Clean, Classy, Cosmopolitan Singapore

Singapore was everything that everyone thinks it will be: supremely clean, extremely organized and orderly, every one follows all the rules, and no one would even think of breaking one. Singapore has the best public transportation of any city I've visited yet, the cleanest streets with rubbish bins on every corner, plenty of pedestrian crossings (in which no one would ever dare cross unless it was a green walking man), and, most importantly, the best food markets yet. Singapore was also the only city that I have visited so far in which I could imagine myself living. It has a perfect blend of the exotic about it (being smack in the middle of Southeast Asia) yet with enough theaters, museums, restaurants, and cultural events in it to make it feel livable. I spent a total of 4 nights and 5 days in Singapore eating, going to the opera and museums, and strolling around window shopping (which was admittedly very difficult) in the many malls which grace Singapore's sidewalks.

My very posh hostel was located in Little India and so I ate Indian breakfast - an egg and onion prata (like a roti) and a Masala tea (think Chai) - at the Tekka food market down the street from me every morning. After the 2nd morning, I was a regular and no longer needed to place my order since they remembered me already: so nice for such a big city. The food markets in Singapore are singularly special throughout Asia due to the fact that they are enforced to follow health codes, are all regularly checked by the Health Police, and the food hawkers all have their own permanent stands within a specific market, rather than (like in most of Asia) being able to move about as they please. The only exception to this rule are the ice cream hawkers who roam the streets on rickshaws. These hawkers sell Singaporean ice cream sandwiches, using actual white bread, and consistently selling out of the Durian flavored one. Naturally, I tried one and thought it was lovely, though perhaps brown bread would have been a healthier choice! Singapore is so food obsessed that there is even a website rating the various food markets around the city, http://www.makansutra.com/. "Makan" means food and this website was most helpful in planning out my daily food jaunts throughout the city. In the end, I always meandered back to Little India where I found the food to be consistently the best and the spiciest.

Since I had just gotten my tattoos before coming to Singapore, this was a perfect city in which to heal them. Everywhere in Singapore is heavily air-conditioned, including all buses and stations. One could literally never go outside in Singapore if one wasn't inclined to, but instead walk from one attached mall to another on endless days of shopping. But, alas, Singapore is expensive. With the pithy exchange rate of $1,5 Singapore dollars to $1 US and with prices to match those of America I really had to watch my budget. The one thing that I did splash out on was seeing an opera at the world famous "Esplanade" Theatre. Architecturally controversial, it is shaped like a giant silver Durian, it has first rate theatres and sound quality, and made for a perfect night at the opera. I saw "Le Figaro", a modern version of the classic, "The Barber of Seville". I am a traditionalist though, and as good as the opera was, I still prefer the old-fashioned costumes and subtitles.

I spent the rest of my days eating, wandering through the Orchid and Botanical Gardens, spotting friendly orangutans at the world-class Singapore Zoo, and eating some more.

Singapore is filled with ex-pats living and working and one could really see how easy the transition to life in that city would be. Singapore is on par with every other modern city I have been to, including those in America and Europe. It is positioned perfectly to make short holidays throughout Asia feasible and it is a perfect holiday destination in its own right. If my budget hadn't already been deteriorating at an alarming rate I would have stayed longer, but instead I was forced to move on to another large and cosmopolitan city: Kuala Lumpur.

Arriving in a downpour to Kuala Lumpur via a night train from Singapore was quite a cultural shock. It was impossible to reach my hostel via public transport without multiple changes nor was it possible to make the taxi drivers use their meters. Since my options were walking without a map in the pouring rain or hiring a taxi, I went with the latter and hoped that I wouldn't have to pay too much. I spent 3 days in KL which was enough. The streets were not quite littered in trash, but there was plenty of it to be a surprise after Singapore. Also, the people didn't speak nearly as much English as the Singaporeans and I got so lost on my first day that I was crying out of frustration and no one could readily tell me where I needed to go. So in the end I got a cab back to my hostel where I was forced to pay an exorbitant rate for my so-called "luxury" taxi. Yeah, right! The one fantastic thing in KL worth visiting is the remarkably beautiful Islamic Museum housing a range of Islamic artifacts from Korans to textiles to architectural pieces. Each exhibit featured English and Bahasa Malay information plates as well as copious historical and background information on each piece. Very informative and a lovely respite from the terrible heat and humidity of the city.

Needless to say I was looking forward to the day in which I departed for Indonesia, where I am now. I have been here for three weeks now and I do apologize for the lack blogging in the recent past, but Internet in Indonesia is truly terrible and it's taken me this whole time just to find a place reasonably fast enough to download this page! I promise to blog my heart the rest of this trip. Also, I will update my Picasa photo site when I return to Thailand in the beginning of September.

