Singapore

This was a blog post from summer, 2013 as part of my journey to Spin the World Around.

Singapore: A "fine" city!

Raffles!

My host in Hong Kong was pretty unbeatable, but the people that showed me around in Singapore were nothing short of fabulous on so many levels. I had a couchsurfing host that accepted me, but as the date approached, she learned that her parents house in which she lived was scheduled to have major construction done. It seemed that the pipes were leaking in the walls, and so her family had to relocate for the week. By the time I left Hong Kong, I had only secured a host for the last 2 nights of my stay. I didn't have a place to stay for the first two nights, though I did have a host to show me around. We both agreed that the universe would provide a couch, and sure enough, when I got off the plane in Singapore, my inbox had a message from a someone that could let me stay with him for those two nights, or my entire stay if I so desired. I confirmed the first two nights, and then I spent the day with my initial contact who picked me up at the airport in her car and took me out to lunch; we discussed the strange economy of Singapore.

Singapore is a very small country, and every flight into and out of the airport is international. As such, customs is right next to baggage claim and everyone goes through it when you arrive and depart the city. Singapore island is relatively small, compared to Hong Kong or Seoul, for example, but it is very densely populated. Much of the land is actually reclaimed from the sea, which surrounds the island on 3 sides. The north is bordered by a river and Malaysia is on the other side of it.

Trade in Singapore

I learned that the cost of a car in Singapore is outrageous. A $20,000 USD Toyota in the USA would cost its owner about $300,000 in Singapore due to the many taxes, as well as a special 'license' you must buy for each car. Not only that, but you can only own a car up to 8-10 years before you have to buy a new one and pay all of these fees again. You can keep your old classic car if you really want, but the fees are even higher! Most people just scrap it and start over. These rules are in place supposedly to keep the air clean, but somebody must be making a buck or two on the deal. Being a former British colony, they also drive on the left side of the road. Horizontally-placed traffic lights have the red light on the right, green on the left, which is opposite of that in the USA.

Pre-paid parking tab instead of meters

Oddly, gasoline, while more expensive than in the USA, is on par with most of the world, and parking is actually very cheap compared to most cosmopolitan cities. Housing, on the other hand, is not. Most small houses and flats cost upwards of a million dollars (1USD = 1.25 SGD). Also, there are regulations in place about who can own many of the houses. In most areas, the government has bought up the land and they have built up these apartment complexes called "HDB flats." When they launch the complex, you can't buy one unless you are married. The flats are government subsidized, and you can purchase at subsidy only if you’re married. Otherwise, you must buy it on the re-sale market from a previous owner. In that case, it is significantly more expensive. For example, someone recently paid 673k for a government flat, and it was sold at resale for about 950k. If you get a divorce, you must move out unless you have good lawyers to cut through a bunch of red tape and figure out a loophole to either stay or sell it on resale! If you put down a deposit for an HDB flat, and then propose to your girlfriend and she turns you down, you lose your deposit! I also learned that, like South Korea, there is a lot of pressure for people to get married by their late 20's, and a lot of social events and speed dating get-togethers trying to hook people up with their soul mate.

There's a fine for that!

Singapore's government has a huge habit of telling its people what to do. There are signs in the bathroom telling you to flush, signs on the train telling you to not block others from getting in and out, and laws against spitting on the sidewalk. When you first enter the country, the back of your entry/exit form says "DEATH PENALTY FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING." Not only that, but I heard they can give you a urine test for drugs when you arrive. If you fail, you can be arrested or deported.

I got to visit the Singapore Supreme court during my stay, just to see what it was like. It was the place that the dude from the USA that got caned met his sentence.

I heard chewing gum was illegal, but I saw some one day in the dashboard of my van driver and asked him about it. He said it is legal to consume, but illegal to sell. Many products in Singapore come from Malaysia, including gum. However, if customs finds gum in your bags at the airport, they will confiscate it. I'm not sure, but I'd imagine if you bring a few cases of Hubba Bubba into town, you might get into serious trouble for "gum trafficking." They say Singapore is "The Fine City" because there are fines for lots of behavior. For example, eating or drinking (even water) is strictly prohibited in the MRT (not to be confused with Hong Kong's MTR, this acronym stands for "Mass Rapid Transit"). You definitely can't swim in the river, and the list goes on and on.

