Day 7- My last day in the Far East

This morning I woke up and met my new friend Nico for coffee. We talked in Spanglish and he played some of his favorite Argetenian music for me. We got on the train together and I had a blast speaking with him in Spanish because no one around us knew what we were saying. In America it drives me crazy when people do that, but now I had become one of Those people.. and it was great. I said goodbye to him at my stop towards downtown.

The only thing left I hadn't done here that I planned to was check out the Gardens By The Bay. It was lovely, but I have seen a lot of greenery on this vacation so I didn't stay long. I walked over to the Singapore Flyer. A giant Ferris wheel in the heart of downtown that is considered the world's largest observation wheel. It was amazing to see the view of downtown from that far up. There I made a new friend, Harshavardhan, who asked if I had ever been to India. I told him no, but it was definitely on my bucket list. He asked me why, and I told him I Have to see the Taj Mahal and I'm obsessed with Indian food. Then he told me all the other places, especially Jaipur, I should check out in India. He then mentioned he has a cousin at Texas Tech. We exchanged contact info so when I make the journey to India  he can give me some tips or case his cousin gets in trouble... I laughed and told him I'd see what I could do.

I left the Flyer and casually walked around the bay, and took pictures with the Merlion one last time. I let myself get lost on other streets around town just for the heck of it. I finally got back to my side of town and had lunch (seafood noodles) and went for one last dip in the hotel pool. By now all I can think about is home. I've had a great time here but I want to be around my friends again. I read up on the news and then went out for my last $8 Tiger beer.

It's been real Asia... but I'm coming back to America. Maybe it would be harder to leave if I didn't have a flight to New York in three weeks already booked.... ❤️🗽💙

Day 6 souvenirs and coronas

Day 6

Last night after I posted my blog I walked down to the nearby hawker center for a late night dinner. On the way there I ran into the cab driver who helped me get my fare comped by the hotel the night before. We shook hands and talked for a minute and then I continued on my way. I sat down and my waiter from the night I first arrived greeted me. He was excited to see me and told another waiter I was his girlfriend. (I felt so popular for the first time since I've been here. I actually get very little attention from the locals. I guess they're not into blondes.) I didn't know what exactly I had ordered but my waiter/boyfriend assured me it would be vegetarian. When he brought me my food he said he was coming back to America with me and I went along with it, thinking of the promise I made my friends that I wouldn't bring anyone home from this vacation.

 I really do miss everyone by now although I'm having a great time. I don't know that this trip was life changing, but I feel I've satisfied what I've been missing. I reached a point back home in which I felt I needed to get as far away as possible. I've met people here that I wouldn't have crossed paths with otherwise and I've immersed myself in so many different cultures this week. I really am amazed by just how globalized the world is, but it's nice to see a different perspective on it all.

Sunday morning I made my way back to China Town to pick up the last of my souvenirs for my people. I was stopped by a  student reporter who could tell I was on holiday and he asked if he could interview me for a story he's working on about tourism in Singapore. It makes perfect sense to find a tourist in China Town. I let him interview me and felt it my was time to pay it forward as I've stopped so many people for interviews in my day. Again, he was shocked I only came to Singapore and asked if I would go anywhere else. I told him next time I would go all over Asia. There will be a next time down the road. I love Asia, but Latin America is next.

I finished my shopping and figured out my way back to the hotel using the bus and I was so proud of myself. No waiting on a shuttle at the airport for me today! Although the train system is very efficient (despite the fact it doesn't service my side of town), the bus system has failed me about three times now, (due to my own ignorance). I got back to the hotel, unloaded and went to lunch at a nearby North Indian restaurant called Saanjha Chulah. A very nicely decorated, cozy spot playing traditional Indian music, just walking distance from the hotel. I was nice being close by today so I could enjoy the hotel's pool, do some day drinking and be available via wifi so that my new friends here would be able to contact me.

I took a swim and a nap and around nine I met my friend from Argentina for Coronas at the local hawker center. We met through a Singapore Facebook group. He speaks about as much English as I do Spanish. He is here with his futbol team for eleven months. It was refreshing to be able to use my Spanish and I'm sure he felt the same way. There were times we had to break out Google translate but we made do. It was nice to have someone to talk to. We said goodbye early so he could take the train back to his place on the other side of town and I walked back to my hotel. Overall today was the typical relaxing vacation day.

