travel - Singapore
the cleanest. the friendliest. the prettiest people. and i weighed like 108 lbs because it’s right by the equator.
for a second, i thought i was sleep purging… like sleep walking. i was reluctant to tell Chris because lord knows he already thinks i’m too skinny. anyway it turns out that you lose a percentage of gravitational pull when you’re closer to the equator. yada. yada. yada. science blah blah.
in general, i’m sorry to say, that i don’t have any exciting Singapore stories really, not like the HK experience. but i can advise that if you ever find yourself in Asia and are looking to shop, save your money in HK. i’m in Malaysia right now and am kicking myself because of the money i spent in HK. even though HK was cheap there IS “cheaper than China.” SRSLY. … Malay street hawkers just don’t give an ef. they have everything on the street and OMG is it CHEAP. i’ll come back to that later.
as for Singapore, the locals joke that it is a FINE city.
FINES’ for them i suppose. lots and lots of fines’.
Fine! for us. very unique and safe. oh, and very very hot and huuumid.
inquiring minds wanted to know: i’d have chats with the Singaporean cabbies regarding that really stupid kid in the 90’s who got caned for spray painting cars there. mostly, they would ask me about that story and i’d reassure them,
* yes, Americans are glad he got his ass kicked and that a lot of us wish the rules were stricter in the US." here it’s automatic life in prison or death penalty for drugs of any kind or quantity. our Nancy was too much of a “nancy” with her war in comparison.
as far as a general FYI about Singapore though, for the most part it’s not stricter punishments, just stiff fines for which you get an opportunity to plead your case. it’s pretty diplomatic. and if you weren’t aware, which i’m sure you are, it is a democratic country.
general Tam notes about Singapore are:
1. my favorite little hotel is called ‘the 7th story hotel.” it’s hostel like where there are common areas and a place to do laundry, and believe me you will need to do laundry in Singapore. you go through at least two outfits a day it’s soooo hot.
2. the city is built under covered sidewalks and there are also huge underground passageways because at around noon, the sun is fully blazing and no one wants to be outside. if you get caught without shelter, carry a UV umbrella. we were able to go from a Buddhist temple, to a flea market, to a bank, and to eat lunch, all under covered sidewalks.
3. the traditional breakfast is koki and kaya. basically, coffee and toast with coconut jam. yum!
4. our first morning was so strange. not everyone speaks English even though it is a primarily English speaking country. we stood around for 15-minutes waiting to be noticed in a Singaporean coffee shop. but it’s not really a coffee shop in the Starbucks way, and yea SB is here too. it was more of a eat hot Singaporean chilli food in a non-air-conditioned sweat box with a hot cup of coffee while listening to Malay locals chatting and checking you out, kind of coffee shop. a bit awkward at first but eventually they realized that we weren’t leaving and they sat us down.
5. there are late-night food markets, much like the goods markets, where the hawkers will do everything short of grabbing you by the arm and making you order from their stand. it can be unnerving at first but it is manageable. just be kind, listen to them a little and state your reason why you aren’t interested. on the same note, the most annoying hawkers have the yummiest food but it’s usually a good idea to walk around and see your foody choices. we had our Singapore chili-crab at midnight on the 9th of April.
6. China Town in Singapore is the coolest China Town out of any city, other than HK of course, that i have ever seen. when Chris develops those pictures we’ll share them.
7. most important, the people in Singapore are the nicest people, as a city and country goes, that i have every met. their hospitality and genuine interest and friendliness have won me over. i really could pack up out of Chicago and move there to work.
8. Singapore is made up of Chinese, Malaysian, English, Japanese and a few other cultures that i can’t think of off the top of my head. It’s a very diverse place. more diverse than HK.
9. Singlish = Singapore English
10. housing here is outrageous. S$2000 a month to rent. even with the favorable exchange rate, it's still amazing and a ripoff. locals tend to live in government housing which look a lot like a Cabrini Green sandwhich.
fooding the prawn from my Tom Yum Soup in an indoor "food museum"
the vendors were so happy to meet us they wanted us to take pictures with them. that is how nice they are in Singapore. very great people.
being creful with this photo. this is from the Little India, Tekka Food Market. some of the vendors didn't like that we had cameras here.
