What We’ve Been Doing In Singapore

Seth: In about 20 minutes, we’re heading to Malaysia. Our time in Singapore has been marvelously lazy. Watching TV with Patch has been a major preoccupation of ours, as has reading politics news on the internet. We’re sad to leave Singapore because we’ve gotten really soft.  We actually gotten annoyed that the next train downtown wasn’t coming for another five minutes!  Hope we toughen up in time for our 11 hour train ride to Taman Negara tonight in seats that don’t recline…

Taco Night!

Seth: To thank Laksh and Karen for two weeks of free rent, we decided to make them tacos. Seemed like an even trade to me.

Taco night has always been my favorite. Patch, their dog, hoped to get in on the action as well.

Popiah

Seth: Popiah are sorta like spring rolls. Plum sauce, chili, peanuts, garlic, fried shallots, bean sprouts, lettuce and some sort of steamed squash are wrapped in rice paper and eaten in sushi-sized chunks.

It’s a tasty little snack that Erin and I have been enjoying, even if she doesn’t like me taking her picture while she’s eating them.

Thaipusam

A few days ago we went to Thaipusam, a Hindu holiday mainly celebrated by Tamils in Malaysia and Singapore. People don these huge shrines and walk for four or five kilometers from one temple to another. The purpose is to ask the gods to grant a wish, or to thank them for already having done so.It’s a pretty intense spectacle. The shrines have dozens of hooks going into the bearer’s skin, and most people have their cheeks and/or tongues pierced with little tridents as well. Supposedly the celebrants are put into trances so they won’t feel any pain, but they looked pretty alert. The families walks with the devotees to support them with religious songs and chants.

When I was in Malaysia six years ago, I saw a celebration exponentially larger than the one we saw here in Singapore. Hundreds of thousands of people instead of thousands, bigger shrines, etc. This was a little less exciting and a little more…Singaporean. I’ve never seen more police in my life (well, maybe at protests), everything was well coordinated and organized, we caught convenient mass transport to and from the event, etc.

That’s not to say it was bad. The throngs of people added an energy to the already vibrant event. Refreshment stations passed out free drinks along the way and everyone seemed to be having a great time except for those impaled with lots of metal. They seemed pretty out of it.

Here’s a slideshow of my photos from Thaipusam, and here’s another video clip.

Horny Goat Complex? Hoodia?

Seth: I though hoodia illegal/dangerous. And horny goat complex? What the hell is that?  Come to think of it, I know some folks back home who could probably use some…

Interestingly, all of these were made in the USA. I wonder why you can manufacture and export hoodia but not sell it…

Ice Kachang

Seth: One of the greatest things about Singapore has been showing Erin some my favorite Singaporean foods. She hasn’t been too impressed so far, with cheese prata and popiah the only real exceptions.

This is ice kachang. It’s corn, red beans, grass jelly (little jello-like pieces), and fruit covered by a mound of shaved ice. The ice is then doused with condensed milk and a bunch of sugary syrups of varying colors/flavors. Since this was a mango ice kachang, they added a scoop of mango to the mound.

As long as you can avoid the red beans and eat the ice before it all melts into a glucose-y bean soup, it’s a good way to cool off on a hot night. If you like sweet things.

The best ice kachang is at the university hospital, but since I no longer live in the dorms, it’s a pain to get to.  We had this one at Lau Pa Sat, my favorite hawker center. It was alright. One was enough to last me for a while.

How Singaporeans Buy Umbrellas

Seth: Buying umbrellas in Indonesia: chaotic, price contingent on potential precipitation and wetness of buyer, cheap.

Buying umbrellas in Singapore: orderly, unnecessarily automated, price pre-determined by vending machines w/ built-in video advertisements, easy, expensive, franchising opportunities available.

Laksh and Karen Immortalized

Seth: Here in Singapore we’re staying with my friend Laksh and his fiance, Karen.

I met Laksh when I was a student here six years ago. We sorta knew each other socially, but one night we ended up with our mutual friend Andrew (the guy who we stayed with in New Zealand) at a hawker center. We talked about our plans for the upcoming summer, and, long story short, ended up getting drunk and deciding to tail Laksh back to India. He thought it was just drunken ramblings, but a few days later we showed up with our visas. Thus began our friendship.

So it’s great to be seeing him again. He just passed his last government exam to be a financial planner a few days ago, and we went to his favorite bar, El Barrio, to celebrate. Karen and him must be regulars, because their likenesses are painted on the wall.

