Jeff, Jeff, Where For Art Thou Jeff?

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Our one and only contact in Singapore, one Jeff Landsberg, decided it would be hilarious to invite us to his home for a few days and then move to Norway right before we arrived. You know what Jeff, you were right, that is some funny shit.

Singapore was a blast and of course a big contrast to the little island paradise we'd just left behind. It was something of a relief to be in a country that is such a fastidious fowl filer (Stop scratching your head Thaddeus; hint: It has all its ducks in a row). The politeness and attention to detail catches you off guard. The tourist information people are, gasp, informative! Every employee in every business was so polite and helpful and honest that for a few hours I honestly thought everyone was being sarcastic. Of course there is a price to pay for all the organization, cleanliness, air conditioning, and unreasonably thorough service, and it is paid in small but frequent piles of Singapore dollars. Three days was just about all our delicate shrinking violet of a budget could take.

You may gather from the photos that at least one day was spent in the botanical gardens. You would be correct, but what you may not know is that a whole day in the gardens isn't nearly enough to see the whole thing. It's a gorgeous place and we stayed until we saw the 3 o'clock clouds gathering. Every day we were in Singapore started out gorgeous and hot with blue skies and slowly building white fluffy clouds. Between 3pm and 4pm each day, all the sun's hard work was shown off in monsoon showers. The cheap umbrellas we purchased dissolved right over our heads and the white water washing around our feet on the side-walks finished the job. As ubiquitous as Starbucks is, we still couldn't find one fast enough to escape the rains.

We also spent an afternoon in the old, original settlement designed by the Right Reverend Raffles himself and it was exactly all it's cracked up to be. All the little parks and bridges and canals scattered amongst the 12-star hotels and finance and shipping conglomerate skyscrapers, not to mention the concert halls, city hall, supreme court and the rest of the administrative buildings and the monuments...well it all comes together real purdy.

If the stars align correctly, two sentences beneath this one, you will be treated to the melifluous (sp?) stylings of the wife.

Say nice things about the photos in the comments. --Gabestopholes

Singapore was a shiny, sparkly jewel. There was no poop on the sidewalk, nor stray dogs in the street. Nowhere is perfect, but Singapore sure as hell tries to be. From Orchard Road, to Little India, or Chinatown, and on to the river, it was all fab. It is definitely a place I could live for a year or two. Just need to get the high paying jobs to afford it now. By the way Jeffery, I've got one word for you: Amsterdam. That's it from me. Short 'n' sweet.

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Photos

BAAANZAI!
Bonsai.

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Woof!

String
Highway

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