My only guess for all of these rules and regulations is that since the country is a huge melting pot of so many cultures, the government finds the need to ensure that everyone is as 'civilized' as possible, and on the same page. They have 4 official languages in Singapore: English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. They also speak their own bastardized version of English called "Singlish," which is the "common ground" language for locals. Singlish has recently come under fire to the point where the government is trying to eliminate it in favor of "proper" English.

Melting Pot of Asia

Chinatown

The "melting pot" vibe is apparent when you walk the streets. One day, I started in Chinatown, wandering the streets in an area that could have easily been mistaken for Hong Kong. I got a foot reflexology massage there which was very nice and relaxing on my feet, though I am quite ticklish.

A couple of MRT stops up the road, and I emerged in "Little India" where the people's skin was much darker and their eyes a little more round. The smell of curry permeated the air, and Indian restaurants were everywhere. I stopped in one of them for a Mango lassie and a web surf session on their wifi.

Arab Street Area

A short walk up the road to Arab Street, and the faces became more middle-eastern, the food became more mediterranean, and hookah bars lined the streets. One night, I had dinner at a fusion restaurant that blended middle east, Indian, and western food. It was a Muslim establishment, and no alcohol was permitted on the premises. Melting pot indeed.

Along the way, I visited buddhist temples, Hindu temples, and a Muslim temple.

Another big influence is the French; apparently, you can find some good French restaurants all over town, though the prices are more like Paris, so I never brought myself to cough up the change.

Expensive for a beer at 7-11!

Going with the theme of "moral imperatives," the price of alcohol in Singapore is very steep. Of course, my first drink was the most expensive in town. A Singapore Sling at Longbar (the bar that supposedly invented the Singapore sling, and the place where the queen of England supposedly drank one) costs about $24 USD. A pint of beer at a pub can cost around $10USD. In the 7-11, a deuce-deuce (22oz) single beer is about $6USD. A 6-pack of the local beer, Tiger, runs about $12USD, while an imported 6-pack will cost you about $16USD. We bought a pitcher of beer at one bar for about $18, and that was a great deal to go with our $20USD sheesha hookah session.

Tiger Brewery Tour

I got to visit Tiger Brewery, which is a nice macrobrewery tour not unlike others I've visited in Milwaukee and Australia. The best part was that it was well balanced with 45 minutes of tour followed by 45 minutes of drinking. The beer flowed relatively freely at the tasting, and I got to try full glasses of Tiger and Heineken (both brewed locally), as well as respectable samples of about 4 or 5 other brews. It was a nice mid-afternoon beer-buzz. Apparently, Tiger was the first brewery in the region to produce a lager, which requires lower temperatures for fermentation that are never reached in this tropical region of Southeast Asia. Essentially, they came up with a refrigeration system back in 1933 that allowed them to make the low-temperature, bottom-fermenting lager. Besides hops, malts, and yeast, the other special ingredient in beer, is, of course, water.

Guinii

The water in Singapore is unique. It originates in Malaysia, and it is re-filtered once it reaches Singapore. The tap water in Singapore is good to drink, unlike in most of Southeast Asia. It is not fluoridated, only chlorinated. I had a brief conversation with the beer tour guide about water fluoridation in the USA, and he agreed that the process was insane. He didn't even realize that the propaganda machine in the USA claims that it is good for your teeth, laughing and calling the idea bullshit (which of course it is; we all know that the "fluoride" they add to water in the USA is actually a toxic waste byproduct of the fertilizer manufacturing industry and anything but "good for you").

At the end of the tasting, I got to try the locally-brewed Guinness Export. I convinced the bartender to pour me a small smaple of the Guiness draft brewed in Dublin, Ireland to do a side-by-side tasting. They tasted like two totally different beers. The Irish Stout not only has less alcohol content, but it is "carbonated" with Nitrogen, resulting in the unique head. This beer almost tastes like water compared to the locally-brewed CO2-carbonated Guinness export.

