Wonderful wheat beer!

The title of this post says it all. Wheat beer is amazing and I love it and it's not too be found in Thailand, but (and this is a wonderful but) it is to be found in Singapore! I came across a brewery/restaurant this afternoon and ate there solely because they had a wheat beer. It was amazing. The last time I had a wheat beer was when Peter brought one with him when he came to visit in October. Since then I've had nothing but mediocre Thai beer. Well that all changed today. I sat down and ordered a pint and a pork tenderloin (which also was very nice...but I have to say I enjoyed the beer more). That first sip was magical and I thought I was in heaven. It was a great setting - a brewery located right along the Singapore river and the boardwalk along the river. It had rained earlier that morning and had cleared up and the sun was out and the sky was blue and I had a nice cold pint of wheat beer in my hand. Oh man, I love Singapore.

The feelings of love continue as I continue to explore the city. My wallet was loosened today and I really treated myself like I was on vacation and while I can't continue to do that everyday I do have several more days like that in my budget. Following my early morning breakfast and stroll across town I came across the famous Merlion - the national symbol of Singapore. It's half lion, half mermaid and shoots water out it's mouth into the Singapore River. It's a silly little statue and icon that the tourism authority created in the 1960's as the icon for Singapore. While the relationship to Singapore is insightful (Singapore literally means Lion City and being situated by the sea myths about mermaid are inherently present) it is merely a created icon. After the obligatory visit to that I headed towards the other historical sights along the river. The river, historically, was the main trading artery for this bustling port town. The ports have since been relocated and the river re-developed, but many of the historic buildings remain. They are classically European and, in part, this architectural style contributes to this uncanny feeling that Singapore could easily be every place I've ever visited. I don't know if I've mentioned this or not but I've had the sensation that I've been in China, India, Mexico, North Carolina, England - every place I've ever visited - since I've been here. There is a logical explanation for this and I by it, but it's very strange but wonderful and that contributes to my growing love for this city. Following my little stroll through time, it started to rain so I thought a trip to the Asian Civilizations Museum would be wonderful and thus promptly entered. Now this was a wonderful museum. It was dedicated to the nations of SE Asia, West Asia, East Asia and China and provided a fantastic overview of all. It was neat to learn more about this region and re-learn many of the things that I've picked up during my travels around Asia. It is a museum like this which reminds me of both how much I know about Asia and how much more I still have to learn. I loved it. The museums here have so far been a highlight and are vastly superior to Thai museums and even American ones. Following that information overload, I killed those newly acquired brain cells with two pints of beer and a plate of pork over lunch. After lunch I booked my ticket for the next part of my journey which I've actually bumped back a day since I love it here so much. Next, I'm off to the Perhentian Islands in northeastern Malaysia via a train through the Malaysian jungle. There is still a story to tell regarding my visit to the fabulous Sentosa Island, Singapore's own island resort but that'll have to wait until tomorrow or sometime in the future as my 30 minutes are up again. But I will leave you with this. As the sun set, i found myself sitting in Singapore at the southern most point in Asia sipping a Singapore
Sling on the beach. Lets not mention that the drink cost more than a night at my hostel and it made for an incredible evening.

Signing off,

RM