thehostelwitness

The Asian Civilizations Museum, Singapore

The rains here come almost as if on schedule every day around 6pm. Sporadic sprinkles dot the city throughout the day, but at around 6 the deluge arrives. Heavy and nearly monsoon-like in strength, the rain's torrent goes on for 15 minutes before finally spending itself out. In those situations, there's nothing you can do but wait it out. I haven't seen anyone attempt to go out when the weather drops like that.

Its rainy season in Singapore, something that I'm actually very thankfull for, as the constant sprinkling throughout the day actually keeps it cool and the big deluges serve to clean up the streets and air of the city. Its a welcome necessity, evidenced by the fact that in the time I've been here, I haven't heard a single soul complain about it. In Seattle, it rains all the time and we always complain about it.

You find ways to cope with the heat and quickly. Shorts are an option, of course, as are daily and nightly showers to keep one cool. And plenty of liquids. I usually avoid drinking juice to cut on my sugar consumption, but the heat saps away your strength and so the juice actually helps quite a bit.

The number #1 treatment I've found for the heat however, has been talcum powder. You learn to adapt to "powdering your nose" pretty quickly after the first heat rash develops down there. As I wrote to a friend earlier, I have so much powder on my ass right now that it looks like a winking mime.

I simply can't imagine what this city would have been like in the days before A/C. Its like being in Vegas in June. You time your forays outside to just a few minutes before getting back into a building. I spent my day in doors around Singapore's colonial district, dropping by the Long Bar at Raffles, one of Singapore's oldest and home to the Singapore Sling. Like Harry's Bar in Venice, namesake bars tend to be hugely expensive and not worth it, but still I wanted to mark the occasion. Drinking a Singapore Sling would have been too touristy, of course. No, on a day like today a gimlet was called for. And thankfully, for the price it was probably the best gimlet I've ever had.

Afterwards, I headed over to the Asian Civilizations Museum, a four story building dedicated to the religions and cultures of China and SE Asia. But what blew me away - what absolutely, hands down was one of the most surprising moments of my entire life, was that they had on display relics from the original grandaddy of all Buddhas. #1, the first, numero uno - THE BUDDHA - you get my drift. As part of a collection on the Buddhists founding of Nalanda University (in India), they had three relics on display. These relics - preserved pieces of the deceased Buddha - were only about the size of a thumbnail, but nonetheless were on display on a golden throne behind a quarter inch thick plexiglass, armed guard, and metal detector. It wasn't that I had a religious experience - its just that I was stunned to see this here. It'd be like going to your local museum's exhibit on Christianity and finding the Holy Grail on display. Just hugely surprising. I didn't even know Buddhists collected those kinds of things.

Other things I didn't know about Buddhism in general, include how particularly Christ-like he actually was, with a similar accounting of miracles performed and prophets sent out to preach his word. Everyone knows that Hindus have a ton of Gods to worship, but Buddhism also is a polytheistic religion. And its not just reincarnation and karma with these guys - they too have a purgatory and notion of hell. All great things to bring up the next time you get into a religious debate.

Another thing I liked about the museum is that they have these interactive guides, kiosks that stand about 4 feet in height and feature the different faces (depending on which exhibit you are in) of Singaporeans who live here. They are really well done - what must have been hundreds of hours of video of people speaking directly the the camera. In presentation, its just their head over a black background and when left alone, they even look off into space, humming a wordless tune or texting on their mobile. You can ask them about the exhibit or even just questions about them as a local. This was getting fun. One option let me ask a female face "what she did for fun?". Others included "do you consider yourself a feminist?", "where is your family from?", and "what are your views on polygamy?". This was my first date in 7 months! Sadly, "your place or mine?" wasn't a question I could ask and instead ended as most of my interactions with the fairer sex do, with a request for my email address and a promise to get in touch with me later.

The rest of the day was spent reading and doing research on Malaysia, where I head tomorrow morning via bus line. I'll be venturing into Melaka, a city I had not heard of before but once was the center of the world's spice trade. No word on the size of their spice worms.

Orchard Road, Singapore

Maybe its just divine providence that the day after I decided to relax the budget a bit, I went to Orchard Road, Singapore's reknown shopping district. Thousands of clothing and fashion stores nestled in a hundred malls going up, around, and under a busy four lane road. Its here that I started my day with a $2.80 sushi lunch and it was here that I would begin my quest to affordably replace the clothes that were quite literally, falling apart.

