollar as much as possible. Happy Travels!

Maybe she will buy some french pocketbooks?