making up syllables: 1m2tm: singapore

while immigration through any country is never pleasant i thought at least singapore would put a cheerful, clean smile on things. but boy was i wrong. you would have thought i was wearing a hoodie and sunglasses with the amount of questions i got. now i know how waris ahluwalia must feel every time he goes through security (yeah i don't know about that reference).

singapore is notorious for its strict enforcement of clean habits - no gum chewing, no littering, no bungee jumping - and on first impression it feels like what new york might be if the 70s through the 90s didn't happen: a magnificent, shining metropolis on the water, but a little thin. still, the entire (two days) i was there felt less like a vacation and more like i was testing the waters, giving singapore a trial run on perhaps a more permanent living situation.

i was back in a dorm this time, staying in chinatown at a place called, no lie, pillows and toast (★★★★, like i said it was just a dorm but it was, which shouldn't be a surprise, very clean. the staff was made up of entirely cute, friendly and helpful singaporean girls who were available 24 hours a day. they had a lot of bathrooms, a washer and dryer, even an iron and ironing board should you need one - and i did. not far from the subway line and pretty close to the main downtown area should you decide to walk - and i did. also each room had aircons and private lights for your bed should you want to read - and i did). even with my bum feet it only took about 20 minutes to walk to the main downtown area, with its impressive skyline and waterfront. the side streets are lined with little bars and restaurants filled with workers and tourists of all different ethnicity and backgrounds. the first night, feeling a little sentimental perhaps, i decided to eat at a korean restaurant close to the guesthouse. prices were definitely more new york than south east asia with a bottle of soju costing a comical $20 (compared to the ~$1 price tag in korea). afterward i hit up a bar in the business district and ran into an expat from california who was living in singapore for the past 6 years doing an assortment of jobs, from landscaper to beer distributor. we hung out for a bit and talked about what its like living as an expat in another country and his impressions on his new home and afterward he showed me around town a bit, telling me about its seedier sides - including a prostitution street in little india and the in's and out's of telling who is and isn't a hooker out in the bar. he stuck around until midnight to wish me a happy birthday, which was nice, and then went off to meet his girlfriend. i stayed out a bit later and had a celebratory shot of makers and a beer on the riverfront before turning in for the night.

the next day, my birthday, i was hungover and it was raining...but did i let that slow me down? yes! a little. but i was still out and about by lunch. i went to little india to look for some prosti...some indian food and then bought myself a book as a present to myself (a visit from the goon squad, not as great as everyone claimed it to be). i read for a bit in a starbucks and then went back to the guesthouse to spiff up for my night out on the town.

i decided if i was going to be by myself on my birthday i was going to go all out and spend some serious dollar aka. treat yo self 2011. for dinner i went to one of the many restaurants on the river leading into the bay. this street is fairly obnoxious with workers trying to pull you into their establishment, most places offering the exact same thing as the next, some claiming to give you special discounts. i based my decision on what gave me the best view. i went with the chili crab, a popular local dish, which hardens the already difficult task of crab eating by slathering it in a warm chili sauce. they give you a little bowl of water to dip your hands in but i was in a constant state of messy hands. it was almost too much of an ordeal to be enjoyable but the food was pretty good overall (maybe not $100 good, but hey, when in singapore). after my sloppy dinner i went to the swissotel the stamford (i'm really not sure how this name works), the tallest hotel in singapore with a bar conveniently located on the top (71st) floor. luckily my birthday fell on a tuesday so the dress code was a little lax allowing me to rub elbows with singapore's upper crust wearing jeans and flip flops. the bar was what you might expect - ridiculously trendy with over-priced everything - but the view was pretty amazing. i made friends with the bartender, an expat from manilla, and got his perspective about living in singapore but he had only been there for about a month. he also told me if i stuck around a few days they were opening another bar, this one on the helipad, offering an even better view but only for the truly brave. after a few drinks ($50) i decided i had done up my birthday lavishly enough and called it a night. returning back to the guesthouse i walked along the grandstands and the barrier walls that were setup for the f1 night race that is held in singapore every year - unfortunately my timing was just a little off on this one as well.

two days is hardly enough time to fully evaluate a town on its livability, but i'm fairly confident i could give it a go in singapore. the city is, as claimed, immaculately clean (although i did notice some trash floating in some parts of the river, better step it up guys) and the denizens are a diverse, active and friendly assortment of people. walking around downtown its hard not to notice all the joggers and the large groups of people doing yoga and stretching exercises in the public spaces. and maybe its just a first world bias, but the women seemed to be far prettier than any other place i had been in south east asia (fine, i'm a racist ass). what would i do in singapore? that's a completely different question altogether, but one i may choose to investigate in the future. congratulations, singapore, you passed the test.

a mural on the wall at the guesthouse, it goes all the way up the staircase and into the loft in the upper floor. it was done by a group of art students from korea.

apparently i had just missed some big celebration in both chinatown and little india...my timing overall was unfortunate.

the space age noah's ark is the marina bay sands. you can go up to the top where they have a bar and infinity pool and all that cool stuff but you have to pay like $25.