After two days of getting here and dragging all of my gear around I finally had a bit of time to soak up Singapore. Many people I've spoken to thoroughly enjoyed Singapore, but would I feel the same? Before setting out I would enjoy a home-cooked Indian meal. Akshay's flatmate's parents are visiting from India; the first time they've ever left India. They returned from Bali this morning and they really enjoyed it. The food was a bit too spicy for me but I really enjoyed the coconut bread. Another incredible hospitality story for my travel collection!
Singapore has four official languages: Malay, English, Chinese, and Tamil. Here's a warning sign at one of the stations in all four languages.
As a massive melting pot of cultures I stepped off the MRT briefly in Little India. Admist the colourful fruit shalls I gazed before I travelled to the harbourfront. Tomorrow I'm off to Indonesia so I inquired about ferry tickets. Indian food earlier, so why not Thai for lunch? Pad thai at only $5 filled me up. Thankfully there are so many places with air conditioning in Singapore because it's highly uncomfortable walking in the searing heat. Foolishly I forgot to write down the name of the place Alex said we’re meeting tonight. Since I wasn’t sure and since there was still plenty of time I went to Chinatown. Indian food, Thai food, so now how about something Chinese? Braised eggplant was only $1.50 and very good.
The food is very good in Singapore but otherwise I don’t really care for Singapore. I’m not going to like every place I visit, so I’m guessing it’s just one of those places I don’t really care for. After all the drama of trying to find a host I finally found one tonight. His name is Yew-Ming (sounds a bit like Yao Ming). First though I went to the Golden Towers where my Asian culinary adventure continued. Indian, Thai, Chinese…how about Malaysian this time? Kuey Teow would be my dinner tonight although it was a bit too spicy for my liking. Almond curd sounds vile but I took the plunge and had a blissful dessert.
Tonight it was a group of us: Alex, myself, and CouchSurfers from Vietnam, Germany, and South Korea. Earlier I learned that many hosts in Singapore use CS for social gatherings rather than hosting. Most Singaporeans live in very small quarters and often they live with their parents until they get married. Many of the apartment blocks look like something out of a communist country, meaning there’s little space and no backyard. Alex’ car was full so he wasn’t able to give me a lift anywhere. I had to go to Akshay’s house to retrieve my gear and then make my way to the far west to Yew-Ming’s flat. I got lost trying to get back to Akshay’s, and it’s very difficult to get directions from anyone; I asked like 20 people where Dunearn Rd. is and none of them knew. It wasn’t until a Mexican man and his daughter showed me the way that I knew where I was. In the end I didn’t get to Yew-Ming’s flat until around 11:30 PM. Icky and exhausted I was and a nice cold shower I had! Tomorrow I'll be ready to leave Singapore. Three days is enough time here. The real adventure begins tomorrow, and Indonesia it is!
