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Published: August 20th 2006
Sentosa Island
This is not paradise, just a pretty lame amusement park. and
Today are the governments two vehicle of mass media propaganda. You won't read anything critical of government policies in either of these two publications. " Never Question Authority" is what every living, breathing Singaporean is brought up to think. The minute you start to think critically, and make those criticism publicly known or worse yet, broadcast them in the mainstream media, which is to say government controlled television, radio, and the two soft dailies, you get shut down fast, swiftly, coldly, like a child misbehavin'. You could be a man in your thirties with a wife and kids, and still you get treated like a child. That's exactly what happened to a
blogger who tried to be too clever, airing out his criticism of government policy on a column he wrote for one of the
soft dailies. Though it was laced with humor and laden with much hyperbole, it was couched in such a way as to place blame on recent government policies which exacerbated the overall high cost of living in Singapore. In any other place in the free world such criticism occurs on a regular basis without as
The HarborFront
Taken at 1000 feet above inside the cable car much as a yawn from the government, but not in Singapore. No, No, No!!!!
The poor blogger got a good talking to by one of the ministers and lost his job as a columnist for one of the soft dailies. Father Singapore, of course, was incensed of the child's belligerence.
You ungrateful, inconsiderate piece of horse manure, you blogging son of a sailor's whore! How dare you question authority. After all the things we've done for you, the opportunities we've given you, the prosperity, the sense of well being, the American style of conspicuous consumption you so desire, demand, and adore so much! Damn you for not thanking me, the Government of the Peoples Republic of Singapore, every living day, every living minute, every living second of your life!
Jaywalking is punishable by death It's early in the afternoon here Singapore. I am sitting at an outdoor table in The Coffee Bean coffee shop in Holland Village, writing and people watching. I have been in Singapore for almost a week now, stuck here for some uninteresting reason, and I can't wait to leave tomorrow.
The traffic in Singapore is not as bad compared to other major cities in southeast Asia since the government controls the flow through toll fees, special zones with electronic surveillance and levying large fees and taxes on private vehicles. The Mass Rapid Transportation (MRT) system and other public transportation are also very efficient and affordable that it reduces the need for the majority to really have a need to own a car. A private vehicle in this country is probably more of a luxury, not a necessity. All of
Cavanaugh Bridge
No vehicles allowed this exquisite urban planning and regulating results in reduced traffic congestion, especially in the downtown Area. But it is still busy and it doesn't always run smoothly. There's lots of honking and stink-eye staring amongst the motorists whenever someone decides to not pay by the rules. The hustle and bustle of downtown Singapore makes the whole place seem disorienting at first.
I thought jay walking is a crime punishable by death in Singapore. Yet I see a whole bunch of pedestrians crossing on red lights, crossing away from traffic signals and generally disobeing walking signals. All this would seem to constitute a behavior punishable by death. But I was mistaken. The punishment is not death, only S$500 or a year in jail max. The exact terms is unclear to me really but it is clear that the citizens only pay a token respect to this law. Everyone jay walks in Singapore.
After a bite to eat at the Peranakan Place on Orchard Road yesterday I returned back to my hotel. It was 6:30 PM and the sun was still up, a good hour and a half left before sundown. As I entered the lobby I saw a couple
Little India
The unremarkable but infamous Flanders Square of very good looking Malay women checking in at the front desk. I caught their eyes but when they stared back I looked away quickly, embarrassed that I was caught looking. I was waiting at the elevator door when the two women came and stood by waiting for the same thing. The elevator opened and we all went in. I pushed the button for my floor number and when I asked for theirs one them said in a very manly and deep voice ''TEN''. Aaaaargh! There was no doubt from her voice that she is not a natural born female, as I had thought. They're transvestites! They looked gorgeous nonetheless so I turned to push 10 and tried hard not to laugh, biting my lips so hard to suppress a smile. I turned to look at one of the ''Mahu'' (Hawaiian for transvestite) and said ''How are you?''