The friends that have visited me can attest to the sad state of my singular pair of pants - lets call him "Jim". Picked up from REI the day before I left for Copenhagen, in the six months since, Jim had lost three zippers, become thread barren in the crochetal region, had adopted a permanent beige-pooish color, and infused himself with a pretty rank, malodorous stink.

While Jenn Tesch visited me, Jim's belt clip (a built in belt is always a sign of high fashion...) snapped in half, requiring me to do some fancy surgery - aka, tie the strap into a knot. I stood there fiddling with my belt, shirt lifted up, when Tesch started to laugh. Looking up, I saw that I was standing right in front of a busy playground, looking for all the world like I was giving myself a rather thorough adjustment (I believe she was even gracious enough to take a photo of the alleged pervert enjoying himself). Finally, after the three days of hiking through Stewart Island mud, so deeply had the dirt had been ingrained into the cuffs that even after two washings I failed to get it clean again. With the tropical, sweltering heat of Singapore, all of my sweat and all of Jim's shortcomings were baking into a nice, classic aroma, akin to the love stink of Richard Simmons having sex with a spoiled bbq pork sandwich. Its clear that something had to be done.

Shopping in Singapore is an experience unto itself. I had gone to Orchard mainly to window shop, as most of the items here started at a hundred bucks, and true to prediction, all of the Madison Ave staples were well represented. However, I happily discovered that with all the shops in the area, nearly every budget was covered. Singapore has a great amount of independent clothing boutiques and after an afternoon of hunting, I came away with three shirts, pants, a pair of shorts, and a belt - enough clothes to replace what I had sorely tried and for just under $150 (Jim though, stays in the bag).

For dinner, I took a trip to Little India and found a great little fried rice stand and for $3 filled up to my hearts content: rice, cuttlefish, shrimp, veggies, and a fried egg on top. Another $1 got me a glass of coconut juice. I ate like a king...did you know the life expectancy for a Singaporean in 2007 was 82 years (compared to Americans at 78)? You could literally live off of $6 a day on food and apparently, live quite well!

So tack that onto the list of things I like about this city. Here's another - when discussing politics with friends, depending on how much I've had to drink they may hear me espouse my views on the perfect governing political system man has ever created. Namely, the city-state. And here is a perfect example of a thriving one! I love city states.

I also, usually, love being tall but here I'm feeling a bit freakish. Getting out of a subway car at rush hour is a bit like Guliver among the Liliputians. According to several studies, Singaporeans are also the fastest walkers in the world (New Yorkers come in at a respectable 8), so even with my long strides I've got all these little black topped heads swerving around as they pass me by (that, I don't mind so much, 'cause then I can pretend that I'm an AT-AT).

Its a country that promises a 60 month incarceration for drug possession and does so in bold letters right there on your entry visa. Its subways feature graphic depictions of a terrorist attack as a warning, yet also hands out $5000 fines for setting off false fire alarms. Its a city that still bans chewing gum and famously caned an American teen for grafitti years back, but times are a changin.

Next to the newly opened Singapore Flyer sits a world class theater district on the esplenade with free outdoor concerts on weekends and a huge amount of traditional world class restaurants throughout the city. It has Sentosa, a small resort island I have yet to visit that features beach volleyball and swimming. Super clean and safe despite 4.1 million residents makes it a place definately worth checking out, as does the fact that its a regular stop for the F1 series.

There's even talk of Singapore building a casino downtown and if that ever happened, well, all bets would be off. Call me sentimental, but I would be here, every year, the weekend of the F1 race, for the rest of my life, eating $3 chicken rice, losing $10 a hand, and loving every moment of it.

The Merlion, Singapore

The Merlion is pretty much the most awesomely stupid thing I've ever seen. It sits right off the river, about thirty feet in height and rising up off of its tail with a fountain of water erupting from its mouth. The only problem is the bottom half of the Merlion is that of a mermaid and the top is, well a lion. And I can call it stupid without fear of appearing culturally ignorant - there is no local history or myth surrounding its origins. It was created by the city as PR back in the 1950's.