Mom Makes It Big

Seth: The Dallas Business Journal just did an interview with my mom. Way to go, Mom!

Hilarious Condom / AIDS Video

Seth: One of the benefits of being in Singapore is having time to catch up on email and click on all the funny links folks send me.

This is priceless! As silly as it looks to some (including me), catchy tunes and group dance numbers are commonplace throughout India, and this might actually improve condom usage. Although you wouldn’t know it by the perplexed looks on the faces of the townspeople. I can only imagine what they thought when the dancing condoms first pranced into town.

Thanks, Aaron!

Malls

Seth: Singapore has lots of shiny new malls. Some of them are actual destinations and others are ways to utilize underground space connecting places to one another. Yesterday we were trying to walk from one mall to another, and we literally had to walk through yet another mall to get between the two.

Screw You Singaporean Customs!

Seth: When I studied in Singapore during the spring 2002 semester, I spent my spring break in Indonesia. Since Singapore taxes the hell out of liquor, I bought a bottle of vodka at the Indonesian ferry terminal. The signs said that one bottle was permitted per person, so I was clear.

When I got back to Singapore, they said I either had to pay to outstanding duty or surrender the bottle. Apparently the ability to bring in alcohol duty-free was granted to citizens or tourists. As a resident (I had a student visa), I didn’t count as either. Besides, the guy said, as a student I was here in Singapore to study, not party.

I found this logic absurd. I chose to not pay the $42 tax (the bottle cost $18) and surrendered it “to be destroyed”.

But there was no stopping me and my tourist visa this time!

Leaving Indonesia

Seth: We were really sad to leave Indonesia. Initially, we just planned on logging some beach time on Lombok. But we were really pleasantly surprised by Bali, the Gili islands, Java, and even Jakarta.

The US media paints this picture of Indonesia as this hotbed of violent fundamentalist Islam. We never had any problems whatsoever, and the only people who mentioned terrorism were pissed off that it had scared off the tourists, and confused as to why folks still stayed away.

I feel like Bali has this reputation of being a different place than Indonesia. It sounds different to say that you’re going to Bali rather than, say, central Indonesia.

Indonesians are some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. On our last night in Jakarta, a guy tried to sell me postcards a few hours after the first time he approached me. When I pointed out that he’d already tried to sell me stuff, he actually apologized!

Although sad to leave Indonesia (stupid visa requirements), we were happy to get to Singapore.

Street Food and Street Musicians

Seth: On our last night in Yogya, we ate at one of these sidewalk eateries that spring up every night and line the main street.

Musicians, ranging from proper bands to toothless old ladies with tambourines, constantly trolled for coins. We only came across a few beggars during our month in Indonesia; about as many as I would see in one day in SF. Interestingly, Indonesians always gave to the musicians/magicians/etc that popped up on buses and street corners. Everyplace else I’ve been in the world, people ignore them or act like they don’t exist. In Indonesia, nearly everyone passed a few coins, even if the music was downright terrible. On the bus to Borobudur, one guy simply shook a salt shaker filled with pellets for a few minutes, and donations poured forth.

Anyway, I’m a big believer in street food, and was thrilled to have Erin come along. Her constitution isn’t quite as hardy as mine, so I’m usually on my own at these establishments, as I had been the previous night. It was a little lonely being in the midst of all these groups of people when I was all alone. We had a blast, even if the food wasn’t as good as we’d hoped. Yogya is a cultural hub and college town, and there were lots of young folks out for a night with friends. It felt nice to get off the tourist track a little bit and hang out with the locals. I love warm nights and cheap, spicy food, so I was in heaven.

Borobudur

Seth: In Yogya, we went to Borobudur, a 1200 year old Buddhist temple. I really wanted to check it out the last time I came to Indonesia and didn’t get around to it, so I’d been anticipating this visit for quite a while. Our guide told us it is the largest single temple in the world. That seems a little far-fetched, but it was nonetheless really impressive. You can look at our photos or better photos from others. Wikipedia’s Borobudur entry has all the historical context.

We had a really great guide named Hutta who showed us cool little nooks and crannies. I usually avoid guides because I can generally find more info on the internet without spending any money, but now I really regret that mindset. Frankly, I think Wikipedia’s informative entry on Borobudur is boring. I haven’t read all the way through it in one go, but his insights and stories really made the place more than just a bunch of Buddhas. The money goes straight into the local economy, provides a job, gives locals an incentive for historical and cultural preservation, etc.

Plus I got to feel like Strongbad when I lost our guide and had to yell “Hutta!” repeatedly through the crowd.