Stinge Into the Darkness & My Long Day
Singapore, 17th March 2002
After I'd been sleeping for at least a whole 20 minutes, I sensed
that someone was moving. Slowly opening one eye, I could faintly
make out a figure shuffling quietly around. It was Stinge collecting
his stuff together. I closed my eyes, and dozed for a few minutes,
occasionally checking to see when he was done. Once he'd finished
and was standing by the door, backpack on & ready to go, I reached
out a hand. Shaking Stinge's hand firmly, I wished him luck and he
did likewise. There was a brief flash of light as he opened the door
to the hallway, and then I was plunged back into darkness.
I lay there momentarily, debating with myself whether to try to get
back to sleep or not. I had planned to get an early start, because
I'd read that China town is supposed to be very busy & exciting on
an early Sunday morning. After about 5 minutes, I forced myself to
roll out of bed.
I got ready as quietly as possible, trying not to wake the other guy
in the room. By the time I was ready to go and I stepped out of the
front door of the hostel, it was just before 8am.
I strolled casually towards Raffles City, enjoying the morning
stillness. Although 8am isn't very early, it was Sunday, so it was
very peaceful. I love that Sunday morning feeling, where if feels
like only me and a few others have the city to ourselves. I breathed
in the air deeply, it felt strangely clean. In most other big cities
I've been to, the air smells and tastes much dirtier.
I had decided to head to Raffles City because there is an MRT
station there. I'd read that it would be worthwhile getting a S$12
Transitlink card. This is a pass that can be used on all MRT trains
and buses. The cost of each journey is deducted electronically from
the ticket each time. No need to worry about individual tickets or
change.
 I
approached the final set of traffic lights before Raffles City. I
stood waiting, noticing how it was already quite warm, but bearable.
It would become much warmer as the day passed. The little red man
was proudly showing, so I waited patiently, even though there was no
traffic. I've been told that some traffic lights & pedestrian
crossings in Singapore have laser beams, and if you walk or drive
through when they're red, you can get in big trouble. However, I
don't know how true this is, because as I stood there, an Asian
business man walked past me, he hesitated slightly and looked round
at me. On his second take, I quickly deduced that it was ok to
cross, if not at all lights, then at least here. I followed him
across the road, he turned again and said, "It's ok, there are no
cars!", "I wasn't crossing, just in case. This is my first day
here.", I replied. He nodded understandingly, I obviously wasn't the
first person to do this. He asked me a few friendly questions about
where I was from, how long I was staying here and so on. He also
showed me how to get down to the MRT station before continuing off
in his own direction. (It was quite obvious how to get to the
station, but I guess he was just being friendly).
I decided to pop into Raffles City first, to get some breakfast.
Wanting to start the day with something familiar, I headed down to
the Western food court. However, when I got there, everything was
closed! A couple of coffee shops had staff running around busily
inside, but showed no sign of opening soon. Oh well!
I headed back in the direction of the MRT station, but when I got
there, the offices were closed! I couldn't buy an MRT Transitlink
pass. I tried the machine, but they wouldn't accept my English
credit/debit cards. So in the end I had to buy a single journey
ticket, with cash, from the machine.
I passed through the gate, feeling strangely comfortable with this
form of transport. There are only two lines, the North-South (NS)
one and the East-West (EW) one, so it's quite easy to find where you
want to go.
The underground train pulled up to the station and the doors
whooshed open. Stepping into the train, I was hit with a familiar
feeling. Standing, thinking for a moment, as the gentle rocking
motion started, I worked it out. The whole thing was almost
identical to the London Underground. I go to London a lot, and I
love using the Underground (yes, that's another sad thing I like)
The trains felt the same, smelt the same, sounded the same and
looked pretty similar. The only difference was that the Singapore
MRT is much newer and spotlessly clean. As the train sped towards
its destination, I closed my eyes and I could have sworn I was back
at home in good old London.
I quickly reached my destination and took the escalator to the
surface. I stepped out into the far corner of Chinatown. Armed with
a map, I began my exploration of this part of Singapore city.
I quickly found that just about everything was closed. It was very
quiet and there was little sign of life. This was good in one way
(no tourists), but bad in another (no experience of China town and
it's people). I quickly decided that I needed to come back here on
another day, when everything was open and there were people about.
Whatever the books say, I found Chinatown to be completely dead at
this time.
In the end I just walked around the China town streets getting my
bearings before walking back over the river and back into the
Colonial District. I decided to check out some of the other sights
in the city. I'd read that the river cruise was worth doing, but as
I stood on the bridge, looking over into the murky, brown waters of
the river, I decided I wouldn't bother.
I walked past the statue of Thomas Raffles, the man credited with
founding Singapore and starting it on its path to financial &
technological success.
After passing some of the other sights, I was back next to Raffles
City. I stopped momentarily, deciding what to do next, then I
decided to head over to the very modern Suntec mall.
 Again,
because it was an early Sunday morning, a lot of the shops were
closed. The only thing of interest was the 'Fountain Of Wealth'. In
the middle of the Suntec centre is a large water fountain with a
path that leads up to it and encircles it. Apparently, if you touch
the water with your right hand and make a wish, then walk around it
clockwise 3 times (getting very wet from the splash back) the wish
will come true. I think the wishes should be related to wealth and
financial success, seeing as the fountain is called the 'Fountain of
Wealth'. I made my wish (no I'm not telling you what it was) and did
the little procedure. I wonder if it'll work!
One other thing of note, I was delighted to find an Auntie Anne's
Pretzel stand in the Suntec centre, I love pretzels!