Another side note, I'm going home mid-September due to lack of funds and the fact that I think 6 months has been more than enough time for the places I have seen and the things that I have accomplished. I now know where I would like to come back to and where I have seen enough, which places have particularly struck my fancy and which places I was itching to leave, and where the best dive sites, food markets, and shopping is.

Sarawak, Borneo Malaysia

Sarawak is the other half that makes up Malaysian Borneo, located on the western side of the island. Did you know that Borneo is the third biggest island in the world after Greenland and New Guinea? I just learned that interesting little fact today. And after traveling around just a fraction of it I can see why it makes it into this category. Unfortunately, I had to limit my navigation of Borneo to the Malaysian version as Indonesia does not grant visas at land border crossings into Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) and I just don't see the point of flying to Singapore to just fly right back, do you? In the end, I spent 2 very eventful weeks in Sarawak, basing myself in the extremely charming city of Kuching. "Kuching" means "cat" in Malay and so the city has monopolized on this fact and there are gaudy cat statues in every square and there is even a giant cat museum (claiming to be the first of its kind in the world) displaying everything from mummified cats to cat statuary to Hello Kitty mementos. Well worth a giggle if one is looking to kill some time.

I came to Kuching with 2 friends and a plan (shocking I know): to attend the 10th annual Borneo Rainforest World Music Festival held in the Sarawak Cultural Village. The location could not have been more perfect: traditional tribal houses and lush, heavy mountains surrounding us, and just 40 minutes from the city. This was my first world music fest and I was looking forward to listening to music from Italy, Borneo, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Madagascar, and Mongolia, among others. And I was not disappointed. Each afternoon the festival held several workshops in the tribal longhouses featuring various musical groups, dance moves, or instruments in which the audience and the musicians actively interacted. These workshops were the highlight of the festival for me as they were very intimate affairs in which we were able to learn so much about music from another culture's point of view. The evenings were filled with jamming of various degrees by at least 8 different musical groups a night from all over the world; I couldn't stop grooving the whole time. The best group of the entire event was hands-down "Huun Hur Tu", Mongolian throat singers. The range of their voices and their immense skill with both throat and traditional string instruments sent shivers down my spine! I bought the CD which I'll be sure to share with all of you when I get home, which , by the way will be shortly before Halloween. I know, I know, I keep changing my mind, but I'm pretty sure this is the final date. Back to my story: over all 3 days I had been lucky enough to randomly run into many of the performers and so on the last night we were invited to the musicians after-party at their hotel. We returned with the Zimbabweans and sat around the pool with well over 30 musicians from around the world listening to music, dancing, speaking Italian and Spanish until well past dawn. This is something that would not have been possible in the states and made this festival particularly special.

After 3 entire days of drinking, dancing, eating, and having a thoroughly fantastic time I decided it was time to attend to seeing some of this Borneo jungle I kept hearing about. With Johnny and Sophie (my concert companions) having already departed, I met 2 lovely Australians with whom I did some jungle trekking and monkey spotting. We went to Bako National Park, a mere 30 minutes outside of the city, for some day hiking and with the hope of spotting the elusive Proboscis Monkey. Bako National Park is bordered on all sides by beaches and mangrove forests and so the only approach is by boat. Having been told that the most opportune time to spot the Proboscis was the late afternoon we hadn't planned on seeing them so quickly, but we were just so lucky! As we hopped off the boat and made our way around the mangroves to begin our first hike of the day we spotted a female munching on young mangrove leaves just under our noses, while her baby ran around her being a show-off! In total, we probably spotted over 6 adults just carrying on their business while we sat and stared. This was the first time that I had ever seen monkeys in the wild and not in a zoo or wildlife reserve so it was pretty awesome. The rest of the day was spent trudging under the hot sun, dodging mischievous, wild long-tailed macaques, sweating through every piece of clothing, and generally enjoying our jungle experiences.

The following day, not having been monkeyed-out yet, we went to the Semenggoh Orangutan Sanctuary, also conveniently located just 30 minutes outside of the city. This is a sanctuary devoted to the prosperity of wild or rescued orangutans. The orangutans live wild in the jungle and occasionally come into the center for free fruit when they are feeling lazy. This is when, if one is lucky, they are able to spot these magnificent creatures. We were lucky. Immediately upon entering the sanctuary the dominant male, Richie (27 years old and 110 kg) was munching on bananas, coconuts, and yams, while a mom and baby (!) were round the corner rustling up their own bananas. Soon there were over 7 orangutans eating nearby. This peaceful scene was not to last, however, as it is Orangutan mating season. Suddenly, we heard orangutans calling from all corners of the jungle and Richie went charging off into the jungle. Apparently, these calls were the mating calls of inferior males and Richie was having none of it. After waiting around for a bit longer we decided to leave. We made it back to the car park where, in fact, all the action was happening. We saw a female with her baby climbing through the branches, practically running for her life, while Richie was alternately cornering her or his opponent. This went on for several nail-biting minutes (with me rooting for the female) when unexpectedly the female made a break for it, crashing through the trees, clutching onto her offspring, landing in the car park, and lumbering off into the opposite side of the jungle. Richie, torn between pursuit of the female or his enemy, hesitated a moment too long and the other male went crashing out the other side. Left alone, Richie decided to hunt down the female and was soon to be seen lumbering down the side street after her. Though definitely a bit violent and macho, this was a most exhilarating scene to witness as they were behaving like the wild orangutans they are!

