I sit here, shedding a single, solitary tear for the splendid time I did spend in the South East Asian country of Singapore. The longer I stayed, the more I grew fond of this special place. My only regret is that I will be missing Zoukout 2009. (More details at bottom of this update) You’d be shocked how many people type in “Singapore + Bored” or “Singapore + Boring” related search terms. Many coming here, of course.

That being said, I had a different experience then most travelers would. I stayed with an old friend and his 2 flatmates were great people whose hospitality was only out shadowed by their hilarity. Almost every other backpacker I’ve run into has stayed no more than 72 hours. Many leaving in shorter than 48. For a guy who is writing a blog and earns online, odd how the couch I was given had a Twitter & RSS Feed pillow, yes? I dreamed of subscribers and had nightmares of spam from want to be “life coaches”, whatever that means.

Woke up today with some problems involving a bank account, a domain registration and other things. I won’t bother you with them because frankly, they were boring and I’m glad they are done with.

I will note though that you should keep your credit card and your bank cards separate even though I have them together until now. If your bank card isn’t working, time to hit up the credit card for some cash. Just be sure to pay it off instantly as I *believe* they accrue interest from the moment it’s been withdrawn. Not sure as I’m very unfamiliar with credit card interest and I plan on keeping it that way.

If you ever go to Singapore I recommend you do the following. Check out Orchard Road and see ALL that it has to offer, it’s quite a range. Check out Sentosa beach area and have a laugh. Stroll down Haji Lane and maybe do some shopping, then go on a leisurely jaunt to China Town for some cheap but good food before going for a drink anywhere in Clarke Quay. If you want a really cheap and random experience, crash an alumni or work party.

If you stay longer than a day, you may wish to peruse some bargains in Little India before catching a flight out. Be sure to use the MRT as it’s one of the coolest most complex subway systems int he world and incredibly efficient and affordable. Avoid cabs as they run high with all the traffic. Also ask around what some of the “Local delicacies” are and try whichever one tantalizes your taste buds. You should also try and visit a Hawker Center which are these massive outdoor food courts run by independents. Be warned though, some of the best meals are there but it’s also where I got my “worst meal in Asia“.

Things you could do without while visiting Singapore? I said go to Clarke Quay for A drink, not “drinks”. The clubs are good but clubs in most places around the world are good. A large large beer in Thailand is ~$2US a regular sized beer at a club in Singapore is ~$12-$15US and a sugary Singapore Sling is ~$24US(pre-tax). They also add your “tip” into the bill so the price will be higher then you expected. Save your liver for other countries where they encourage that type of thing. You also don’t need to really try the “Chili Crab or Singapore Sling“.

If you ARE going to go out for a “night on the town” with a group of people, it sounds ludicrous but your best bet is to buy a bottle of vodka for ~$190. You scoff sand say that’s ridonkulous(sic) but if you go and start drinking singles or doubles as a group, you will QUICKLY surpass that at any major club, trust me. Better yet just hang out in Singapore and save that dinero for other places where you can spend so much you’ll think you were robbed  when you wake up and it still only adds up to ~$50.

If you know people and you are traveling for a while it’s one of the best places to “relax and regroup”. The internet is splendidly stable and this is a first world country so I’m sure it will be like “hanging out at home”, only on the other side of the planet for those of you from North America, like myself.

So I’m going to Indonesia where EVERY traveler is a millionaire! Check out that exchange rate. $1US is ~9425 Rupiah. For the sake of simplicity round up to 10,000. Therefor if something costs 50,000 Rupiah it’s actually $5. KNOW your calculations before you leave or pay the price like I did in Singapore.

1 Indonesian rupiah = 0.000106 U.S. dollars

When I get to Bali @ ~11:30 tonight I will take a cab to “Poppins” Street in Kuta as supposedly they have a plethora of guest houses. A cab should cost me ~50,000R or ~$5US.  I will then do what I always do. Go into a few, check for bed bugs, ask for rates, inquire about wireless and then go check out more until I find a place I like. Then I’ll go back to the one I like and and shave a cool ~20-25% off. Note: After suggesting a discount, you will KNOW if they are game or not. If they are not, don’t make things awkward and go with it, ok? Then again you may not know if it’s awkward as many people spend their whole lives going through one awkward encounter after the other. Kinda like when someone speaks too long at an awards ceremony, everyone in the audience is cringing but they just keep yapping.

I digress.

I don’t typically like hitting strange cities late at night but the one benefit is getting a flexible room rate is very easy as you have leverage. It’s like “Listen, if I don’t take this room it’s going empty, let’s work a deal”.

A friend of mine emailed me about places to go surf. I’ve done “Boogie Boarding” in Venezuela and Dominican Republic when I was a kid but that’s about it. I think surfing would be fun and something I could get into as skiing and snowboarding two thins I used to love are no longer available to me after my “Freak Leg Press Accident” in 2001. Also supposedly Bali has some of the best surfing in the world so why not?