Day 5- Beach Day

I went out to Sentosa Island just south of the mainland today to check out the beach scene. There are three separate beaches on the island. I heard Tanjong beach was where Asia's finest come to hang out, so naturally I made it a point to turn up. Let me tell you though, Sentosa is a tourist trap. Within minutes I was taking pictures with exotic birds and paying too much to keep the pictures. The birds were just too cute I had to! The guy plopped a parakeet looking bird named Sleeping Beauty, belly up, in my hand and it was the cutest moment of my whole vacation. I walked around the entire island and I finally arrived at the spot I had been looking for, Tanjong. Beautiful and relaxing, no children, to my satisfaction. The whole rest of the island is extremely family friendly. I took in the view of the beach and the people, and everything I had read was right. This is where Asia's finest come. I've never been one to have a particle type, but suddenly I could see myself marrying a buff Asian man and never coming home.

After laying out for a while I got up, got dressed and went to find a wifi location when I was stopped by a Malay man named Bernard. I told him I was looking for a drink and wifi and he said he had both. He asked if I was lost because few people know about Tanjong. I told him no I had just done my research. He was young and friendly and somehow I just knew he was good people, although I couldn't quite put my finger on why. He took me back to his group of friends, 3 other guys. When I told them this was my first trip abroad they were floored. "Why did you pick Singapore of all places in Asia? Why not Bangkok?" I have heard that from at least three different people since I've been here. I explained my reasons and they continued on about Bangkok, Cambodia and Bali. So now I know for next time. Eventually, I asked if they were married. (I've learned that's a Very important question to ask.) They laughed and told me they're gay. That's why I had a good feeling about these guys! And another thing, two of them work in production for the local media. After that, I put my guard all the way down, stripped down to my bathing suit, laid back out on my towel and continued to discuss things such as politics and culture. Perfect. I was curious about political relations with Malaysia, because I've heard all sorts of things, and they told me that Singapore gets their water supply from Malaysia. Anytime there is conflict, Malaysia will use that as leverage but that was about it. I told them about the drug cartels of Mexico which they had no idea about, and my run in with the cops in Cancun, and how my friends and I just paid the cops off. They said Malaysia's law enforcement was a lot like that. We talked about the LGBT community. Homosexuality is "technically" illegal here, although there are still gay bars and some
acceptance. I told them how the federal government in American continually strikes down state laws banning gay marriage. One of them said, "To us, America had already made it. I don't think this generation will see anything like that in Singapore. The government doesn't even want to touch that topic."

Eventually, they had to leave to get to their "meetings" and the first guy I met drove me to the other side of the island so I could get another drink and continue using wifi. Then I walked around and checked out the flea markets that had popped up while I had been laying out. I saw a pink selfie pole and had to get one. I've joined the crowd I was just making fun of two days ago.

 I knew I had a long way to go to get back home to I started my trek early. I was starving but I decided to get back to my side of town and eat at a hawker center there. I'm staying on the far east side of Singapore and it is not served by the train, so everyday I have to take the train to the airport to use the hotel's complimentary shuttle. (It took two hours from the time I left Sentosa to the time I arrived at the hotel. I use that time to write these blogs.) Dealing with the shuttle at the airport is the one thing about my holiday here I could live without. Yesterday the shuttle completely failed me and I was stuck at the airport for three hours at the end of the night. I finally got a cab and on the way home I told the cab driver my sob story. When we got to the hotel the cab driver came inside with me and defiantly handed the concierge my bill. Fortunately, due to the cab driver's playing hardball my bill was comped by the hotel.

Day 4 Adventure

This morning I got an early start and had no plans so I bought an unlimited ticket to the train. Best decision ever. While in transit I decided to check out the Changi Prison Museum which featured exhibits from the Japanese occupation of Singapore during WWII. It was interesting to hear about the war from this perspective. Up until this time the British had always had a sense of superiority over the other cultures of the nation, but during the Japanese occupation the British suffered along with the Chinese, Malay and the Indians in the prisons. The museum featured concentration camp-like photos and explained how prisoners got through the experience. The most notable was the prisoner who drew 5 huge murals of Christian art. The murals were forgotten for years. In the 60's once the murals had been discovered and the artist was tracked down, the artist Steve Warren came back to restore the murals. Whether you're Christian or not, the work itself was breathtaking.

I left the prison museum and went downtown the China Town district to check out the Buddha Relic Tooth Museum. The giant temple is a well known landmark of Singapore. I was disappointed because although it is 4 stories, only the first floor was open today for the public. Tomorrow the 4th floor will be open which houses the supposed left canine tooth of the Buddha encased in a gold stupa in which the temple gets it's namesake. So I missed the tooth. But I did learn my Buddhist Guardian deity is Samantabhadra for those born the year of the dragon. You learn something new everyday...

