To Singapore

Even though I have many more pictures of Cambodia to post, our schedule does not allow us to dilly dally while we wait for errant bloggers to get updated.  No Supreme Leader, Venerable Pu, Daughter of the Imperial de-I has decreed that it is time to move on to Singapore. 

Once again flying the joy that is discount Cebu Pacific Airline where you can get anywhere cheaply if you fly in the middle of the night, we leave Manila at 8:30 PM and get into Singapore around Midnight.

Singapore is direct opposite of Manila.  Where Manila seems to be a city of dysfunction and chaos, Singapore is all order, politeness, and functionality.  It is a multi-ethnic city where there is no official language or religion.  There are influences from China, Malay, India, and English in both the food and customs. 

Sunday morning we are up and at em at 9 AM.  Right around the corner from our hotel is Tiong Bahru Market and Food Court.  We delve immediately into our first hawker mall experience.  Eating is considered the national pastime of Singapore. They have taken all the typical Asian street food and put it into these markets.  Singapore has excellent hygiene and food safety.  It's a bit intimidating but we just go for it, jump into a line and order a noodle and soup dish.  Then we cruise the market.  What a difference from the experiences in Siem Reap and Manila.  So calm and orderly.  No one grabbing you.  All the fish and meat on ice and in chiller cases.

Then we headed to Orchard Street which is the big, upscale shopping road.  On one side is all the really chi-chi places and on the other the less expensive stuff for the everyday folk.  It is an incredible mixture of ethnic variance and languages.  We also picked up 3 day, all you can use, transportation passes which are an incredible value.

We found another food court and ended up eating a couple of Malay dishes for lunch.  #2 who has been here before has counseled us that by our Western standards, even the regular, day-to-day food courts here are excellent.

Getting home was a bit of an ordeal because we decided to try a different MRT (rapid transit train) stop.  We ended up walking in the wrong direction, taking a bus in the wrong direction, and in general turning a 30 minute walk into a 2 hour ordeal.  Just part of the travel experience.