From Bali, I have no idea where I’m going to go. I may Check out Java then Sarawak on the island of Borneo before heading back to Bangkok to either travel north or catch a flight to Tanzania and work my way to South African then North through India to Burma to Thailand and restart there. If i did the latter it would be “getting warmer” when I went north from Thailand, makes sense, yes?

That said, I’m horrible with plans and a friend from Finland just sent me a message on IM so who knows what will happen.

Today as I was walking home from the MRT I ran into this guy and for some reason I said “What’s up”. He said “Nothing” we started talking. Then he told me he is from here but lived in China for 20 years. I said awesome, if one were to get clothing made, like show up with an article of clothing and say “Can you make this exact thing with different fabric and change a few design things here here and here, and add this here and there” etc… He said, that’s simple, where I’m from and he gave me his card, mobile number everything. Turns out he runs a company related to the industry but different.

So to conclude, Singapore was cool to hang out for almost 2 weeks. <pause and inhales a massive cloud of insecticide> they are doing their fumigating again. Where was I? Yeah, Singapore was cool and I’m glad I came. It’s not the most exciting place but it’s a must see on your trip and has many things that are “uniquely Singaporean”. How long you stay and how you play it is up to you. Just make sure you come visit. It’s also a “hub” for cheap flights to anywhere and only a ~$13US bus trip from Kuala Lumpur. I have to get going, need to pack and get ready for my flight ~20 minutes ago.

Yesterday, when I had my last meal at this Indian Place that had effectively become my “Kitchen” I made a video. Check it out or don’t, whatever.

P.S This new battery pack is better then the last but still quite poor. Go with quality when it comes to this type of thing if you can.

P.P.S Had I planned it better, I’d be in town for Zoukout which is Asia’s largest outdoor music festival. ~40,000 people on Siloso beach, Sentosa, this weekend. Oh well in the future I will pay attention to when the massive annual parties are. Those are the times to go full and just chill out the rest.

Greetings Ladies & GENTLEMEN!

I’m feeling so freaking fantastic I’d pay a tax to stay like this.

Went for a stroll to the shopping district of Haji Lane in Singapore today. A friend posted a link to an article featuring the place as an upcoming shopping district in Singapore for people who think cookie cutter clothing is for children.

I’m leaving Singapore tomorrow and thought, I’ll check it out. It’s easily accessible from the MRT (then again everything is) and it’s got tones of stores and fashions that you’d find nowhere else. I wasn’t going to Haji Lane for any shopping reasons, just to “check it out”. Also turns out it’s right next store to Arab Street which is mentioned in most guidebooks.

The video above is just me walking down the entire lane and stopping into a few stores such as The Blog Shop, one I can’t remember and Carbon4 at the end. On the way out I stopped in at 2 more places such as Sup Clothing and Visual Orgasm. I will note that if I was staying in Singapore longer, I’d be tempted to buy the shoes below, awesome if you ask this gentleman. Then again, when you’re going to China aka the world’s workshop… Why bother buying ANYTHING you don’t need until you get there?

I hit the place up @ ~1PM on a Monday afternoon so obviously it wasn’t packed with people looking to depart with their weeks wage. However on a weekend I could see it being quite packed.

It got me thinking though as I’ve been talking to some other travelers about places to get clothes made. Why am I interested? Mainly because there are a few items I’d like but can’t find. Some of the clothes that DO have the features I’d like are built for retirees haha and I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing them, only when I’m near dead if that makes sense and even then probably not.

I digress.

Haji Lane was very cool, glad I checked it out. Hat tip to my friend, let’s call her “Madame R”. Afterwards walked ~an hour to China Town and bought a tone of stuff to eat for almost nothing. That battery I overpaid for was defective so I walked in and returned it no problem from the guy who over charged me. I went in their with the demeanor of a guy going to talk to an old friend but ready to rock should he of tried to refuse. Lesson learned? If buying electronics, buy them when you will still be around for a little while, therefor if you have a problem you can go in and work it out. Compared to buying and jumping on a plane styles.

I essentially spent near nothing today and had one of the best days I’ve had in Singapore. Just walking around and doing what I want, people watching and drinking liters of water while eating quality food beats going to work in my mind. I will note that in Singapore you can buy awesome Chinese / Indian food for extremely cheap prices, especially at Hawker center’s (massive food courts). While McDonald’s is 2-3X as expensive as it is back home and just as horrible.

Quick note on Arab Street. It was alright just a street really with lots of carpets for sale and some places selling kabob’s even though I only saw Shawarma. They had other stores but none really appealed to me. I was going to have one when I realized that was basically all I eat for 5 years while in Ottawa, especially the last year. I’m talking I’d eat at one of those places at least 5-8 times a week.

Tomorrow night I’m off to Bali, heard it’s awesome. I also think I’m ready for some beach living again or whatever. Indo is huge and I’ve heard many good things from people I know, people I’ve partied with, old ladies I took a photo for on the street in China Town and the peanut butter in my friends fridge.