''Goood, how yoooo'' said one of them in a very deep voice with a Malay accent which was unmistakably not female. The sound of her, er his voice just ruined it for me. It sounded so ugly and it did not jive with her pretty face. I got out of the
Orchard Towers
Another unremarkable but infamous spot elevator, went to my room and scratched my head at the contrast I just witnessed. Beauty and the beast.
I wanted to sleep but I couldn't, although I was sweating and exhausted from my stroll down Orchard Road. I took a shower to clear away the sweat and sat on the sofa afterwards to relax, drink ice cold water and watch ESPN on the tube. They had a rugby game on which I couldn't understand but I wasn't really paying attention to it because I was just vegging out and thinking about nothing in particular. That's the beauty of physical exhaustion, it clears your mind of thought and you somehow feel euphoric or satisfied, like a natural high after a strenuous workout. I tried to take a nap but somehow I just couldn't, I was restless. After a couple of hours or so I decided to put on a fresh pair of jeans, a dark polo shirt and headed out to Orchard Road. I was looking for a good bar or pub where I could just hang out and people watch to kill time. I was hoping alcohol would put me to sleep. It is nearly 10:00 PM and
Ready to Leave
I've had enough of this place. Heading back to Frisco, USA the shopping action has slowly died down. There were some Irish Pubs along Cuppage Road but they looked uninteresting to me. I was thinking of heading up on Scotts Road and see what's going on at the Far East building, wondering if TGIF is still there. I decided to keep going up on Orchard Road instead and realized that the most interesting place to sit down and have a drink is in one of those clubs in Orchard Towers.
Orchard Towers The closer I got to Orchard Towers the more I see older caucasian men walking towards that building. As I approached the entrance I saw a young and petite Thai girl standing outside and looking at every man that passes by, hoping to get that shopping for action look, and hook them early before they go in to shop in a vast array of choice companions. In fact she was one of a few dozen who surrounded the front and back entrances of the building. Thais, chinese girls from Malaysia, local girls, Indonesians, Filipinas, Laotian, Cambodians, all the southeast Asian nationalities are represented here. This is not illegal, for the authorities have designated this building as a red light district. As long as the working girls stay within this vicinity and carry the proper identification, which indicates that they are required to go in for health checks regularly, the wheeling and dealing goes on without any interferences from the vice squad. I tried to enter the building inconspicuously by bypassing the front entrance and avoiding eye contact with any girl, working or not, and walked around to the back entrance. I walked slowly because I was hoping to enter the back entrance without anyone seeing me. I turned around the corner and as I walked up the steps of the back entrance I was glad to see that nobody was around. I opened the door. Quickly and suddenly this big, burly menacing looking Filipino guy steps out and holds the door for three or four women, yelling something in Tagalog to the girls, and looking at me and speaking to me in Tagalog. I ignored him. He said in English ''Come down Pare, lots of Filipino women downstairs at Peyton's Place''. I just looked at him and smiled, shaking my head. I felt so embarrassed that this ponce took me for a John. I went inside and stopped at a bar that was once Club 392. There was no cover charge so I just went right in and looked around. It seemed extremely dark inside to me because my eyes had not yet adjusted to the dark room from the bright lights in the hall way. The bar is at the center of the room. Tables for two or four surround the area around the bar. There were plenty of empty tables and the place didn't look like it was ''happenin'', although loud rock music was blaring through the speakers. There were a couple of guys playing pool on one side of the room. A couple of girls were watching them. A girl at the bar was sitting alone and eyeing me. I looked away and walked around to scan the whole place, making sure I'm not missing any interesting action. There was none. That girl at the bar was looking at me the whole time, almost desperately following me with her eyes without getting up from her stool. I didn't like the look of this place. I did not want that girl at the bar to hook me so I left and took the escalator to the second floor.
