In the land of shutters...

Today was a day of soaking it all up. Well rested and having done my immediate shopping in the early morning, I headed out to take the metro and discover a bit of this town. I decided to head over to the Muslim area of town, known as Kampong Glam. Kampong just means village, and the area certainly has a very neighborhoody feel overall. I enjoyed walking the local streets and as I was not in the market for a new Persian rug (I swear these stores are all money laundering establishments worldwide - who do you know who has one of these rugs at their place??) nor was I going to pick up yards of fabric for a Sari, I enjoyed the colors and the smells of this neat little spot. Much to my glee, I found a mexican restaurant - Piedra Negra, which is on my list to try in the next two weeks.

As I headed toward the Mosque, I realized I was so thirsty and I could use a bit of a break, but the closest thing was the Swedish Cafe, which was full of white folk with tour books taking pictures of their big slices of cake. Not exactly what I had in mind. I sidestepped the gaggle of Germans and walked up the next block, where I found a slightly more authentic sidewalk cafe. I order an iced tea and a mineral water. This is my iced tea. Here I was, looking at cans of iced tea, and this milky concoction is what the pretty lady behind the cash hands me. It is a strong tea with milk and sugar already in it, warm, which is then served over ice. Voila! Iced tea! It was excellent, and hit the spot perfectly.

I head up the road to the Mosque, which I am not sure I am going to be able to enter as I have capris on and though I am bare armed, I do have a scarf for covering my arms. I need not have worried, when I get there I am told it is closed, only to reopen at 2 in the afternoon. As always, I am a bit disappointed when a house of God is actually closed, but I snap a few pictures nonetheless.

I head over to Burgis Street for a bit more visual stimulation. Burgis is a shopping area built in the 60s that has a bit of a flea market feel to it. Good fun, some very silly things for sale (you know the little cats with the one swinging arm? Yup, those...) and lots of people watching. I stop to read my horescope, which is hysterical. It basically tells me my year is going to suck, but I should stay calm. Nice.

On that uplifting note, I grab a cab to Dempsey Hill and meet up with some of the gang from work for lunch. I'll certainly have to go back to Dempsey, it was a cool palce with tons of restaurants and shops, great for milling about and wasting away an afternoon.

What I have really enjoyed so far is the different architecture of Singapore. From the funky highrises to the small shuttered shops, the mix feels like an interesting blend of Europe, Asia and a touch of what I guess is Malay.

Miss Kim and Danielle

I debated not blogging my 2 weeks in Singapore. After all, I am here on business, who would have time for any fun, right? As I was headed here, my mind immediately started to think in blog posts, and what I would say about a certain experience. It seems that blogging is now a part of my travel and life adventures. The modern journal, if you will, but better, because my family and friends get to share and read about my experiences. So, welcome, family and friends, to Singapore. (Insert loud GONG sound here.)

I need, first and foremost, to tell you about Miss Kim. My flight path this journey was Toronto to Hong Kong, then a layover in Hong Kong and then a 3.5 hr flight to Singapore. I had a plan for the initial 16 hour flight to Hong Kong. It was a night flight, so I was going to change into my pajamas (excellent choice, if I may say so) and then change back into real clothes before I landed. I was on the back of the bus, row 66 in a Boeing 777, aisle seat. When I arrive, an oriental lady is stretched across both her and my seats with her coat over her. When she sees me she grunts, and then turns around to face the windows. Now that's a hard reception to beat.

Well, 15 hours later, Miss Kim hugs me as I leave the plane. She is from Taiwan, speaks not a word of English other than: #2, Thank You, and Me Kim, and Me Lucky. In spite of our language barrier, I have learnt a few things about her. She likes peanuts and jasmine tea and wished the airplane breakfast was served earlier. Her medication for her headaches is #2, duty free is for booze and cigarettes, she likes jade, all Hong Kong women look the same (though she may have also meant that all Cathay Pacific staff have the same flat faces, it could be either one...), she had 2 face lifts and she thought she was lucky to have me as a seat mate.

It was my first time through Hong Kong airport, and I had decided to not book the flight with the one hour layover as I had no idea how brutal of a transfer this would be. Other than a ridiculously long line up to go back trough security, finding my gate was not at all a problem. Actually, the security line up is where I net Danielle The Expat. Daniele moved to Singapore yesterday, from Montreal. She happened to end up standing next to me in the security line up, which ended up being a bit like a Disney line - just when you think you are there, you realize you are walking through doors to just more line! So we got to chatting, and what do you know, today was her moving day. She was coming to meet her partner who was on assignment in Singapore. I wondered if I should tell her if I was a taxidermist, but decided against it. We chatted and then I left her at security as I figured I would see her at the gate, and went to find a washroom and brush my teeth and freshen up and find coffee. I met her back at the gate and we chatted about family, about their support (or lack thereof), about adjusting to a new country, about flights and her mom. She had officially named me "First Friend in Singapore" and we committed to having cocktails next week before I leave. Likely I will see her again when I am back in Singapore.

A note about Hong Kong Airport: by gate 66 is a place called Mr Nosh where I had the best cappuccino outside of Australia. Here is a picture. I was so happy to have good coffee, I decided on a picture.

And so I have arrived at the Amara. Yesterday I slept. Yes, all day and all night. I was up before dawn, have been to breakfast and out for a walk and grocery shopping, As most of you know, grocery shopping in a new country is a lot of fun in my books, and this morning did not disappoint, Some items were really pricey, but the grocery is across the street from the hotel, so I am not entirely shocked that I left a bit ripped off when it came to buying shampoo. I had a hard time deciding on oranges, as my choices were oranges from Israel, Egypt, Thailand or the US. I opted for Thai Mandarins. Can't wait to try them! Other fun grocery discoveries was UV or whitening body cream (to be white is a good thing here, I guess) and 14 different shampoos dedicated to slow hair thinning. Bok Choy was cheap and plentiful, and the fish section was bigger than the red meat and chicken section. They have nutella and La Vache Qui Rit cheese.

The hotel is oddly on Bridal Row, as my morning walk took me by more wedding dress stores that anything else. But it also took me by the Jinricksha (Rickshaw) Depot, now closed and rickshaws have been legislated into extinction, the Buddhist Temple with the Mercedes parked in the driveway, and the Tanjong Pagar Food Mart.

Today I am headed to the Orchard Park shopping district and Kampong Glam, the original home of Singapore Aristocracy and now the epicentre of Muslim culture in Singapore. A bientot!