P.S Gold is getting homo-hammered by Perez Hilton himself. Those who bought at the top must be shaking their heads but I thank them for taking my shares. I think it will go higher and most likely will buy this pullback. Then again if I’m in Bali I may miss the opportunity…. Oh well, whatever. My insanely amateur assumption based on blogs I read (haha) is that it may go as low as to the top of the range it breached when this “Sell the Children, Buy Gold” breakout started.

Greetings,

Today I decided to do some “Singaporish” (sic) things before I left. Someone recommended that the chili crab is a local specialty and that I should have a Singapore Sling at the Raffles Hotel. To be frank, I wasn’t enamored with either and both were a grotesque waste of money. Let me explain.

The chili crab was the best deal of the two although averaging ~$7s/100g. We went to a more local place and got a better deal but it still didn’t float my boat. It was “alright” but not what I thought and I typically love anything involving shellfish. My friend wasn’t really feeling it, as a result I eat the lion’s share. The crabs were in this cooler, with a small bucket of ice, didn’t look so hot. Then again, I inquired about “chili crab” at Raffles, and the crabs were in a similar cooler, again not looking so good. I will note the Raffles cooler was cleaner.

Also, if you thought ribs or wings were “tough to manage”, they are a walk in the park compared to the chili crab. Not recommended for a first date, if you want a second.

When you crack through the shell it often sends renegade chili sauce at you. At one point, the very last leg might I add, I cracked it open and some chili went directly into my eye, not so pleasant.

Truth be told, the chili crab wasn’t that bad, probably still have a bad taste in my mouth from that horrible Singapore Sling at the Raffles Hotel. The Singapore sling is this insanely sugary and fruity drink, the first sip wasn’t so bad but it was down hill from there. I was expecting a classier lounge at the raffles instead of a lounge where people eat peanuts and threw them on the floor. Last time I was at a bar like that was on Granville Street in Vancouver.

I eat so many peanuts that if you crushed them all you could make a sick spread of peanut butter, the “Singapore sling” was sooooo sugary and fruity that if you boiled it, it would probably leave jelly. So essentially I paid ~$30S for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich I wanted nothing to do with.

That is basically all I did today, I leave for Bali on Tuesday and am looking forward to it. Considering to book a ticket tonight back to Bangkok on the ~16th or so. I miss Bangkok and truth be told, if I wasn’t “this close” to Bali, I’d probably just skip it as I’m still kinda “beached out” from Thailand. Then again it’s snowing where I’m from so I’ll just be quiet.

I must say that my experiences on the MRT (subway) in Singapore have been mostly pleasant except for today. On the route to Raffles, it wreaked like body odor, and on the way home, some of the most fierce bad breath I’ve arguably smelt in my life. Check out SGCommute for more Singapore commuting stories.

In closing, I think I should start moving faster or make a base in Bangkok for a bit. I really haven’t covered much ground in the first ~80 days or so.

Good day,

P.S – The photo below is the one my friend took, looks much more appetizing, yes?

Today has been interesting and a day of firsts if you will. My time in Singapore is coming to an end and one of the gentlemen living at the place I’ve been lucky enough to stay at suggested we try an authentic Indian restaurant. Considering he is Indian I figured “absolutely”.

Whenever I go somewhere I usually try and see where people from that country eat. As an example, in Ottawa if I went for some “Pho”, I’d typically look for somewhere with lots of Vietnamese people. When I’m in new cities, I look for local cuisine where the local people go.

I remember in Kuala Lumpur, someone gave me a menu and I sat down, I looked around and it was only travelers… No local people at all, hmm….  I just left.

I digress.

So we went to this place and it’s a vegetarian Indian restaurant in Little India where you can eat as much as you wish for ~$7.70S. The meal was delicious and I’m expanding my palate faster than your average North Americans waste line. I don’t know what the meal consisted of besides some curries and rice and the picture below explains the rest.

This is the first time I ever eat rice or anything of this nature with my hand. Notice I said “hand” not “hands”. Your left hand is considered “dirty” and used for “other jobs” while the right hand is for greeting people and eating. Hence in many countries if someone is caught stealing, OFF WITH THE RIGHT!

When you first start eating with your right hand, I found it difficult to get the food in my mouth properly, especially the rice. After a good laugh they showed me that you put it in your hand (finger tips), then use your thumb to push it to the end and effectively into your mouth. Requires some basic timing and coordination but makes a world of difference.

The meal was delicious and dare I say, I kinda liked eating with my hands, going to another Indian restaurant for dinner and my right hand will get some more work. One thing about Singapore from what I’ve gathered is the food. You’ve heard me talk about the night life and what not but the food here is great. Tomorrow I may try and experience something different like chili crab.

I’m out of here on Tuesday and thus far have been thoroughly enjoying my time here, mainly just “chilling” if you will. I’ve been sooooo lazy, going to bed when I want, napping during the day for no reason then I can and ingesting inconceivable amounts of delicious dishes. My hosts have been incredibly hospitable and hilarious, what else could I ask for?