After some window shopping in the streets I made my way over to the Fatty Wong for lunch. (I couldn't make that up if I wanted to). Nothing special, I just had shrimp fried rice. I know, I kept it conservative, but Chinese food has a way of creeping me out more then any other genre. Case in point, I tried to contain my horror as I watched the waitress saw into a duck 5 feet away from me like something out of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The white tourists she was serving were absolutely delighted and taking pictures. I can't talk, I had to get a picture too.

I got back on the train and made my way to Orchard rd., the shopping capital of Singapore. I had been craving tea so I got a soy milk bubble tea and found a place to sit and drink it because I'm so paranoid about the litter laws I was afraid to take it and walk around. (By the way I haven't mentioned, every time you order a beverage to go they either put the cup in a little bag or a sling, or straight up forget the cup and put the whole drink in a ziploc bag.) I found a food court and sat down and immediately a guy came up, cheered me with his beer and took a seat at my table. At first I was afraid he was another creeper but he was cool. The more we talked the more he cracked me up. He asked me what I do and I told him I'm an aspiring journalist. We talked about ISIS and how terrible that situation is, then he told me about his 3 sons. The oldest is going to school to be a doctor, the youngest has special needs but does just fine for himself, and the middle one drinks too much. I asked him about durians and he said he loved them and told me where to go to get one. He told me his wife hates them. He said sometimes he'll call her and tell her he's not coming home. She'll ask "Why, are you with another woman?" And he'll say, "No, I have a basket of durians!" He told me about his frustrations of the long hours being a pilot for Emirates. "Me, I could live on $10 a day, but have to keep this job because I have to support my son's girlfriend," he said. We both cracked up laughing and high fived. I left that guy and headed to Marine Sands Bay in the downtown area to see what would happen. As soon as I walked up to the water I could see that the Merlion wasn't under construction like it had been before. I was so excited! It was a long walk but I finally made it and got my picture with the Merlion I had been waiting for. I decided it was about that time... Time for a drink. I wanted to try the Singapore Sling, the signature drink of the island. It was a delightful, fruity, and strong mix of several different liquors. I'm not proud of the fact I spent $50 on two cocktails, but when will I ever get a chance to have a Singapore Sling again?

After drinks, I continued the path around the bay and saw there was a show going on inside a concert hall and there was no one taking tickets for it. I walked right in and the girl who was singing had a captivating voice. Her last song "Emma" was a funky jazz beat about her secretly wishing her boyfriends fantasy pinup girl would go for her. Loved it. It was a huge hit and when she explained exactly what the song was about there was a loud solitary clap from the audience. No telling who that came from... I left the concert hall to continued my journey and stumbled upon another concert, this time at the theater on the bay. It was a rock band with an equally solid appeal. I danced around and jammed out. It was a truly unexpectedly epic night. I'll have to come back again before I leave.

Day 3

Today went from relaxing to ridiculous in no time but I'll get to that... First, I skipped my morning swim and washed my hair for the first time since I've been here. Yesterday I rocked a ponytail which I rarely do in the states but I'm alone and so far from home I'm trying to call as little attention to myself as possible. For breakfast I traded the hawker center for a high end breakfast buffet at the hotel. With wet hair I showed up just in time to eat before the buffet closed at 10:30. It was more of a lunch than breakfast but it was mostly Indian food so I was happy. I went back upstairs to finish getting ready thinking I had an hour before my shuttle left for the airport. I finished blow drying my hair and was about to brush my teeth when I remembered the shuttle leaves at 11, not 11:30. It was 10:59... I grabbed my phone and giant unfolded map and left without brushing my teeth... I ran out of the elevator and there was my ride, just about to take off, I barely made it. I was thankful and now Hoping I could find toothpaste and a toothbrush at the airport. Sure enough... There's a reason Changi airport is frequently voted the number one airport in the world. Five minutes after I arrived at the airport I was back in business with minty fresh breath.

 By now I felt I had mastered the transit system and felt way more at ease than I did 3 days ago. I got on the train headed for the Botanic Gardens like a champ. I saw a guy on the train who spoke no English wearing a Chicago Bulls hat and Jordan's and I had to restrain myself from giving him an all American high five. Another Asian man got on the train wearing a Carmelo Anthony t-shirt and Knicks hat, and being 9/11 I couldn't take it anymore. My love for America and all things NBA got the best of me. As I got off the train I said, "I like your shirt." Confused, he mumbled "thank you" as I walked away.

