The Look

           Leading into my last day in Singapore, I have to mention one thing I find very interesting about backpackers/foreigners in this town. Wherever I go in this city, my eyes are always wondering around. There are so many things to see, so many people to watch. That has always been one of my favourite aspects of travelling; wondering around without a plan, and seeing what happens.
        
          As I left my hostel for a moment this evening, I experienced an unexpected surprise. There is a woman who works the front desk of our hostel on Dunlop Street, named "Lady." She is originally from the Phillipines, and has moved to Singapore to work and live. She saw me walking down the road (she was on her way to work) and she asked if I wanted a treat, courtesy of her. It was a wonderful gesture, and I happily accepted. She took to a place called the "Bean Curd Factory" where we tried all-things-soy. It was refreshing and healthy I'm told, but the highlight was hearing Lady talk about her life and her family.

          Amazingly her family has a tradition, where the oldest sibling leaves the home when they are old enough, to work and save money. Want to know what they do with that money? They give it to the younger sibling for their school fees. How amazing is that? So one of your responsibilities in the family, and to have a positive influence on your younger siblings, you work so they can go to school. As she is a middle child, her older sibling did the same for her. I was so impressed; Lady is absolutely wonderful, and has been a reassuring late night presence when I return to my hostel.

The Look: In-depth Analysis

          Following this wonderful little snack, I saw 4 or 5 foreigners approaching. And as always there was a quick look, followed by intentional glance away and beyond. What I mean by this is, backpackers appear to dismiss and ignore the presence of other backpackers. Firstly, the initial look, when eye contact is made is mildly frightening. Sure, there is an element of pride at stake here; "I looked at you first. Move on chum."
 Then there is the uncertainty---should I nod, should I smile, should I say hello? NONE OF THE ABOVE. The stare is unlocked, and life goes on.

         I think this happens for the following reasons: Us backpackers are trying to remove ourselves from our usual lives. We have specifically chosen these regions of the city (Chinatown, Arab Street, Little India) with this goal in mind. Seeing someone exactly like yourself, also encroaching on another way of life, you feel a little bit of shame. You are no better, and no worse than that person. You are the same. They also had the same plan as you, a crying shame! The last thing the world you want to do is say Hello to this person. Why? Because in a giant multi-cultural city like Singapore, with a population that has unique and wonderful stories to tell, here I am sharing my travel itinerary with someone just like me.

       I'm no pessimist, and yes, I have met some very interesting people on my trip. But the "original look" is what I am explaining here. When we are in a hostel it is different. It's like the calm before the storm---the breath before the plunge. In here, we prepare for battle; once we hit the streets, its game time.

        What is even stranger, is the fact that local Singaporeans have been incredibly warm, hospitable, and embraced my presence. "Where are you from?" asks the Chinese cook at the "Number #1 Best Home Made Noodle Shop" in Chinatown. "Hey Canadian. Why no Samosa today?!Come here and read your book Canadian!" yell the always persistent gentleman at my favourite Indian restaurant. These wonderful people are going out of their way to welcome us, whereas the very sight of another foreign draws us to our maps, iPods, or nothing at all.

A person I know from Kuching told me this:  

When I was younger, I didn't have a laptop, iPod, Blackberry, iPhones, PSP, Nintendo, iPad. I played outside with friends, bruised my knees, made up stories and played hide and seek. I ate what my mom made. I would think twice before I said "no" to my parents. Life wasn't hard, it was good & I survived. I appreciated the way I was raised. I think we were happier kids."

Something to think about.

 

Backpack, Khakis, and Beard

Well, it's been a couple of lovely packed days. There have been some exciting developments which I will touch upon later. I figure for the time being, I will simply tackle each topic or observation one at a time. Sound good?

The Life of the Backpacker 


       Allow me to explain how much I love this life. I wear khakis shorts about 99% of the time. I am constantly in thongs (that's why Canadians, I literally call flip flops thongs now). I usually have a homemade t-shirt on. I have not shaven in nearly 3 weeks, with no signs of using the shaver packed in my bag. I have used a headband, that a dear friend and Japanese Chef, Shinichi, gave me before I left Brisbane. It is such a comfortable lifestyle. I love the idea of carrying your belongings around with you. It represents 2 things to me: self-sustainability and a more old fashioned way of living. I have never required much privacy, so the hostel lifestyle is ideal. To quote an aussie friend, "too easy."


A Surprising Turn of Events


       I'm not going to lie. Australia changed the way my body operates. My parents will tell you, ordinarily I am an early bird. I usually worked early in the morning, really enjoyed relaxing in the afternoon, and got to bed during the week around 11:30 PM. In Australia, working two jobs I was usually sleeping 6 hours on average. Late Nights (2-4 AM). Lots of Caffeine. I was transformed into a night owl overnight. Don't get me wrong, I don't regret a second of it; its just my body was unprepared for such a rapid change of lifestyle.

       So far in SE Asia, I have next to no alcohol. I am reading like a madman. I am walking everywhere. I am going to sleep early, waking up early, enjoying and afternoon nap, you get the picture. What I am saying is, in Australia it's like I thought I was in SE Asia, whereas the opposite is true here. I'm really enjoying it.

