So the US has "Disneyworld: The happiest place on Earth" and Asia has "Singapore: The cleanest place on Earth." Well, certainly the cleanest city on earth. I think the best way to describe it for all you Disney-goers is it's like right when you walk into Mainstreet USA and the pavement is clean and the bricks look brand new and you just can't help but have a smile on your face (and think that all the "cast members" are going to break into song and dance). It's like that all over Singapore and this by no means is a small city.
Having heard of Singapore's cleanliness before arriving, my expectation was that there would be tons of little men all over Singapore picking up trash, power-washing streets, cleaning grates with toothbrushes, etc. However, this is not the case. Singaporeans don't litter. Not only are there about a million trash cans all over the city and countless PSAs, there is a hefty $1000 fine if you should dare to throw a single receipt on their beloved pavement. Seem harsh? It's a small price to pay to be immaculate..
Singapore is all about scaring their citizens into conformity, which initially freaked me out but after seeing Singapore I feel like New York should adopt some of their habits. For instance, one of my favorite signs is a cartoon lady running to find a bathroom (and it shows her sweating and in pain because she has to go so badly). And unfortunately, when she arrives at the toilet it is clogged because someone was so unthoughtful as to not flush the toilet! Life lesson: please ensure toilet is flushed properly after use. I'm not kidding there are thousands of signs like these all over the city...and how are their bathrooms? I swear I could eat off the floors and was tempted to move in. We'd be lucky if we could even find a public restroom in NYC.
One PSA however that would not go over so well in NYC is one about the Subway. There are TVs all over the subway stations with commercials, etc. and one in particular starts with what looks like Nuclear bomb with the caption: Please don't let this happen to us. Right there I was like you crossed the line. It then goes on to show pictures of the subway bombings in London, Mumbai, and Madrid with not only the trains mangled, but people crying, bloddy, being taken in ambulances, etc. Meanwhile, there's a 5 year old heading home from kindergarten right next to me. It ends urging people to tell the authorities if they see something suspicious on the subway. We have these in NY too--it's a campaign that looks like it's been around since the 80s and they show a picture of a lone briefcase under a chair. It says "if you see something, say something." I guess it's hardly as effective. . .
Overall, Singapore is a great city that Andrew and I have loved. Not only because it's obvious cool-factor, but it will forever be in our memories as where we got Engaged! So hopefully we'll get to come back and re-visit someday. And tomorrow we're off to Borneo!
Monday, March 24, 2008
Crossing the Street in the 'Nam: It's like Frogger with your life.
Vietnam in a Nutshell is lots and lots of motorbikes...Okay, maybe that's not true. Motorbikes and noodle soup. But in all seriousness, I've never seen so many motorbikes in all my life. And my favorite part was reading in the magazine on the plane before we landed on "how to cross the street in vietnam." Seemed like an odd topic for a magazine article..I mean are we idiots? I've been crossing the street since I was two. Well ladies and gentlemen, throw all you previous "look both ways" knowledge behind you because crossing a street in Vietnam is like no where else on earth. Cross walks? Yeah right. Traffic cops? Who are you kidding? (well there are some, but they just sit around and look pretty). Traffic lights? Functional but ignored by nearly everyone.
To give you an idea I've posted a video I found doing a quick search on youtube. Andrew tried to reassure me once by saying "don't worry if they're going to hit you, they'll honk." Little did he know they honk constantly so that brings absolutely no peace of mind.
My strategy was keep Andrew on the "motorbike" side of me so that they'd hit him first. Thanks honey!
To give you an idea I've posted a video I found doing a quick search on youtube. Andrew tried to reassure me once by saying "don't worry if they're going to hit you, they'll honk." Little did he know they honk constantly so that brings absolutely no peace of mind.
My strategy was keep Andrew on the "motorbike" side of me so that they'd hit him first. Thanks honey!