As I wandered through the Suntec mall, wondering what to do next, a
dark skinned, bald, middle aged man walking past me said "You're
looking tired today!" I turned round to look at him, then he quickly
realised he'd confused me with someone else! Anyhow, he started
talking to me, and I discovered that he is in fact a tour guide in
Singapore, so when I told him this was my first time in Singapore,
he decided that he wanted to show me what I should do while I was
here.
Not wanting any payment (he obviously loves his job) we took a short
walk around the city centre before stopping for him to have a quick
cigarette. His name wa Michael and he was very talkative and loud.
He was a bit crude too, making plenty of sex related jokes. Overall
though, he was a very helpful guy. We went back to the MRT, the
offices were open by then, so I bought my Transitlink card. He also
made a little list of things I should do in Singapore, highlighting
them on my map.
We took the MRT back into Chinatown and he asked me what I was going
to buy to remind me of Singapore, he said I shouldn't spend all my
money in the rest of Asia. He kept suggesting a sports jacket for
university, he said they're much cheaper here than in the UK and it
would last a lifetime. It would be a very useful investment. Plus,
the shop we were gradually heading towards, would let me have 3
months credit. Oh I see, although he was being very helpful and
friendly, he was hoping to make a sale for his friend in the shop,
possibly earning a bit of commission for himself.
We reached a tailor's shop at one end of Chinatown and we entered.
He showed me a few postcards that had been sent to him from Europe.
They were all from various students thanking Michael for suggesting
they should buy a sports jacket and that they'd come in really
handy. Hmmm, I don't want to be cynical but...
Before I knew it, we were chatting with the lady who owned the shop
and she was showing me some cashmere material. When she started
talking prices, I had to make a real effort to stop it all right
there and say "I need time to think before making a purchase this
big. This is my first day here, and I don't make big purchases on my
first day!" Eventually, when they realised I wasn't going to buy a
jacket right there and then even with their '3 month credit',
Michael and I left the shop. I can imagine how lots of 'weaker'
people would have fallen here and been pressured into buying a S$200
jacket.
We continued walking back to the city centre. Michael gave me a card
with his mobile number and said I should ring him tomorrow morning
to go out for a drink. I thanked him for his help, and lied by
saying I'd phone him. Then we headed off in our own directions.
PHEW! I can't describe how rushed those events had just been. One
minute I was strolling in a shopping centre, the next I'd met a
helpful tour guide, the next I was sitting in a tailor shop getting
a jacket fitted! I was not at all interested in a sports jacket!
Looking at my watch, I noticed that it was just after 11am. As check
out time is 12, I needed to get my stuff together and find a new
hostel. The D'Simple has no spare dorm beds, and I'm not paying for
a room to mysefl! I decided to search for the 'Hawaii Hostel' as
suggested in the Rough Guide.
I got back to my room, gathered my stuff together and heaved on my
bag. I also said goodbye to the other guy in my room who was awake
now. He explained that he was heading towards Korea later, but he
was staying here to meet his friend tomorrow.
Before I'd even put my rucksack on, I was sweating 'to the max'. The
midday sun was beating and so it was getting very warm. By the time
I done the short trek to the Hawaii hostel, I was absolutely
drenched. Pleasant I know. Luckily the hostel was easy to locate.
I soon realised that the hostels in Singapore are quite different to
the ones in Oz & New Zealand. If the Hawaii Hostel in one of the
better ones, like the guide suggests, then the standard is a bit
lower here. The dorm was very crammed with 8 of us in a narrow room.
Luckily, there was some very efficient air-conditioning which was a
life-saver. I guess it wasn't too bad once I'd settled in. The place
was clean, quiet and very fresh. Seeing as I only used the place to
sleep & wash in, it wasn't actually too bad. I think the grumpy guy
in the bed next to mine just gave me a bad start.
The first thing I did, was take a much needed shower. After
freshening myself up again, I secured my stuff on my bunk, and
headed back outside feeling 1000 times better and decided to grab
some lunch. I decided that a cool, refreshing Frap from Starbucks
was in order.
Sitting in Starbucks, drinking my Rhumba Frap, I was reading through
a 'What's on in Singapore' magazine that Michael had given me. I
came across an article talking about a free fashion show in Raffles
City at 2pm. Looking at my watch, it was 1:30, so I decided to head
over and have a quick look.
I watched a bit of the fashion show, there was a big crowd and there
were some really nice clothes. After about half an hour, I decided I
didn't want to look at all these clothes. It just reminded me that I
only had 3 T-shirts, 2 pairs of shorts and 1 pair of trousers in my
backpack. When I get back, I need to get some new clothes!
 As
I've taken a year out from education, I need to keep my brain active
with some intellectual activity. So the final thing I did today, was
check out the
Asian Civilisations Museum. It sounded quite interesting, and as
it only cost S$1.50 for a student, it was very cheap. The small
museum had some interesting features, with an in-depth, but lengthy
tour. The museum is actually inaccurately named, it only focuses on
Chinese history, but I still learnt some useful things. A new museum
will be opening at the end of this summer, which will include
information on the histories of all the main Asian civilisations.
The museum also had a special exhibit on 'Mosques in Singapore'.
With recent events, I want to learn a bit more about Muslims and
their beliefs and practices. It was pretty interesting with a lot of
information. A lady there also showed me how to write my name in
Arabic.
By the end of the day, I was pretty shattered! I'd been walking
around since 8am and SO many things had happened today (Hence the
length of this diary entry!) I had an 'interesting' dinner, but I'll
explain more about food in Singapore later.
Suffice to say, that by the end of the day, I was glad to get back
to my bed in the dorm and crash for the night.
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