Theft

       This is very strange to me. As I have already alluded to, Singapore is an incredibly orderly society. There is no rubbish anywhere, people follow the rules, yet there are signs everywhere saying "DO NOT LEAVE ANYTHING UNATTENDED, NO MATTER WHAT." On the subway, in the shopping malls, even on the streets. Why is this odd? Well, I felt afraid when I arrived, that I had to have my bag on me at all times. Even in an internet cafe, I would awkwardly carry my backpack to the washroom, even as the owner insisted it was ok. I have slowly become more lenient; there is a web cafe right underneath my hostel, and I am there best customer.

        The other day, I forgot my camera in a hostel lobby when I was asking for directions. I came back 3 hours later, tracing back my steps. There it was right where I left it. Good ol' Singapore. Today, I saw a sight that little seemed a little embarrassing. My favourite place in Singapore is Little India. As I am walking through a bustling neighbourhood, there is a tour group passing through. Maybe 25 people, I would say North American based on their weight, all wearing ridiculous matching yellow t-shirts. They descended from the door of their giant tour bus, into what I'm sure they were told was the "heart of Little India." They all proceeded to swing their bags around, and march single file down the street, with their backpacks on their chests. I know it is wise to be cautious, but it was halfway between hilarious and direspectful.

Tourists

          I think the funniest thing is watching the lone tourist walking down the crowded commercial streets of Orchard Road, with his $1000 handycam in tote. Anything he finds mildly interesting, he stops for about 2 seconds, raises his right arm, presses PLAY. Then he walks forward for maybe thirty more seconds, and repeats the ridiculous process. I mean, I am all for documentation of a trip. You should be trying to preserve these memories. But seriously, using a camera I could never afford, to film a bus stop?

Ice Cream Sandwiches

           Now this is something, I FILMED! Ice cream sandwiches are actually sandwiches here. The vendors have loaves of sugary, pink and green bread, and they slice a block of ice-cream with a huge knife, and slide it between two pieces of bread. How wild is that?

Next Stop: Borneo

       On the advice of the wonderful, enthuastic, Taylor Livingston, I purchased a 57 dollar round trip ticket to Borneo. I will arrive in Kuching, where I am in for a very pleasant surprise. Not only is it the birthplace of my dear friend "Chooksie," the Alexander family raised their kids in the area. I am incredibly excited for this unique opportunity.

That's about all I can think about for now. I feel like I am just typing words at this point. I hope everyone is lovely back home. It's always good to talk with mom and dad on Skype. I encourage Sasha and Milan to give me a go as well, I'm getting pretty dynamite.

Sleepless in Singapore

     Admittedly, tonight has been a little difficult. I believe the independent aspect of this trip, notably traveling by myself, has been a good decision. Brisbane represents the very best of this decision; I arrived by myself, and 7 months later I feel like I have left a family behind. I miss them every day.

     So clearly, it is an approach that can be successful. But the more I dissect the experience, I understand why it was such a smooth transition. I was working 50+ hours a week with many people in the same situation. This incredible group leaned on each other, and whether we knew it or not, the BBC represented most of my social life.

     When you are traveling, you have no set schedule. Meeting people is not a given. You must go out of your way. Which is especially interesting here in Singapore. I will walk around this wondrous city, utterly taken aback by all it has to offer. It seems that spell is ruined when I see another tourist; perhaps part of me is thinking "Go Away! I don't want to break this illusion."

     After a lively day, this has been a lonely night. I think I have just realized I wish I could be sharing this with someone. I can think of so many people I want to be here right now. I'd love to explore all these multi-cultural neighbours with my mother, or sing in the streets with my dad. I'd love to stroll through these streets with my brothers, Sasha and Milan.

       Cribbage with Hefe, tea with Grant, a film with Sam. Honestly, the list is long. I figure it only indicates my excitement to come home after this trip. I will be fine, I just wish at the end of this Southeast Asia trip, I wish I could turn to someone and say "We will never forget this trip."

But I won't have that. And that is something I have realized.

Singapore (Day 2): Busy Day

There are signs everywhere in Singapore like this.

 It's been a busy day. It will continue to be. I have 30 minutes, therefore I am simply going to post a few photos, and comment about them. Hope they serve their purpose.

Photo #1: Homemade "Fine Signs"

Remember how I said there was a general mentality that one should clean up after themselves. Now I'm not 100% certain how enforced these laws are, but even in internet cafes owners put up these homemade signs. The hope is to prevent bad business if the police show up. My only question is, we have similar signs in Vancouver. Do not vandalize this bus. Do not let your dog poop in this park. Why do we still litter in Vancouver? Honestly, in a city three times more crowded like Singapore, I still find it fascinatingly clean. There are more people, and certainly more waste. Interesting stuff.

Little India. Glorious, glorious Little India.

Photo #2: Little India

What an absolutely fantastic place. I walked around with my video camera just to experience to vibrancy and energy of the area. It seemed like every business was run by a family, and supposedly they lived in the place above the business. Little India brings me back to similar feeling I felt walking through the beautiful streets of Lhasa, Tibet. I think my mother would absolutely adore this portion of the city. The variety in the neighbourhoods here, just spectacular. I will surely enjoy Chinatown tomorrow.

Literally the dirtiest street I found all day.

Photo #3: Clean, Clean, Clean

As a challenge, I wondered throughout the city, looking for the dirtiest street I could find. I assumed I could find a few ugly back alleys somewhere. This was especially true in China, where their major streets and sidewalks were impeccably clean, however most of the litter was just hidden behind the buildings. Not the case here. I proudly report this as the dirtiest street I found in 4 hours. Note the rusty bicycles, a little bit of aging on some of those buildings.......you get the point.