Leaving Singapore and Southeast Asia

With my final night in Singapore and a flight at 5 am the next morning, I decided to simply explore the city for a few more hours and then spend the night at the airport, since I would otherwise have to get up around 2:30 am and get an expensive taxi to the airport anyway. I left my bags at the hostel and began to explore a few final corners of the city, mostly ending up going back to the colonial downtown area with a few nice-looking buildings and some of the historical structures in town, as opposed to the many apartment high-rises and corporate buildings that don't have quite as much character. I had a final meal at the wonderful food courts, opting for the signature dish of the country, chicken rice which is just a simple but delicious meal with white rice and chicken served with a bit of soy sauce and a bit of chili sauce. I also couldn't resist the temptation of fresh squeezed lemon/lime juice, which was amazing and very much worth the dollar that I paid.

After dinner, I headed back to the waterfront to watch the sky darken above the skyline and the Merlion, half-Mermaid, half-lion statue that spurts a water fountain into the bay and is the strange symbol of the country. As expected, the tourist crowds joined me, but it was a clear night, and the deep blue sky made a good backdrop for the statue and the city, gradually illuminating itself as the night set in. Slowly, deliberately, I made my way back to the hostel to grab my bags and over to the airport around 10:30, making sure to not miss the last subway line to the airport but in no hurry otherwise. I didn't really know what to expect in the airport, remembering it to be pretty nice, and I found a website made by travelers that rates it as the best airport in the world in which to sleep, so I had high hopes for the place. The only trepidation was caused by a few negative comments on that sight, saying that it can actually be the best or one of the worst, depending on where you are in the airport. I also saw a few signs aobut a huge event at the airport that afternoon, a race featuring an airplane against a race car, speeding down one of the runways. It also said that this was the first race of its kind IN ASIA, meaning that this rather idiotic waste of fuel has also been performed on another continent at one time or another. It would have been interesting to see, but I didn't feel that I should plan my day around it, so I ended up a few hours too late for the show, and I don't think I ever figured out who won. From what I heard, it was quite a close race, though, and they had to go to the video booth to declare the winner. So dramatic. They probably staged that, actually, in an effort to drum up more excitement about the country.

The bad news was that right about this time, I started feeling pretty sick, which is rare for those that know me. Darren, the motorcyle rider that I met back at the hostel, had come down with a really bad flu that morning, along with someone else in his room, so I really hoped I hadn't picked it up, though it felt like I did. Even worse, I was flying to Japan that next morning, and I didn't know what I'd do if I was sick when I got there, since the quarantine regulations are pretty strict there, especially with the H1N1 virus going around. So, as the subway shook and bounced back and forth, I began to feel woozy and light-headed, also getting chills and feeling almost nauseus. I just hoped the ride would end, and after about 45 minutes, it did. I rambled my way into the airport, hoping things wouldn't keep getting worse, urging my immune system to fight this bug off quickly. Moving through the airport sheepishly, I asked around and found that the only nice places to sit/lay down are within the terminal, and you can't enter there until 3 hours before your flight, so I was resigned to lay across one of the few hard rows of seats, with the seat edges jabbing me in the side as I tried to adjust to find a comfortable position. Still feeling terrible, I bundled up in more of my clothes to fight off the cold chills and made a sort of baracade around myself with a luggage cart to try to keep my bags safe while I slept for an hour or two, remembering the terrible experience of sleeping in the airport in Tahiti and having all of the bags of my sleeping neighbor stolen during the night. As you'd expect, I didn't really get much sleep, but when my alarm went off around 2:30, the time when I could go in the terminal, I was fortunately feeling better. I wasn't back to 100%, but I wasn't freezing anymore, nor was I light-headed or nauseaus. Things were looking better for my flight, though I hoped that my condition would keep improving as quickly as it had come.

Within the terminal, I found what everyone was raving about. There is free internet and a few nice benches and lounges. I even saw a sign for a free 10 minute neck and shoulder massage from one of the spas in the airport, open 24 hours. After my terrible sleep in such a contorted position, that sounded perfect, so I circled the terminal and finally found the spot just before 4 in the morning. Unfortunately, I investigated and only found a few of the workers and patrons asleep on the reclining chairs, and I didn't feel like I could justify waking them for a free service that they were offering, so I had to pass on the tempting massage. Further on, I did find a leather chair with free massaging features on the legs and feet, and this was decent, though it was nothing compared to what the real massage would have been.