Foodie City!

The number one attraction in Singapore seems to be the food. All over the city, you can find indor and outdoor food courts serving a wide array of food. The indoor courts are generally located in the "basement" floor of malls, and they are not to be confused with your typical American mall food court. Rather, the Singaporian food courts are legit.

Even the drink choices are quite expansive. Usually, the drink places are their own establishments, and you can't get a drink from the "food" spots. In addition to many places with Jack Lalanne juicing machines to juice your favorite fruits, you can find freshly squeezed sugarcane or water chestnut. Also, the avocado shake is a popular favorite. My first drink in Singapore was actually Silky Barley, which is a drink made from the Barley grain--the same grain used to make beer.

Individual stations offer a wide variety of specialties. Chicken rice (or duck rice) is a popular favorite, with the rice being cooked in the animal fat. Other specialties include Stingray, Satay Bee Hoon, Ngoh Hiang (a funny fried roll with beancurd skin), Lap Cheong (Chinese sausage), Otah (an orangey-brownish fish thing). There are a number of different noodle dishes and several street foods on a stick.

In one sitting at a street food court, I sat down with two girls and we chowed down on an Oyster omelette, Chicken and Mutton Satay (some kebab thingies) with Ketupat (rice cakes), Hokkien Mee (fried yellow noodles with prawns), Sambal Stingray (Stingray with ground chilli paste that is made with dried chilies, shrimp, onions, garlic etc), and Chinese Rojak--a salad with you tiao (dough fritters), tau kwa (a tofu-ish thing), pineapples, green mangoes, peanuts, sweet sauce, and century egg. We had sugarcane and longan to drink. No shit, how any of these dishes have you even heard of, let alone tasted?!?!?!?

My favorite dish of all was Yong Tau Foo. For this dish, you select your fresh ingredients from a cooler, such as green veggies, mushrooms, various meats and eggs, and other goodies. You can make it as vegetably or as meaty as you wish. The ingredients are then dropped in boiling broth and cooked. Generally, the broth is made from boiling Ikan Billis (anchovies) and Soybeans. Then, you can add noodles and broth to create a delicious soup.

In mid-afternoon, there are plenty of opportunities for snacks. My first taste of a local snack was at Yakun Kaya, where I had some Kaya Toast: a dish consisting of cheap local toasted bread with butter and coconut jam dipped into slightly cooked eggs. I was stuffed every meal, and every snack in between!

One logisitic to consider in Singapore eateries is the napkin situation. Most places do not offer napkins, and you need to bring your own. I saw a free napkin dispenser at McDonalds, but other than that, most people supplied their own wetnaps and napkins, and at best, you could buy some from a restaurant, but never find them for free. Another option is if you are lucky enough to be approached by "tissue-paper packet aunties," who are old ladies selling a pack of 10c tissues for a dollar. Definitely something to keep in mind if you are messy eater like me.

Making Sugarcane Juice

Avocado Shake!

Street food court bonanza!

Making my choices for Yong Tau Foo

The end result of my Yong Tau Foo

Durian: The notorious smelly fruit!

Durian is a fruit that grows in the area with which Singaporians have a love-hate relationship. It is banned in many places, and you will see signs telling you not to bring them on site. It literally smells like garbage, but it is very sweet, and somewhat addictive. Many people LOVE this fruit, but if you bring it on the subway, you will definitely get a fine.

My host bought some one night from a local vendor that cut it up and put it in a take-away styrofoam container. She accidentally left it in the trunk of her car, and the next day, her car reeked of garbage long after she took the fruit out! Once you know the smell, you will know anytime you are near this aromatic fruit!

Couch hosts coming through again!

Sugarcane juice!

I pretty much only paid for one or two meals in Singapore. All of my hosts were so generous that they would either help me select the dishes, or just tell me to sit down and hold the table while they went to get the food and returned with a bunch of different goodies, having paid for it all and not accepting compensation from me. What awesome hosts to buy me so much food! Totally unexpected and appreciated! Even my last night in town, my host brought cigars and he and the 2nd girl I met in Singapore paid for the beer and sheesha! Amazing!

