Singapore! Cleanest City in the World!!

Well Asia, as you know by now, is not notoriously clean but for some reason Singapore could be an ad for cleanliness. It could be due to the fact that Singapore is verging on military state status or it could be due to the endless signs/fines. Each time we ride the subway, we are not so gently reminded to not smoke/eat/or bring durian anywhere within' the vicinity of the subway or "MRT" and if we were stupid enough to do so, or if we could stand the smell of durian, we would incur a $1,000 fine.  Also, we are not so gently reminded to never throw trash anywhere (there is a mysterious lack of trash cans as well as a mysterious lack of trash on the streets/canals/everywhere) and to follow the yellow lines in the subway system. For all its systematic orderliness, some would say that Singapore flat-lines while other Asian cities clearly have a rapid pulse. Well we kind of agree, it is clean, quiet, free of hawkers, traffic, pollution, and crime; but what saves Singapore from flatlining its way into a coma is its culture.  Singapore has a fascinating mix of Malay, Chinese, Indian, Peranakan, and thousands of financial expats- each quickening Singapore's pulse by bringing in a mèlange of food, traditions, and styles. Oh and the food! We have gorged our selves at each meal, trying to make up for the straight-forwardness of Indonesian cuisine. We have revisited our favorites: laksa, banana leaf Indian meals and popiah. It has been oh so good! As for the sites in Singapore, beyond food, cleanliness, and scary fines, well we will just have to show you, because most buildings are too bizarre to describe.

Here are some lost phone shots....Enjoy!

 

Buddha, Ubud

 

Ferry Terminal, Padangbai

 

Rainy Day Games, Amed

 

Our guesthouse, Amed

Back in Bangkok day 2

So last night was a little loud but we survived. We ventured out into the streets this morning and walked over to check into the Diamond House. After we walked around and had street food treats for breakfast; jack fruit filled with sticky rice, roasted banana, mango smoothies, and a cinnamon roll, all for under $4. Later in the afternoon we stumbled across a spa (well one of many) taking up residence in a tightly packed alley. And at this very quaint spa we had Brian's back waxed! It had been a long-time coming and while we were on the beach every single Cambodian lady would come over and say "you want hair-threaded" Brian, "NO," the lady(s), "WHOA, you have a lot of (back) hair! You not handsome now, but with no hair, you be very handsome." 

So Brian, after about a week of refusing, realized he couldn't go back to the beach with hair for fear of attracting these ladies who wanted to "thread" his back hair off- so we settled for honey wax in Bangkok and a pedicure for me. 

After beautifying ourselves we wandered and got some lunch at a noodle stand by our hotel and then later for dinner we had the most delicious soup EVER- spicy coconut milk soup with chicken- but this roadside stand did a fantastic job! Here are some photos of the sun going down taken from the rooftop of the Diamond House...