Soon, I boarded the plane and met my seatmate, a true Mississippi redneck who was working with Haliburton or some company like that with assignments all over the world, entertaining me with a few stories from his last two months spent in Vietnam on a boat with a bunch of locals who spoke very little English, though one did manage to convey the 'throat-slitting' hand gesture to signify that he was going to kill him, though my American friend said he wasn't worried. Even better, my health was almost back to normal, so once again, my body had made quick work of the flu bug that had kept Darren out of action for a while, and I was glad that I wouldn't end up in a small hospital room in the Tokyo airport.

(Singapore is a food destination, and it definitely didn't disappoint in that respect.)

(A bridge over the Singapore River by Boat Quay, near the colonial district, one of the prettiest areas of the city.)

(I once again visited the Merlion. With his (or her) mix of lion and mermaid charm, I felt mysteriously drawn to the place.)

(This strange creature really does know how to attract the tourists, including myself.)

(Looking North across the bay from the Merlion towards the Esplanade - Theaters on the Bay and some office towers.)

(And then back to the Merlion. If you pasted a few of these pictures together, you could pretty much get the exact viewing experience from that evening, free from the chattering crowds and camera flashes.)

(Singapore's two biggest landmarks, the Merlion and the Esplanade, in one picture. Just order some Chinese, Malaysian and Indian food and stare at this picture and you've pretty much got Singapore covered.)

(One final shot from the bridge of the Esplanade aka upside-down durian, the Singapore Flyer (the world's largest observation wheel) and the rising full moon - probably my last notable view of Southeast Asia.)

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Back in Singapore, Taking It Easy

Getting back to Singapore for just a few days before heading up to Japan and South Korea, I decided to just take the brief stop to relax, as I had already seen most of what I wanted to see before. I liked the city the first time, but there weren't that many really impressive sights or areas, with the food being one of the primary attractions. I really liked the feel of the Kampong Glam area, the Muslim district near Little India and close enough to the tourist center, so I found a cheap hostel there, and the place was very nice and quiet, making me think that I should have stayed there during my first stop in the city. In the hostel, I walked in to find a man about 35-40 years old, looking extremely frustrated as he banged away on his tiny laptop, unconnecting and reconnecting his iPod in apparent frustration. In his South African accent (which I really like), he asked me if I knew anything about that sort of technology, obviously very frustrated with what was going on. He had just bought the iPod and computer in Singapore, and he explained that he had shattered his last two laptops in fits of rage, and the guy, with long sideburns, moustache and goatee and the perfect bad-ass biker image, didn't seem far away from repeating the process. After about an hour of work, we got things connected properly, in between him telling me stories about his travels, his motorcycle club/gang that he just joined - apparently the second one behind Hell's Angels, and his job working on offshore oil drills all over the world. He was a very interesting character, and also a guy who you always want to have on your side, so I had fun talking with him, even showing me his newly purchased motorcycle around the corner. Later, I heard him complaining/threatening the manager, saying that one of this bunkmates had attempted to steal his shoes, though he let them know that he'd take care of it. Little encounters like this always add some excitement and intrigue to even the most routine days.

Coming from some of the chaos of Malaysia and, moreso, Indonesia, I think I appreciated Singapore more this time around. It's clean, safe and extremely easy, like a benign introduction for Westerners into the Asian culture, without just being thrown into the mix. It is a little more expensive than Malaysia, but the great variety of food is still relatively cheap, and I was also a little more accustomed/acclimatized to the heat and humidity, so walking around the city was a little more relaxing. In addition, returning to a city that you've visited before, you have an idea of what to expect, what areas you like and don't like, etc, so it is almost like coming home in a sense, already knowing how to navigate the subway, the layout of the city and other important things when first arriving in a new place.

