Fabulous Singapore!

Hi!

So as the title might suggest I am in Singapore. I am taking advantage of one of the perks of teaching and am taking a holiday during the summer. I wrote a while ago about my tentative plans, but nothing was solidified until just the other day. So, here I am in fabulous Singapore on the first leg of my little trip. I left this morning at 9:00 from Chiang Mai and arrived at 1:00 pm. Singapore was impressive from the moment I caught a glimpse of it from the air. We flew in over the Straight of Mellaka and the entire coastline and ocean was full of boats - big boats, little boats and tankers. It was an incredible sight and gave a very visual illustration of the importance of this passage way. It's the life-blood of this little island city-state and without it Singapore wouldn't be around and East Asia would be cut of from Europe and India. It's an incredible historic and contemporary trade route that is globally significant. And that's before I even landed. After landing, I jumped on to their super modern MRT (or subway/light rail) and made my way into the city. I decided to stay near Little India in a little guesthouse. One of the first things that jumped out at me once arriving is the incredible diversity here. It is definitely a by-product of its location at the crossroads of continents, but it is truly amazing. While on the MRT, I heard at least three different languages and judging by people dress, habits and accents was surrounded by people of at least half a dozen different ethnicities. The city oozes diversity and I'm loving it. After finding my guesthouse, I wandered. It's been fabulous to escape the confines of my own restrictions in Thailand. Does that make sense? Today it has been made abundantly clear that I spend much energy on ensuring that I do not look like a tourist in Thailand, whether I'm in Lampang or Bangkok. I live there. It's my home and I feel the need to at least act the part. Here, I'm officially a tourist and it has been wonderful to let loose. Now while there has been little actually change in my behavior, my mental state is miles away. I feel much freer and at ease. It's an incredible transition and sensation. It's also something that I didn't exactly notice while I was in Thailand and is something to keep in mind once I return. Anyway, I wandered the streets and ended up at the National Museum. I've read several articles about the museum and how it's incredible and was just renovated so I stopped by and checked it out. Plus I felt bad because I really didn't know much about Singapore and felt like I needed an introductory course. But more importantly, I just enjoy museums and this one was fascinating. Just as I felt like I was gaining a handle on Thai history I come and am introduced to this which is just as fascinating and complicated and I have a whole new challenge ahead of me.

Well, I've now used the 30 minutes of free Internet they have given me with my room so I'll sign off for tonight and catch you up tomorrow and fill you in on the rest of my travels. Bye!

RM