The Lion City
(Again, writing from the iConnect lounge in Singapore Changi Airport)
I gotta make this one quick, because I’ve got a 8:15 shoulder massage and shower appointment. Trust me, I need it. I know I’m staying at the Hilton tonight (for just one night, people!), but still, I want it now and not seven hours and an half-ocean later.
Singapore, wow. I blazed my way through Arab Street, Little India, Chinatown, Clarke Quay, Parliament Hall/City Hall, and the monstrous megamalls (Suntec City, CityLink, and whatever else’s in between those two).
Seriously, I didn’t plan on going into malls, but that was the only way I could get to the world’s largest fountain, the Fountain of Wealth. And I got to make a wish there!
Anyway, I went into a mosque, a Hindi temple, and a Buddhist temple which contains one of the last three remaining teeth of the great Buddha himself. No, I didn’t see the tooth. I asked to see it, but I didn’t really understand the answer the monk gave me, but ok.
The blogger I mentioned earlier couldn’t make it, so I went at it solo all day.
While in Arab Street, I passed lots of street cafes, so I was starting to get hungry. But then I came down with a serious case of food phobia. I couldn’t figure out what the hell I was looking at in any of those cafes (other than the rice). I saw yellowed fish, red stews with floating blobs of something-but-I-didn’t-want-to-know, and ripped, semi-dried pieces of meat.
Me, Adam, scared of food? I paced around the blocks for about ten minutes trying to figure out what to do. Finally, I just picked a place–Qayyum’s Kitchen–and the woman behind the counter asked what I wanted. I shrugged my shoulders and said, “I have no idea.”
She suggested a beef laska. Now, that I know. I bought it for $2 and by jove, it was absolutely delicious. Whew. Got over that.
Later on in Chinatown, I got a Thai coconut–the guy hacked off one end of it and put a straw in it for me to sip. I hated it and threw it away.
Anyway, Singapore, lotsa fun, wore myself out, that, now gotta run to the massage lounge. Next time you hear from me, I’ll be in teh Sir Lank!
massage sounds like a great idea, nothing like sitting on a plane for that long to throw ones body out of whack!
fooooood phobia! how now, brown cow!
“”Clarke Quay” sounds like some kinda slingin’ singapore superdude…dude!