24 oct. 08 Singapore

29 days..,a wedding,new friends,a reunion and a nearly expired Indonesian visa landed me in the city/country of Singapore. Almost a month before,i obtained a $25 “visa on arrival” at Denpasar International Airport in Bali. Not feeling remotely close to being done,Singapore was the nearest visa run option.$170 covered the roundtrip airfare for the 2 1/2 hour flight.$20 covered the taxi to the Indonesian embassy where i dropped my passport to have an extendable 60 day visa put in place.I’ve passed through the airport of the “Lion City” on connecting flights before, but had never stepped outside the terminal.

……A wide mix of ethnicities,..Indian,Chinese,Malay,and various middle eastern cultures,.it’s a blur of colors,languages and flavors set within a dazzling city landscape that seems immune to the global financial crisis.Contained by the small amount of land that its water borders define,(270 sq miles),Singapore takes advantage of the only way to go…up. An architects playground,..chrome,glass and stainless steel the common themes.The public transit system is easily navigated,,on time..efficient and cheap.The city,spotlessly clean,.manicured..almost sterile in nature,..i began questioning Silicon Valley.Strolling the city center feels like walking through a post modern daydream,..the small neighborhoods surrounding it,,Little India,,Arab Street,,and Chinatown,a flashback to another time..one of trade routes,shipping ports,bar rooms and brothels…a constant flow of immigrants and slaves,the colonizing europeans having brought their blueprints from home.
……..A vast change from where i had been,..the buzz of the city was exciting,but i anxiously waited to retrieve my passport,and return to the rice paddies,beaches,and laid back lifestyle of Bali.The towering shopping malls,financial centers and numerous starbucks pale in comparison.Some places draw you in,…others you just pass through getting what you need. Five days later, a new visa and digital DSLR camera in my possession..i scratched Singapore off the list.