For example, we were riding the MRT to the hostel when all of a sudden we were ordered over the intercom to report any suspicious looking people. This message played over and over again every 5 minutes until I finally got used to it, but it was funny at first. How would you even classify a person as “suspicious looking?” And even more importantly, what would happen to a person if he or she was reported?
I remember a story my dad told me about his first time in Singapore years ago. Apparently when he arrived at the airport they stamped “undesirable person” on his forehead because of his long hair and then he wasn’t allowed to leave the holding room until he had it cut. They’ve definitely loosened up since then, but the MRT story is proof these kinds of perceptions/procedures still exist.
Our hostel was located just north of little India on a cute street just a 10 minute walk from a really neat part of town called Bugis. Here there was some fantastic dining, good shopping, museums, and grand hotels to scope out. On the first night we arrived, Claudia and I walked to Bugis and found a nice Moroccan restaurant where we dined on the street with many of the locals, most of whom finished their dinner with a lot of drinking and hooka smoking.
The Sultan Mosque. Located in Bugis just around the corner where we had dinner.
The Singapore cultural museum in Bugis. It was closed tonight but we got to snoop around the grounds and they were nice.
The main building of the cultural center.
This is the street where we ate our dinner.
Claudia enjoying chicken shwarma and hummous salad.
That night we met a young guy from Germany named Faulk. He had been travelling around for the past 11 months and Singapore was his last stop before heading home. We watched the soccer match that night together in our hostel lounge with about 15 other young guys from Europe who were all going nuts over the match. Being from Canada it was a bit weird seeing everyone so excited over soccer, but I pretended to follow along.
The next morning Faulk asked if he could tag along on our tour around the city which was great because having one extra person gave us more to talk and laugh about. We started out by going to the modern arts museum which Claudia really wanted to see.
Faulk and I walking with the art museam in the back.
A part of Singapore University across the street from the museum. Ivey had an option to do an exchange here too.
I found the art really odd, especially this one exhibit by a man from Singapore who videotaped himself performing a script over and over again in a language that was foreign to him. The purpose of this was to show his progression and how his performance improved over time as he became more and more comfortable speaking the new language. It was supposed to represent the foreigners who came to Singapore and had to learn a new language (the government is currently trying to have the national language declared as Chinese, as the Chinese make up most of the population; however, Singapore, like Malaysia is also home to many Indian and Malay peoples). I suppose he was trying to show that people have trouble showing their true person at first when they are new to a place – first they must get the culture and language down. Only once they have accomplished this can they actually be themselves, and perform in daily life to their potential. This is what I got from it at least – an interesting meaning behind the art, but man was it boring to watch. After that we went to lunch.
Faulk with his Thail green curry.
Claudia and I (I had Vietnamese in preparation for my next trip). We ate at a cafeteria near the museum and the food was incredible - and incredibly cheap!
After that, Claudia had planned for us to go to the botanical gardens. Faulk laughed as he heard the scheduled she had planned and blamed it on “being German.” I was happy to go along with it because most of it interested me too.
At this point, all we knew was the general direction of the gardens, but we had no idea how to actually get there. Being the one that loves to explore cities on foot, I suggested that we start in the right direction and see if we could walk. Well a few hours later, hot, tired, and Claudia in a new pair of shoes that gave her painful blisters that she had to buy because her flip flops broke, we finally made it.
I thought it was a nice walk actually. We got to stroll down the biggest shopping street in the city. There were huge malls, one after the other lined along a wide boulevard called Orchird Road that was covered in huge leafy trees.
The first mall we came upon.
The interior. This one was very mechanic feeling. A lot of stone and metal and glass.
A view of the street.
Another view from the sidewalk.
There were some bargain shops but most of it was high end – I think I saw at least four Gucci shops along the way and I am not talking small boutique stores; I am talking massive stone multi-storey buildings with huge carved pillars out front. What’s funny though is that the area didn’t have one trace of “snob” or arrogance – a bit different from the high end distract in Hong Kong. In Singapore I could have entered any one of the high end stores in flip flops and I still would have been greeted with complete kindness; however I wouldn’t dare enter one of these stores like that in Hong Kong.
But I digress. We were thrilled when we finally got to the gardens. Unfortunately, I think Faulk and I were too hot and tired to enjoy the gardens to the fullest – Claudia still pretended and moseyed along at a painfully slow pace snapping as many pictures as possible.
The entrance of the gardens.
a nice scene.
The main attraction was the orchid garden. It was quite beautiful and gave me some great ideas for my future home/nest/retreat. Take a look:
After the gardens we took the bus back to Bugis and had a much needed drink at one of the posh hotels in the area called Raffles Hotel.
The bar area.
Claudia and Faulk had the Singapore Sling. They'd never tried it before so it was kind of a must.
I had had it enough so it was white wine for me. After our drink (which was thoroughly enjoyed) we said goodbye to Faulk who had a plane out that night. I took a much needed shower, grabbed a quick bite and went to bed.