Stupid or not, it drew me there, so I suppose it served its intended purpose - and it led me to discovering the city's waterfront walk. I spent the sweltering day taking in the skyline. New to Singapore is the world's largest ferris wheel, the Singapore Flyer, opening later this month and rising 33 meters higher than the London Eye. Pretty impressive feat, but shortlived as the Chinese are currently building the next "largest" wheel, rising up to 208 meters.

Afterwards, I headed to my new favorite place in the world, the food markets. For $2RM (Singapore) - TWO DOLLARS - I had a fantastic plate of rice with cuttlefish and cabbage. For just eighty cents more, I had something called a "grass jelly juice". Its a kid's drink - but disgustingly funny. A black, sweet tea with strands of black jelly resembling leaches lying in wait at the bottom. These little guys get sucked up through your clear straw as you get to the bottom of the cup and you can't help but laugh, gagging on it as the worms make their way into your mouth. Its at the oddest times that one gets deep into thought, but as I sat there, chewing leaches down, I pondered on how I was going to get off the backpacker trail I had gotten on.

The "Backpacker Trail" is the term given to the crawl of travelers going from one "backpacker's destination" to the next, mainly due to there being no where else to go. Australia's east coast is one of these, with everyone you run into either going where you're going or just having arrived from there. Owing to its small size, New Zealand is pretty much one entire backpacker trail. I enjoyed both places, but it wasn't what I had intended and I had grown tired of the lack of surprise in where to go and what to see. For the last two months, outside of my backpacking trips, my destinations have all been laid out before me.

To make matters worse, starting in Brisbane, I had started keeping track of my spending (down to the dollar) and begun imposing daily limits on what I could do. Not purposely, I had fallen into the true backpacker mind set - that is, save money at all costs.

I'm not quite sure how I fell into this trap, but lately I've become painfully aware that I had forgotten the whole point of my travels, which wasn't to keep going for as long as humanly possible and never work again. No, it was simply to travel and experience new parts of the world and do so, on my own terms. I feel that my trip through Europe was a great example of this - buying groceries and cooking all of my meals in say, Italy, would have been idiotic. Sure, I would saved a ton of cash, but missed the point entirely. Italy, the experience of it, was half about the food! In return, I tried to balance the rest of it all out by staying in hostels, traveling cheaply, and taking a day or two off in between cities.

Somehow, I had gotten away from this without even realizing it. In my fever to keep on going, to try and see how long I could take this thing, I put myself on a super strict money diet. I avoided restaurants and even violated my promise to treat myself to a hotel room every once in a while.

It all came to a head today here in Singapore. Not the cheapest of cities, I was trying to make due on a budget of $25US - or $36RM - per day. Here's what a day in Singapore on $36 gets you:

$19: Bed at a hostel

$4: Mass transit costs

$6: Lunch and Dinner

$5: Bottle of tea and fresh fruit

Leaving me with a whole $2RM a day to enjoy myself with.

Get my point?

I can keep this going for another year if I adhere to the budget. Easily. I would blanch at spending $8RM a week on laundry and instead do it every other (or even longer). I'd refuse to buy any new clothes, instead stretching my already tattered threads into further, pressed duty. I'd forgo haircuts. I'd become that American hippie backpacker guy who gets by on $34RM a day and laughs at all of the "wage slaves" out there while scrounging up enough loose change to buy a can of guava juice. Me being me though, I would absolutely hate it.

So after my grass jelly juice, the calorie counting of my wallet ended and I "indulged", picking up a pair shorts in the Chinese market, bargaining the salesman down from $24RM to $16 and loving the whole process. Next time I'll start even lower. I went to the Funan IT Mall, a 6 level mall completely dedicated to computer electronics, and hunted for the cheapest 2gig SD card, using my new found bargaining skills to avoid the $40 card salesman and instead getting one from another at $24RM. I picked up a TimeOut Singapore and read up on all the free art galleries to hit in the city. I had an absolute blast and did so by blowing my daily budget by about $40RM. Today at least, $40RM represented the difference between merely existing in Singapore and having a good experience with it.

I also think that its the way to get off the Backpacker Trail to do a little "back country". I may end up finishing the hike a bit sooner than expected, but on the other hand it'll have been a much more rewarding experience.

