You may be wondering, where is Singapore and is it a city or a country?  It is both a city and a country, located on a small island just south of peninsular Malaysia.  Although Singapore is small, it is centrally located. Its central location and modern airport make Singapore one of the transportation hubs of South East Asia

googlemap

Singapore’s government conducts extensive city planning, as every square foot of Singapore’s small size is structured to create modern efficiency in order to propel Singapore to economic greatness.  In fact, after living in Singapore for over a year, Rex and Lisa developed a great metaphor to explain Singapore. In many ways, Singapore is a life size version of SimCity the computer game.  The land will only hold a certain number of buildings and when a new element of the city is needed, such as a new housing development or a library, these buildings are strategically planned and constructed. Existing buildings are demolished to create new space.

For those who enjoy food (and seriously, who doesn’t?) Singapore is a great place to find almost any type of food.  The city of Singapore offers a variety of cultural districts including Chinatown, Little India, Arab Street (really, that’s the name of the street) and many other small subcultures offering delicious dining.  The fresh juices are incredible.  I will never forget my first Avocado juice -  green, smooth and full of potassium.  Foodies, flock to Singapore during your next appetite for adventure.

Another great aspect of Singapore is its simple public transportation system.  It is possible to hop on and off of the MRT (the underground transportation system in Singapore) and arrive in a new location within a few minutes.  Since Singapore is an island, you are never too far from the beach.  I found a few kids having fun on the shore taking advantage of the beach along East Coast Parkway.

As for the phrase ‘Asia Light’ I agree 100%, especially after my time in China.  When I was a college student, I spent a summer semester (2005) in Beijing studying Mandarin Chinese at a university.  This is the best point of reference or comparison I may offer.

A few comparisons of Singapore and China:

In Singapore the standard Western toilet bowl is typically found in most public bathrooms. In China however, at least in 2005, the squatter toilet was common.  Or my favorite, the trough style toilet, which I actually took a picture of.  They really exist.

Singapore law will fine individuals for spitting on the sidewalk and as a result, Singapore’s streets are so clean they practically sparkle.  While young children in China can be seen going to the bathroom on public walking paths.  These young children (typically 4 years old and younger) will tend to wear clothing with no fabric around their bottoms, allowing easy access to relieve themselves as desired.  Note the baby bum in the photo below.

Singapore’s street vendors (hawkers) are certified with a strict grading system.  A’s for the most clean and sanitary establishments, B’s for rather sanitary, C’s and so on.  Compare this to China’s street vendors selling mango on a stick shouting, “yi quai, yi quai, yi quai” (one dollar, one dollar, one dollar).  Who knows where the mango was pealed?  Or how long it’s been on the stick, in the sun, with flies landing on it.  But it’s only one Chinese dollar ($0.15 US) and on a hot summer day, mango on a stick sounds great!  Don’t worry, when traveling to Singapore just look for the big A and you will know your food is not only delicious but also safe to consume.  As a backpacker, you can learn to eat all of your meals at Maxwell Food Center.

Get into a Singapore cab and you will be able to  a converse in English, just like you could with a New York City cab driver.  It is humorous to compare this to my cab ride experiences in China.  With some characters scribbled onto a piece of paper and my best conversation skills after studying Chinese in college for 2 years, I would still find myself hoping to end up at my intended destination.

If you want to travel and witness intense Asian culture, as illustrated in my comparisons and the last two photographs, travel to China.  However, if you are a bit apprehensive to undergo the culture shock Asia offers, perhaps Singapore is a good way to start.  Ease in with Singapore, ‘Asia Lite’.  You can even drink the tap water.

Nomadic Matt has put together a great list of cheap things to do in Singapore.  Feel free to check it out.

Sadly, the Indian Grocery store, Suraj is now closed.  The space is available to lease.  Who knows what country will be move in next?  Maybe a Vegetarian place?

PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL INTERNATIONAL FOOD STORES!!!

We don’t want them to all vanish and become the CVS on the corner.

Map of Joy and Telegraph

The intersection of Telegraph and Joy houses a cross-cultural Mecca of the Detroit area. That’s right! I am able to travel from New Delhi, India to Ho Chi Mihn, Vietnam within minutes.  It’s quite the incredible experience.

I can shop at:

- Suraj (Indian Groceries & DVD’s of course)

- Asian Mart (family is from Vietnam)

- Joy View Meat Market (being vegetarians perogies are all I can eat here)

- Pipe-N-Hot Pizza (authentic Italian pizza by the slice)

- Anna’s Fresh Seafood (even for a vegetarian, it’s worth the peak at octopus, cuttlefish, squid and other fish imported from Asia)

- Baiz Bakery (the couple is from Lebanon – great vegetarian selection!)

- Joe Randazzo’s Fresh Produce Market (feels like Mexico)

Some of these locations, “Randazzo’s for example feels a lot less like shopping in the U.S. with about 95% of the employees speaking Spanish.

It is important to recognize that America is not the only way of life. Or the best. Every country around the world offers a variety of culture and life to experience.

Some days I will enter one of these stores and find myself immersed in a new culture, as though I am in that country. The various foods, beverages, and other products that I have never seen, tasted or used before, over whelm me. Then the language barrier is in place as I have attempted to ask questions, sometimes walking away even more confused than when I began.

Real life example:
Setting: Natalie is holding small un-boiled tapioca balls, which she picked up near the tea at the Asian market. Now she recalls Bubble Milk Tea that she has drank both at Campus Kitchen in Kalamazoo, MI as well as in China. Yum! Amazingly delicious!

Let’s ask and find out if I can boil the tapioca balls and put it in with my tea!

[For my example, "the woman" refers to the kind Vietnamese woman that might be the store owner.]

Natalie: “Excuse me. Is this for tea?”
The Woman: “Oh, is good.”
Natalie: “Good for tea?” (Now gesturing to box of tea in other hand)
The Woman: “No, not tea. Tea. Okay?”
Natalie: “So this is not for tea?”
The Woman: “No really, it’s good. Try it!”
Natalie: “In my tea?”
The Woman: “Yes, it’s good. Try it!”
Natalie: “Boil this.”
The Woman: “Yes.”
Natalie: “Together!” (now gesturing the tapioca balls becoming larger and putting them into the tea)
The Woman: “No! It’s good. Really! Try it!”

At this point I think I kindly thanked her. Then pondered going online to research other products in the future. So, I ended up buying jasmine tea and dung beans. That’s right, not to be confused with the dung Beetle. Dung beans have a higher amount of protein than I have ever seen in my life. It’s truly incredible. There are 48 grams of protein in one cup of cooked dung beans. However, this could be a language translation error made in Asia, while trying to accommodate to Americans that wish to know the nutritious value of their dung beans before consuming them. Needless-to-say, the dung beans have proved to be a great source of protein to vegetarians. Justin and I could really feel the protein, if you know what I mean.

Overall, I walked out the door of the Asian Market and within a few moments I was back in our 4Runner cruising down Telegraph. While Justin and I backpack and are living in various countries I will not have this luxury to escape any culture instantaneously by walking out the store door to hop into my personal vehicle and see familiar American street signs and traffic patterns.

Although, I absolutely love the feeling of entering a new country through the stores at Telegraph and Joy, I wonder if it will prove to be unhelpful.

Am I currently teaching my mind and body that I can escape any culture as quickly as I find the exit and dash through it with the “ding, dong” of the awareness bell? Perhaps I am training my self like one of Pavlov’s dogs in all of the wrong ways.

What do you think?