On my last night in Manila I visited the Makati district once more. It has taken me awhile to fully realize just how rich the richest Filipinos are. The Makati financial and shopping district is a lush, ritsy area filled with very fine dining and shops of all the major world's clothing designers. Here I ate my last filipino dish, rife with dishes of finely chopped pigs-ears, the entrails of the swine, liver, kidney, and any other disagreable body organ available. Delicious though. Mmmm.
Wilson drove me over to the Rockwell Power Plant, reclaimed land on which the finest shopping mall in Manila was built by the prestigious Lopez family. We entered the large tract of private land, passing through strict security involving mirrors and dogs, and then proceeded to park in the massive cavernous carpark beneath the beautiful glass building. Not far from the mall I noticed the Luftansa building, a sparkling shrine of modern architecture, where my friends from Bohol work. Not too shabby for them... Upon entering the mall it was clear that this was where the glamourous come to play and spend their hard-earned pesos. Inside, the main concourse resembled more of a park than a shopping centre, with beautifully lit trees stretching up to the second floor. We walked past some very tall filipinos; perhaps basketball players in the PBA?

(PS. Teams in the PBA are sponsored by local businesses, and are thusly named. Some of the more notable teams include ProFoods, Shell, Coca-Cola, Talk-n-Text and San Miguel. The Profoods jersey features a picture of two hotdogs with faces)

I wanted to ask them if they played basketball, as this has become one of THE most common questions I am asked. I figured these guys were probably asked the same question, and so refrained.

(What is your height? Do you play basketball? How old are you? From where are you? What is your name? ...these are a sample of the questions that *everyone* I meet makes a point of asking)

We bought our tickets to the 7pm showing of Meet The Fockers, selected the best seats (arranged seating) and wandered around them glitsy mall.

The movie deserves no mention here, but I will say how much I enjoyed the previews. Four months away and I have almost forgotten how much I enjoy a good movie.

I bid farewell and gave me most sincere thanks to Wilson, the man who showed me a great deal of the city and treated me to a great deal of fine food. In the darkness of the slumbering dormitory I readied myself for an early departure.

At 5:30 i walked out to Roxas Bvld and waited to hail a taxi to the nearby airport. The Ninoy Aquino International Airport is rather new, and very nice. I checked in early after a short queue and managed to get a prime window-emergency escape seat; legroom! I bought an overpriced bottle of Tanduay Rhum (150peso; 3CAD$) from the shop next to the duty free (the dutyfree charged in US$ and was priced as if in the US...) and then waited for my flight. And waited. I have since learned that PAL has a reputation for not leaving on time. Finally we were off. Bummer the plane turned out to be a spic and span brand new Airbus A320, a model that does not feature in flight movies...

Finally we neared Singapore and then began our descent into Changi. We touched down hard and seemed to bounce; no problems though. Then the hatch opened and in hissed the hot muggy equatorial air. We deplaned into a gorgeous new airport, though alledgedly the newer Terminal 2 is nicer. At 11:30am it was virtually empty and a immigration line opened just for me. A friendly face greeted me and offered me a candy. Huh? A friendly immigration officer? No Way! I ate a delicious McBurger before making a free call to my contact here to pick me up.

Off we drove, into the Lion City, in the left lane again.

Singapore is a city-state occupying an island connected to the southern tip of peninsular malaysia by two causeways. Almost every little bit of the country is developed in some way, but having said that, it is the most lush city I have ever seen. Magnificent road and expressways crisscross elegantly over and past thick rainforest. The pollution here mostly drifts in from neighbouring Malaysia and Sumatra; aircare seems to be in force effect here. Palm trees line the bigger roadways and aged hardwoods shade the city streets. The old buildings are the elegant ones and the new ones sparkle; a mix of age old British architecture and ultra postmodern designs. With the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year the streets are lined with red and white lights that crisscross overhead between decidely uncluttered lampposts (a photo I will upload will show the mess in the sky above Manila). Signs on the roadside remind against Jaywalking, a S$50 offence. Other signs remind against driving while on the cell phone (they will revoke your licence for 2months on the 1st offence). In some parking lots, signs indicate the area is under CC Surveilance.
We drove into the downtown core around 2pm and the traffic was negligible. David, my associate here, plugged a prepaid Cashcard into a device on his dashboard, and as we passed into the downtown city zone a beep indicated he had been charged for entry. Everything is high tech. We drove around for awhile, him explaining Singapore at length, me gazing out the window at the fantastic architecture. Past the world's tallest hotel (70-80 stories, depending on who you ask), past buildings shaped like pineapples and durian, past very old British landmarks.
We passed through Little India and ate at a Nepalese/Gurkha restaurant. Hot hot hot, but very delicious. After the feast, afterwhich i was many pounds heavier, we walked out and heard drums and cheering in the distance. Several blocks away, along the main drag bisecting Little India was a parade.
Thaipusam is an annual Hindu holiday; a very religious day. I have been told that the festival at KL's Batu Caves is unlike anywhere else; I had forgotten the date, but luckily found myself at the heart of this interesting celebration here in S'pore. Apparently Thaipusam "commemorates the day that Lord Siva's consort, the powerful goddess Parvathi, gives her son, Murugan, the vel (lance) to vanquish three demons and their large army which were plaguing the world."(from here)
Religious devotees enter a trance and pierce the skin of their cheeks and tongue with sharp metal spears. Here in S'pore, these devotees carry around a large, heavy cage-like contraption that is hooked into the skin of the body and supported by the neck. Very strange. Very painful - but these entranced individuals do not wince, nor do they bleed. Thus followers believe in the miracles of faith. I could not take photos in the darkness, so I borrowed this image from here. We watched as a dozen or so of these ornamented men danced by, shaking the dangling feathers and decorations to a festive drumbeat. Groups of followers danced around each of the devotees encouragingly. Fascinating. Good time to visit Little India...

In the darkness of the equatorial night we drove, past fantastically lit buildings and festively lit promenades.