The elevator is an excellent spot to watch the girls unfold their tricks, enticing the adventurous to take a dare. As the escalator rises up I could see a couple of beauties on the second floor, one in a tight black dress cut really high up to the thighs with meshed sides to expose her flesh. The other was wearing a white blouse and light green mini skirt, so tight that the outlines of her thongs were planted firmly on the upper end of her ass. This big fat old Haole (Caucasians are referred to as Haoles in my old Hawai'i) guy was approaching them. He looked the part of a John, balding, mustache, aloha shirt untucked, hairy, not particularly good looking, probably in Singapore for a couple of days, just stopping by on his way for a sex tour in Thailand. I'm probably mistaken, my assumptions are most likely wrong, but I just couldn't resist characterizing this repulsive looking fella. He would be an interesting character to use in a book, so there he is appearing in the eyes before you. The guy said something to the girls and one of them giggled. They were too far away for me to hear anything but I was curious so I walked around the second floor and trying to look like I was headed for a particular place but really, I was hoping to get close enough to hear their conversations. I passed by a couple of working girls but they did not look as interesting as the two girls talking to the fat guy. I couldn't find a reasonable excuse to get close enough to hear their conversation, there just wasn't any bars or establishment close enough to the action. The fat guy walked away and the girls moved on to the next victim, a middle eastern looking guy who was even more hairy than the fat guy. This guy looked menacing and I did not want to catch his ire. He might be an Al-Qaidan on his R & R before he goes on a hijacking mission to Israel, so I stayed away from that action.
I got on the escalator again and headed up to the third floor. More girls waiting and baiting. There's a certain look in men that lets these girls know when to lay out the bait and go on the attack mode. Most of the time the John looking for action is obvious. He will walk around with hands in his pockets and look carefully and directly into the girls' eyes. The girl will look back and smile agreeably. If the guy lingers his stare longer than normal the girl knows he is looking for action. She approaches him and ask if he is looking for company. If the guy is shy she will offer the types of services she can perform that will fullfil all his longings for the night, whatever that maybe. She will urge him, compliment him, massage his ego a little bit, tell him what a pleasurable experience it will be, guaranteed. If he asks for the price she's got him hooked. All she has to do after that is close the deal with the final negotiation. All of this I observed while riding the escalator inside Orchard Towers.
I finally arrived on the fourth floor and I could not go up any higher. There was no other place but down or one of the clubs on the fourth floor. Being a curious guy I decided to go inside Top Ten, the converted theater with a skyline wall decoration. It looked interesting at first but there was hardly anyone there. Some Thai girls, a couple of Filipinas, but other than that I did not see any action, no wheeling and dealing, no bait, hook, and bag'em as far as I could tell. I went to the bar and this girl who looked and sounded like an adolescent kid served me a stein of Heineken draft. I drank my beer and looked around but there was nothing interesting going on. A DJ was spinning rap music up on the stage above the dance floor but there was nobody dancing, the place was cavernous and almost empty. I finished my beer and had another one. It was hard for me to see the time on my watch because it was too dark. I asked the bartender for the time and she said 11:00 PM. I asked where everyone was and she said it's a slow night. I sat there twisting and turning in my stool for thirty minutes but nothing interesting happened so I finished my beer and left. A few meters away from the entrance of Top Ten is another club which looked more ''happenin''. Guys and gals were coming in and out with more frequency and I could hear jovial voices, music and laughter inside from where I was standing. I already had a couple of beers but I wasn't drunk and I was feeling quite good. The place is called Wild Horse or Crazy Horse, I can't quite remember the real name. I went in and the place was packed with women talking, giggling, dancing and enticing the guys who were there looking for action. As soon as I stepped in two girls were at me trying to work on me. I ignored them both and navigated my way to the bar. It was somewhat difficult because the place was crowded, I had to bump and avoid eye contact with the working women. I finally reached the bar but the bartender was busy making drinks to take my order. Not a moment too soon a waitress came up to me and said ''beer sir?''. I said ''Yes, Tiger beer please'' She took my order and I grabbed the nearest available table away from the crowd and facing the dance floor. I barely settled into my seat and this little Thai girl approaches me with a smile. I shook my head right away and said no thank you. She was kind enough to let me be. She bowed her head slightly and left. I got my beer, which cost S$12.00. It was ridiculous. All of a sudden this tall Asian girl approaches me from behind and says ''Hi, I am Tia, you like buy me drink?'' Before I could say no the waitress was already at the table ready to take her order. I was speechless, they had me cornered and I felt helpless so I just nodded and pretended that it's no big deal. ''Sure, why not'' I said. I figured one drink for twenty dollars and that's it, these people are not gonna trick me into spending anymore than that. After all, I came here to observe and nothing more. That's what I kept telling myself. Don't be a fool, this tall girl is going to do everything she can to titillate you and get you to take her back to your hotel.