Another fascinating event that happened during my time here in Sarawak was getting tattooed in the traditional style. Thanks go to Anthony Bourdain for giving me this idea. Several months before I departed for this trip I was obsessed with reading and watching anything to do with Southeast Asia and I was particularly fond of his series, "No Reservations", which mixes food, travel, culture, and his personal brand of pessimism. Anyway, he did a show on Malaysia featuring the culture of the Iban tribe of Borneo, Malaysia. After learning about the tribal tattoos I randomly came across other programs about them and became intrigued. Long having wanted a tattoo, I always hesitated as nothing seemed to be meaningful enough for me to want it forever tattooed on my body. When I came to Sarawak, I knew that these tattoos were for me as traditionally Iban tattoos signify one's life journeys and each tattoo communicates a specific journey in the life of that person. I found a wonderful Iban tattoo artist named Ernesto who makes tattoos in the traditional manner, that is without an electric tattoo gun. Instead, the tattoo is hammered into the skin with an ink-soaked needle in a very steady and slow way. The resulting tattoo tends to be a bit less defined and a bit lighter in color than a modern tattoo, but after all, it is done by hand. I decided on 4 different tattoos: 2 traditional tattoos and 2 of my own creation. On the side of each ankle I had 2 little men tattooed which are common figures found in the Ikat textile weavings woven by the women of the tribe. Since I am an avid textile collector I thought that these little guys would be perfect. On my lower back I had 2 eggplant flowers placed on either side of my spine. The flower symbolizes one's life journey with the central spiral being one's life line. Two flowers are necessary to display the balance in one's life. Traditionally, these would be placed on the front shoulders of a boy between the ages of 13 and 15 before his first solo journey into the jungle. However, since I live in 21st century America I thought that they would be better placed on my back. And, no, they did not hurt too terribly! Whatever pain I endured has now been forgotten and well worth the effort!

I have just arrived in the clean, cosmopolitan city of Singapore where I will be for the next four days. Please await the soon-to-be-published Singapore edition of this blog!

