goodbye Singapore..

Chistmas without cold temperatures is not a real christmas!
The spirit of cuddling under a warm blanket is missing…or something like that.
Well i did not really feel like christmas, so i did not miss anything.
(even though here everything is full of christmas lights, fake trees, santa hats and gigantic christmas sales)

the day before the 24th…i could just write December 23rd, but this would be too easy :).. i made a bicycle tour with Dieter (see last pic)
nice beaches..
If you wonder “what is the black line on the horizon?”
i could answer “it is my welcoming fleet” but i already told you that, so the market for transport is not as good as it used to be, so all the ships here are waiting for a job, and the space in front of the beach is the cheapest to park your freight ship.. is that a real word…freight?
On the other side of the beach they park the people…
the next day, i went to see the jungle, because there is a giant-hanging-tree-top-bridge(which was closed the day i went -.- )
the leaves were gigantic the tracks were extremely muddy (stupid ole, why do you enter the park directly after rainfall?) the plants were beautiful! And the climate was so extremely humid, i had to make a tourban, that i did not have a waterfall of sweat dripping in my eyes
…
do you even want to read this?
i should keep bodily intimacies to myself
 5cm = ~2inches big ants… Stesen Ranger is Malay(language of Malaysia..) and sounds like Station Ranger.
Why do they write it like that?
They wanted to make sure, it is not the English language (which it is, as Malaysia was an english colony -.-) but their own.

The first baby monitor lizard i saw (30cm)  some strange ?birds nest…maybe it is made by wasps thoughThe lakes in this national park are one of the main water sources of Singapore. They are, aside from some big-leafed algae, really clean The second monitor lizard/goanna (ca. 50cm)  A tree with green fur, maybe sombody can make a coat out of it and give it to lady Gaga as a christmas present. The third and biggest monitor Lizard, i understand why they call them dragons.. around 1,2 meters big boy.
It seemed weird, that the lizards became bigger and bigger every time we met one.
(we? yeah i forgot to tell, and make a picture. I met 2 really nice people, on my way, because the bridge was closed, so we continued the hike together…)
MONKEYS!!!!!….wait.. BABY MONKEYS!!!! The cool thing is, that in the contrary to India, these monkeys are really tame and don’t want your food. Feeding the monkeys is strictly prohibited and has a heavy fine…so you come very close to them If the water was deeper and with a little less leafs in it, this would be my new paradise..but i should not always be so demanding 🙂 The Bipolarity of Singapore: Nature and Men!Me and my host Dieter 🙂

 

The conclusion:
Singapore is an (European) tamed Asia.
A financial and business Center, where eating vegetarian, is almost impossible. As is seeing the sunset…
Tomorrow i will be on my way to Melakka…i am looking forward to it!
So long
Ole

p.s. the best food i had was Laksa soup…and i am so going to learn the recipe 😀

Sightseeing in Singapore

 

On December 21st the world stood still…

And then came the rain, an Armageddon indeed.
Litres of water pounding down on the street, Winds storming through the city.
nobody was hurt, due to the short duration of the rainageddon..it lasted for 15 minutes and then the sun was shining telling about a new era…or so they say.
New era or not, Singapore will know.
What we are so scared of in Europe (or at least Germany) is very common here.
Cameras everywhere, blocked pornographic websites, high taxes, high fines for everything (1000 SG$ for Littering, 500SG$ for eating in the Subway) and  Trains that run on TimeThe only strange thing about it is, it works.
Singapore is leading in fighting Corruption, has the highest Income per Person in whole Asia.
The City is growing providing drinking water from the tab, free concerts, good hygiene, a fabulous transport system and free really beautiful parks.

This tree is in “Chinese garden”, very beautiful and calm Park with an own bonsai garden.

Singapore has some districts, that are reserved for specific ethnicities: “little India”, “Chinatown” and “Arab street” (which is actually the Malay quarter)
Chinese dominate Singapore, then Malay and Indians, who mostly come from Tamil Nadu. I met a few from Chennai.

This Mosque is in Arab street, but in contrast to the Mosque in Chennai, this one isn’t allowed to blast out their prayers in huge speakers…they do it rather quiet.In fact, not even the churches are allowed to ring their bells.
Singapore is a free country, free of missionary or forced religion…so everybody is supposed to keep to themselves.

