The border crossing from Malaysia to Singapore is unique because it's actually a 1,056 meter causeway connecting southern Malaysia with the island of Singapore. The official marks my passport with a hexagonal stamp and I have officially entered my seventeenth country.
Singapore is often described as a good country to enter for first-time visitors to Asia. The streets are clean and well-marked. At markets such as Lau Pa Sat, you can be daring and eat fish heads or play it safe with simple rice and veggies. Our days were spent moving between various sections of the city and air-conditioned breaks inside Singapore's modern malls (the directories have interactive touch screens!) to escape the sizzling midday heat. Transport is made easy with the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) train system. Most journeys around the city center cost around the equivalent of $1 usd. Our hostel is located just steps from the Aljunied stop. It's so close in fact that I can watch the train whoosh by when I am in the kitchen and hear the automated female voice say "Next stop, Aljunied." Sky Orchid hostel is the tiniest hostel I have ever stayed in with the kitchen, common, and computer areas all in one big room; the seven dorms surrounding it. The four bathroom stalls are down a narrow hallway where a sign reads "After using the toliet, please flush probably. Thank you for your Civic Mindedness." Ah, a bad English translation never fails to amuse me.
Singapore has several ethnic enclaves, including an Arab Quarter, Little India, and Chinatown. The Arab quarter is brimming with textile shops, men smoking flavored tobacco out of hookahs, and food stalls sizzling with fried rice and satay. We sit down to eat in the shadow of the gigantic golden Sultan Mosque at Hju Esah. I eat pineapple and seafood rice, while Laura orders a cabbage, egg, peanut sauce concoction called gado gado. I pluck a chip off the top and discover it is dried fish! I browse the little shops and find a striped cloth bag I love. In Little India, I marvel at the lively Sri Veeramakaliam Temple where an evening pooja is taking place. A pooja is a Hindu worship ceremony where attendants believe access with a god or goddess is possible. I watch as women in bright saris pour milk into a silver bucket, a man with white face paint stirs a pot over a heart-shaped fire pit, and another clangs one of the many bells hanging on a wooden door as incense permeates the air. Another enjoyable activity was hearing a Chinese percussion band outside the Esplanade Theater. The entire troupe performed pieces titled "Tiger stalking it's prey" and "Ducks squabbling" with symbols, large taut drums, and woodblocks.
Normally Laura and I shy away from many traditional tourist activities, because often they are cheesy, not to mention too expensive for our backpacker budget. We made an exception for the Singapore Flyer and it was well worth it. The Singapore Flyer is currently the largest ferris wheel in the world. Listening to the electronic audio tour, I learned how much of the wheel and Sinagpore itself was designed to align with the principles of Feng Shui. For example, the wheel used to rotate counterclockwise but was reversed because clockwise is considered better energy. Other decisions are based on lucky numbers including a building with the windows forming the number 13 and the fact that the ferris wheel has 28 capsules that each accomodate 28 people. When you reach the summit of the Singapore Flyer, you are closest to heaven and this is the best time to make a wish! The ride offered amazing panoramic views of the city and surrounding ocean. I am so glad we did it!
Back at the hostel, I suddenly work at 3:37am to the sound of teeth gnashing. Ugh. Some kind of animal must be in the room. I try to ignore it but I can't help myself; I click on the light and crouch down to investigate. I hear it once more and discover it's not an animal but our roommate, Don, grinding his teeth! I can't believe how loud the noise is! Don is Filipino and cracks us up with his questions about American culture such as "Is Michael Jackson really dead? People in the Philippines are not sure what to believe." Along with our other roommate, Luke, ridiculous conversation continued and the four of us giggled like sixth graders at a sleepover.
PS: Laura and I seem to be having a contest as to who can lose/break the most sunglasses. So far Laura's burned through 4 but I trail closely behind at 3. Luckily they have all been under $10. Or maybe that is why they are breaking. It's a chicken-egg question.
Singapore is often described as a good country to enter for first-time visitors to Asia. The streets are clean and well-marked. At markets such as Lau Pa Sat, you can be daring and eat fish heads or play it safe with simple rice and veggies. Our days were spent moving between various sections of the city and air-conditioned breaks inside Singapore's modern malls (the directories have interactive touch screens!) to escape the sizzling midday heat. Transport is made easy with the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) train system. Most journeys around the city center cost around the equivalent of $1 usd. Our hostel is located just steps from the Aljunied stop. It's so close in fact that I can watch the train whoosh by when I am in the kitchen and hear the automated female voice say "Next stop, Aljunied." Sky Orchid hostel is the tiniest hostel I have ever stayed in with the kitchen, common, and computer areas all in one big room; the seven dorms surrounding it. The four bathroom stalls are down a narrow hallway where a sign reads "After using the toliet, please flush probably. Thank you for your Civic Mindedness." Ah, a bad English translation never fails to amuse me.
Singapore has several ethnic enclaves, including an Arab Quarter, Little India, and Chinatown. The Arab quarter is brimming with textile shops, men smoking flavored tobacco out of hookahs, and food stalls sizzling with fried rice and satay. We sit down to eat in the shadow of the gigantic golden Sultan Mosque at Hju Esah. I eat pineapple and seafood rice, while Laura orders a cabbage, egg, peanut sauce concoction called gado gado. I pluck a chip off the top and discover it is dried fish! I browse the little shops and find a striped cloth bag I love. In Little India, I marvel at the lively Sri Veeramakaliam Temple where an evening pooja is taking place. A pooja is a Hindu worship ceremony where attendants believe access with a god or goddess is possible. I watch as women in bright saris pour milk into a silver bucket, a man with white face paint stirs a pot over a heart-shaped fire pit, and another clangs one of the many bells hanging on a wooden door as incense permeates the air. Another enjoyable activity was hearing a Chinese percussion band outside the Esplanade Theater. The entire troupe performed pieces titled "Tiger stalking it's prey" and "Ducks squabbling" with symbols, large taut drums, and woodblocks.
Normally Laura and I shy away from many traditional tourist activities, because often they are cheesy, not to mention too expensive for our backpacker budget. We made an exception for the Singapore Flyer and it was well worth it. The Singapore Flyer is currently the largest ferris wheel in the world. Listening to the electronic audio tour, I learned how much of the wheel and Sinagpore itself was designed to align with the principles of Feng Shui. For example, the wheel used to rotate counterclockwise but was reversed because clockwise is considered better energy. Other decisions are based on lucky numbers including a building with the windows forming the number 13 and the fact that the ferris wheel has 28 capsules that each accomodate 28 people. When you reach the summit of the Singapore Flyer, you are closest to heaven and this is the best time to make a wish! The ride offered amazing panoramic views of the city and surrounding ocean. I am so glad we did it!
Back at the hostel, I suddenly work at 3:37am to the sound of teeth gnashing. Ugh. Some kind of animal must be in the room. I try to ignore it but I can't help myself; I click on the light and crouch down to investigate. I hear it once more and discover it's not an animal but our roommate, Don, grinding his teeth! I can't believe how loud the noise is! Don is Filipino and cracks us up with his questions about American culture such as "Is Michael Jackson really dead? People in the Philippines are not sure what to believe." Along with our other roommate, Luke, ridiculous conversation continued and the four of us giggled like sixth graders at a sleepover.
PS: Laura and I seem to be having a contest as to who can lose/break the most sunglasses. So far Laura's burned through 4 but I trail closely behind at 3. Luckily they have all been under $10. Or maybe that is why they are breaking. It's a chicken-egg question.
No comments:
Post a Comment