First Day in Singapore

I've never slept in such a hard, solid bed as I did my first night in Singapore.  I had previously been spoiled by my soft pillow top queen bed back in San Francisco, but now I was in the land of flat beds and straight spines.  If anything, my posture will improve.

I woke up at 7am and tried to find my way back to dreams but that was a silly endeavor.  I was too messed up by jet lag and new environments.  So by 8am I was out of the covers and into the shower.  The hotel room I was staying in was very modern, very rigid and very white.  The ceiling leaped to a height of about 18 feet to create a very concise box.  Within this box-like room was the bathroom/shower separated by huge glass walls.  I called this space the aquarium because you could stand and watch whoever was showering or pooping with bored interest - tapping on the glass for amusement and general obnoxious glee.  I was alone, so there would be no voyeuristic shenanigans for me.

The shower head was off to the left of the small bathtub.  Instead of pouring into the empty porcelain basin, it just rained out onto the floor where a drain was situated.  I laid down a shower mat on the tiled floor so I wouldn't slip and break my ass.

Out of the shower, I chose my dia de los muertos t-shirt consisting of three colorful sugar skulls on black.  I waxed my mustache, put on a short-brimmed hat to protect my monkey's butt, and threw on my sunglasses.  It was time to step outside and see what Singapore looked like in the day time.  Plus I was getting hungry.

I skipped the hotel breakfast, which was a $25 dollar western meal of eggs, potatoes, toast and meat.  That was crazy talk!  $25 dollars for fried eggs?  There better be a bottomless mimosa or bloody mary and a large chested waitress wiping my mouth with that price.  Of course, once I stepped outside and faced the intimidation of food stalls without any noticeable English instructions - I began to think $25 wasn't that expensive for comfort and recognizable menus.  But no, I wasn't going to let my first meal in Singapore be some corporate fast food chain or typical western meal.  I would wait until hunger stimulated my courage and I grew a pair.  Time to experience and live in my new environment.

As I walked around, collecting stares and gawking eyes at my out of place dress and face, I began to feel a mixture of anxiety and excitement.  What was I doing?  I've always been a bit of an eccentric, but I now recognized I was full out bizarre to many of the people encountering me for the first time.  I wondered if I would eventually shave, buy brown shoes, and button up shirts to better fit in and gain acceptance.  No, that won't be happening.  I'll take the looks.  Onwards!

My goal for walking around, besides scoping out my food options, was to locate A Beary Good Hostel - which was where I would be staying for the next 7 days.  I knew it was only a couple blocks from my room at the Furama hotel, but the question of how to get my ridiculously heavy luggage there was troubling.  Especially given the heat and stairs I would have to traverse through.  In any case, I found the hostel on Pagoda Street in a Chinese open market that was inaccessible to cars.  Welp, guess I was destined to drag that luggage regardless.

I made my way back to my hotel and prepared for my first move.  I did some last minute emails and researched food options in the area before heading down to the lobby to check out and hire a cab to take me my two blocks.  The cabbie, the bell hop hailed, couldn't understand much English - or at least my English.  Even the bell hop, who was used to pronouncing words in different recognizable ways, had trouble getting the cab driver to understand.  The last thing he said to the driver before closing the door was, "Are you sure you know where you're going?"  Oh shit, I thought.

But there was no problems getting me to Pagoda Street, thankfully.  I paid the driver, pulled out all 150 pounds of my luggage from the taxi, and dragged my belongings to the street corner.  I had about a block to cross, but it was full of vendors and tourists to dodge or leap over.  I threw on my backpack, tied my banjo around my carry-on suitcase, and placed a GI Joe kung fu grip on my main traveling suitcase.  I huffed and sweated the distance towards the hostels front door, taking turns switching bags between arms, and ignoring the shouts from the vendors and street tailors who called out, "Hey, music man!  I want to make you a great suit!  Only 108 dollars!  I bet your a good music man!"  Nope, I suck ass.

I was drenched in sweat when I made it up the flight of stairs to the hostels front desk.  I didn't have all the cash yet to pay my fees, but I was able to drop off my bags and promise to be right back once I found an ATM...and food.  During my research of food options, I found a highly rated hole-in-the-wall vegetarian restaurant.  I would first locate this place, fill my stomach, and then find a means of refilling my wallet.

