A TASTE OF SINGAPORE

May 24, 2013

Singapore.

City. Country.

40km wide by 20km tall.

4.5 million people.

24 hours.

Let's do this.

I arrived by train after 15 hours of travel from Taman Nagara National Park in Malaysia. (I will fly home from Hong Kong in less time. :). But honestly, it was a well needed day off from traveling. Yes I was traveling, but I was able to mostly zone out on the boat, bus and train. Just enjoy the scenery. Write in my journal. Think of all the great things that have happened, and the few things I regret not doing. And also laughing at my complete misread of a certain situation that will make for great comedy in a movie someday.

The best place to be when the AC went out... and even when it didn't.

But for now: Singapore.

I took a cab from the train depot because it was 11:45pm. Had to hit the ATM. Grab some food since there was only snacks on the train. Yikes! The ride was going to cost about 20 Singapore $. But at midnight he said: "Now there's a 50% up charge for after midnight". Then there was another surcharge for something else. In fact, that's a joke of Singapore cabs is that there are always surcharges on surcharges.

It's all good. Check in, head to bed. For tomorrow...

I'm up and out and ready to go. it's Sunday, so few things are open to eat at for breakfast. Thus, I go for Starbucks. Yep, I'm in an international city now. In fact I've noticed and accepted that what makes a "world city" a "world city" is that it has Starbucks, McDonalds, KFC, Nike Stores and on and on. The first world of consumerism is what makes the first world I think.

I walked along the riverfront and thought: I'm in Chicago... with buildings on only one side. :)

It's a great place. The people are nice. The energy is good. It is indeed as clean as you think Singapore would be. There are FINES for everything. In fact it's a big joke that Singapore is a "Fine" city. Smoking: S$1000. Jaywalking: S$500. Urinating in Lifts: $5000. (I bought a magnet that said that. It's so specific). In the end this makes the place safe and easy to travel in and really doesn't affect tourists much.

I saw the MerLion. Yep. Half fish/ Half Lion statue on the bay. There were dragon boat races. I went to the Science/Art museum and they had a LEGO SCULPTURE exhibit! Called "Art of the Brick". So I had to check it out. Some really moving pieces, which is strange since it's Legos. But it was cool. I wanted to buy the one called GRASP. It has a life size red man pulling away from six grey arms holding him back from his goals and dreams.

GRASP

UNDERNEATH

After a brief view of one of the many botanical gardens and the casino I hopped a train to meet up with Jeremy.

Jeremy is a friend I met in Zanzibar in 2008. We hung out with a few other folks for 4 hours total. But we kept in touch and now we get to reconnect in Singapore. And I have to say, having him as a tour guide and friend really made the day special and wonderful. I got to see things I never would have without him. To enjoy food and places I wouldn't have seen. It was a really great way to see the city and learn about it, as well as learn about his life growing up here and his family. Very cool.

First stop: Eating.

Real Singapore food this time. :)

A curry with all sorts of stuff that we got a food court. This used to be all about Hawker stalls (which ironically in Singapore they can't "hawk" their wares anymore, but they still have places with hundreds of them you can walk around in). It was great.

We checked out the History museum which had a piece about Singapore cinema.

Then to Little India. Which, is well, full of Indian restaurants, markets and foods. We wandered a wet market, filled with fresh fish and slaughterhouse stalls where you could just pick the piece of meat you wanted. We stopped into a place and ate some south Indian bread and sauces. Yep, meal number 2.

His parents live nearby, so we went up to their 30+ floor flat. Said hi. They were super nice. The view was amazing from up there. It's such a different way of growing up than what I had. Many folks in Singapore live in Public housing, and unlike the USA where that often meant "The Projects" and bad news. In Singapore it's normal and really one of the few ways you can afford a place to live. A house with a yard would be multiple millions for a tiny place. The view from their place was great and they pointed out all the buildings that would be gone in a few years and new ones being built. Jeremy says most of the places he used to go as a kid are gone now, rebuilt and changed into something else.

To Sim Sim building (shoot, I forgot the name). It's a building where you can buy electronics. Like 10 floors of them. Shops on shops on shops. Back in the day there would be a lot of pirated and fake stuff. But now it's all legitimate, and other than Apple products, they're at great prices.

On to Chinatown. The sun has set and we wander a very touristy street, with a market. But then we hit hawker stall heaven. It was hot and noisy and people were eating tasty food and snacks all over. We had bbq stingray, and a traditional clay pot rice with chicken and veggies and soup. And this nasty ass salted fish that I don't recommend. Jeremy hates it too, so we took it out.

The best part was just talking and learning about the politics, the history, the people of Singapore. How it was part of Malaysia and got kicked out. How the founder and first leader was a lawyer, thus all the laws. Also a hard ass. How crime is very low, but it does exist. The death penalty for anything involving drugs is always carried out and never negotiable. The casino costs 100 S$ if you're local, but free for tourists (though you need an ID). How he used to race dragon boats and did so on the river to cheering crowds. He's got a little boy and a wife and how life is with them. It was fabulous.

Off to the Marina Bay rooftop bar for a view of the city. And conversation with a Kiwi couple traveling. They spoke of swimming with whale sharks and touching them and it nearly made me cry. Man I want to do that.

A long walk back to the hostel along the lit up bay brought the day to an end. A fabulous time. Thanks Jeremy.

Rock on Singapore.

CraigO

PS: For all my gamer friends. They have a SETTLERS CAFE. It was closed when I walked past, but they have an entire WALL of board games. Floor to ceiling. You can play anything you want, have drinks. It's rad. If I'd have had more time, I would have traded some wheat for wool and rolled some 12 sided dice!