As before, I found Kampong Glam to be an attractive, quiet neighborhood just on the edge of all of the action of the city. And in the midst of Ramadan, this was more true than ever. In the warm evenings, I walked up and down the streets, relaxing in the sedate atmosphere in front of the mosque, walking up and down the wide street sandwiched by two or three story buildings lining each side of the street, side by side, traversed by strings of green and white lighting giving the area a festive, though not obnoxious, feel that I really liked. Walking around the back of the mosque, I found a Ramadan market with food stalls day and night (during the day for the non-Muslims), and I also found a pretty street leading out from the mosque, filled with street cafes and sidewalk seating, lined with a few rows of elegant palm trees. This was obviously also a bit of a tourist area, but it was not overdone, still retaining the friendly feel of the quiet neighborhoods surrounding it.

During the day, I walked around a bit, finding a travel agency to buy my Japan Rail pass, a great deal for unlimited train travel only available to foreigners and only available to be purchased outside of Japan, so that was my crucial task during this time in Singapore. I also sent a small box home from the post office, getting rid of a few of my souvenir shirts and things I wouldn't need anymore, happy to let go of anything from my heavy bags. On the way back from the post office, I saw one tall building standing above the rest of the area, so I figured I'd try my luck to see if I could get up to some sort of viewing platform or at least just look out the window on the top floor. I walked in the mixed residential/office building and headed straight for the elevators, acting like I knew what I was doing. I went up to the 39th floor (out of 41, though the top two were blocked), but I found two office entrances with no one around, meaning that I couldn't get to any of the windows. Disappointed, I headed down, but I saw an advertisement in the elevator for some new high rise apartments that were being displayed on the 38th floor. So, I took the even-numbered elevator back up and found the perfect spot on the 38th floor. There was a huge showroom with information on the developments in the area, and I explained that I actually wasn't interested in buying and just wanted to see the views, so they allowed me onto the wraparound deck, providing amazing bird's-eye views of most of Singapore. Eventually, one of the workers who had nothing better to do came out and greeted me, pointing out a few of the sights and areas and serving as a free tour guide, as well as telling me about the plans of developing the area.

Basically, it seems as though Singapore suffers from a bit of an inferiority complex. Things are great there, with cleanliness, safety and wonderful food, but being a tiny country trying to make its mark on the world economy and tourist industry, they are always comparing themselves to others, trying to make the world's tallest or the world's biggest or anything that will put themselves on the map. In this same vein, much of the developers plans mentioned making things like Hong Kong's harbor, which is apparently the vision of these builders, creating an urban metropolis surrounding the bay, though I couldn't help but think that they'd be better off just trying to create their own, unique cityscapes and neighborhoods. Other than the observatory and more great food stalls, Singapore was fairly quiet and pleasant this time around, allowing me a day or two to prepare for my next two big destinations.

(A wonderful meal at one of the many food courts of Singapore. This is a Thai dish of basil, chili and ground beef, with a few leaves of lettuce for wrapping. For those that know me, it really doesn't get much better than this in terms of flavor and simply the ingredients used.)

(Kampong Glam, the Muslim district of Singapore, was once again my locale for a few days, and the streets were lit up at night in celebration of Ramadan. There was also a wonderful calm/feeling of tranquility in the evenings here, and it was a nice break from the hectic pace of travelling.)

(Singapore's signature meal - chicken rice. It is basically a Chinese type meal with a sliced chicken breast and a few spices served on top of white rice with soy and chili sauces for dipping. As simple as it sounds, it really is great. Also great was the freshly squeezed limeade that I couldn't resist.)

(After sweet-talking my way up to the top of an office building, I was treated to magnificent views of the city below from a wrap-around deck/observation point on the 38th floor.)

(The area of red roofs is the mostly Muslim and Malaysian community of Kampong Glam, with the gold mosque in the middle of it all. My hostel would be just slightly off to the right of this picture.)

(Cruising the streets behind the mosque revealed more picturesque areas that I had missed during my first visit.)

(In one of these shops, I stopped to watch some soccer highlights and won a 25 cent bet with a random tourist who was trying to convince me that the goalkeeper was Belgian. I remembered many details of the World Cup match being presented, and eventually he finally agreed that the guy was actually Dutch, like I said, and I won my money as he shamefully faded into the tourist mass from whence he came.)