 Side Note- I've decided the people here are much like New Yorkers. They don't go out of their way to talk to you and they Don't have time for idiocracy, but given the right time and place they can be very warm and open.

I arrived at the Botanic Gardens and was immediately wowed at the majestic beauty of the flowers and foliage. The garden was silent except for birds, crickets and thunder, although it never rained the entire time I toured the gardens. There were different sections such as Swan Lake, Healing Gardens and others. One section is even a rainforest and finding myself touring the winding trail I felt so liberated. I took a walk through the Evolution Garden Path and refreshed my knowledge on the earth's history. I walked near a man who was equally enamored by the majesty of it all. He would stop and meditate for a moment before moving on so I took other routes so to avoid disturbing him. After all that walking I felt dehydrated and made my way to the food court for water and a beloved Tiger beer and took it all in. The same guy walked up as I was drinking my beer and he flashed me the peace sign as if we go way back.

I must say that Singapore is not for those who cannot take the heat and humidity. My friends and I often joke that I live like a lizard because I can tolerate any and all heat. As sweat percolated on my forehead and dripped down my back, I felt right at home.

 I left the park after about 3 1/2 hours and decided to walk to a shopping center not too far away as suggested by my guidebook. I left the gardens from the opposite exit and walked allllll the way around trying to find my intersection for the main road where all the shopping is. Much like day 1, I ended up on back roads with tons of unexpected construction going on all around me. As soon as I found the street I was looking for, it started pouring down rain. Monsoon like, if you will. I turned left into the closest place I could find shelter, a tiny little roofed map... Back inside the Botanic Gardens... that I had just attempted to leave 30 minutes prior. I was hovered under this little roof with three Malay women and a Chilean man in a poncho waiting out the storm. After a few minutes of complaining and trying to figure something out, the Chilean and I just started laughing. He said, "I don't know what's funnier, the fact that it's really raining this hard or the fact that I'm in this poncho." We were both so far from home and had found ourselves in quite the predicament. Everyone else eventually caught a bus or a taxi but I had no clue where the buses would run and I wasn't trying to hail a cab since I had already dried out some. I just waited out the rain, did some stretching... It finally did let up and I left the Gardens. Leaving was a two hour ordeal. I got on the train and headed to Holland Village, where the shops and restaurants are. I attempted to go shopping but the rain started up again so I posted up in a Hawker center, and had a vegetable combo that the woman who worked there sloppily got some chicken on. Oh well. I survived the day so I rewarded myself with another tiger beer before heading back to the hotel.

Day 2

Day 2 in Singapore Today I woke up again at 7 and had my coffee by the pool and watched the sunrise. For breakfast I walked to the hawker center for something quick and easy. I had my first Tiger beer since I hadn't made time for that yet. They stop selling beer after 10pm at the hawker centers so I had previously missed out. One thing is for sure, alcohol is not cheap here. My beer, although quite large, was $6.50. Most cocktails will set you back close to $20, so it has been a sobering trip for me. Along with my beer I had egg tarts and fried durian spring rolls. Durians are a fruit that is quiet popular in this part of the world but they are sold in limited locations due to thier foul odor. The spring rolls were so fried it took the edge off of the smell and actually tasted pretty good. The inside was almost pudding like. After breakfast I made my way back to the airport to get to north Singapore where the zoo is located. As I was purchasing my ticket for the zoo and night safari the woman at the counter asked me where I was from. I smiled and told her America and she seemed slightly surprised. I asked her if they get many Americans through here and she said some, but mostly from Australia. Then she asked, "What part of America do you come from?" Me:Texas Lady: Oh like with the cowboy hats! Me: No it's not like that I promise! I've been fighting that stereotype my whole life and here I am at a zoo 7000 miles from home and even the ticket counter lady thinks that's what we're all about. Damn. The Singapore Zoo is awesome. Unlike many American zoos which are man made cut out of habitats inside a city, the Singapore Zoo is located next to a real forest and a giant river flows right next to it. The animals are prodominitly cage free and monkeys hang out where they please. They pride themselves on being proactive in conservation and preservation efforts as well as educating their guests through shows. I made it to two separate shows. One was The Rainforest Fights Back and the other was an Elephant show both showcasing tricks by the animals and explaining the importance of conservation. I had three hours to kill before the night safari so I took the bus back to the Ang Mo Kio town center. The street vendors were much more ruthless there than in the city yesterday. I was blatantly charged twice for some nail polish but i spared my blood pressure and cut my losses. A client of mine who has been to Singapore told me to not expect to buy any clothes there, that they are designed for shorter people. The clothes here are super cute but just taking one look I can tell those dresses will never cover my butt. I was also told that I would be disappointed by the lack of differences and just how westernized the population would be when I asked if it was ever hard to communicate with Singaporeans. That was from a well to do business man. He must not have been hanging around where I've been. Although most people speak English their accents can be very hard to understand. I found an Indian restaurant and got excited about dinner. I asked her what they had that was vegetarian and she said "nothing" and then rambled on about some daily special. I was confused and she told me it was ok, I could eat it. I just said, "Whatever, I'll take it." For $3.50 I had bread with spicy curry and hot coffee. Spicy curry with hot coffee... I felt like my mouth was on fire and the only thing I had to drink was making it worse. Side note, despite what I just said, the most disappointing thing about how westernized Singapore is is that there is still no escaping J. Biebs and Miley Cyrus... I went back for the night safari which was alright. It was a 45 minute tour of basically everything I had already seen at the zoo, only by tram, at night. It would have been a great experience but I have to say, in all honesty, I was over it... but I had committed when I purchased the double ticket. At least I didn't encounter any crazies like yesterday, but then again, I was surrounded by families all day... I also haven't had anything to drink since this morning, so there's the trade off. Now to make my way back to the airport just to get to my hotel.

