Some Strange Storm

50 Cent - We Up (feat. Kendrick Lamar)

Trip Part 3: Singapore. After a great few nights in Taipei it was time to start venturing south and into the area that we had been planning on going to all along: South East Asia. Singapore was a city that we had briefly discussed going to but never made concrete plans for. But after learning that it was a major hub for getting cheap flights to other countries we figured it was worth checking out for a few nights.

Singapore is truly a one-of-a-kind city. Most people (myself included at the time) do not know very much about the city other than the oft ridiculed law that forbids one from spitting in public. This law certainly is ridiculous but damn it sure is enforced well and, because of that, the city is very clean; spotless in fact. I noticed this right away, in the sparkly airport bathroom that even allowed you to rate its cleanliness out of 5 progressively happier looking faces on a touch screen on the way out (I gave it the super huge smile). As we passed dozens of custodians on the way to the Metro the cleanliness remained. I also immediately noticed three distinct cultural groups: Indians, Chinese, and South East Asians (likely mostly Malaysian). There were no true Singaporeans; just a hodgepodge of these Asian cultures all (somewhat) struggling to communicate in the only official language, English. I thought this would be great for experiencing the different cultures and cuisines.

Since we knew Singapore was going to be expensive and we were still in the infancy of the trip we found a cheap ass place to stay outside of town. We also planned to spend the next few days without alcohol as A) it is ridiculously pricey, worse than Canada! and B) we figured a good detox couldn't hurt the imminent debauchery that would take place over the next four months. After finally arriving at our destination we discovered that not ALL of Singapore is spotless; check out Hello WOW Hostel for proof. The good thing about it was that the A/C worked and we were right next to a Metro station. The bad thing was that we were also in the middle of nowhere. So at nearly 11pm the first meal in Singapore was the only place that was open nearby, McDonald's. Fail.

The next day we ventured into town to do some good ol' sightseeing. We wandered everywhere through the financial district, University district, Chinatown, Little India and even all the way to the Malaysian border. Holy fuck it was fucking hot as fuck! Let the sweating begin. Thankfully the amazing architecture kept my mind off it as I was dazzled by block after block of awesome buildings such as futuristic skyscrapers, Indian temples, and Chinese markets. Also a massive yet brief downpour kept me cool and was the first taste of the crazy thunderstorms of Southeast Asia. We ended the night in Little India by eating at a jungle-themed Indian restaurant that had delicious food.

For our last day we decided to go to the world famous Singapore Zoo. It rained during our entire bus ride there but cleared up right as we walked through the gate. Now I have been to the San Diego Zoo and the Safari Park which are widely reviewed as the best zoos in the world, along with Berlin. But Singapore was right up there and was simply magnificent. Due to the slightly cool and overcast weather the animals were wide awake and very active. You know how you can be at a cage, peer in, see nothing and just go meh and move on to the next one? Well this never happened here. Not only was every animal awake and active but they were in plain sight, often very close to the visitors. We also arrived right around lunch time and, by sheer luck, got to be firsthand witnesses for feeding sessions for the likes of White Bengal tigers, jaguars, lions, and monkeys. The brother and sister White Bengal tigers were the two most gorgeous animals I have ever seen in person. They are 2 of only 5 left in the world and were a brilliant sight to watch as they swam, played, and ate their meal. We even walked by the orangutans just in time to see them being fed outside of their habitats. They wandered out onto a log and just chilled and ate while people got to sit under them for pics. Of course we somehow ended up right near the front of the line and got some great pics. Besides these marvelous mammals the zoo also featured komodo dragons, snakes, monkeys, these hideous warthog/pig things and giraffes. I would strongly recommend that you go to the zoo if ever in Singapore as it was an absolute highlight.

Later that day we decided to check out the harbour. And, damn, another magnificent sight that we had no idea even existed. The harbour, known as Marina Bay, offers spectacular views of the incredible skyline and the world famous Marina Bay hotel, which is 3 massive buildings connected by a giant boat-shaped structure at the top. After two many pictures from down below we decided to bite the bullet and shill out the $20 to venture to the observation deck at the top of the hotel. We made it up just as the sun was setting and got some incredible photos of the skyline and harbour in the light and dark. To top the day off we made it back down just in time for a super cool fountain and light show. I'm having trouble doing this justice with my words so be sure to check out some pics below. As for Singapore, it was definitely a cool city although it is definitely only worth visiting for 2-3 days. Just make sure you see the zoo and Marina Bay.

"We Up" by 50 Cent and featuring Kendrick Lamar perfectly describes the feeling of being on top of the luxurious Marina Bay Hotel. The song brags about riches and we certainly got to experience a lot of that in the wealthy city. The song rides a slick beat punctuated by sultry keyboards as Fiddy raps about his riches and provides the catchy chorus. But the track really gets going when K Dot enters for a blazing, scene-stealing verse. I'm definitely looking forward to more new music from 50 Cent, someone who I have always liked but never truly dug into until now.

Click the link below for a cool video I shot of the White Bengal tigers:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152555285080646&l=6139133841379634611

Some Singapore pics...