Hi from Singapore! I spent my first night here at le Meridian which was just as lovely as it sounds. The odd thing was being given the choice between two twin beds in a nonsmoking rm or a king in a smoking. The choice was obvious, eh?
I spent the day wandering around Orchard Road - the main shopping thoroughfare. This is the sparkling, spanking clean Singapore that you've heard of - (and Michael Fay forgot to honor). When you have a glut of stores, what are you sure to have? Orange Julius! McDonald's, Starbucks, Burger King, etc etc - all expected. The other thing that was odd was how many 7-11s there are. I also went to the Botanic Gardens (free) and the Orchid Garden (not free). Don't tell Kirk Cameron, but they have an Evolution Garden that traces plants throughout the earth's evolution. Total time to walk through 450+ mil yrs of history? <5 mins. But surely that's just me...
My second night was spend at the Prince of Wales - backpack hotel/ beer garden in the heart of Little India. Let's just say this is a bit dingier than Singapore City. Did I mention my philosophy bout this trip? Dichotomy! I can't spend ALL my time at Starwoods and Marriotts (though my guess is that the novelty's going to wear out pretty fast....) Can't tell you the last time I slept in a bunk bed, but at least I got the bottom bunk!
Today I went to Sentosa which is a plastic paradise on the water. There are loads of beaches and tourists. Then it was off to see temples, churches and a mosque. Shoes off. Shoes on. Shoes off. Shoes on. Joss sticks. No Joss. So confusing! The Chinese win for having the most ornate house
of worship (though the Hindu temple wins for having the most kickin' outside). The Muslims had the most sparse one. At the mosque, I found myself surrounded by cameras and a few Arab men. They claim they were doing a story on tourists at the mosque (wait! how could they tell I was a tourist? Was it the camera? Was it the western clothes? Hmm...) Anyway, I had a very 
odd experience talking to a some of the mosque's officials, a few reporters and tour guide. Sadly, I didn't catch the name of the pubs in which it was supposedly going to run, but it has something to do with non-English Malaysian wire. All in all, short of Jewish, I think I hit a building for just about every faith, so I've got the bases covered.
Then it was off to Little China,, Merlion Park, the Raffles Hotel - totally overrated - Arab St, the Zoo and the night safari- there were some other things, but I forget. In sum, I somehow managed to see all the stuff I wanted, so I may just zip off to Malaysia tomorrow. Stay tuned for info on that... (And I know, I know, I'm being a blatant tourist - but how else am I going to check everything off the list? I'm also scoping out which firms have the best offices. So far, Accenture wins, though BCG had some sort of training at the Intercontinental, Ogilivy, Microsoft and Mercer also have some decent locations. So, you see, I'm actually planning for my future. Or something.)
One of the interesting things bout being at this hotel (I'm now at the Inn Crowd, also in Little India. This time I have the top bunk. Progress?) is that spending five weeks out of a backpack is NOTHING. (Arvind - thanks again for lending me your backpack!!) I talked to a guy who is plotting what he's going to do next August. 16 months on the road? Yah, no go. In the meantime, the kids are watching Thank You for Smoking. Goofy. And I have yet to meet or see an American.
I spent the day wandering around Orchard Road - the main shopping thoroughfare. This is the sparkling, spanking clean Singapore that you've heard of - (and Michael Fay forgot to honor). When you have a glut of stores, what are you sure to have? Orange Julius! McDonald's, Starbucks, Burger King, etc etc - all expected. The other thing that was odd was how many 7-11s there are. I also went to the Botanic Gardens (free) and the Orchid Garden (not free). Don't tell Kirk Cameron, but they have an Evolution Garden that traces plants throughout the earth's evolution. Total time to walk through 450+ mil yrs of history? <5 mins. But surely that's just me...
My second night was spend at the Prince of Wales - backpack hotel/ beer garden in the heart of Little India. Let's just say this is a bit dingier than Singapore City. Did I mention my philosophy bout this trip? Dichotomy! I can't spend ALL my time at Starwoods and Marriotts (though my guess is that the novelty's going to wear out pretty fast....) Can't tell you the last time I slept in a bunk bed, but at least I got the bottom bunk!
Today I went to Sentosa which is a plastic paradise on the water. There are loads of beaches and tourists. Then it was off to see temples, churches and a mosque. Shoes off. Shoes on. Shoes off. Shoes on. Joss sticks. No Joss. So confusing! The Chinese win for having the most ornate house
of worship (though the Hindu temple wins for having the most kickin' outside). The Muslims had the most sparse one. At the mosque, I found myself surrounded by cameras and a few Arab men. They claim they were doing a story on tourists at the mosque (wait! how could they tell I was a tourist? Was it the camera? Was it the western clothes? Hmm...) Anyway, I had a very 
odd experience talking to a some of the mosque's officials, a few reporters and tour guide. Sadly, I didn't catch the name of the pubs in which it was supposedly going to run, but it has something to do with non-English Malaysian wire. All in all, short of Jewish, I think I hit a building for just about every faith, so I've got the bases covered.Then it was off to Little China,, Merlion Park, the Raffles Hotel - totally overrated - Arab St, the Zoo and the night safari- there were some other things, but I forget. In sum, I somehow managed to see all the stuff I wanted, so I may just zip off to Malaysia tomorrow. Stay tuned for info on that... (And I know, I know, I'm being a blatant tourist - but how else am I going to check everything off the list? I'm also scoping out which firms have the best offices. So far, Accenture wins, though BCG had some sort of training at the Intercontinental, Ogilivy, Microsoft and Mercer also have some decent locations. So, you see, I'm actually planning for my future. Or something.)
One of the interesting things bout being at this hotel (I'm now at the Inn Crowd, also in Little India. This time I have the top bunk. Progress?) is that spending five weeks out of a backpack is NOTHING. (Arvind - thanks again for lending me your backpack!!) I talked to a guy who is plotting what he's going to do next August. 16 months on the road? Yah, no go. In the meantime, the kids are watching Thank You for Smoking. Goofy. And I have yet to meet or see an American.
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