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Back to SingaporeApr 12, 2008
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The thought of returning to Singapore was not ideal. We had planned to obtain our Russian visas in Kuala Lumpur (where we flew to from Borneo) however, for some reason the Russian embassy there wanted to charge $230 per visa where as the Russian embassy in Singapore was going to charge $55… decision made! So after flying into K.L. we took a quick and cheap bus to Singapore.
We took care of the visa within the first two days leaving the rest of the week to do what we wanted. To our delight, we found hundreds of very affordable and delicious ‘hawker’ stalls dotted throughout the city... Our hostel was quite and comfortable and the vast array of guests always kept us entertained. We would see old men (easily in their sixties or seventies) deciphering weird codes with magnifying glasses, young asia men practicing ballet on the roof patio, kids sleeping on mattresses set up on the floor, British gap years partying until the early hours...very strange mix! We got to know the city/country quite well. We went swimming in a public pool, went to several movies, visited a couple markets, and spent countless hours wandering the incredibly clean and orderly streets. We found it amazing that you can ride the subway for 30 minutes and get from one side of the contry to the other... so efficient! We gave in to our nerdy sides and killed an afternoon at the Science Centre!!! For your information, we found out that Trevor would weigh about 200 Kg on Jupiter but only 15 Kg on the moon!
One confusing part about the country was the language. They call it "Singlish" meaning a Singapore twist on English. However, when we overheard conversations we found it impossible to understand. It sounded more like Mandarin or something completely foreign... maybe more because of the tone and pronunciation than the words themselves! Weird.
Next we are flying to Guangzhou in Southern China!!!! We are excited to explore a new vast and unique country with a history that crushes the rest of the world!! Just over two months to go till we get home… we just found out that Mer got into York University to do her Masters in International Development for the fall which means Trevor will be going back to work at Jagger Hims and we will be living in the GTA. Hooray!
