Daniel's First Blog From Singapore

Hello everybody! Well, I have been in Singapore for about a day and a half or so. It has been really crazy in so many ways. We left England on Wednesday night around 9:30 p.m. It was a really long and terribly uncomfortable flight. I had been spoiled flying to London in business class, so it was a bit of a shock flying coach. The flight was about 13 hours and its final destination was actually Sydney, Australia and was only stopping in Singapore for a couple of hours. We got into Singapore Thursday evening (the 13 or so hour flight + the time zone difference). The airport it unbelievably clean and high-tech. As we were being driven to the place we are staying at, I was both attempting to take in everything I saw at once and trying not to pay attention to the way people were driving. People drive super aggressively, and it's crazy busy at rush hour time. There are really neat signs posted on the road, though. The best way to describe them is...you know the posts that stand in lines for roller coasters that say "you are one hour from getting on the ride"? Well they have the same thing, but it factors in the traffic and tells you how many minutes you are from different destinations. Pretty neat.

Anyhow, after settling in at our service hotel called Treetops, my parents and I decided to go out for a quick look at the nearby area and to get a bite for dinner. We are staying in the central area of the city, and it is DEFINITELY city-like. Walking down the famous Orchard Road sincerely reminds my mother of Time Square (and she's a New York native)! Well we decided to go to a local food court at a mall that my parents had visited when they were here a few months ago. Now you may be laughing and thinking to yourself, "why would they go to a mall food court for their first meal in their new home"?! I was thinking that in the back of my head as we walked into the Western-looking mall. But it turns out this food court didn't have McDonald's, KFC, Panda Express, or any of the places found around the U.S. The best way to describe the food court was SENSORY OVERLOAD. We circled the floor once, and I had to sit down. I told my parents to choose for me. I got various dumplings and those delicious steamed pork buns. My dad got a traditional pork noodle soup, and my mom settled for a Thai noodle dish. As we walked home, I finished off the night with an ice cream sandwich (a piece of tie-dye white bread with a slab of ice cream in the middle). We got back, and I basically passed out.

Yesterday (Friday) I spent most of the day with a dude named Adrian. Adrian will be a junior at ECHHS and his dad is here on business. They're staying in the same place we are. While my parents went out and joined the American Club (a popular club for expats to join to take classes, go bowling, eat, etc.) I rested up for the big day. Well, in reality, I spent about half an hour poking my eye in a pathetic attempt to get my new contacts in. Adrian and I went out with another American kid out age named Max for a little while. We hit up the local food court and I got a dish (I will get the name of it later) that was basically an Indian pizza, filled with onions and chicken. I accompanied my meal with an Anything soda. I kid you not - Anything is a carbonated drink, and Whatever is its non-carbonated counterpart. You literally don't know what you're getting when you buy the drink because each can is a different (and often surprising) flavor. I lucked out by getting something that tasted like maybe ginseng coke, but next time I might not be so fortunate. I also got a Wintermelon Tea soda, which sounded and looked good, but wasn't. Max headed back and Adrian and I spent the afternoon roaming the city by subway and foot. We went to the famous Raffles Hotel (and saw the Long Bar where the Singapore Sling was invented nearly 100 years ago). Raffles proudly boasts about the famous guests (everyone from Rudyard Kipling to Michael Jackson). Apparently their way of boasting is by making prices out-of-this-world expensive. We saw a bunch more cool stuff, came back for a quick swim, then I went to sleep. My parents and I were all laying in my room watching Across the Universe on DVD when we all somehow fell asleep. We woke up just in time to meet our friends for dinner. We went to a popular Hawker Stand (a place where tons of vendors offer great food at reasonable prices). We opted to eat outside on satay street. We literally ordered 60 satay sticks (20 chicken, 20 beef, 20 mutton). We also had tons of other awesome dishes including the traditional chicken rice. It's quite literally chicken and rice. Nothing terribly special. We finished by sharing 3 ice kacangs (shaved ice with artificial flavor syrup, red beans, corn, and fruit topping).

Adrian and I then took off and went to the famous Clark Quay area. Known for its many clubs and great nightlife, this area is apparently where its at on the weekends. Then I saw the silliest thing. NO JOKE - there was a bar that was supposed to be like a hospital. There were no bar stools - they were replaced by WHEEL CHAIRS! And instead of glasses, people were DRINKING OUT OF IV BAGS. The tables were made to look like operating tables, and the servers were dressed in doctor/nurse outfits. It was SO bizarre. There were tons of prostitutes in the area. Since prostitution is legal, old men seem to flock to the area for the services. My mom and I have even made a game of it - Who Can Spot the Prostitute? It's pretty easy when you see a 60 year old, white, bald, unattractive, fat guy with a 20 year old, beautiful, young Asian girl holding onto his arm. Anyway, Adrian and I went towards home and were stopped by a men a couple of times asking if we wanted "ladies for the night". We politely declined, but did not feel intimidated. You see, the big scary pimp you think of in America is replaced here by a small Asian man with a soft, heavily accented voice. Once I got back around 11:30 last night, I still wasn't tired. I hung around until finally (around 2 a.m.) I had to go get some air and a snack. I went to the nearby 24-hour McDonald's. It was nothing special. Finally, a little after three, I crashed. I just woke up about an hour ago (8 a.m.). I guess this might be a sign that I'm not quite adjusted to the time difference. Although I can't say I always slept better back in NC.

OK! Well I hope this post wasn't too long. I had so much to say and I guess I waited to long to post. Today I'm often to see some apartments with my parents. I will let you know how that goes.

*Please note: I apologize DEEPLY for the fact that my mom's camera will not connect properly to the computer and also that I left my camera's connector at home. I have so many good pictures that go with this post. I PROMISE TO GET THE PICTURES UP ASAP! So check back in soon.

Peace & Love,

Daniel