Date: Sun, 4 Nov 2001 15:25:55 -0800 (PST) From: colin roald Subject: leaving Singapore
So it's 7 am in Singapore and I've been up for two hours -- I still have a little ways to go in adjusting to the time here. Am in a 24-hour internet cafe, which is about the only thing I can find to do in Singapore at this hour.
It's a lovely city, and perhaps only a step more foreign than places like San Francisco and Vancouver have already become -- English is still an official language (one of four, and seemingly primary) and you can still shop at Borders Books or California Pizza Kitchen, but white faces are much rarer on the street. And there are Chinese malls full of hawkers selling discount luggage and strange drinks with floaty jelly bits in them ("pearls"), but you can find those in SF and Vancouver, too.
I've spent most of the last two days walking around, and have managed to give myself my first blisters. It's a beautiful city for walking -- traffic is kind of heavy, but not bad at all for a city this size (thanks to draconian car quota laws), and there are flowers and greenery everywhere.
I haven't been into a museum yet -- have been more entertaining myself with food sampling and some miscellaneous shopping. Also, there's been an international rugby sevens tournament going on on Singapore Cricket Club field in the middle of downtown -- amateur club teams from twelve countries (usual suspects like Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and unexpected ones like Sweden, Japan, and Papua New Guinea). Bleacher seats are free. It's a fun game to watch -- very fast with a lot of flow up and down the field, and each game lasts only fifteen minutes so you can sit there for a couple hours and see sixteen teams.
Had dinner at the Shangri-La last night with my uncle Rob, who coincidentally was in town on business. Beer in a lounge on the 24th floor with a spectacular view over the city, then sharksfin soup and Peking Duck -- a far cry from the el cheapo food court food I've been sampling on my own.
I am on my way out of town this afternoon -- first a bus across the causeway to Johor Bahru, Malaysia, then the train to Kuala Lumpur tonight and Penang tomorrow (am staying in KL (which is what everyone calls it, like LA) because there aren't any through trains from here to Penang. Rob says Penang isn't very typical of Malaysia, but I've already got the reservation on a sleeper train, so I guess I'll go find out what I think.
c. -- colin | opportunity calls from a payphone, bruno. you never roald | get a chance to call it back. (christopher baldwin)