Singapore

Arriving in Singapore, the first thing you realize is how everything is so clean and parental (for lack of a better word). Taking the MRT (Mass Rail Transport) to my hostel, I'm amazed at the lack of graffiti or litter. Then we told (through an unemotional voice) to "Beware of suspicious parcels", "please surrender your seat to more needy passengers" and "please wait for passengers to leave the train before boarding". All which seem implicit to me, but for some reason the Singapore authority likes to make them explicit.

As soon as you leave the air conditioned luxury of the MRT the heat hits you. It's the humid kind of heat you would find in a sauna. So if you're lugging around 35kg, you begin to sweat straight away.

The traffic system in Singapore has those little differences that make it slightly confusing. Firstly the major intersections have counters to let you know how much time before the green or red light changes. And if you want to use the pedestrian crossings, you have to stand right next to the button or the light doesn't change. The horn is used more liberally - it's used by taxi's to attract clients attention. By motorists to tell the other motorists to go faster.

The only Toastmasters club I found was Singapore Toastmasters (toastmasters.org.sg). I'll pay them a visit on Monday and hopefully share some of my experiences in a Tabletopic.

Friday I will head to Melecca to experience the old Arab\Portuguese\Dutch\British cultures that remain there.