Singapore: Football & Discovery

01-01-2005
Today was basically a 'discover Singapore' day. I am getting a little tired of leading Tim around everywhere, and to be honest, I'm sure he is sick of me doing so. However, at the moment there is no alternative, so we just have to grin and bear it. That being said, everytime we get lost (which for us seems to be quite often), we eventually find the right way, and from there learn about a new food place, or bus, or MRT station, or something that is useful. So it is not all bad!

We did brief tours of Little India, at which we visited an out-of-the-way food outlet which served some of the cheapest beer in Singapore, and walked past AussieMart (still there from 2003!) and Apollo Banana Leaf (a very famous Indian restaurant that serves most of its dishes on banana leafs!). From there we proceded to Chinatown, walking around the entire block, from Yue Hwa and People's Park (big shopping centres) through past Smith St (which at night turns into a food market with excellent satays) into the markets and past the temples. This is the real Singapore, rather than Orchard Rd and the big clinical 'Westfield'-clones.

After Chinatown, we went to Bugis, which is near the city centre, and was where we stayed when we came here as a family last year. The area has been gentrified beyond belief, from one of the 'red-light' districts, to a covered shopping centre (maintained in the style of the old shop-fronts) with a Japanese department store, cinemas and a MRT station. Close to Bugis are the markets (a la Thailand, Indonesia, with lots of fake clothing, food and the like - except Bugis is far more 'local'-focused, with little touristy goods), and Sim Lim Square. Sim Lim is an interesting location. It is similar to Pantip Plaza in Thailand, except without the fake CDs. Instead, you have store after store selling the same cameras, discmans, iPods, and computers at similar prices. Many stores have given up price-matching, instead telling the tourist to 'be careful'. Whilst this is true, as some tourists have come away with the wrong goods (after they have been swapped under the counter following the purchase), and others have got to the end of bargaining, only to be told they have run out of stock, it is just as bad to inflate prices on the basis that they are 'legitimate'. In my mind that is just as bad - they are playing on the bad side of others.

The day ended quite early, with a fantastic dinner courtesy of the Tang family (Samantha's family), who took Tim and I to the Parkroyal, where we had Eight-spice tea (a variation on the standard green tea), and one of the best mango puddings I have ever had (complete with dry ice pouring out the base of the glass!). The meal was fantastic, and I would like to thank Mr & Mrs Tang, Samantha and Bobby for their hospitality over the past few days - they have made what could have been quite hard very painless! Cheers!

Home at 9:30pm!

02-01-2005
Went to breakfast/lunch at Cheese Prata on Pasir Panjang (one of the 'local' food places just outside campus) with Jess, who has been here since January 2004 on exchange from USyd, and who has done YEP (the volunteer organisation I would like to get involved with), and travelled substantially around SE Asia, and then went shopping some more along Orchard Rd. I looked more at buying a camera, having got the price of the model I want (the Pentax Optio S5i) down to S$550 ($440 AUS), from $650! All that from just shopping around too - good on me! I think I may have bored Tim somewhat though - his torment is nearly over though, uni starts soon!

We all ended the day watching Singapore play Myanmar at the semi-final of the Tiger cup at the National Stadium. Getting there was half the fun, as we really had no idea where we were going, but for once the information provided to us by the MRT Info desk was correct, and we followed the crowd decked in red (Singapore's colour) to Kallang (on the border of Geyleng, the red light district) and along construction works to the Stadium. Tim kept on referring to it as 'third-world', a term which I dislike, as it places Western values on non-Western (usuaully) states, but I understand his point. For a country as foward-thinking as Singapore, the stadium appears quite backward. It is all concrete, and has wooden benches for seating. Even the SFS has better facilities, and this is Singapore's NATIONAL stadium. Each to their own I guess.

The game itself was interesting, with neither team playing fantastic football, and Singapore losing come full time. However, this being leg two of a two-leg semi, the teams had drawn, and thus it was necessary to play into extra time. At this stage Myanmar had 3 players red-carded for violence, with the end team of 8 players just too tired for Singapore's full 11 (until one player was attacked by a benched Burmese player) and Singapore won 4-2. The crowd revolted though, with some spectators running onto the field, and many fights breaking out between both players and supporters. As we were sitting behind the Myanmar supporters, with had a centre-stage view, and the photos and videos will be posted later. It was the first time I've seen Singaporeans get violent, with one Burmese player throwing a full water bottle at a Singaporean player DURING THE MATCH!!! It was quite crazy. It will be interesting to see how it is reported in the press though!