Singapore, the tiny, organized, and crowded city-state perched on the end of the Malay Peninsula, is a trip. That's the place where chewing gum is illegal (LOVE IT!), caning is a practiced corporal punishment (NO LOVE FOR IT!), and the Merlion is the symbol of the nation (LOVE IT CAUSE IT'S CRAZY!). The Merlion is a mythical creature dating from the ancient period known as the 1960s. Half lion, half fish, he has been campily representing Singapore for about 50 years. I'd make you guess which half is the "mer" and which the "lion," but I think it's not too hard to do and it's in the pic.
Singapore is crowded, bustling, clean, clean, clean, and modern. If you like high-end shopping, do come. I didn't know they made Gucci stores that big. If you like deep-rooted funk and the ability to eat, drink and drop litter wherever you like, anywhere else in Southeast Asia will suit you better.
I had planned to spend about 6 days there before flying to India and doing yoga for a month. But that was before I realized I couldn't get a visa in Singapore. Apparently, the Indian High Commission only issues visas for residences of Singapore. Kuala Lumpur is a 5 hour luxury bus ride away, so I postponed my flight, changed my registration with my ashram in India and headed back to KL to get the visa there, knowing that five business days would be required to process it. However, not until I arrived in KL did I get the really crappy news. India had just recently changed the rules (November and January have both been bandied about as when): tourist visas are only approved if you are applying in your home country. Which sucks. Because I'm not there now, but I was! I was welcome to apply, but 90% of applicants are rejected. Great odds, but I went for it anyway, even throwing in a nice little letter designed to sway these hard-hearted beaurocrats from their silly policies. I opted to leave out the jokes about being a terrorist Pakistani bride to improve my chances. And I waited.
The waiting wasn't so bad. I went down to Melaka, which I had missed on my other two trips to Malaysia and may be my favorite spot in the country. It has a fascinating history, which I will try to write about another time. I took this photo there on the final day of Chinese New Year, which really is a holiday that keeps on giving since it lasts a fortnight. And I had company during my visa limbo. I reunited with Julia and Tatjana, separately, here in KL. I saw Vinay, who I'd met in Australia. He helped me drown my sorrows in the delicious solace of mojitos and laughter and he introduced me to Chris, who shuttled me all over KL in the paperwork process known as a visa application submission. Chris introduced me to George, who also took me all over KL and helped me out endlessly, particularly when I was super bummed out upon finding out that I was REJECTED. At least they rejected me in five business days!
I had been unaccountably hopeful before seeing those terrible letters on the screen of my iphone, so my disappointment was pretty deep. I had to eat the cost of the airfare, which blessedly was cheap, and I had to come up with a new destination. Ready for something not Southeast Asian and unable to go full-on South Asian, I hit upon the solution before the day was done. Nepal! It was already on the shortlist, it had just fallen off my radar a bit. Suddenly, I was (almost) convinced that Nepal was going to be better than India. I'm holding a little bit of a grudge, you see.
And so, that's where I'm going. I'll start in Kathmandu, then recharge at one of the Vipassana Meditation Centers, which is where I'll meditate all day and keep my trap shut. And then, trekking, temples, and who knows what else? Rhinos or abseiling perhaps. I'll let you know, but probably only well after I've done it. Kathmandu has reliable internet - when the power's not off, but I don't expect much outside of that historic city. It's Nepal.
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