First Night in Singapore

Met up with a classmate, Elad, and his wife, Yuel, for dinner. We headed to Chinatown based on a recommendation from a taxi driver. There's a pedestrian stretch filled with street vendors and picnic tables. Elad and Yuel showed off some of their 'local knowledge' by placing a package of tissues on a table to reserve it while we searched for the perfect dinner. I think they picked this tip up in a lonely planet travel book. When we returned from our search, the seats were still available but the napkins were gone. Who steals tissues? ew.

Next stop was Clarke Quay to meet up and go for a drink with another student, Oded. Clarke Quay is a lively area filled with trendy bars. It was totally packed. We started at a scottish pub. It was strange to see slender Singaporean men in kilts, but the atmosphere was actually pretty nice. There was a stag party of Scots in the bar - sure beats Vegas as a destination!

For a change of scenery, we checked out the bar across the street. It was called Clinic. The menu featured drinks served in IV bags and oversized needles. The furniture included wheelchairs and gurneys. It was kind of hard to take seriously the poster in the corner that read 'be socially responsible'.


Our last major stop was a hopping place called Pump. What made it special was the live band, which featured a fairly large man in womens clothing. Like, I'm talking Andre the Giant meets Dame Edna. Why do cross dressers like blue eyeshadow so much? Heshe rocked out some good tunes from ACDC to Whitney Houston.

Tomorrow we hit the beach!