After mom left I checked in for my flight to Singapore. I was happy to have another adventure shortly after she left- I'm not good at goodbyes so having something else on my mind eased that feeling. I was heading to Singapore for 5 days to play in a ultimate frisbee tournament and to see the sights. Singapore is roughly 2 hours by flight from Thailand, but they're an hour ahead of Thai time. It's an island city-state off of the Malay Peninsula. In my last post I said I would be 'hopping over the Strait of Malacca' which isn't really true because Singapore is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor. The Strait of Malacca is on the western side of Malaysia and the esatern side of Sumatra and connects the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean. Coming from Bangkok I just flew south, so I didn't really pass over the western side of Malaysia or any of Sumatra, or the Pacific Ocean. But I had to add it in a post because my dad, the Matranga family geography professor used to quiz me on the Strait of Malacca and I could never answer his questions as to where it was or why it was so important. Now I am fully aware of the location and significance of the Strait of Malacca.
Moving right along- Singapore is a really interesting place. It became a completely self-governing country in 1965 after years of different occupations and ruling powers- British and Japanese being the two most recent to Singapore's full independence. It is a wealthy country with a strong economy, a lot of people, and a lot of sunshine. The value of the Singaporean Dollar is close to the US dollar, so traveling there is quite different from traveling in other South East Asian countries seeing as how most other currencies are not as close to the US dollar. It's easy to get around in Singapore with a really convenient and fast rail system, and the city is quite easy to navigate. Singaporeans are really friendly and helpful, and the country itself is just so organized and clean. It definitely has a western feel to it. The English language, crosswalks with blinking green men signaling you to cross, the western architecture and general feel of order make you feel like you could be in America...but in Asia.
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| Thanks Singapore! |
I met up with my teammates from Vietnam at our guesthouse. The girls from Vietnam Vudoo (Vietnam Ultimate Defense Offense Organization) were out to dinner when I arrived, so I wandered a bit by myself and ate at a great food court. **Travel tip for Singapore- guesthouses are pricey- that's where most of your money will go. Eat at food courts- they are clean and standardized, cheap, and delicious.**
The tournament was a good time. I hadn't played all women's ultimate since college so it was a bit of an adjustment. It's a way different style of play than mixed ultimate which I have been playing for a while now. Another necessary adjustment was the fact that Singaporean ultimate culture is different from American frisbee culture. This is only natural, but an adjustment nonetheless. Different cultures and different backgrounds result in different playing styles.
Most of the players are young, (university students) fast, and quick learners. There were many times where there were discrepancies over rules, but it all got cleared up. Sometimes the rules can be different from playing in the states and playing internationally.
My team, Vudoo was the only international team at Gendermah, the name of this tournament. I'm not quite sure what that means. Our team was composed of three Americans and the rest Vietnamese women. I traveled with my friend Suzanne who is a teacher in Bangkok, originally from Michigan. The other American was Cara, originally from Hawaii a mother of three lovely boys. She and her husband, who is also from the states, met in Taiwan when she was a teacher there. They have lived in a handful of spots on this big planet, and have been living in Singapore for about 3 years.
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| Three cheers for Vudoo! |
The weather fluctuated between really hot, sticky hot, and wet. Since Singapore is so close to the Equator, the weather can be pretty intense. Intense heat and intense rain. Sunscreen, no lower than SPF 30 and applied often, is a must.
Saturday and Sunday subsisted of ultimate, and Monday and Tuesday subsisted of touring Singapore. I have a Singaporean friend, Chai Chin, who I was eager to meet up with while there and we planned to meet on Monday for lunch. Neo Chai Chin was a camp counselor at Minikani with the International YMCA counselor program a few years back. She is a wonderfully sweet girl and we hosted her at our house in Oak Park after camp finished. I was eager to see her in her environment. We met at our hostel in the neighborhood of Little India and walked to a Chinese Restaurant around the corner. Aside from English, the official languages are Chinese, Tamil and Malay. Chai Chin knows a little bit of Chinese so she ordered for us. The languages amaze me in this part of the world. It seems that everyone speaks at least two, and often times three languages in Asia- their native language, a local, neighborhood dialect, and enough English to converse with foreigners. In Singapore students these days learn English and their family language simultaneously.