I got my fishing blog ~sorta going. Truth be told, it’s just for fun as myself and a considerably large crew of gentleman love fishing for numerous reasons… The fishing is fun but it’s just a way / reason to get away from doing other things, hang out and chill out with a cigar in your mouth and a green bottle in my hand.(Heineken, Moose Head, Tanqueray)  Probably why I’m so fond of golf as well. It doesn’t matter how you score or what you catch it’s just doing it that’s fun. Also I want to wear a shirt that says “Old Dirty Basstard” on it. To the original ODB, RIP.

I’ve been looking around the web and wow, lots of travel blogs… Started thinking how can I best position this one as it is different then most, updated more then most and will hopefully span a larger area then most with a host more entertaining then most…

Started finding some travel networks and I’m quite impressed. One that I like in particular is “The Travel Exchange“. It is like a social media site for travelers. It also has a great interface, I’ll be using it for some time to come I believe. Another one is CouchSurfing. I’ve heard from numerous people to “get on it” but never did, signed up and alread chatted with some people, even made a donation to get verified but you have to do it through credit card and I opted for paypal. Whoops, wish my first donation was more “piker style” now but “C’est la vie”. Considering I loathe touristy stuff and want to get a feel for “how people live around the world”… This seems like a perfect match for this gregarious gentleman.

Remember how I told you my paypal was limited and in the past I’d go grey freaking. I just went and eat curry, jumped through the hoops and all is back. I also called the affiliate who screwed my site and had a pleasant conversation with him, seriously. I mean it’s over now and what can I do about  it? Why get mad at someone for something you can’t change now? I was just paying major affiliates average monthly income which is a bigger risk to me, especially when your paypal gets limited. Now it’s “back to normal”, thankfully.

Also some of the ideas I had just weren’t lucrative enough. I mean sure they could produce some income but I’m not a monkey bound to sit by a machine pumping in crappy code. I’d rather focus on a few things and ruthlessly cull ideas that don’t have big enough potential before wasting even a single mouse click on it. I’m going to spend much more time on The PPT researching stocks. It’s the easiest way to bank coin when you already have coin.

Einstien has a great quote and it’s something to the effect of … When asked what he’d do with the last hour of his life he said “I’d spend 59 minutes figuring out what the best thing to do is, then do it”. How many of you (myself included) spend 1 hour flip flopping on numerous projects and never get anything truly great going? Thinking is hard work and that’s why so many people never try it.

Singapore has been a great time, I’m glad I stayed longer then most. Most people I talk to only spend a day or so here due to costs. Then again most people told me Kuala Lumpur was expensive and I thought it was great. I’m flying to Bali on Tuesday and from there, who knows. If I leave on the 16th, I can fly to Bangkok for ~$120US which is ~30-50% cheaper then any other date I found. Flip side is why not check out the rest of Indo and maybe Borneo… I’d like to go to Philippines but my friend there is hosting after Xmas already so maybe now isn’t the right time and you can always jump over when you’re in Taiwan or somewhere near there.

Right now, I’m off to eat some more Indian food and then do what I like doing most, relaxing in a nice place with good friends and no commitments. The guys above are where I go daily as it’s close, they are super nice and the food is great. Something was up with the oven last night, a good laugh was had by all.

Good day,

I sit here, in a dark room ingesting inconceivable quantities of chocolate milk, 1 litre, 2 litre, 3 litre, 4. All the while pondering what to do with my time. I sit here calm, not panicking despite the fact my paypal account is limited and I haven’t done SQUAT since arriving in Singapore despite having more than ample time to do so.

Typically, in the past, when stuff didn’t go my way, I’d freak out and play the “why me, I’m so unlucky card”. Now, I realize at any given moment a multitude of people are getting screwed in a million different ways. “C’est la vie” as the French would say.

Back to yesterday.

Met some friends at Raffles City Mall, proceeded to visit the financial district and the sight of the new monster casino they are building. Whenever I look at casinos I laugh, then when people tell me how they plan on winning big, I laugh even harder. Look how lavish and luxurious these buildings are. Also remember they are built with “losers” money and the shattered hopes, dreams and financial statements of the many fools thinking “they will be the lucky one”. Mind you, there are “the lucky ones” but most get totally destroyed then go eat a low budget meal and feel bad for themselves, why take the risk anyways?

I digress.

After the the business district we strolled through China Town and I bought the most disgusting meal I’ve had in my entire stay in Asia. It was this beef noodle thing but the beef was boiled and 78.93% fat or more on each “chunk”. These Singaporean guys sat with us and were laughing saying in these places, if you buy beef, go to someone who specializes in beef or forget it, they agreed our meal look disturbed and arguably diseased. As a result I left most of the meat, I wish I could tell you I didn’t eat some but I did, it was horrible. The other guy I was with bought the same meal and wouldn’t even touch it.

Shortly after, having decided to quit smoking as a result of the last “thoughts” update, I bought 3 pairs of silk boxers. Spending $11.10 a day on smokes in Singapore is sinful. It’s crazy how you could change your silk  boxers 3 times a day and you’d still be spending less then on cigarettes and you wouldn’t be killing yourself, mind boggling really.