(Colorful shutters down by the riverfront in downtown Singapore.)

(Again, the old and new of Singapore. Same old type of picture, slightly new commentary.)

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Singapore Zoo and a Strange Night at the Night Safari

With my second day in the city/state/country that is Singapore, I spent the day at the zoo, touted as one of the best in Asia, though that might not be saying all that much after hearing some horror stories about other travellers visiting zoos in China and Southeast Asia. Arriving in the midst of a tropical rainstorm, I grabbed my umbrella and braved the storm, which soon subsided as quickly as it had appeared. Apart from the typical, enjoyable zoo experience, I had two incredible encounters - the first being a chance to hand feed the four resident manatees, one of my favorite childhood animals. Surprisingly, this wasn't a popular attraction, as the rest of the audience seemed drawn to one of the shows being held at the same time, in another corner of the zoo. So, nearly alone, I paid my small fee/donation and was supplied with the feed basket. As I held out the pieces of carrot and some sort of vegetable pellets, the manatees wrapped their prickly upper lips around my fingers, pulsing methodically, moving in like a Shiatsu massager until finding the piece of food and taking it from my hand, obviously using their sense of smell instead of their poor eyesight. It was a little strange at first, but I got used to it, and I was even able to pet their thick, leathery hides while I fed them.

Second, in a random rainforest enclosure, I entered a series of door designed to keep the animals in, not knowing what I'd even see inside. Just past the door, I was greeted by a red-orange tree kangaroo - a small, wallaby sized kangaroo with a very long tail, hopping right in front of me, basically oblivious to my presence, which is probably a good thing, as I actually had a very strange nightmare about one of these while sleeping in my car in Australia a few years ago. Moving along, I saw an adorable ring-tailed lemur lurking through the trees. Excited to have spotted it, I moved on to a wooden viewing platform near the top of the hilly enclosure, and soon I was surrounded by a group of four lemurs, running along the railing, jumping in and out of the tourists, chasing each other around and even grabbing someone's red umbrella to see if it was food. I have many shows and even some zoo exhibits about these guys, but I never thought I'd be within touching distance of one, let alone have a baby one literally hop across my feet. The little grey lemurs bounded up and down the stairs, bouncing through the trees, and I even got to touch the long black and white striped tails of a few of them as they passed by. I didn't want to go as far as petting them (as some people did), since they are still supposed to be wild, but it was hard to resist.

More bouts of rain followed throughout the day, and I finished up, waiting around the entrance to the Night Safari, a separate attraction next door that opens an hour after the zoo closes. One of a kind, this place is designed to let you see some of the nocturnal animals in what is supposed to be a more natural viewing environment. A few small animals are free to move around the forested park, but most animals are enclosed in natural settings with strategic lighting, allowing you to get a somewhat dark glimpse of the animal while it goes about its natural routine. A few dark trails wind through the darkness, coming upon dimly lit habitats for lions, tigers, hyenas, and much more. It is a pretty interesting idea, and I had heard good things about it, so I figured I'd take a look while I was already in the area. As it was still raining off and on, I was one of the very few people who opted to walk the trails myself, instead of choosing a covered safari tram and huge lines of people. Content to move about the dark forest, I was having a pretty good time...for a while. All of a sudden, as I was walking along, squinting to try to pick out some sort of animal in the next opening in the forest, I barely noticed something just underfoot as I stepped down into the darkness, winding around bend after bend. Thinking it would be a small ridge in the concrete path based on the brief glimpse of my peripheral vision, that was certainly not what I felt.