Sabah, Borneo Malaysia

Borneo: this simple name evokes the legends of the Headhunters, blowpipe hunting deep in the unforgiving jungle, bizarre tribal tattoo ceremonies, and a land undiscovered and unblemished by the modern age of tourism. Well, at least that's what the word "Borneo" evoked for me. I was right about most of these cliches: all have proved true, all except the land free of tourism. So far, I have been to Cambodia: Land of Angkor Wat, Vietnam: Land of Pho, Thailand: Land of Pad Thai and Temples Galore, The Philippines: Land of Fantastic Island Paradises, and Laos: Land of, well, Laos. All of these countries (perhaps with the exception of Laos) have been firmly on the tourist trail for years and Malaysia gets only a fraction of the tourists that these other Asian countries see, but nowhere has been as fully booked (in every sense of this term) as Borneo Malaysia. The jungle was booked, the islands were booked, the scuba-diving was booked, the Turtle Island was booked, the mountain (and who ever heard of a mountain being booked?!) was booked. All of these veritable destinations have been booked by adventure seeking and better planned tourists for up to six months (six months!) in advance. And then there's me. Me, who didn't even know she was headed to Borneo until a week ago. Me, who is a hopeless wanderer, never knowing whether to stay put or move ahead. Me, who is far too unorganized and spontaneous to actually commit to a hotel reservation let alone book a mountain. So, here I am in Borneo having accomplished only one of the many things I had planned to do while in Sabah. Naturally, I had planned to do everything possible: climb Mt. Kinabalu (the highest mountain in Southeast Asia), jungle trek for at least 3 leech filled nights spotting wild Proboscis Monkeys along the way, scuba dive off the shark and turtle filled waters of Sipadan Island, feed the friendly Orangutans at the Sepilok Orangutan Sancutary, and witness the scurrying of thousands of baby turtles into the sea from Turtle Island. Naturally, everything is booked well into August.
But, I try to look on the bright side of every situation placed before me on this crazy adventure and I have had some fabulous times while here, namely via food and scuba diving. I did manage to squeeze my way into some highly coveted dive spots at Sipadan Island: considered by Jacques Cousteau to be one of the best dive sights in the world. I admit, I have to agree with good ole' Jacques. Sipadan, the only oceanic island in Malaysia is nestled firmly off of Borneo's eastern coast in the Celebes Sea. Favored with exceptionally clear waters, well-protected and healthy coral reef systems, and hundreds of schooling barracudas, Big-eye Trevally, giant Grouper, White-tipped Reef Sharks, and Greenback Sea Turtles, the waters off of Sipadan are some of the best dive sights I've ever dived before. With each dive you are virtually guaranteed to see dozens of all the above mentioned sea life as well as a variety of other creatures: blue-spotted sting rays, moray eels, multi-colored nudi branches, crocodile, scorpion, stone, and frog fish. I did a total of 6 dives at Sipadan Island and 3 dives off of Mabul diving, best for macro-diving (looking for the small stuff). I could have easily done more had my budget and the availability allowed. I fortified my dive trips with great veggie curry and Indian roti canai (unleavened bread similar to naan) and fresh orange juices and sweetened local coffee and tea.
After leaving Sipadan, I got the heavenly plush (and you know I mean it after all of the styles of transport I've endured over the past 3 months) 10 hour bus back north to the capital of Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, known to locals as KK. I planned to head straight to Mt. Kinabalu to try my luck at there being a mountain cancellation. The problem with the mountain is that it is a 2 day hike, requiring a night at Laban Rata (the mid-point of the mountain). At Laban Rata accommodation is extremely limited and there are always scores more people vying for the official 140 spots. I arrived Monday morning to rather ski lodge-like hostel accommodation at the bottom of the mountain and put my name on the waiting list. I then spent the next 3 days enduring bite-like cold, blustery winds, and torrential rains, watching my chances of climbing Mt. Kinabalu steadily declining. Somehow I tend to bring rain with me. It was such inclement weather that those climbers who had already made it halfway were forced to turn around as it was unsafe to climb to the summit and those still at the bottom were forced to wait another day. I decided that the mountain was not meant to be and as the food wasn't all that great I decided to head back to KK, where I am now.
KK, is a very manageable city with more 24 hour restaurants than all of Kansas City and Lawrence combined. Also, the quality of the food served at these establishments is far more desirable. There are Chinese restaurants, Halal Muslim restaurants (serving no pork), Western restaurants, coffee chops, and food stands all open for the hungry and thirsty 24 hours a day. If I could stretch my stomach ever wider I would sample these establishments round the clock. Unfortunately, I am restricted by my size and can only support 3 rounded meals a day plus a couple of mid-meal snacks. Yesterday, for example, I had Nasi Lemak-banana leaf-wrapped coconut-scented rice with chili paste, cucumbers, dried anchovies, and peanuts- with a condensed milk-sweetened coffee for breakfast, a roti canai with yellow curry dipping sauce for a snack, the best bowl of Chicken Curry Laksa-wide-noodle soup with a curried broth filled with beansprouts, chunks of chicken and tofu, chili paste, lime and cilantro-I've ever tasted, and a whole fresh (it was alive when I ordered it) Tilapia fried in sweet and sour sauce served with a side of garlic and chili enhanced greens. I did share that last meal with Lisette, my lovely new Dutch friend.
Lis has been my traveling companion for practically the whole time in Sabah. She is the first woman I have traveled with so far and it has been great to finally get some "girl-time" in complete with all the gossip and silliness associated with girl-time. Lis recently spent 4 months deep in the Taman Negara jungle teaching English and so speaks beautiful Malay and was able to teach me all I could hope to learn about the many forms of Malay food and culture. Unfortunately, she left today for Bangkok and then back to Holland so we where unable to continue traveling together, but hopefully we'll be able to meet up again sometime soon!
I am now patiently whiling away the hours until I catch my early evening flight to Kuching in Sarawak Borneo, on the other side of Borneo Malaysia. Fortunately, Sarawak features all of the above-mentioned activities but with a fraction of the tourists. Hopefully, and perhaps with just a little bit of planning, I will be able to experience some of these fascinating places after all. But first I am headed to Kuching to attend a 3 day music and culture festival held annually at the Sarawak Cultural Village. The Borneo Rain forest Festival fills its days with workshops as varied as blow-pipe making and tribal dancing and its nights with musical performances from bands from as near as Borneo to as far away as England and Poland. I'll be going with a friend, Jonny, whom I met in The Philippines and who I randomly bumped into again here in KK (funny how often that happens!) so it should be a very culturally enriching 3 days!
Will write more after the fact, but first I'm going to enjoy another of those curry laksa's! Again, thanks for reading!