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| The 'Extreme Swing' on the Clark Quay Riverfront- where all the action is |
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| Bridge where everyone hangs out in the evenings in the Clark Quay neighborhood. My new Vietnamese gal pals- (left to right) Lien, Trang Le, Quyen, Trang Tran and An Nha |
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| visit with Chai Chin |
Suzanne headed to the airport after lunch, and Chai Chin walked me to the MRT (the rail link) to go to Cara's house in the suburbs. she invited me to stay with her for the rest of my time in Singapore which was much appreciated. I have nothing against hostels, but a home is a great treat. Plus her boys are hilarious and cute so I was happy to spend some time with some American kids. Her husband Brian also played frisbee and has traveled all around Asia for business, so conversation around the dinner table was lively and energetic. With the boys (Declan 8, Aran 7, and Christopher 4 1/2) telling me about their vacation to Thailand, and Cara, Brian and I talking about Thai culture and teaching there, there was never a dull moment. After dinner we looked at pictures from their Thai vacation, and then we watched the Three Stooges, a bedtime favorite of the boys.
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| On my way to Woodlands- the neighborhood where Cara and her family live. Beautiful trees and amazingly clean streets and sidewalks. |
Tuesday I ventured into City Centre, the downtown area of Singapore. Camera and Singapore walking tour guide book at the ready, I hit the streets. I had this cute guide book of the architecture of Singapore that my mom picked up for me at borders and brought along on her trip. It definitely came in handy. Ready made tours that you just pick from and get out there! I walked so much and took so many pictures. The highlight of the tour was the Peranakan Museum. The Peranakans ('Pur-on-ah-cans'), or Peranakan Chinese and Baba-Nyonya are terms used for the descendants of late 15th and 16th-century Chinese immigrants to the Indonesian archipelago of Nusantara during the Colonial era. The Museum is dedicated to their history and life in Singapore as they make up a large portion of the population. The displays were lovely. Cases filled with beautiful porcelain dishes, traditional marriage gifts and items used in ceremony, funerary objects, clothes, and stunning batik sarongs. The patterns of the sarongs are similar around Singapore and the Indonesian islands and they are incredible. Beautiful works of art on silk, worn by men and women. Over time fashions and styles changed, dictating changes in the traditional dress, but this did not detract from the handsome outfit.
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| The term for this type of doorway escapes me- but it is a hidden entry way in a wall. Soldiers used these secret entrances and exits to evade enemies. This is in Fort Canning Park- so named for Viscount Canning, the first Viceroy of India. Fort Canning Park was once a military fort and the Fort Canning Centre built in 1926 served as a military barracks. Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, who is largely responsible for the planning and development of colonial era Singapore built a bungalow here in 1823. This served as a government house. At 14, in 1795, he was a clerk for the East India Company, then in 1805 he was appointed assistant secretary for the government in Penang (Malaysia), then Lieutenant-Governer of Java. He was the only colonial official able to speak Malay. In 1818 he was appointed Lieutenant-Governer of Bencoolen (now Bengkulu) in Sumatra. While he was there he realized that Britain needed a foothold in the China trade route. He obtained the Governor-General of India's permission to look for a good location, which led him to tip of the Malay Peninsula where Singapore is located. He experimented with different spices in a garden in the park because spices was quite valuable. There is a little walk through these botanic gardens with nice signs. |
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| The Sarong Kebaya Exhibit- the sarong is the wrap skirt, and the kebaya is the blouse. |
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| Saint Andrew's Cathedral |
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| Supreme Court building |
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| Parliament House |
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| Bronze elephant donated by Thai King Chulalongkorn- King Rama V. King Rama V arrived in Thailand on March 15th, 1871 in his yacht the Regent with a convoy of two other ships, along with 66 followers. This was the first visit to Singapore from a Thai monarch, the first visit to a foreign country for King Rama, and the start of a good relationship between the two countries. |
After the museum I went back out into the heat and continued on with my architecture tour. I stopped into the Philatelic Museum (Philately is the study of stamps and postal history) to buy, mail, and write some postcards. Then onward to see the National Museum, Parliament house, the super modern Supreme Court building and many other buildings. I also had to stop by the donated bronze elephant statue by King Rama V on his first visit to Thailand in 1871, the first visit by a Thai monarch. It stands in front of the old Parliament House, now the Arts House.
I settled in on the train for the roughly 45 minute ride back to Cara's house and was wiped. The next day I would meet with Chai Chin at the MRT station that transfers to the Airport to get a final lunch together before my departure. All in all it was a great trip in Singapore. I got to see and do a lot of interesting things, and seeing a friend is always nice. Who would have thought that after all these years, I would find myself in Singapore to visit Chai Chin. It's always good to stay in touch with international folks, you never know when you'll be in their neck of the woods.
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