I’m not going to repeat things, just check out this video blog update from yesterday for what happened during the day. I had grandiose plans of returning home, changing into “evening attire” but those never developed and found myself out in the club district in beach like attire.

The alumni party was good, met lots of old friends for the first time. One guy worked for Dow Jones, so we chatted about stocks while downing ale. He had an interesting perspective and the more I chat with brokers, guys who design software for hedge funds, analysts etc… I’m realizing more and more that most / much of the volume on all major indexes is just robots moving massive amounts of coin based on technical algorithms. That’s why “Ronnie the Retail Investor” usually gets left holding the bag, they see a massive say volume spike and think it’s accumulating, no it’s just a 36-72 wheel semi truck in the market buying on a program and then selling a  for a 1% or .5% gain say a minute later or even less.

They  move such big orders that in that ~30 seconds of exposure they often turn a profit larger than many households earn in a lifetime. Crazy, yes? Knowledge is power and when you’re driving on the same high way as these 18, 36 and 1341530 wheelers on a tiny peddle powered moped, you must be aware or pay the consequences. Also, everyone seems to want to buy stocks after they have been going up for a while, yet no one wants to buy them after they have been going down for a while… Interesting how the herd thinks, yes?

The drinks were $7S for 2 which is an absolutely ludicrous deal for Singapore. Met a lot of cool people then crashed a KPMG party. Was chatting with some ladies when the announcer singled them out to come on stage effectively “blowing our cover”. We continued to hang out and mingle until this one guy was on to us, so we left. If I had been there in custom made cashmere suits like the rest, probably would of gone undetected really but instead I was in flip flops and cargo shots.

After the alumni function I was ready for bed, but that never happened. We hit up “Le Noir” which enforces a dress code of pants and dress shoes or something to that effect. The bouncer said no way to me and I as cool with that and as I mentioned, ready to go home. Shortly after this lady from Malaysia comes out and I start chatting with her and suddenly my “shorts and flip flops are “ok”. H3ll I even had a shopping bag with boxers in it and a 1L bottle of water, the oddest “night club attire” I’ve ever had. Turns out it has nothing to do with the lady from Malaysia, my friend is an “acquaintance” with the manger who is also the manger of Attica. I will note this, when you go into a swankish (sic) club dressed like a bum, suddenly women are more interested in you, primarily because they are wondering “who is this guy if he can get in dressed like that…”

Go into this club and mingle and meet a friendly and diverse international crowd. ok, there wasn’t really any mingling this wasn’t a cocktail party, it was a dance club and that’s what we did.  Had we left at 1-2 am, that probably would of been fine but found ourselves at MacDonald’s buying over-priced low quality garbage at ~4AM.

Singapore does have a diverse nightlife and it’s good fun. It’s funny though how you can buy a cheap ticket out of Singapore and save ~$100 but then go out and suddenly it cancels out. Flip side is if you were going to spend X amount, a flight and night out is more value for your buck then say, just a flight out, yes?

It’s pouring here and I’m sweating in Singapore with a fan, that’s alright though. Spoke home and my friends / family are scraping ice off their sedans and getting ready for a deep freeze. Being “away from it all” makes me wonder why I or anyone else for that matter ever put up with that in the first place. Snow is great fun, in the mountains but when it’s in the city streets… Why not move somewhere more accommodating?

Today, I have done nothing except go to the store to buy beverages and some Indian place for eats. When you have been traveling for a while and plan on traveling much longer, a week or so in certain places just “relaxing” does a world of good and is often just what’s needed.

I will note that wearing flip flops in the rain is hazardous, they become very slick and ~3 times yesterday I almost seriously eat it, with a “wow that was close sentiment”, none worse then after checking out the Chinese temple above. Almost totally twisted my knees. When you are traveling, if you can’t walk, you’re screwed. On the topic of the statue below, I’m not sure if he’s welcoming or telling you to get lost, mixed messages I believe.

Good day,

Filmed a video blog before a crazy night began in downtown Singapore.

Just got in, it’s 5:27 am  and I modified the video, now youtube is telling me it will take 1 hour and 24 minutes to upload. I may still be up but I sincerely hope not.

This is update #4, tried making one on the spot in Clarke Quay, Singapore. The toughest part about video blogging is not repeating yourself I’ve found. Oh well, work in progress if you will.

Stay tuned,

P.S: The Fullerton Hotel has nothing to do with this update, just seems like a place I’d enjoy staying. Also where this is filmed is not the business area I was talking about, similar but different.

Greeting ladies and gentlemen of this here internet,

Today was, how do I say, great? I woke up and forced myself to fall back asleep, not once, twice, but thrice. When I finally arose near noon I took the subway and met a guy “Andy” who went on a rant about Singapore, it was most amusing. I find it funny how they have NO SMOKING everywhere yet when they fumigate, they REALLY go to town.

