Singapore

After living in the quiet of rural Malaysia, I don't know if any of us were ready for Singapore. Like any American city, a Starbucks or a McDonald's could be found every two blocks, traffic was heavy, the crowds were huge, and you could buy pretty much anything you wanted, as long as you had the money. I know my meager bank account took a serious hit just from just three days.

What we weren't ready for was such an awesome display of art, culture, vibrance, and dance. I seriously have not experienced anything like what we saw that weekend in all my time in the U.S. Parades and celebrations might abound back home, but they do not possess the combined spirit of so many different kinds of people in their displays. Each spectacle was a showcase of thousands of years of tradition and a blend of many many different cultures. We arrived just a day before the Chingay Parade (translated as the Parade of Dreams) that was started as a part of the Chinese New Year but has become a symbol of the city's economic and cultural success. It's kind of like a corporate Diversity Day, but instead of a bunch of white collar white people pretending to be tolerant and accepting, the city blazes with color, lights, dancing, and a giant parade. No one had to tell me which day it was scheduled to begin. The drums started early in the morning with a Chinese lion dance in the hotel lobby. When I stepped outside, the streets were lined with barriers, bandstands, lighting towers, people, and of course, police. As afternoon grew into evening, the crowds became thicker and the performers started showing up a block or two away from the main road half dressed in brilliantly colored costumes and makeup from head to toe. No one was too busy with their preparations, however, to pose for pictures and I found myself flying through camera batteries.

When the parade finally began, I felt like a party had erupted in the middle of the city. Each float that came was representative of a different nation and came with its own set of dancers and special music. Shows from the Malays, Chinese, Indians, Burmese, Koreans, Arabs, Americans, Vietnamese, Spanish, Japanese, and Angolans (Africa) followed each other and made me feel like I was in some kind of surreal international Disneyland. The Chinese came with a wood and paper dragon held up on poles that spanned a writhing and coiling 150 feet. The Burmese came with giant elephant costumes, the Angolans dressed as fire breathing roosters, and the Malays balanced flags over fifty feet on their mouths. To make things even more interesting, drinking was allowed in the streets, as long of course as you didn't litter ($35USD fine). Surprisingly, no one appeared to have "had too much" and the party lasted until well past midnight. If you ever have a chance to travel to Singapore, it will be well worth your while to schedule your trip to include the Chingay parade. Make sure your hotel is somewhere close to Orchard Street, and I guarantee your money will be well worth it.

After the celebration, the other Americans in my program and I went to a nightclub called the Ministry of Sound and proceeded to live it up like a Friday night after finals. This place was on par with any club that I've been to anywhere else and featured four different dance floors on two levels. The music ranged from hip-hop to techno and there were a surprising number of other Americans scattered on the dance floor. I wasn't able to hear exactly why they were in Singapore, but I think one group of bald guys were from the marines. They certainly looked like I didn't want to make them angry, but they were happy enough to see another American that I doubt anything of the kind would have happened. One thing that was strikingly different from American clubs was the fact that hardly anyone was actually dancing. The bars were packed with people, but the dance floors themselves were mostly fog and beams of light with few people letting loose. Except, of course, for us crazy Americans. We were sure to live it up as much as possible since there wouldn't be another chance for quite sometime.

Now that I'm back in the quiet routine of home, I am pleased to discover that I have next week off. WIthout any reason to stick around Chukai and my school, I think I will travel to a Malaysian national park called Taman Negara and see what is advertised as the world's oldest rainforest. It is rumored that trees over six feet in diameter can be found there, rope bridges straight from an Indiana Jones movie, and hopefully some friendly jungle animals. We'll see, check back in a week.