The Red Dot Design Museum, Singapore

I knew I was in for a day and a half when the airline attendant starting laughing at me. I was busy trying to check into my flight from Auckland for Singapore, which by the end of it all would see me through two airlines, four cities, and 20 hours of travel time.

Finally, I was asked why I would do this to myself.

"This flight you are on to Brisbane goes onto Singapore - why are you switching airlines and flying to KL (Kuala Lumpur)?"

"Orbitz.com," he replied, ashen-faced and deadpan.

So, still a bit dehydrated from my 24 hour throw up fest, it took a minute to register that I would have to check in again at each stop-over. Why, I had no idea. Orbitz doesn't tell you these things when you choose to save a hundred bucks by utilizing its complex program of algorithms, formulae, and retarded lab mice.

Overall though, I was feeling considerably better compared to the previous 24 hours. What had initially started as just an upset stomach progressed to something much more sinister, much to the amusement of my hostel roommates who found me in bed at the ripe time of 6pm. Not wanting them to feel unwelcome in their own room, I made conversation, each time apologizing when I had to bolt for the toilet down the hallway.

Anyway, Singapore.

I had no idea that there existed a place in the world where so many Malaysians, Thais, Chinese, Indians, Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs peacefully coexisted in the world. Its remarkable. My hostel is located in Little India, with a Sikh temple located right outside and a food market down on the corner. The food markets are simply put, one of this regions greatest inventions. ever. Lunch in Little India set me back $4 (Singapore) and dinner in Little China $3. Its clear that as always, beer is going to be the potential budget buster, with a little can of Tiger going for more than the cost of a meal. Still, after spending a day and a half getting by on no more then an orange and heavily sugared tea, I was in heaven.

I spent most of the day walking around - lost, as per usual. Thinking that the subway line ending at the harbor front would put me on the water with a nice walk into the city, I stepped out to find myself surrounded by semi trucks and huge cranes hauling up cargo. I probably should have turned around at this point, but I thought the walk would do me well and there would be a great view of the city as it came into view. So I thought. What ended up happening was an hour walking on a sidewalk alongside a freeway, choking on dirt and blinking out the dust in my eyes. In this aspect, Singapore suffers a bit as it seems to be surrounded by freeway and dockyards throughout. Its a real pity.

Getting lost is done mostly, 96%-like, by design. There's no better way to get your bearings than to get unlost. Also, whenever I go on these little adventures I usually stumble across a treasure not discovered previously in my research. This is how I came across a distinctly red building named (aptly) "The Red Dot Traffic Building". I would learn that this was the very building that housed the Red Dot Design museum, home to the Red Dot Design awards, which is the most prestigious design award I've never heard of in my entire life. But apparently, according to the literature, they are kind of a big deal.

Inside was a consumer's paradise. Hundreds of products that had received a "Red Dot" award in 2007 were on display, from vacuum cleaners (no Dysons, btw) to medical devices. I felt a burst of pride upon seeing the Nokia N800 under glass (the very type I compose this on) and suddenly was overcome by an irrational wish to be earning money again, 'cause I would pretty much have bought everything in the place, including the Leica Laser Level (for those occasions when only the finest in German made optical laser levels will do the trick) and the really cool stove top with a concave ceramic cooker for your wok. I love to wok.

I popped out of there a couple hours later and headed back on the MRT - Singapore's subway system. Its a fantastic way to get around and says quite a bit when it takes a new arrival approximately 1 minute to figure out how to purchase tickets, get through the gates, and map the destination (as opposed to NYC, which months later can still confuse people). LCD displays, super silent running, and really well thought out, enabling me to cruise back to my hostel in just a few minutes.

There are just enough western faces around to remind you that Singapore is not at all representative of the rest of the region in terms of economy, infrastructure, etc, but there are still plenty of opportunities to be a unique face in the crowd. The food markets are one of them - sitting there eating your food, you realize that every other face in the crowd is either Indian or Chinese and for the first time you get the sense that you are really traveling.

While I was sitting down slurping up noodles in the Chinese market, I felt an unexpected welling of warmth and happiness. I couldn't really explain why...but then I stared down at the chopsticks in my hand and at the etched faces of the elderly Asians around me mechanically shoveling rice into their mouths and suddenly I was back at Shin Shin Plaza with my mom and grandma, shopping for dinner. Its strange, but it felt a bit like home.