Also, what’s with all these people complaining about smoking in clubs or restaurants, don’t like it? Get a job elsewhere or don’t go to the club, the guy above doing this fumigating didn’t even wear a mask and I didn’t hear him complaining.

You see, as long as you are a somewhat gregarious character, you never need a map, never need a guide book, nothing. Just a question, approachable demeanor and a big smile. That’s how I met Andy, an older gentleman in his 60′s who was more than eager to steer me right and chat about the differences between Canada, America and Singapore.

I will note, when I say I’m from Canada, people start smiling. I’m very grateful to be from arguably the best country in the world.

Made my way to lunch with some friends of my parents and it was delicious, a plethora of Chinese delicacies at Din Tai Fung in the basement of the Raffles City Mall. Afterward I just I made the video above and just hung out before going to eat some more Chinese food for dinner. Talked to my dad on skype today, he said he has to scrape his car before going out, talk about crap, yes? I’m soooo glad I don’t have to deal with any of that BS anymore.

Anyways, this is video blog III and they are still a work in progress, practice makes perfect and <insert another played out cliche> here if you wish.

I booked my ticket to Bali for $104S total ~$80US, tax in which is more than 100% cheaper then any other ticket I could find, that alone puts a smile on my face. Oh, gold is ripping (don’t say I didn’t tell you, that said NOW is not the time to get in, IMO) again and the US dollar is being pummeled into oblivion. What did they think would happen whey they started printing money like drunken sailors in a game of monopoly? Really!?

On a side note, today was my first day in Singapore without a simple white-t shirt and cargo shorts… What a difference, people who typically would not notice / ignore you… Suddenly they were looking, even chatting with you. What snobs! It’s like that in any major city which is why I always wear a white-t shirt. I like to blend in, be there but not there, be there but not the mark…

A friend of mine J wrote something on this which was quite timely as I was thinking something to this extent today. I suggest you check it out here.

On the topic of gold, if you’re from Canada and you own a passport… You’ve already got gold, you can travel anywhere. I talk to many people about places I’m off to and they say “I wish, that country won’t give us a visa”. I don’t even apply for a visa, I just show up with a smile and my Canadian passport.

Good day,

P.S I actually really like Kuala Lumpur but it is pretty diseased with lots of rats and roaches and derelict people sleeping and dying on the streets. Supposedly nothing compared to India.

P.P.S: Those who shorted stocks thinking Dubai “going broke” mattered, enjoy your rat scrotum ravioli and slam your fingers in a car door for thinking it was “smart” to short a freight train that can’t and won’t be stopped for some time, especially with holiday shopping coming! Hopefully with broken fingers, you’ll think twice next time.

P.P.S It’s Aids Day today, I see a lot of people doing stupid stuff when traveling and taking stupid risks. Why bother? When is the last time you woke up full of regret for going home alone? Probably never.

Greetings,

Today I found somewhere I didn’t mind spending some time in China Town, Singapore. I moderately enjoyed China town in a trip to the dentist type way even though it was really not that different then say “China Town” in any other city of the world I’ve been in. In fact all the “tourist attractions aka tourist traps” in Singapore are pretty lousy if you ask me, down right lame!

Flip side is why do I even care about these tourist traps? Once I leave, I’ll never come back unless it is for business / work. Seriously, this place is %#%# boring and my writing has been about as inspired as a destitute, deranged and arguably diseased derelict feasting on some deer road kill on the side of 8 mile Detroit. A friend of mine has been here for 3 years and he is starting to see it, I said “what the h3ll man, I’ve been here for 5 days and I can already tell you that.” He needs a quick slap to the side of the skull with an authentic samari swords sheath .

I got there and they had a plethora of delicious Chinese delectables at prices that would put a smile and wipe away the scowl from Scrooge McDucks face. I eat lunch, near the end the lady asked “want a drum stick, $2″, I quipped “no, I’ll take the egg” she said “you cheap cheap American, you come here no spend money” to which I replied “No, I’m a cheap Canadian and I’ve spent plenty, should of caught me Friday night”. Got a good lunch for $3.40, best deal I’ve had in Singapore if there is such a thing. Ahhh good old China Town.

After that I went over to this street vendor and bought some water and my first Asian “Ice Cream Sandwich” which is a block of ice cream in a piece of multicolored bread that looks like it could be a fierce mold attack, but wasn’t. I got a chocolate chip one, vanilla anything is plain boring, it was delicious, in a “this bread looks like mold” type way.

After that the gent chilling with the vendor said “you want to smoke, come have a seat”. You can’t smoke most places so I went over, sat down and enjoyed a smoke and ~30 minutes of convo. I just sat there, chilling, chatting with “Roy” if that’s his real name, from Singapore. He told me the place was boring as sin but safe, a great way to pass a plain old “vanilla gay” lifestyle aka for people over 47.5 years of age. He filled me in on lots of stuff and for the first time I was really thinking “yes, this is what I needed here” some real contact with a normal guy who told it lke it was He has nothing to sell me and everything coming out of his mouth is real, or something like that.

