Its a FINE city.

Yes Singapore, the ultra-modern, city-state at the southern most end of the Malay peninsula has a reputation for being a "fine" city. Some of the laws seem quite extreme by our standards. Buying or selling gum, smoking in public places, eating or drinking on public transport and even jaywalking can all result in fines.

Upon arrival we hoofed it to a hostel in Little India called "the Inn Crowd". David and Kris' recommendation was spot on. This place was really nice; shining, new and clean. Really top of the line.. which prolly also explains why it was one of the most costly places I've stayed. Instead of looking for our own grub we signed up for the night's hostel excursion, which promised us real western food like steaks and chips or bangers and mash. So a group of 20-25 folks trampsed off through Little India to the subway station. Apparently Sunday night is the only night off for most of the men in Little India, so they use the opportunity to ALL congregate on the streets. The streets were packed with Indian men milling about, which made our group look GLARINGLY white. We got on the subway and made it to the Charles Quay riverfront. This area reminded me of the Inner Harbor w/ it expensive restaurants and tourist shops. In fact there were so many non-asians in the area that you could almost forget that you were in Asia at all!

It turned out that our "western food" was going to be provided at HOOTERS! I can still bearly believe that I went to Hooters in Singapore. The waitresses were not what I'd expect for Hooters, but I guess they were fairly buxom for Asians. The place was just as tacky as I had expected, but atleast I got a legitimate hamburger! Yummm... boeuf.

On Monday we visited a travel agent, b/c both Claudia and myself were in a flux about what our travel plans are going to be. Afterwards I had some stellar chicken and rice and peaked into the Sim Lim Center. Afterwards, I searched the town for a grocery store and bought the ingredients for some REAL pasta w/ meat sauce.. Viking Style. The Inn Crowd has a KITCHEN which excited me no end, and I turned out a perfectly acceptable meal. Glad to know that I havent lost my culinary touch. :)

So Tuesday I hung around... eating cereal w/ milk, which also excited me.. and when Claudia came back from the travel agent with a flight to Oz for that afternoon! It was inveitable that we'd have to split up over irreconciable differences as to which type of Oreo was superior. Can you believe she refuses to recognize the inherent superiority of the double stuff? Happy Trails Claudia! Thanks for putting all those crazy ideas in my head. Enjoy the boeuf in Oz and see you stateside.

So I went back to the Sim Lim Center by myself.. where disaster struck my Visa card. I managed to escape S'pore without getting fined for anything, which was a good thing since I was going to need them all for the 6 floors of IT shopping mania. By myself I couldnt keep the visa under control and it jumped out of my wallet to buy a new digital camera. EEEK! Atleast now I had better get some good shots of Angkor and the Philippines.

I also bought a plane ticket back to Bangkok... so it was quite an expensive day. So I was happy that Dave and Kris were buying me dinner from the Famous Curry house. Ahhh naan goodness.

Last night I flew back into Bangkok with my plans in flux and a bit of dread about returning to Bangers, but I feel much better now that I am nestled safely into the Suk11. My new revised plans are coming together... which generally involve blitzing in and out of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, skipping Laos and heading the Philippines for a few weeks, with improved flexibility, then a few days in San Fran before returning home mid-april. I know I had planned on 7 months, and I dont want to sound spoiled, but you honestly can get tired of SE Asia after a while. Hopefully at home I can sort some things out about the possibilities of grad school and maybe even act on that crazy idea of Tuscany in May.