Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Singapore

It was a few days ago now, and there have been a few Tiger beers between then and now, so I'll try and remember what happened. I'm looking through my camera for guidance - a photo of Bronwen drinking a Singapore Sling, a photo of the ration pack we had to buy from the supermarket when the thought of another bowl of noodles was too much to bear (fruit, nuts, bananas - plenty of roughage, if you insist on asking. Oh yeah, and some chocolate biscuits).

Singapore (population 3,000,000 whatever-those-portable-Playstation-things-are-called) is what happens when you put a collection of proto-fascists, accountants and bankers on a small sand pile in the Straits of Malacca. It's kind of interesting for a few days, then you realise there's nothing really to do if you aren't working, catching a hyper-efficient train to work, eating, shopping, or arranging a term-deposit.

Well, here's a potted summary anyway: Days 1-3 Raffles Hotel, markets, food, markets, museum, markets, Raffles Hotel, our hotel, Little India, Chinatown, markets, food. Day 4 We spent the last day eating lunch at a wicked Lebanese restaurant the Lonely Planet found me last time I was in Singapore, and then had a good deal of time relaxing in the hotel while they fixed our air-conditioning. And then we went to the grocer and saw dried crabs in a plastic packet and where all that stolen Eastern Victorian abalone ends up (in a can). That's about it. Not bad for a stop-over - a short one.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

I've heard a rumour that it's illegal to fail to flush the toilet after taking a dump in Singapore. This is hygenic fascism in its purest form.

Last Digger show at the Tote tomorrow night. You NEED to catch them in Europe.

J-Fo said...

It is also technically illegal to perform oral sex in Singapore, punishable by 1 years imprisonment. However it is a legal defence if the allegedly offending act is performed as a preparatory act to intercourse (Note distinction between the former and latter in impeachment case of US Senate vs William Jefferson Clinton (1999).

I'm not kidding.

Unknown said...

Mr Fong, thanks for that piece of enlightenment. I presume it is somehow relevant to your current employment? Predictably, I think failing to flush should be universally illegal. How you combine that with the 'don't flush the toilet paper' rule in Vietnam, I don't know.

E to the J said...

I find it quiet ironic that the 1 year imprisonment would actually consist of 1 year of oral sex... it may or may not be used as a preparatory act to intercourse though... mmm... somthing to think about