Now that I’ve been in Singapore for a few days, it seems appropriate that I should write an entry at least touching on this big move. (It also helps that I need an excuse to stay up late b/c if I let my body have its way, I’d be asleep already and normally that wouldn’t be such a huge deal except I can’t say that I’m a fan of waking up at 4AM.)
Anyway, to state the obvious, it is hot here… and humid. Apparently, this is the rainy season but I have yet to see any rain and quite frankly I’d welcome some if it means that it would break the humidity. I’m beginning to think that I may never wear my hair down while I’m here – unless, of course, I’m going for the wild-crazy-mass-of-uncontrollable-curls look. The good news is that despite the fact that my tiny dorm room does not have a/c it does have a world’s fastest spinning ceiling fan which does a remarkably good job keeping the room cool… so long as I don’t think about the harm that fan might cause should it somehow break free of its base, I’ll be fine.
As to be expected, the country is very clean… a lot like Japan in that respect. And from what I can tell, the residents tend to follow the laws closely. (Then again, the government is not known for being all that lenient so I’m not about to try breaking any myself.) My first night in town I stayed in a hotel near Chinatown, where there is a fairly large night market, and ended up being convinced into getting a massage (granted it didn’t take that much convincing). And as the guy giving me the massage put it, the government acts as the father for all Singaporeans and Singaporeans are very good children. (He also said that I have a really stiff back – which is not good apparently but, more on that another time.)
I also have to mention the food because I’m floored at how cheap it is yet still be so tasty. All over the city, there are hawker centers, which are essentially food courts, where you can get an incredibly low cost meal. About 4-6 SGD should do the trick and even in today’s market where the USD trades at approx. 1.5 SGD (apparently in the days of old, it used to be 1 USD = 2 SGD) that’s still cheap. There are also a number of other restaurants that charge much more. One night I ventured down to Clarke Quay (pronounced “key”), where there is a remarkable array of bars, restaurants and clubs, to have dinner and paid the equivalent of what a moderate to inexpensive dinner in Boston would cost but that was a splurge (despite the fact that there are far more expensive restaurants to be had) and my plan is to keep meals like that to a minimum.
Right now, things are fairly quiet in my residence. Classes do not begin until next week and most students won’t check in until this weekend at the earliest. I suppose it is good that I arrived early so I don’t have to deal with the chaos of thousands of others checking in with me along with settling in but the quietness tends to lead to a bit of boredom, particularly because it’s a bit of an undertaking to get from the residence into town. Nonetheless, I’m planning, now that my room is in order, to use these few days before classes begin to play tourist. My cab driver recommended the Night Safari and Sentosa Island is supposed to be enjoyable as well.
Until next time…
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