Claudia and I spent the next morning exploring little India - about a 5 minute walk from our hostel.
Me getting my eye brows threaded (much needed). Man did it hurt.
The main street, just starting to wake up.
The morning fruit market.
Inside an Indian temple.
Incredible detail on the temple.
Claudia and I decided to part ways for the afternoon. She wanted to see the animals at the zoo but I wanted to see the massive resort island that they were building up just off the coast with beaches and theme parks, casinos and entertainment.
Unfortunately, for both of us, at around two in the afternoon it started to pour cats and dogs. At this point I had made it to the island and was just about to change into my bathing suit to go for a swim when…rain - A sad reminder of my home in Taiwan. Luckily the island had numerous bars set up along the beach for tourists to enjoy a fancy drink or two. There I met a group of five guys from Australia who were all half in the bag and welcomed me over for a drink. They music played as were drank a few beers and it was actually really fun with the rain pouring down just steps away from where we were sitting. An older couple from the U.S. actually even enticed us all into a little rain dance. Talk about making the best of the best situation. Too bad I forgot my camera :(
After that I decided it was time to head back. They island builders are trying to accomplish a whole resort island with secret paths and exciting new things around every turn. I decided on the only way I knew back - a path through a tropical forest made of clay mud. I ended up slipping and falling and laughing my way (thanks to the beer) all the way back up the hill. Soaking wet I ran past the big boulevards of shops and restaurants, the universal studios, and the viewpoints (all of which I’ll have to save for my next trip) and hopped on the train back to the hostel just in time to meet Claudia for dinner.
Unfortunately, we were both a bit rained out on our last day, but we both felt as though we had done a great deal of Singapore in the time we had. You really don’t need that long.
Now, our hostel is something I haven’t talked about much yet. It was decent but in order to get the price we did (it took a while to find something under $15 CDN as Singapore is more expensive than most other countries in south East Asia) we had to share a room with 10 other people and this caused me a bit of trouble.
The first night I had a lot of trouble sleeping at first because the guy above me was a snorer. It just brought back all of those bad memories of family trips when I opted to sleep in the bathtub or on the balcony (yes, on the balcony in the SWISS ALPS!) to get away from my father’s terrible snoring (sorry dad). Once I had finally thought myself to sleep I was awoken by three Chinese guys who decided it was completely necessary to ruffle around with plastic bags for two hours at three in the morning. Who knows what they were doing but thanks to them I have a new phobia. And the first night isn’t even the worst of it.
On the second night in our hostel room there were plastic bags again at some ungodly hour. But what’s worse is that when I woke up in the morning and checked my purse my wallet with all of my money and cards (thankfully not my passport) was gone! Claudia and I checked checked and double checked, but nothing. We figured it had to have happened either right before I went to bed when I was in the shower (this was late at night after the soccer game had ended – I know because I bought a tea during that time) and had left my bag on my bed for a few minutes, or during the night when I was sleeping. Either way –the nerve! Silly people though really. They may have got about $6 CDN and a bunch of cards that have no value to them, but man did they cause me some inconvenience.
Without my wallet I had no money, no access to money (they had taken my debit and credit cards), and had to make it back to my dorm room in Taipei without Claudia who was heading to Bali for a few days. Claudia kindly lent me her computer and I managed to get a hold of my dad who wired me money to a western union in Taipei. Claudia also lent me a bit so I could get by until I got to a bank.
I’ve never had anything like that happen to me while travelling (although I know it happens often). It still does not change my outlook and I will not become more hostile or careful because of it. I trust people and don’t want to change that, and would like to believe that it was just misplaced but if not, I hope the person who took it enjoyed their $6 meal to the fullest.
I managed to make it back to Taipei with no problems.
...Well, except for trying to move around with my semi-busted luggage in the massive Singapore airport.
When I was in Taipei I ran into friends! Rob and Jeffery had just come from Cambodia and Vietnam and had some amazing stories which got me really excited because Vietnam was my next destination. We took the bus and a cab back to campus and shared all our travel stories.
I had come back to Taipei to finish a project for a class that ended June 27th. It was a class called consumer behaviour and my group and I had to pick a product, conduct a survey and figure out if the product was marketable in Taiwan and if so, how would we market it. We chose coloured contact lenses. Our project seemed to be a success with the teacher which was nice, but I was eager to get out travelling again before my time in South East Asia was up.
I spent Monday and Tuesday packing up all of my things, not really feeling any sadness or regret from what I hadn’t done or seen – that was a good sign. Most of the exchange students and the local student had left already so the campus was quiet and there wasn’t much to see or do but focus on packing.
On Tuesday June 29th, I treated myself to one last nice Taiwanese meal (with wine), said my goodbyes and then prepared to take off the next day for Vietnam!
oooh how was the threading???? I want to do that to my brows!!! LOVE U!!!
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