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September 09, 2004

Singapore - NOT a bore!

We got on our plane to Singapore and touched down at the gateway to mainland Southeast Asia in less than 3 hours. Our flight was quick and painless which we'd later learn seems to be the theme of Singapore. The guy who sat next to us was one of the nicest strangers I've ever met. This native Sing obviously loved his homeland because the descriptions he gave of the place got us really excited. We weren't dissapointed.

The customs and immigration process lasted less than 5 minutes. Singapore has made it a point to be on the cutting edge of technology in all possible aspects of daily life. The immigration official scanned my passport, scanned my entry card and we were off almost before I finished saying hello. He pointed us to the hotel reservation desk and I quickly learned that our nice friend from the plane is just one of many super friendly Sings! I don't know what it is about the culture there but I started to feel like I was in an episode of the Twilight Zone. The nannying government has created a cookie cutter culture that seems to really work. Nice but weird! We found a hostel with no problem and got there quick as a wink on the mass rapid transit system they set up through the country-city. I was impressed with the spic and span stations, spotless trains and eventually, the immaculate city buses. Only later did I learn that spitting gum incurs a S$1000 fine and drinking or eating on the train incurs a S$500 fine. Smoking is NOT encouraged either and incurs a $500 fine if you are caught puffing in public. I guess Singapore is a "fine" city after all!

Our first night in Singapore found us searching for food in Chinatown. It never occured to me that the closer you are to China the better the food gets but we learned the easy way when we had dinner from the food stalls. These upscale style rolling restaurants let you pick the food from the counter and cook it for you fresh in less than 2 minutes. The spring rolls I had from this cart are the best I've ever had the pleasure of drooling over. I celebrated with a fresh crepe filled with bananas, custard and chocolate. Man was it good!! On the way back to the hostel I just had to Dial A Coke with our mobile phone! No money? Call the machine. Amazing!

Next day we decided to really play the tourist game and took the Hippo roofless double decker bus around the city. We got to see the Central Business District and more business or hotel skyscrapers opposite that. We rode through Little India with its detailed temples and stopped for an amazing lunch where we were supposed to dump all that onto the banana leaf to eat with our hands. Live and learn. After lunch we got to see the Raffles Hotel where they invented the heavily alcoholic Singapore Sling in 1912. After the famous Raffles we got to see Chinatown during the day. It turns out that we arrived just in time for the Festival of Ghosts which means that the 77% Chinese population in Singapore has to give concerts, meals and parades to appease their dead ancestors who seem to haunt their everyday lives. It lasts a month and is responsible for decorations all over the city. After Chinatown we jumped on a different Hippo bus and headed out to the shopping capital of the shopping capital of Asia. In Rome you do as the Romans, whatever that may be. In Singapore, you shop. And you do it on Orchard Road. The malls here are never a small collection of shops but a huge melange of stores where you could easily bankrupt small countries. Luckily we escaped the onslaught from Rolex, Prada, Tag Heuer, Sony, Nikon, Hermes, Canon, Ferragamo, Ferrari, Olympus, IBM, Apple, Borders... on and on and on. I did take the opportunity to upgrade my little day backpack to something a little more comfortable. Try living out of a bag for 5 months. All those brand name can't hold a candle to a comfortable backpack! The only other familiar name that was able to snatch a few bucks from our wallet was the Singapore California Pizza Kitchen. We had to get a taste of our old jobs and see what it was to be a guest instead of servant - I mean server. For those of you who have never eaten CPK [gasp!] there is an item on the menu called Singapore Shrimp Rolls. We just had to see what they were like in Singapore. Apparently they're more like California!!

On the way back to the inner city we passed the behemoth Suisse Hotel the tallest building in Singapore. Notice the way its shaped similar to an octagon? More like a dekagon maybe? What is the word for 20 sided? That structure is based on Chinese Feng Shui for prosperity. I think that if you can build a hotel like that and/or stay in it then money is not the biggest of your problems. We passed some other cool architecture including Singapore's Opera House intended to look like an old timey microphone but looks more like a durian. We also passed one of the city's mosques. Apparently we weren't the only one interested with what goes down the road! We passed the menacing Supreme Court.

Singapore has come a long way from when it used this to tell time! Ever seen a time ball? Invented by the early Romans. It gets pushed up twice a day and slowly falls down. The Bristish used it when they ruled Singapore. Yet, for all its technological advancements and economical achievements the government still battles serious human rights issues. There is definitely NO freedom of speech and the use of capital punishment is regularly handed down as sentence, fair trial or not. The fact that there is a hanging in the prison system at least every other day has been very hushed to the western world. Its bad for business but good for controlling the people. We were hard pressed to find any Singapore natives who would talk about the obvious oppression. And even then it was all whispered with much still to be said. I can't help but wonder if the polite, super friendly atmosphere is all a facade. But I doubt it. The people are great. A government can't force that and Singapore gets a check as one of my favorite cities to visit.

Since Singapore was so expensive and we have more of Southeast Asia to see we booked a bus ticket to Melaka, Malaysia. I'll let you know how it turns out!

Posted by Josh on September 9, 2004 02:38 PM
Category: Where are we?
Comments

Glad I taught you not to chew gum and spit! Thanks for the great post and pictures. Love, Dad

Posted by: Steven on September 9, 2004 05:28 PM

Sounds awesome! I am in my dream world now thinking I am somewhere out there traveling the world with you guys. I am glad you are having fun. Take Care.

Posted by: Misty on September 13, 2004 04:40 PM
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