Today was filled with a nervous excitement as it was my first full day in Singapore, as far away from home as possible. I woke up at 7am after only four hours of sleep and took a quick dip in the hotel's infinity pool because that was the whole reason I wanted to stay at the Village Changi hotel. The sunrise was beautiful. Afterwards I got dressed and consulted the concierge desk for my adventure in central singapore. After a lot of laughing because I was so totally clueless they got me on a free shuttle and told me what exit to get off of. I got off the shuttle at Bugis which was very close to the Arabic district. I had anticipated checking out this district the entire time, however I never imagined how out of place I would feel despite being dressed conservatively... For my standards, that is. I wondered around aimlessly for blocks trying to get my bearings and try to determine where to go when I decided to just get coffee and sit down. I was starting to freak out a little. I found my map in my guidebook which saved my life, or at least spared me from crying in public. It was then, at the street cafe when I was approached by an old man in a turbin who told me I looked rich, materially and spiritually. I let him sit with me when he asked, being open minded. Sure enough, he wanted money. I threw him off when I asked to take his picture and he disappeared right away. I finished my drink and headed out to locate a nearby art museum, feeling as though that would be a safe place to start. I found the museum and spent a little over an hour there, taking in the contemporary art and the use of both traditional and technical aspects of the art. Leaving the art museum, I felt way more at peace and decided to make my way to Little India, the district I had been most excited to see. I walked about 10 blocks when I finally came to eclectically decorated streets and the buzz of the Indian culture. Street vendors tried to sell me golden statues of Shri Krishna and others for hundreds of Singaporean dollars. I brushed them off and then finally i found the henna artist I had been looking for. For 30 dollars I had my arm decorated with flowers that I gave her the creative freedom to design. She was very interested in where I was from and as to how I had ended up in Little India, alone. I told her my back story and that I was a hairstylist and she told me she had just colored her hair for the first time. I hoped she didn't use henna on her hair but I didn't ask either. I left and found a very nice Indian restaurant down the street and had lunch. It looked like a tiny Rainforest Cafe but less childish. The staff was dressed in safari uniforms. When I left I had every intention of going on a walking tour on the opposite side of the downtown area, south of where I had originally started. I attempted to get there another way to see more. Little did I know that whole area I was about to encounter was under construction. I felt much more at ease in Little India however I was so turned around. As I walked by, many people stopped to compliment my henna and ask me where I am from. The henna awarded me a little acceptance. After about an hour of aimlessly waking I finally found what I was looking for. The Parliment house, city hall and the boat tour that would take my by the famous Merlion and the Marina Sands shopping center. By this time I was completely exhausted and ready to get back to the hotel and knew i still had to figure out the train. As it turns out, the train station is inside the mall. The mall is so huge it has a river running through it as well. High end stores such as Chanel and Prada were the norm in this vast shopping center. Finally I located the train and made my way back to my next stop, the airport. My hotel is remote from everything else on the island but one mile from the airport. I have to go through the airport to get a ride directly to my hotel. When I finally got back I was so tired and yet hungry for sushi. Luckily there is a Japanese restaurant in the hotel so I got what I was looking for with minimal effort. I went back to the pool for a quick dip after dinner and relaxed and watched the planes take off from the airport.