After picking up my backpack from the turnstyle in the Singaporean airport, walking through the double doors, the first thing I saw was a sign saying "Travis Snow, New Hartford, Connecticut, USA". It was my friend Weijie's mother, who had come to pick me up. (Weijie was still at his army base until later that evening) After months travelling on my own, seeing my name brought a big smile to my face. It's not that I don't meet lots of great people during my travels--I do. But the friends you make travelling are different. You usually only hang out for a few days at most, after which you each go your own seperate ways. I was so excited to actually be visiting an old friend, Weijie, my buddy from my University days at Johns Hopkins. Weijie and I travelled across the U.S. by bicycle together twice, so we've seen alot together. Nonetheless, while we were both "typical" college students 2 years ago, our lives have completely diverged since then. While I've spent my time skiing and travelling, Weijie is fulfilling his national service in the Singaporean army--a mandatory obligation for all males in Singapore-- after which he'll need to spend the next 7 years working for the Singaporean government. I had to squeeze my visit in on the weekend, when he was free from his vigorous military training. Needless to say, I was not surprised that my friend seemed less silly, more serious, than I remember him while biking across the country. Nonetheless, we had a great time seeing Singapore, and we both appreciated the opportunity to relax a bit-- him from the army, and me from nonstop travelling. Our first night was spent taking a food tour of Singapore-- I especially loved the BBQ pork roll as well as the curry puffs. But when I tried Durian, an exotic green fruit shaped like an enormous football--but with spikes like a cactus-- I was less happy. The Singaporeans told me it was an acquired taste. We also passed through Singapore's "red light district", which, being the first red light district I'd ever visited, was quite a shock, especially being in a country with such strict laws that they execute drug trafickers.

The next day we spent a nice relaxing morning at Weijie's house with Weijie's wonderful parents and younger brother. His mom delighted my taste buds with tasty homecooked meals--a welcome treat after eating at cheap restaurants for the past months. After lunch we hopped on the subway and headed downtown. Weijie's family's flat, in a very nice residential community, demonstrates the high level of planning and organization in Singapore. Given the country's small area, all the space is utilized efficiently and shopping centers and public transportation are within easy walking distance. The country is legendary for its cleanness, which I definitely noticed after some of the other places I'd visited.

Our first stop downtown was the "fountain of wealth", the world's largest fountain. We checked out downtown Singapore, including the river, with a great view of the skyline, as well as taking an elevator up the highest building in the city to get a view. The skyscrapers almost made me feel like I was back in New York, it was quite an impressive skyline. We stopped for milkshakes--an old tradition from our days biking together-- they were fabulous!

In the evening, we caught a demonstration of the 'world's greatest knife balancing demonstration" in one of the city's many shopping centers. The highlight was when Weijie volunteered me to go on stage, and I got to somehow hold 2 grown men over my body. Somehow, they balanced the weight in a way that made it relatively easy, and it was fun to get a standing ovation from the crowd.

The second day we checked out the beach near Weijie's house before lunch, and headed back for Weijie to prepare for his busy week ahead. I gave my friend a goodbye hug in the early evening as he headed back to his army barracks, and spent a lovely evening having dinner with his parents and brother in Chinatown.

I really enjoyed my time in Singapore and was glad to have the opportunity to visit. It's quite a unique place. It has a very hight standard of living and lacks the poverty I've seen in other places, although I did see 2 guys sleeping under a bridge, which didn't quite fit in with the rest of the image I got. According to Weijie, everyone has work, and the unemployment is very low. Unfortunately I need to catch a bus so I don't have time to write all my observations...