Resist, resist, resist.
I was ready for this. Sure enough, this girl tells me she's from Laos and she likes me, sits real close next to me, brushes her breast on my elbow, rubs her face on mine, doing all the tricks to hook me. I just sat there and drank my Tiger beer, looking at the dance floor and enjoying the sights of a couple of Malay or Indonesian girls in tight jeans and tight shirts shaking their asses, looking real seductive, begging for action. Meanwhile this tall Laotian girl, who look like she's Chinese, very pretty, speaks in broken English, keeps sitting real close to me and touching me all over. I realized right then and there that if you come in here alone you are fair game. No one comes here to observe. All the guys in here know exactly what they're here for. They sit with the girls and buy them drinks, happily throwing their money away. There's a lot of flirting and touching and kissing going on but no actual intercourse. For that to happen the ladies have to close the deal when the guys have had a lot to drink to resist their offer. This beautiful Laotian girl was working on me hard. She had her drink, a shot of something for twenty dollars with whip cream on top of it. She dances in front of me and looks at herself at the mirror behind me, rearranging her hair, tilting her head and face sideways, looking insatiable, giving me that desperate for action stare and making me feel desirable. Then she asked me if I wanted to take her home. She was pulling all her tricks in a span of ten minutes. But I was buying none of it. I just smiled at her and said I don't have much money.
''I can't afford you'' I told her.
''How much do you want to pay for me?'' she said. WHOA! I could name my price? This isn't Thailand, where one US dollar equals 40 baht. Ten dollars in Thailand will buy you a good time for the whole night. Maybe this girl thinks she is still in Laos. At than moment I almost felt sorry for her. It didn't help that she has that look of innocence. I thought about how tough life must be back in Laos. But then I came back to my senses and told myself that this is part of her trick.
Resist, resist, resist.
So I told her that she is very beautiful but no thanks, I am not looking for company tonight. Maybe next time, I'll look for you. She pursed her lips and gave me her sad eyes. She continued dancing slowly in front of me and looking at herself in the mirror. The waitress came back to ask me if I wanted another beer. I said no, I haven't finished my first one yet. ''How about another one for her?'' The Laotian girl looked at me and nodding, indicating that she would love another one.
Resist, resist, resist.
I just shook my head and said no. The Laotian girl did not give up. She kept rubbing her body on mine, using her tricks to no avail because I was resilient. I finally finished my beer and left. I was there a total of thirty minutes. It was past midnight. I took the escalator down and watched the action taking place. The place was humming now and starting to shift into high gear as the night wore on. For me it was the end of the day. I am not a night person. I usually go to bed around 10:00 PM but this was an exception. As I walked out of Orchard Towers I saw several ladies in groups of three or four, huddling and talking, probably comparing notes and discussing their strategies. As they turned to look at me I looked away, not giving them any opportunity to hone in on me. I took a taxi back to my hotel. I wasn't about to walk the whole length of Orchard Road at this point. I was exhausted and when I finally reached my hotel room I took my clothes off and promptly went to bed with the air condition on full blast.
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Daz
non-member comment
'sup ladyboys
Hey mate, Any tall girl in Crazy Horse is not a girl :)