Singapore chilis drying in the noon-day sun.
for a second, i thought i was sleep purging… like sleep walking. i was reluctant to tell Chris because lord knows he already thinks i’m too skinny. anyway it turns out that you lose a percentage of gravitational pull when you’re closer to the equator. yada. yada. yada. science blah blah.
in general, i’m sorry to say, that i don’t have any exciting Singapore stories really, not like the HK experience. but i can advise that if you ever find yourself in Asia and are looking to shop, save your money in HK. i’m in Malaysia right now and am kicking myself because of the money i spent in HK. even though HK was cheap there IS “cheaper than China.” SRSLY. … Malay street hawkers just don’t give an ef. they have everything on the street and OMG is it CHEAP. i’ll come back to that later.
as for Singapore, the locals joke that it is a FINE city.
FINES’ for them i suppose. lots and lots of fines’.
Fine! for us. very unique and safe. oh, and very very hot and huuumid.
inquiring minds wanted to know: i’d have chats with the Singaporean cabbies regarding that really stupid kid in the 90’s who got caned for spray painting cars there. mostly, they would ask me about that story and i’d reassure them,
* yes, Americans are glad he got his ass kicked and that a lot of us wish the rules were stricter in the US." here it’s automatic life in prison or death penalty for drugs of any kind or quantity. our Nancy was too much of a “nancy” with her war in comparison.
as far as a general FYI about Singapore though, for the most part it’s not stricter punishments, just stiff fines for which you get an opportunity to plead your case. it’s pretty diplomatic. and if you weren’t aware, which i’m sure you are, it is a democratic country.
general Tam notes about Singapore are:
1. my favorite little hotel is called ‘the 7th story hotel.” it’s hostel like where there are common areas and a place to do laundry, and believe me you will need to do laundry in Singapore. you go through at least two outfits a day it’s soooo hot.
2. the city is built under covered sidewalks and there are also huge underground passageways because at around noon, the sun is fully blazing and no one wants to be outside. if you get caught without shelter, carry a UV umbrella. we were able to go from a Buddhist temple, to a flea market, to a bank, and to eat lunch, all under covered sidewalks.
3. the traditional breakfast is koki and kaya. basically, coffee and toast with coconut jam. yum!
4. our first morning was so strange. not everyone speaks English even though it is a primarily English speaking country. we stood around for 15-minutes waiting to be noticed in a Singaporean coffee shop. but it’s not really a coffee shop in the Starbucks way, and yea SB is here too. it was more of a eat hot Singaporean chilli food in a non-air-conditioned sweat box with a hot cup of coffee while listening to Malay locals chatting and checking you out, kind of coffee shop. a bit awkward at first but eventually they realized that we weren’t leaving and they sat us down.
5. there are late-night food markets, much like the goods markets, where the hawkers will do everything short of grabbing you by the arm and making you order from their stand. it can be unnerving at first but it is manageable. just be kind, listen to them a little and state your reason why you aren’t interested. on the same note, the most annoying hawkers have the yummiest food but it’s usually a good idea to walk around and see your foody choices. we had our Singapore chili-crab at midnight on the 9th of April.
6. China Town in Singapore is the coolest China Town out of any city, other than HK of course, that i have ever seen. when Chris develops those pictures we’ll share them.
7. most important, the people in Singapore are the nicest people, as a city and country goes, that i have every met. their hospitality and genuine interest and friendliness have won me over. i really could pack up out of Chicago and move there to work.
8. Singapore is made up of Chinese, Malaysian, English, Japanese and a few other cultures that i can’t think of off the top of my head. It’s a very diverse place. more diverse than HK.
9. Singlish = Singapore English
10. housing here is outrageous. S$2000 a month to rent. even with the favorable exchange rate, it's still amazing and a ripoff. locals tend to live in government housing which look a lot like a Cabrini Green sandwhich.
fooding the prawn from my Tom Yum Soup in an indoor "food museum"
the vendors were so happy to meet us they wanted us to take pictures with them. that is how nice they are in Singapore. very great people.
being creful with this photo. this is from the Little India, Tekka Food Market. some of the vendors didn't like that we had cameras here.
Singapore chilis drying in the noon-day sun.