mickan in world

Some would call it a culture shock. Others would call it a get-away. I think I prefer not to label it.

Being met at the airport I realized what it is that I miss from home. Being given meatballs and herring for dinner, mashed potatoes and lingonberry jam; savoury flavors of mummy and distant memories of rushing off for soccer practise. I did not spit it out.
Sleeping in a bed made of clouds and feathers. Taking a shower in hot water. A clean room. Things I didn't know I missed. Thanks Jill, Bjorn and Henrik for letting me into your home and for welcoming me without question. The welcoming part was probably the most treasured of the gifts of Singapore.

Then there was the Lion City.

Arriving around lunchtime Sunday I was met by Jill at the airport ( it felt crazy good to be scouting for someone at arrival) and she put me in the car and we headed straight to Raffles Hotel to consume my very first  Singapore Sling (yes Jossan, I had one. Pillutta dig!). For those of you who are not yet enlightened about the Singapore Sling I'll fill you in: Singapore Sling was invented in the Long Bar at Raffles Hotel, Singapore. It was originaly designed for women but became a hit with the men too and for some reason it is world famous. They say it can only be made to perfection at Raffles (which is an enormous hotel complex covering a hole block). The Singapore Sling is as pink as baboon's as and tastes like bubble gum. It is served with a piece of pinapple and a cherry. Use that knowledge in your future lives. 
The Long Bar itself is quite a quaint place, which I instantly came to like. It looks like a hub for journalists in the 1940's (which is probably because it was) and they serve excellent peanuts with the shell still on; apperantly it is the only place in Singapore where you are aloud to litter the floor (that would be with peanut shells, they crush under your feet when you walk and make a delightful sound).

After this little adventure I had some time for myself and I decided it was time for a stroll along Orchard Road. I know a few people (you know who you are) who would have made more out of that stroll than I did. I can mention a few who would have gone home with a shopping bag or two. But as it turns out Versage, Prada and YSL are not (or have never been) my preference for my shopping. I did some window shopping though and had a good laugh at the prices with some fellow spartanian people. Then I bought a big ice cream and went home content with my Orchard promenade.

Museum galore. That is another way to describe my trip to Singapore. I had time to visit three excellent museum, with Asian Civilizations Museum at the top and the National History Museum as a nice runner up. Equally I had time to enjoy three exhibitions about Singapore's history (please someone give me a pop-quiz!). Immensely intriguing since they were all angled to perfection and very much "Go Singapore! Best place on the planet. Oh we love the oh glorious nation." Fascinating!

The weather in Singapore is the same everyday. This leads to a serious hole in the small talk portfolio. Where we would say: "What awful weather it was yesterday!" or "Isn't the temperature lovely this morning?", the Singaporians have found a good replacement: They talk food. Singaporians are very serious about their food; I had some lovely food in Singapore. You can enjoy whatever you like in this cultural hub of a city.

Spending time with Jill and Erica (a Canadian girl, living in Singapore, met her in Laos) I had a wonderful four days in the Lion City (I ended up being far to comfortable to leave on Wednesday as planned). The final impressions that I had was that the city was far less sterile than I thought, more humane. Of course it is controlled and censured crazily but they do it very smoothly. It is easy to be in the oblivian if you've grown up in this bubble of a trading hub and I think many Singaporians rather happily are. Scary but true.

Today I entered my sixth and last country. I am currently staying in the capital of Malaysia, for those of you who need to brush up on your geography, it's called Kuala Lumpur.