All of the people I met in Singapore were really nice and kind-hearted, sharing the love. The girl that picked me up at the airport spent the first day with me, but had to get a root canal and two tooth extractions the next day; so she was missing in action for a couple of days. Not to mention, she was the maid of honor at a huge Chinese wedding that upcoming weekend, so she was swamped with preparation. However, she still managed to spend a lot of time with me before handing me off to another beautiful girl for a night on Arab street with my second 2-night couch host. What a doll!

Don't touch me, man!

I spent the nights with two different male hosts during my stay in Singapore. I had a really interesting and at times stressful moments with the first host. I got dropped there the first night with some beers, but the host insisted we drink wine instead of beer. Ok, whatever, I like wine. He shared his multi-bedroom apartment with several other flatmates, and though there was a couch in the livingroom, he told me that they didn't allow guests to sleep on it, so I had to share the bed with him.

No matter, I'd shared the bed one night with my Hong Kong host on my last night there, and though he was openly gay, there were absolutely no issues, and I had no problem with the idea because I always make it clear where I stand on the sexuality scale by talking about the girls I meet and crush on regularly.

I passed out with my Singapore host by my side and drifted off into sleep. At some point, I recall having a dream involving what I remember being a high-school ex-girlfriend when I awoke to find my host's hand on my crotch!

Oh shit, you'll have to read the book I'm writing to hear the rest of that story, or talk to me in person and I'll ramble it for you.

Back to being a Monk

Shack-Man

On my last full day in Singapore, I had reflections of a 3rd world beautiful past. My host picked me up in her car and drove us to a part of town called Buangkok, which is the last surviving village (called a Kampong) where we saw these old buildings for home and industrial use having roofs made of zinc. Singapore used to be covered with them, but this is the last one, and it was built between the 1950's and 1970's. Kumpongs were replaced by HDB flats. The structures looked more like the kind of thing you'd see in the villages of the Philippines than the city of Singapore. Having been in metropolis cities for the past week and a half, it actually looked quite refreshing to see something other than the modern concrete jungle. I had a flashback to a moment when I was in Puerto Princessa, Philippines, and at the time, I thought about how I'd missed refined building structures made of straight edges and concrete. Now that I was in Singapore, it was refreshing to see an older design. This part of town held the last of these third-world structures, and it was where my host's parents lived before they bought their current house.

It got even better as we walked the back road and the vegetation got thicker until we found ourselves on a trail through what seemed to be a tropical rainforest jungle in the middle of the city. I saw the Mimosa (aka "touch me not") plant (native to South and Central America), which "plays dead" when you touch it. There was also a profusion of palm trees and vines that hung from the canopy above. The trail got deeper and deeper until it was un-passable marsh, at which point we turned around and hit up another trail that went along a storm drainage ditch that flowed to a river. We walked the trail along the river where we saw locals catching fish and quaint houses along the shores. Eventually, we ended up at a soccer pitch where we saw a group of field hockey kids at practice. We turned around and skipped some stones on the river before heading back to the car. It was quite a side journey into the lush tropics from the bustling concrete jungle of Singapore.

Marina Bay Sands Casino

I found the weather in Singapore to be quite interesting during my stay. Apparently, it's usually clear skies in the summer, but the week before I showed up, the city experienced the worst haze in its history from forest fires in Indonesia. People rushed the stores for particle filter masks and some left town as businesses closed. Apparently, you couldn't see across the street. My high school friend in Hong Kong was there the week before we met to see the comedian, and he said it was so bad that it gave him asthma.

By the time I got to Singapore, the air was clearer than when I was in Seoul, so no issues. Each day, there were isolated thunderstorms in different parts of town. It could be clear and sunny in one spot, and torrential downpours in another. This is not unusual for the tropics this time of year, but all in all, the weather was (thankfully) very pleasant during my stay.

After one more food court lunch, my host drove me to the Singapore airport and dropped me off to grab my Singapore-based Tiger Airways flight to Vietnam, and the adventure continued!

The perfect Pour

Foot Reflexology