He filled me on lots of stuff and basically said Singapore is great for being safe and clean but if you don’t earn $$$ here and you get sick, they will let you die. He said that is if you don’t die of boredom first. Not so cool, furthermore he filled me in on how it’s becoming increasingly hard for many people living here as a result of extremely rich players from round the globe are coming in and buying up all the real estate like overweight women nicknamed “Big Bertha” binge on big macs. Similar situation in say, Vancouver but the land mass is so different that comparing them is asinine, as a result I’ll stop here.

Told Roy I was going to Bali then maybe Borneo then hopefully Manila, he warned me about Manila and Bali as being very dangerous compared to Singapore, but everywhere is, no? In Singapore if you get caught with a gun, you get hanged. Get caught with a knife? 7 years in jail! He said in Bali they target white men for some reason(hmmm wonder why?) and that Manila and KL most people are “packing heat” of some sort. Also told me about a lady he saw smoking earlier in a “no smoking zone” throw her smoke on the ground then get busted for 2 offenses. It’s cool in a conservative I only eat vanilla icecream type way, just don’t mess around, yes?

After that found some places I could buy the few healthy things in my diet keeping me from being bed ridden in a low-end budget hotel, cheap and in single quantities.  China Town wasn’t that large and easily accessible from the Sub Way. Cruised around some more but didn’t buy anything because it’s still over-priced and I pride myself on packing light and the fact that “things” mean nothing me… When I got my $$$ changed from thai baht’s the vendor said, you should of used this to buy nice clothes in Thailand instead of that cheap white t-shirt. If I wasn’t such a gentleman, I’d tell him a few thing I thought of him but I didn’t. Okay Okay,  it is a cheap white t-shirt but think of this… When I was lost in Kuala Lumpur at night… Had I been donned in polo with a fancy watch … Wonder what would of happened? Still probably nothing as I walked like I knew where I was going and gave a severe scowl to anyone who whispered “hey friend” while avoiding back alley’s and sticking to well lite roads, for the most part.

Roy said KL isn’t that safe and when he goes there, he leaves all his gold jewelry at home. Roy didn’t work at the ice cream shop, he was just chilling and was a much older guy with horrible teeth (sorry Roy) kinda made me think I should “butt out” once and for all.

The people here are so polite it’s almost ridiculous. I’m in MacDonald’s watching these two bulging bovinesque (sic) broads from let’s say Britain plug their pie hole with a “super sized big mac combo” while waiting for the bathroom. After about ~5 minutes this little dude comes out apologizing profusely and says “I had ….” At this point I’m thinking “thanks for sharing, I didn’t think you were writing your memoirs in there” and “do I look like a subscriber to the “toilet diaries?”. Either way it was pretty sick and I didn’t go in there for it smelt something foul and I’m not talking about those birds in the photo below.

After that I took the subway home and on the way saw the “Little India” stop so obviously I got out and checked it out. If you want to buy Indian clothes to bring home, this is the place. Also had lots of grocery stores, special spices and what not.

Truth be told, neither place really “wowed me” and considering these places are mentioned in all the guide books, ha what a laugh. Guide  books make me sick and are written for people who can’t figure out what they want to do. Seriously, if you just follow some lame guide book, why not just sit at home and check out some professional photos of the place?

One thing I will note about China Town, they had some of the grossest food I have ever seen. I’m talking boiled chicken or turkey heads, feet, you name it they were eating it all. I don’t know what it was except it was foul, something fierce.

Everyone I talk to says Bali is the bomb and to NOT GO being this close, would be absurd, as a result … Looking into Bali, maybe tomorrow night or within 72 hours.

Good Day,

P.S: I’m reading my last few entries and I feel like this blog is taking a turn for the worst. I’ve gone from a guy doing what he wants to posting lame photos of played out touristy crap that I didn’t even know or care to know about before visiting. That’s going to change, if you want to look at boring stuff you’d take your family on a trip to, you’ve come to the wrong place.

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen,

It’s now Monday morning in Singapore and I’ve enjoyed SPENDING my time here. Tomorrow I’m meeting an acquaintance of my parents for lunch, shortly after that I will be leaving.

Yesterday was good, it started out in Orchard Road and then spilled over to Sentosa which is basically the beach area of Singapore. The beach is nice and if I wasn’t spoiled from Thailand I would of probably enjoyed it. There are many resorts with much to do. One thing I will note is that unless you are staying at one of these semi-deserted resorts, they aren’t so welcoming. We were hanging out at one and there was even a bouncer at the bathroom who pointed us to the “public toilets”. That was cool, later when having some drinks which are egregiously overpriced, I wouldn’t give them a dime. Not that it affects their bottom line but purely based on principle. Also, the parties were incredibly tame and “not worth getting er going” so to speak. Not to mention with the “price of fuel” it makes it a lose, lose from the start.

The beach is alright as I stated, just there are tankers and cargo ships all surrounding it, we all know what kind of pollutants those big rigs leave, as a result the beach becomes much less enticing. If it’s the only beach you have access too, ever saw… Maybe. On that note, not sure why anyone would even want to go to one of those over-priced hotels. IF one can afford to stay there, why not bring you and your family to Bali, Malaysia or the Thai islands?

