Day 1, Singapore - Freedom

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My third time to Singapore. It’s almost like visiting an Australian capital city – everything’s in English, the currency’s just about on par with the Australian Dollar, so it’s really easy to pop off the plane and get a cab into my hostel in Chinatown. First up I’m told it’s not too busy tonight and there’ll only be a couple of people in my 10 bed dorm. Nice start.

I don’t have much time before I’m off to meet my two friends, neither of whom know each other, down at a new cocktail bar she’s opened called Jigger and Pony. I’m first one there, so I get a start on the cocktails. I have an Espresso Martini due to being hell tired after all the packing and travelling. Not to mention it’s 10pm Singapore time, which is 1am my time. The bar staff are super nice and have a bit of a chat to them before my friends come join. I can be nice and friendly on tour but I’m pretty sure I’m not as friendly as these guys when I’m home at my regular job! So props to them, it makes a big difference to the experience of a bar. I’m also sitting at the bar itself, which I think is an essential thing to do when by yourself at a bar. You can actually just sit there with a drink, have a casual chat with the barkeep and not feel lonely or weird at all.

My friends eventually trickle in and we have a good old chat and laugh, and I order a couple more cocktails in the mean time: a Donkey Kong, featuring banana infused Monkey Shoulder whiskey, and a Chai teat cocktail, both of which were really cool. I also had a nip of Japanese Nikka From the Barrell whiskey. At about 1am we head off for “supper” down at Geylang, apparently the red light district of Singapore, but also known for it’s pepper crab I’m told. Of course, I get the chili crab instead. Which I don’t like. Sorry to be a fussy eater, like there’s nothing wrong with it, but it’s the first time I’ve tried it and it’s just not my thing. I’ve got to say I don’t really like Singaporean food in general. It tastes like it smells, and I don’t really like the smell. Maybe it’s just a taste I need to acquire because there really isn’t much of it in Sydney, certainly not nearly as widespread as Thai or Vietnamese joints.

My friend points out a couple of working girls and while I’ve seen some beautiful women in my short time in Singapore, these were not one of them. I don’t know whether to feel sorry for them or admire their persistence in the face of not-so-impressive physical commodities. The other thing was the toilet – my friend told me not to try them as they’re flat out repulsive. Of course, upon hearing this, I have no choice but to try them immediately. They do stink. They do look ugly. I do have to stand in a pool of urine. But hey, lucky I’m a guy and we can do our thing standing up.

I must say I quite like Singapore this time around. The first two times I’ve been here, I thought it was bland, soulless and too much like Sydney for me to be interested. But this time around I dig the mood of the place. Sure, it’s not an in-your-face Asian experience like Vietnam or Tokyo, but it’s definitely got a unique stamp on it that I didn’t pick up on before. It’s a materialistic concrete jungle like New York or Sydney, but that isn’t always a bad thing. Much like those places, you probably need to find the little pockets you’re comfortable in rather than be swept up in the whole city, or certainly I do.

The other thing that deserves a mention is the isotonic sports drink of champions, 100 Plus. In a sweaty, hot and humid place like Singapore, this goes down like VB for a tradie. I guzzle that shit down.



Anyway there’s been nothing deep or meaningful or educational so far for me. I’m in holiday mode and very well may be until the new year. In Eat Pray Love, Liz gets on the floor in Italy in gratitude for having some peace at last. I'm not exactly on my knees but I'm happy and grateful to have this freedom.

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