meeting up with Gung Ayu

Met up with fav niece Gung Ayu in Singapore; it was great to have a rave just her, Gung and meself without loads of family around. then she and i met up with her husband, daughter and loads of inlaws at a food court and munched our way thru some Pad Thai. What i love about Singapore is the mulitraciality. and of course, being able to understand a lot of the "foreign" language helps (Bahasa). i forget i'm not in Indonesia, until i see how clean it is and that everything tends to work! sure wish we could emulate some of what Singapore offers....it's too sterile for my everyday tastes (where are the chickens and the tokays???) but it certainly is efficient.

Singapore

the land of no litter...

landed on sunday afternoon to haze (thank you Indonesia).

graciously hosted by the Stephen Bruce family.

amazed by all the greenery that the city has managed to keep intact.

stephen, who's lived here for only a few years has amassed a wealth of

knowledge about non touristy aspects of Singapore.

the city has put up these overpasses where, when you pass under them,

it automatically deducts "going under" fees from fifty cents to a few dollars

depending on the time of day. sundays are free so the time to race around the city

to your heart's delight would be on a sunday. this debit cards are used everywhere: gas stations, supermarkets, etc. a real cashless society. a bit frightening even though it is very convenient.

kids at international schools are drug tested twice a year. if you are positive the first time, the school principal is told. if a second time the government and you have to get off the island. that's a disincentive. but if you're pissed at your parents, that's one way to ruin their lives.

"I shall piss in a cup and get you fired!"

i hadn't realized so much of the island was built on reclaimed land. after a building has been up for 20 years, it's torn down and rebuilt.