I stepped down and immediately jumped away. "Sorry, sorry, sorry," I said as I looked down to see a young guy lying on the trail. I had seen this guy a few minutes earlier, far ahead of me, apparently one of the park rangers, judging by his uniform. I didn't know what he was doing on the ground, hiding from someone or something, but I definitely stepped right on his upper leg. As I continued to apologize, I realized that something was odd. Not only was he not responding, he didn't even move. Not even a little bit when I stepped on him. Given that he was a worker there and the whole atmosphere that makes things a little scary, I first thought he was playing a trick on me. So, hesitant, I bent down and asked a few times if he was ok, louder and louder each time, looking around for some friends to pop out of the woods and try to scare me. Then I shook his arms and legs, and there was absolutely no response. At this point, I started to get pretty worried, not knowing what to do next. The 20-something man was laying motionless, face down, sprawled out on the wet path, his umbrella sitting open by his side. I checked for a pulse, thinking that I did feel one, though not feeling too confident at this point, still not sure what to make of the whole scenario. I checked for any blood or signs of what may have happened, but there was nothing around. My only thought is that he must have slipped on the wet pavement and hit his head, as there is really no other explanation. I looked around for anyone else, but there was no one around. Panicking, I ran up the trail until I found another visitor, told them to go check on him/not trip on him like I did, and I ran to the entrance to get help. Luckily, within a few minutes, I got to the front of the park and found two more workers who grabbed a first aid kid and radios and ran with me back to the scene. By now, three or four other visitors were gathered around, trying to hold him up, though he was still not moving or showing any signs of life. We carried him back to the trail head where they called a rescue vehicle to take him to the park's medical center. One of the other guests kept speculating that it was an "animal strike," but the workers said that things like that "rarely happen" - not too assuring, though not my hypothesis - I still think he must have slipped on the wet path, hit his head and got knocked out by the impact.

Quietly, we put him in the back of the cart, none of us really knowing what to say about the whole situation. Then, just as they were about to pull away in their cart, there was some coughing, and the young man finally showed a tiny bit of movement and consciousness. He was coughing, slightly foaming at the mouth as he cleared his airway, still not fully conscious, but this was a welcome sign to all of us. At the same time, they sped off to take him for treatment, so I have no idea what happened to him, but it was a great relief to see him do something just before we left him. I honestly thought for a while that he might be dead. We asked around at the front of the park about his whereabouts and condition, but no one knew anything about it, so we eventually had to leave without knowing the outcome. One family assured me that he would be ok, that I did everything I could to help him and not to worry, but it's not something that's easy to get out of your mind. The bus and subway ride home were both quite somber for me, still in a bit of shock over the whole situation and wondering if I could have done anything differently.

(White tiger at the Singapore Zoo. Ironically, that was one of my nicknames in high school. No, not White Tiger. Singapore Zoo. Don't ask me why.)

(Everyone comes to see the infamous Indian in a Cage. Poor guy can't even move in there.)


(Check out the whiskers on the manatee. There is my bowl of veggie pellets and carrots in the foreground.)

(The incredible feeding only lasted about five minutes, but it was certainly a highlight for me. I wasn't allowed to touch the baby one that you see in the center.)

(Two of the crazy ring-tailed lemurs inspecting the camera and tripod. They are obviously not afraid of humans anymore.)

(Another of the lemurs, getting ready to pounce.)

(The massive Komodo dragon. I may get a chance to see these in their natural habitat in Komodo island in Indonesia, but it's hard to get there, so we'll see. If you look closely, you can see the drool coming from his mouth, filled with bacteria that often kills the prey, though it was also just discovered that the beasts also have venom glands. This guy was about seven feet long.)

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Singapore - the Beginning of Another Long Trip

Indonesia has recently been on the top of my travel list with its attractive combination of volcanoes, rice paddies, deserted beaches, good food and lack of large numbers of tourists (Bali being the exception), and since I was able to get a great deal using SkyMiles to Singapore, I figured I'd take the chance to see a few other parts of the region and work my way down to Indonesia by bus, ferry, planes, my superb swimming skills...whatever. Regardless of how you manage to get there, Singapore is a long way from Atlanta. My route took me on a 14.5 hour flight to Tokyo (luckily I had the exit row to stretch out), a 5 hour layover in Narita airport, and then a 7 hour flight to Singapore. Without any real complications, I arrived in Singapore at 1 am local time, getting through customs just in time to miss the cheap bus into town, since the subway doesn't run past midnight. So, I waited for another 70 minutes for the next one and got to my small, windowless room and into bed by about 3:30 that morning.

