Singapore and Borneo -- Part 1

We just got back on Sunday after about 10 days in SE Asia. Yes, we keep going back, but that's because we have such wonderful experiences every time we go. We started off by flying China Eastern Airlines -- kind of a rinky-dink airline service that we picked because it was cheap. Well, it was cheap, we found out, because it scrimps on all the amenities such as music and movies and such. We got food, but it was nothing to write home about (but still a step up from some American airlines!).

We had a layover in Shanghai this time (thank god it wasn't Beijing) and I swear they keep the airport at 10C/50F so that no one will stay there for too long. The place was FREEZING! Not only that, but the benches themselves were metal and had holes in them, so screw trying to build up some body heat. We tried to get something to eat but only found one restaurant with venues in various places and very over-priced food. We were kinda confused by this and figured there had to be another restaurant somewhere but at the time just couldn't be bothered to look any farther. So, of course, after we order our extravagantly priced food, what do we see but a bunch of Chinese ladies coming in with KFC to-go bags! They sit down at a table and start chomping away! Damn.... not speaking Chinese can be a real pain sometimes, especially when you're running around the airport like a chicken with your head cut off trying to figure out where to go and which bloody form to fill out next -- we felt like little blind, deaf and dumb gerbils in a maze. Craziness.

One interesting thing about China is the fact that when you arrive there, even if it's only a layover, you need to go through customs and immigration to enter the country, only to exit again before your flight. So now I have Chinese stamps in my passport even though I never left the airport -- schweet!

After we arrived in Singapore we were finally able to relax a little. Adam and I went and bought a video camera which has proved to be a fantastic purchase! I think it cost us around $300, but the thing I like the best is the anti-shake feature. Usually when you zoom in, even the slightest movement of your hand will make it look like there was an earthquake while you were filming. Buuuuut, with the anti-shake feature I was able to zoom in super close and get some great footage that is just minimally shaky! Anyway, Singapore was probably the most beautiful city I've ever seen! Instead of bulldozing the nature flat to cover it all with concrete like Japan did, they decided to incorporate it, more or less, into the city. Despite seeing skyscrapers and concrete and cars everywhere, you also see loads of tropical trees and flowers everywhere. It's really cool. The people all seem really nice too and they can all speak English (such a plus!!!!). The rainbow of faces is astonishing as well. Coming from such a homogenous culture where all we see are Japanese faces, it was quite a shock. You saw Chinese, Malay, Indian, some Africans, some whiteys -- pretty much the whole spectrum. I also saw many faces of mixed origin and that was really interesting. I have to say the mixes are usually much more beautiful! I think I was drooling the entire 10 days at the sheer volume of eye-candy!

While we were walking around and getting to know the subway system intimately, we decided we wanted to do something kinda crazy and go reverse-bungee-jumping. It's basically a bench where 3 people can sit and get strapped in, that gets flung into the air like a slingshot! It was pretty wild and we have a DVD of that as well :) I was VERY impressed that Adam agreed to go since he and heights don't go together so well. He took off his glasses, which I think in the end was better for him -- if you can't actually see how far up you are, there's nothing to be afraid of! And instead of screaming like a little girl he ended up cackling like a mad-man.... it was kinda creepy (but I suppose more manly -- maybe that was what he was going for?). I LOVED it!

We went to Little India at one point to get some tasty curry but then realized after we sat down at the restaurant that not one white person was being served. Several other white tourist couples were in there and none of them had food, some had drinks. It donned on us that we were being shunned and ignored when a Japanese couple walked in and were served within 10 seconds. Anyway, after a few more minutes of uncomfortable waiting we just left and went somewhere else. That really sucked. Also, we noticed toward the end how Big-Brotherish Singapore is. In the subways you'd see signs like: No food or drink in the Subways -- $1,000 fine; or NO SMOKING -- $5,000 fine. If you looked up you would see cameras EVERYWHERE! I'm not talking about just a couple per room, but all over the place -- 2-3 feet apart! They must have footage of us from every single angle imaginable.... and probably not very flattering. Spitting is illegal and I assume this is because mainland Chinese tend to spit everywhere (this is true). Chewing gum is also illegal because one guy decided it'd be funny to stick his used gum on a subway train door. Well, the doors got stuck and the train was late. I guess that's a big enough deal there to outlaw chewing gum...?