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Published: December 2nd 2007
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Not quite the Taj Mahal
...but Humayun's Tomb was supposedly the precursor to the Taj Mahal! This was one of the sights in Delhi, India. (4 hours away from the Taj Mahal) I have to say that looking back on the past few weeks I can't imagine finding a more drastic contrast between the places I've visited. From crime ridden Johannesburg and chaotic Delhi to a clean, orderly and safe Singapore. It's like going from 125th street in Harlem to Disneyworld. I was only in Delhi for 3 days since I decided to extend my stay in South Africa. I had intended to visit the Taj Mahal but since I didn't organize anything prior to arriving, I didn't have time to make the journey to Agra. The high speed train was sold out and I couldn't imagine traveling 8 hours round-trip just to see a building by myself, even if it is one of the Wonders of the World. In all honestly, I was quite lazy and spent most of my time in Laurence's apartment using his computer. My second day there he had his driver take me around to some of the Delhi tourist attractions but my heart really wasn't in it. It's boring visiting temples and historic sites by yourself when all you do is drive from one point to the next and the driver didn't speak much English. The traffic
The Lawsons
My gracious hosts in Singapore; Andrew, Amanda and Eleanor on the roads was insane, especially when you would see the cows walking down the road against traffic. There didn't really seem to be any sense of order on the roads and there were beggars knocking on the car window when we would stop. In the area where Laurence lives (Gurgaon), there are LOTS of shopping malls and tons of construction going on for a new MRT system, new apartments and more malls. I imagine Delhi will be a much different city to visit in a few years. Thanks Laurence for hosting me during my visit...sorry it was so brief and poorly time (Mon-Wed)!
After my brief visit with Laurence and India I headed to Singapore. I was very impressed with how organized EVERYTHING in Singapore is. Granted, it's pretty much government controlled...but still impressive. Everything from their MRT system to the taxi system seemed to run as efficiently as imaginable. The taxi drivers were knowledgeable AND nice. With that being said, while Singapore is tropical, clean and safe....it's probably one of the most unoriginal places I've ever visited. I decided to rename Singapore "Mallsandmore". I don't believe I've ever seen so much shopping in one place in my
Me and Eleanor
Playing with the camera and entertaining Eleanor at the same time. Given our contrasting skin colors, no one questioned whether or not she was my child. :) entire life. The only thing Singapore and Delhi had in common was their huge affinity for shopping malls.
It was awesome to see Amanda and Andrew (A&A) and to meet their adorable little girl Eleanor. Amanda was a very attentive hostess and always going out of her way to try to make sure I had stuff to do and would meet up with me whenever she could. While I found Singapore itself to be unoriginal, that doesn't mean there wasn't a variety of things to do. I attended an Australian election results party with A&A and met several of Amanda's new friends. It was interesting to watch and I learned a fair amount about Australia's election process and the players. A&A took me to the Hyatt for Sunday brunch in celebration of America's Thanksgiving holiday. It was an excellent 3-4 hour FEAST with free flowing champagne . Amanda just moved to Singapore about 6-7 months ago and she really hasn't had much of an opportunity to be a tourist, which worked out well for me because she was a willing companion for exploring some of the tourist spots. We visited Sentosa Island, which was theme parkish with their
Shoe Bill Bird
A rather odd looking bird at the Jurong Bird Park in Singapore. aquarium, dolphin show, rides and beaches. While the scene was rather "cheesy" as my friend Emma stated, and the aquarium was reminiscent of the Norwalk aquarium back in Connecticut, they did have some sea creatures I had never seen before. We also made our way to the Jurong Bird Park with Eleanor, which again had some birds I'd never seen before. And of course we had the obligatory drink at Raffles Long Bar. Did I mention Singapore is tropical? That is another way of saying it rains a lot. 😊 One morning Amanda and I walked to a local wet market to get a few items and as we were walking back noticed a line of black clouds rolling in. We thought we might get a "little wet", but the downpour we experienced was like nothing I have experienced before. We got wet and then decided to RUN back (with Eleanor in her stroller) and got completely drenched. It was pretty funny! As is usually the case, it seemed to rain whenever I didn't have an umbrella with me and didn't rain when I did. I did get a chance to explore Chinatown which was probably one of my favorite
Mt. Faber
Photo opportunity looking out over Singapore(aka "Mallsandmore")from Mt. Faber. areas and did plenty of shopping on Orchard Road as well as at Suntec City and Holland village. (My backpack at 23kg really can't take much more!) My friend Sid and his wife Hema also moved to Singapore about 1 1/2 years ago. They were also former neighbors of mine at the Avalon in Stamford. Unfortunately, Hema and their son Sukrit were out of town but I did get a chance to meet up with Sid for dinner. His office is at Park View Square which is Singapore's Gotham City. It is a cool art deco building that I wouldn't have been able to see if not for Sid since it's a members only bar. I wasn't a very good tourist in Singapore as far as photo taking. Part of it was the rain and part of it was forgetfulness. My last night there Amanda took me to the Clarke Quay and we had a nice dinner and then wandered past a live Scottish band and decided to watch for a bit. We learned it was St. Andrews Day in Scottland and the local Scottish pub was hosting a few bands to celebrate. I can say that Singapore is definitely multi-cultural! We ended up staying out till midnight and since I had a taxi picking me up at 4:30 am, I decided to just stay awake for the night. It was a long 4 hours! I had an uneventful flight (thankfully) to Perth where I am currently staying on Scarborough beach for a few days. Speaking of the beach, I should probably be there rather than in an internet cafe. So, I'm off to explore and will be back with updates as my adventure continues. Take care and email me with updates of your own too!
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Debra
non-member comment
keeping up
I'm keeping up with your posts. Don't worry you aren't posting them for nothing. Keep having fun. Debra