I spent the next morning exploring the area around my hostel - Little India. Full of small shops, colorful, pastel storefronts, aromas of curry, a few Hindu temples and even a nice-looking mosque, the neighborhood was a nice introduction to some of the culture that I'd soon be experiencing. Unfortunately, the accompanying heat and humidity also greeted me immediately upon leaving my hostel. Being just a few degrees North of the Equator, Singapore obviously has the intense tropical sun, added with something like 80% humidity, so it doesn't take long to start sweating, especially when carrying heavy backpacks. I also switched hostels to a location closer to the subway station, in an adjacent neighborhood called Kampung Glam, the home of the local Muslim population and Singapore's largest mosque, the Sultan Mosque. Literally around the corner from me stood the majestic gold plated, bulbous dome, typical of the type of mosques in the area. Later that day, I heard my first (of what will probably be many) call to prayer - a sort of drone chant spouted out through the loud speakers of the mosque, reminding all the faithful within earshot that it is one of the five times during the day at which they are supposed to pray.

For me, the main draw of Singapore is its food. Acclaimed for its mix of Chinese, Indian and Malay cultures, the resulting assortment of noodles, rice, curries and bread is hard to beat, many considering it one of the premier food destinations worldwide. In addition to the variety of the food, the nearly ubiquitous food centers around town provide endless variety at very cheap prices. These hawker centres/food centers are somewhat comparable an outdoor food court at a mall in the US. It consists of a sheltered space with anywhere from 10-50 vendors under the same roof, all selling local specialties at their tiny stalls for just a few dollars per meal with plastic tables and chairs in the middle of it all. Glorified street vendors, subject to the strict hygiene standards of harsh Singaporean law, all gathered in localized areas for ease of consumption...pretty amazing. My first meal was a Muslim-style murtabak which is basically a flat, thin omelette with some sort of bread/flour mixed in to make it a little bit flaky, drizzled with bits of ground beef and accompanied with a coconut/potato curry for dipping, all eaten under the shadow of the Sultan Mosque. Followed by various plates of noodles and chili sauce from the local food center, the food portion of my trip was off to a good start.

As for the city, I wandered through the heart of the downtown area, along the river, finding some impressive old colonial type buildings, a spiky, domed theater that looks like half of the Epcot Center implanted in the ground, a huge ferris wheel (larger than the Eye in London), and the city's symbol, the merlion, which is exactly what you might guess: a half mermaid, half lion statue on the waterfront that spouts water for no apparent reason. With no chewing gum, no spitting and other harsh laws, the city is certainly clean and safe, though it didn't quite have the uptight feel that I was expecting from this attempt at a utopian society. The vast mix of Chinese, Indian, Malay, Middle Eastern and Europeans all seem to live fairly happily together, accepting the strong arm of the government (at least on the surface).

(My first meal in Singapore - the formidable murtabak with curry dipping sauce. As you see, ground beef is a nice addition to anything. ANYTHING.)

(A colorful set of apartment blocks near Little India.)

(The picturesque mosque in the heart of Little India. Not to be confused with Little Italy.)

(The intricate facade of the mosque, with lots of Arabic script meaning absolutely nothing to me.)

(The little kid doesn't seem bothered by the heat, but trust me, it's brutal.)

(One more view of the mosque and then on to lunch at one of the hawker centres. Mmmm.)

(A street scene in Little India. That's about it.)

(The famous hawker centre. I didn't actually eat at this one. I know; it's hard to believe that I had the will power to pass through one of these without at least grabbing some noodles for a snack.)

(The Parliament House and a few of the larger buildings of the downtown colonial district. The Singapore River runs just behind this building. I could make a clever joke about the river 'running' in spite of the heat, but I won't.)

(The bridge that eventually lead me to the Merlion, though not as quickly or as easily as I had hoped. Hint: if you ever see this spot, turn left at the street ahead, not right.)

(The Merlion itself, spraying water into the harbour, with the Esplanade Theater in the background.)

(Finally, the Sultan Mosque, just around the corner from my hostel. I think you can actually tour the inside, but I was not suitably dressed. Apparently a wife beater and cut off denim shorts don't cut it for the Muslims. Would I really wear that??? Would you???)

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