I was going to get a haircut and looked around. I didn’t really see anyone I trusted for a haircut. That said if I was in KL and they wanted ~$3-5US for a haircut I’d be willing to “wing it”, but when they want $20US+ which is more than I pay at home, I don’t want some old lady cutting my hair who I seriously doubt knows what I want. Peep the photos below, would you get your haircut for $20+ from someone displaying “these gems” in their window? I think not.

I’ve been eating a lot of curry lately and jokingly pointing at a sign that said “Curried Mutton”, I’ve never had mutton and only think of Seinfeld episode whenever I hear about it. While remarking yesterday, a friend of mine from India points to my plate and says “man, that is mutton, you’ve eaten mutton every time we’ve been here”. That got me thinking. I’ve been eating mutton for about a week or so now and dare I say, it’s not that bad.

The more I travel the more I’m realizing that countries are like hotels or clubs if you will. Every club is good for something different and if you’re fortunate enough to have the ability to visit many of these clubs, you should do what’s most applicable at that club. For example, if you want to drink and party on a beach, you go to a Thai club. If you want to live cheap in a city or experience beautiful jungle and not drink, you go to the Malaysian Club. If you want to have a casual drink and chat with people making moves from around the world, you go to Singapore. If you want to spend your day in a coffee shop and forget about everything, you go to Amsterdam, if you want to push your peddle through the floor, you visit Germany. Get where I’m going with this?

That said, if you aren’t going to “dive into how the locals live” so to speak, why bother going? If you’re just going to go to take photos and eat MacDonald’s, save yourself the time and money by going to a drive-thru then looking up photos on wikipedia and google images.

Currently, I’m looking for a club where I can relax and just unwind. I miss Bangkok or even KL. Beaches are good fun but I’m no sun worshiper and after spending X amount of time… I want variety. As a result I’m thinking of skipping Bali all together and going back to KL or Bangkok for ~1month to just “relax”. Watch some “TV”, get a new web host and build those ~2-3 sites which are just itching to be online.

What will happen, I’m not sure but my focus and the way I see things in a global perspective are changing, drastically. Singapore is great fun but I’ve spoke with many people who live here and many locals are worried that this place is becoming too expensive. Singapore is going for the “Monaco of the East” which is evident even by Sentosa, hosting a massive variety of activities including massive zip-lines, street luge things, sky diving simulators and of course surf training.

Supposedly, unless you are an expat aka recruited talent they can’t get locally, the wages aren’t that high compared to say North America and the living expenses through the roof. Then again, this whole country is not more than ~700km squared. That’s tiny, absolutely minuscule.

Today, I will shop for a new host while going back and forth with my current one, then I will take a leisurely jaunt through China Town to meet a friend when he gets off work.

Truth be told, the country I’m most interested in now is CHINA. Everything comes from China and if you want to make moves, why not go where the waves are coming from?

Good Day,

P.S: In the subways, they have this guy… Not sure who he is but he creeps me out.

Spent the day out and about in Singapore. It started and ended with Orchard Road.

Orchard Road is a shopping mecca and it has everything and anything you’d ever want to buy, all authentic as well. One thing is for sure, bring your wallet or don’t bother showing up.

One crazy thing about this street is that it hosts the Prime Ministers house, the Royal Thai Embassy and the red light district. In fact, the red light district is directly next to the Thai Embassy, crazy, yes?

You’ll find every major brand name and the street is absolutely packed most of the time. One thing I noted was at some intersections there is an “underpass” instead of an “overpass” where pedestrian traffic travels underground through another mallesque (sic) area.

Also visited a few other places which I’ll discuss tomorrow. It’s currently 1:32AM in Singapore and frankly, processing photos or even writing this makes my eyes shut.

Another interesting thing about Orchard Road is how well maintained it is, similar to the rest of Singapore of course, at night they have the most amazing lights hanging from everywhere. I have a video and will process it soon.

If you venture slightly off Orchard, there is a multitude of magnificent dining opportunites. Had dinner at Que Pasa with a new friend from Japan, quite nice but nothing at the menu jumped out at me, that said it’s more a place to drink expensive wines with a menu, opposed to an extensive menu with some wines.

Finally, on the way home, we had the sketchiest cab driver ever. This guy almost got us clipped leaving Orchard, as he was leaving it was a “he can’t be going can he?” Later, I even said “here we go” as the guy floored it on the highway, 2 seconds later this other car cuts in front before a motor bike and “Carl the Crazy Cabby” slams on the breaks sending us into a slight skid on the highway.

Goes to show you can go anytime, but when they say 40% of all Canadian deaths abroad are motor vehicle related, they aren’t kidding, in many countries it’s even sketchier just crossing the street. An accident even happened to Tiger Woods over the weekend.

This is turning into an actual update and having less and less to do with Orchard Road so I’m out.

Good night,