 

The “Banana-Boat-6-Star-Hotel” again…i found out the real name: Marina Bay Sands…whatever, i like mine better
This is a floating football (or soccer for my American readers [but i hope you realize, that american Football is not played with your feet 😉 )So i actually went to see the “art of the brick” exhibition at the Art&Science MuseumAll the following pieces are made completely from LEGO blocks, by Nathan Sawaya Except this one, this is me:   This is the Helix bridge…well its spiraly
It really looks cool…not?…it is boring though…
Oh i don’t like sightseeing..:-/
 Chinese Steampunk Architecture…creepy building They were serious about the price…5 damn SG$ for 3oz. of icecream!!! Traditional chinese architecture…not as monumental, yet happier Modern Singaporese Architecture, some people aparently see this as the only reason to see singapore.. 😛Singapore flyer…the biggest fairy wheel in the worldThe “Banana-Boat-6-Star-Hotel-Light-and-Laser-Show” In case anybody exept me wants to learn Thai-massage (whithout the happy ending of course 😉 ) i don’t want to hold you back…Singapore is a hard city for me.
I like meeting people, speaking, laughing, playing and maybe even dancing. But Singapore is so anonymous, everybody is busy and has their own plan.
I met some people, who helped me out, and some guys even showed me around a little, but it was very shallow.
I think i might have a culture shock…
From India to Singapore…lets see what the future brings.

So long Ole
p.s. Last time i forgot to tell you:
watch the Life of Pi!!! Beautiful Movie!

p.p.s. I know Singapore is a country, still i won’t make a quiz from here, that just seems odd..its an island city..tss
p.p.p.s. spot the differences

Travelpics from Mumbai to Singapore

Finally the last pictures of india 🙂
in a giant package.

The paradox of ?India?
Everybody knows its there, but who cares?The train ride from Mumbai to Chennai (26h for 5,5 euro)  The good thing about Indian security standards is the opportunities you gain.
For example sitting in an open train door at 80 km/h
Chennai club rules  The 2nd biggest beach in the World (Marina Beach Chennai)  But it is probably dirtier than the biggest one 😉 Do you see the guys in the back of the picture? Well, they saw me… A store for traditional indian clothing, H&M-Style Good Morning, Daawwg I got a 500rupee job of dubbing a movie 🙂 yay
The same guy actually came to me again 4 days later, to ask me if i want to act in one. I said yes, becauseit ment 3 days in Kerala with free food and accomodation 😉 and i got him to pay 500 Rupees in advance for my room in chennai…the shooting was cancelled, but i did not give the money back 🙂 This Mosque gave a prayer 5 times a day…like a beautiful song, right next to the guest housei am pure for sure: no meat, no alc, no drugs…and no girl The daily sunrise at the Yogashram  Balaji my Teacher And the 24 Mantras, before doing one cycle of the Surya Namaskar (sun greeting) you recite the Mantra depending on which number you are at.
(and the address of this very cool School)  The Garden of the Theosophical Society was amazing!
Peacock Tree

And i think this is the most coolest tree i found so far, it is a Banyan Tree.
Its roots come from the branches and descend right to the ground…  So this forest, which is around 250 square meters, is just one living organism… O.O  I just love the symbolic…i guess only Europeans see a paradox here.
Indians just see 2 powerful symbols of luck…  Around 5 tonns of coconut And around 10’000 BananasThe graveyard was …. different So these tombs hold the ashes and bones, but they are expensive to pay for…the yellow one is frequently taken care for…it is 5 years old If you don’t have so much money, you get a grave for down to 10 days. After that your bones are thrown on the pile…6 years ago the corpses have been burned here…the ashes are still there, even though they build a new house. The graveyard crew I don’t know about you, but i think this is pretty funny 😀 Last sunrise before leaving chennai (even though i don’t know when i took this foto…just imagine i sentimentally took it on my last day 😉 )Arriving in Singapore. I did not know the organized an event for me.
Somebody of you probably told them there is a big personality arriving in town…

…so they welcomed me with a Container ship armada They even put ships on 6star hotels…
(actually this picture holds 3 very famous sights of singapore..the lionfountain, the hotel thing (who cares for the name, its way to expensive anyways ^^) and the art&science museum So i am back in “Europe” now…just with more Asians 😉
so long
Ole