Singapore!

Hey all!

Before I start, some housekeeping-1)I'm writing about Singapore and Indonesia before having actually finished writing about Taiwan. Once I'm finished exams, I'll get around to finishing about Taiwan, and maybe include some more information about Hong Kong. 2) I'll be gone from HK soon enough, so if anyone has any questions about life here for me, please write some comments or send a message.

Now on to Singapore.

The first thing I realized when I arrived was that Singapore greets you with a hug-a big, warm, sweaty, humid hug. Even at midnight, it still feels like about 35 degrees; in the heat of the day, closer to 45. I also discovered quickly that MRT stations aren't air-conditioned. This makes sense in the outdoor ones, I suppose, but underground? The MRT is a good example of Singaporean society, however; the four official languages (English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil) are randomly thrown around (only some at different times, but there's always English).

I arrived at the hostel, checked in, and grabbed some Indian food nearby. The next day, I headed straight out to the city. After walking around along the waterfront, seeing the Merlion, the city centre, where Sir Stamford Raffles landed etc.,I sat down completely outdone by the weather-after an hour (although I was eventually adapted to it.) I headed straight for a museum to spend the middle of the day in (luckily, I arrived on free day-Singapore, as I discovered, is expensive, and full of unexpected costs).The museum was a good introduction to Singapore (and had a whole section on food, most of which I eventually tried). I then headed up to Little Indian, and Kamplong Glam/the Arab district, looking at the beautiful mosques and Hindu temples. Unfortunately, it was at this point that my camera decided that any picture it took it wouldn't save. But, I continued on to the expensive Raffles hotel for a look before grabbing dinner, attempting (but failing) to make it to the night safari, and then checking out Orchard Road-Imagine the Las Vegas Strip of Shopping malls.

The next day consisted of Chinatown, visiting some temples and mosques, Sentosa (A beach resort island consisting of casinos, hotels, beaches, and Universal Studios, none of which I actually visited), and the night safari. Claiming to be the only night safari in the world, it was definitely worth going to, a definite must-see! I must admit, I was a little intimidated by how much it resembled Jurassic Park (you take a tram through, and then walk on trails, with many animals separated by moats rather than cages. At one point, there was a section of doors you had to walk through, each of which had to be closed before the next would open, that really reminded me of the movie). I really can't describe this place enough, so I'll just say that if you're in S'pore, you should check it out.

I spent my last full day in Indonesia (which deserves a blog post), and then grabbed some food at a hawker centre and checked out Orchard road again. My last day, I spent the morning waiting for the hostel to give back my deposit so I could buy breakfast and skedaddle back to the airport.

So, impressions? It's not like most other Asian cities-the layout is more American. It's very orderly, and there's lots of English (although Singlish, the local dialect, is like a combination of Chinese and Indian accents, and a bit hard to understand. It is, however, my favourite English accent ever). The food is fantastic-combinations of Indian, Chinese, and Malay foods, all of which I love. The Roti Prata (Indian bread served with a sauce), Nasi Lemak (A Malay breakfast consisting of coconut rice-which is served with many dishes-meat, peanuts and sauce), Ice Kacang (A shaved Ice dessert), Satay (Meat on skewers with a sweet chili sauce-despite my hating spicy foods, the sauce was so good I was piling it on), and Kaya toast (toast with coconut spread), just to name the ones I remember, were fantastic. The cultural combination is also amazing-on one street, I saw, Chinese and Hindu temples, and a Mosque, all of which were open to visitors. Morevoer, people were friendly, and I did have the occaisonal chat. It was also easy to get around as a loan traveller.

On the other side, I found it expensive and hot. Neither of which, I suppose, can be avoided.

Well, that's Singapore! If I remember anything else good (it's hard without pictures as a memory aid), I'll update this post.