Well, Singapore ain't like the rest of Asia. It was just like visiting some city in the states, only most everyone was Asian. My immediate impression was that Singapore is about two things, shopping and eating. I left with pretty much the same impression. I must admit that the first thing I did was go to McDonalds. It was soooo good!
Anyway, Singapore was not cheap and it took me awhile to find a cheap place, sharing a dormitory with 3 other guys. The city was definitely clean. Singapore is known for it’s strict littering laws. If caught you get a fine or have to spend a certain number of hours on a “clean team” cleaning up the streets. It is also illegal to bring in cigarettes or gum - both very messy.
I immediately was taken away at the number of people who are out and about. Doing what? Shopping and eating, of course. The streets markets, malls (many, many malls), restaurants (many, many restaurants) were all packed with people, all day and well into the night. I was used to everything shutting down by 10:00. I liked the action and spent lots of time walking around, just checking things out.
The next day, I went to buy some soap to wash my clothes and the store manager asked me if I wanted to make some money shooting some corporate video. He was looking for an executive looking white guy. I was white..........executive looking was a bit of a stretch. I went anyway and did my job. They swooped my hair back, professional like, gave me a shirt and tie and lent me some glasses. I got to give it to them for the effort. The others there were professionals and got paid more………guess I got to join the union! I got paid, did something I hadn’t done before and didn’t expect a call back. Life goes on.
I didn’t do much shopping, except for the bookstores. Big mistake! I was like a kid in a candy store. I tested a number of the local eating establishments. There was every kind of restaurant imaginable and many quite cheap. The Indian food in particular was delicious and cheap. Where are all the Indian restaurants in New Orleans? Ain’t none!
Two other things that Singapore offered,that had been missing in my life, were ultimate frisbee and a nightlife. I found out pick up times for ultimate and headed out to some rain soaked fields. It was league night so they just stuck me on one of the teams. They started on time!!!! Huh? I didn’t have much time to warm up so was a bit rusty with the throws. It was fun, wet and muddy – good old school ultimate! Good fun, although I hurt for about a week...everywhere!
As for the night scene, my ultimate buddies tipped me off on some nice places and I met some crazy English girls that were playing truth or dare along the river one night. One was dared to go ask me if I was German?!? They were nice enough to invite me to join in and they pretty much kept me entertained the rest of the evening. Another evening I stopped by a pub that served free champagne to the ladies and then let them shake it it up on the bar. ok?!?!? It was crowded, but somehow felt good somehow to be packed in with a fellow revelers. In all, it was nice to get out, meet some people and let loose a bit.
So......... I shopped a bit, ate a bunch and had a taste of the party life. Not to bad for a couple of days in transit. Singapore is a nice place to visit and certainly something different than the rest of Asia. I’ll be back.
