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.
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| 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.
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| GRASP |
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| 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!
