Race Ahead Singapore

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Singapore baby! Today I decided to go to the race track with my friend instead of a Hop on Hop off bus tour. My decision was based on the fact that the only two things that I felt I really needed to see were Raffles Hotel and Little India. I would be able to see those pretty easily without a bus tour. Also I thought it would be great to do something with a friend, as well as see just why he was so passionate about horse racing.

So the two of us took the train out there and…… I won 1,200 Singapore damn dollars! Of the nine races I bet on I picked the winning horse four times. Good Striker, Gust, Race Ahead, and Simply Special. My favorite pick was Gust, a longshot tip that my friend had gotten from his mate Punky. I was having fun betting the longshots so I put a $10 bet on. Also this was the top race that was in all the morning papers. It paid out $420. Neat.

The day at the races was really a memorable experience. We sat outside in the cheaper lower grandstand. It was pretty much filled up with just men, Chinese and Indian. What an atmosphere it was. People cheering lustily, crowding around television sets, papers littering the ground, and a buzz and a rhythm that kept things going for six hours straight. Watching the numbers changing pre-race, calculating odds and what not. I also had a delicious bowl of laksa, a Singapore specialty. It’s a chili coconut soup with other goodies thrown in.

I love the heat and colonialism of Singapore. It is Southeast Asia without the hassle. I could live here. It is definitely livable. Although that race track would sure be awfully tempting…

* * *3 days later* * *

Last Night of the trip: I finally made it to Little India and it was great. It seems like everything in Singapore is a manageable version of a real place somewhere else. Little India had the feel of Delhi without the crushing poverty and chaos. So lets call it India Lite. But even India Lite is pretty cool. The four of us traveling companions went for a dinner of Banana Leaf curry. It is little piles of curry served on a banana leaf that you can and I did eat with my hands. Perfect ending to a very satisfactory city-break.

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Photos

Lucky Singapore
Singapore with all its colors would be very good to me.

Little India
Finally, the banana leaf curry I had been craving.