This particular vegetarian Chinese restaurant I found was rad!  Small.  Quaint.  I walked through the front door to be warmly greeted by an old man and woman.  There was a counter to my right with food buns and a chalkboard with the days menu - it changes every day.  The old man gestured to the board and asked, "What would you like?  It's all good food!  You're going to love it!"  I opted for the fried glass noodles, over the brown rice meal, and took a seat at one of the small stools set under a squat table.  "Very good!  You'll like it!" and off the old man went to get my meal ready.  The place was very interesting - besides the main counter was a large shelf of dried beans, spices, and other custom packaged food items.  There was also an area directly behind the dining tables and stools with tons of books and Buddhist information.   I couldn't tell if it was a reading area or bookstore.  In the corner of the restaurant was a flat screen TV playing a Chinese historical period soap opera.

My food came out very fast and looked fantastic with all the greens and vegetables on the tiny, shiny, hot noodles.  "Would you like some soup?" asked the old man.  Why yes, yes I would.  He brought out a bowl of piping hot water-cress soup with bits of cashews in it.  The flavors were mild but fresh.  It felt healthy - not saturated with oil, and flavorings, but still delicious.  Overall the meal was amazing, and cheap, and I promised the elderly couple I would return. 

From the restaurant, I walked around trying to locate a CitiBank, which apparently are around in Singapore but elusive to me.  I ended up conceding to use an ATM from another bank and thankfully had no trouble pulling out the cash needed to pay for my hostel.  I took my wad of cash back to the air conditioned haven of A Beary Good Hostel, paid for my complete stay, and got back onto my computer to sort shit out.

While on my computer, I made my first contact with another NYU student, Chris, who came downstairs to greet me after a few Facebook messages.  He was staying at the hostel with a handful of other people from NYU.  I awkwardly chatted with him, trying to break through the initial surprise of finally meeting someone face to face that I had been talking to via the internet for over 3 months.  After a short conversation, and also meeting classmate Annalise, they headed off to run some errands and eventually I did the same.  I needed to find a detailed street map of Singapore, as well as, an adapter for my computer plug.

Back out on the streets of Singapore, I found an awesome little bookstore which held the exact kind of map I was looking for.  Following this, I found a mall with a VCD/DVD shop.  As I wandered around, looking at all the Asian films and Western imports, I eventually found the adapters I needed and they were very cheap.  My laptop could charge it's batteries once again.

I had started to grown hungry again, as it was now approaching 5pm in the afternoon.  On my way back to the hostel, I finally got the courage to try a street hawker and ordered a small plate of seafood fried rice.  I was a little weirded out watching the cook put the meal together.  Dishes of squid, shrimp, and other "seafood" lay about the grill in the open air.  I wondered how fresh they were, especially sitting out with little refrigeration, but figured best just go with it.   I have a stomach of steal after years of dining at San Francisco taquerias, which can be just as hygienically questionable as any other street vendor or hot dog stand.  In any case, the plate of fried rice was handed over with a giant scoop of chili pepper oil.  The result?  Best fried rice I ever had.  Good lord!  Singapore and I are going to get along just fine.

Back at the hostel, I met back up with Chris and Annalise, and also met students Shreyom, and Matt.  The five of us stepped downstairs to the open market below the hostel and sat down in an open air restaurant to quench our thirst on $5.50 "huge" bottles of Tiger beer.  There's no better way to bond and get to know somebody then over some alcohol.  We all sat drinking and sharing backgrounds, goals, stories while revealing our personalities as the sun set on my first day of Singapore.  We put away over 15 bottles of Tiger beer before being joined by Candice - another NYU student I have talked to a lot via Facebook but never met in person.  We all got along so very well, and I was very pleased to have so much in common with my new friends.  I have once again found my people.  People who love film, who love socializing with a cold drink, and love jumping into new situations head first.  In a drunken, tired state, we all wandered off to the hawker stands for one last late night snack before retiring back to the hostel.  Thus my day ended - lying back, listening to the sleeping bodies sharing my room, until I finally found the sleep I had so sought after the night before.