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Cambodia's Kids and the lovely Gov't
For the last 3 days or so, we've been in Sihanoukville in Southern Cambodia. It's a nice beach town, with a TON of expats. And I can see why, it's a very nice place, good weather, and it's cheap. We've learned some interesting things about the cambodian people in our few days here, one of which is about the kids who work on the beach selling little bracelets, trinkets, and such. These kids are adorable (hello, have you ever seen Maddox Jolie-Pitt...probably the cutest and most famous Cambodian EVER), have great personalities, generally speak good English and you can see why most tourists (ourselves included) are sucked into buying souvenirs from them. Hey, they're only a $1 right?
Well according to a lot of local organizations here, these kids make close to $500 a month, most ranging from the ages of 7-11. $500 is an exorbitant amount of money to any Cambodian, let alone a pre-teen. So this could still be okay if they give it to their family who needs it? Wrong. Because they make so much money, they don't go to school and become accustomed to a life a relative 'wealth.' But what happens when they turn 15, are no longer cute, can't make even close to that much money, and on top of that they aren't educated and don't want to get a normal job? They go into prostitution. Unfortunately, sex-tourism is a huge industry out here (as it is in all of southeast asia) and tourists are encouraging the industry indirectly from its start. It's all very sad.
Another interesting thing we witnessed was a prime example of inefficiency in the Cambodian government. We were having breakfast at an Australian restaurant, when literally 15 people (about half of them in police and military uniform) approach the restaurant, inquiring for the owner. Needless to say, we all were a bit weary of the group. Turns out, the owner has failed to fill out a census form and apparently it requires 15 people to ensure he fills it out properly! The owner was rightly outraged, saying that he didn't intimidate that easily (and honestly as individuals they weren't all that scary, more just the fact there were 15!). Talking with the owner after the incident(and in case you're interested, he did fill out the form in a hasty manner), he said this is pretty typical procedure. I asked how he dealt with it and he said it helps that he knows the numero uno guy in the government to go to in cases like these so normally he isn't affected.
In Cambodia, the military owns and operates everything, inefficiently and corruptly. Basically, a couple of years ago the person who got into power was only put there because he was a puppet to the military and now gives them everything they want (including ownership of all the land, which they sell mainly to ex-pats for lots of moolah). It's also incredibly hard to get into the military, because once in it's a frat-boy super club where you are feared absolutely and have to pay for nothing. Apparently, you have to either be born into it or pay $50,000 to join.
It's very sad the area around these beaches is being so built up and the government is selling all the beach front property to 5 star resorts. By next year they say there will only be 1 public beach in the area (last year there was close to 10). I asked a lot of the ex-pat owners if they are worried they'll just be kicked out of their business one day without notice and they say it's always a very real possibility. To the point that most Cambodians are so used to it that they build their businesses very impermanent (Like non-cemented tiles) so they can move at any point. However, there is money to be had and the lifestyle's great so until they are told they can't be here there is no where else they'd rather be. Very brave and good on them.
Well according to a lot of local organizations here, these kids make close to $500 a month, most ranging from the ages of 7-11. $500 is an exorbitant amount of money to any Cambodian, let alone a pre-teen. So this could still be okay if they give it to their family who needs it? Wrong. Because they make so much money, they don't go to school and become accustomed to a life a relative 'wealth.' But what happens when they turn 15, are no longer cute, can't make even close to that much money, and on top of that they aren't educated and don't want to get a normal job? They go into prostitution. Unfortunately, sex-tourism is a huge industry out here (as it is in all of southeast asia) and tourists are encouraging the industry indirectly from its start. It's all very sad.
Another interesting thing we witnessed was a prime example of inefficiency in the Cambodian government. We were having breakfast at an Australian restaurant, when literally 15 people (about half of them in police and military uniform) approach the restaurant, inquiring for the owner. Needless to say, we all were a bit weary of the group. Turns out, the owner has failed to fill out a census form and apparently it requires 15 people to ensure he fills it out properly! The owner was rightly outraged, saying that he didn't intimidate that easily (and honestly as individuals they weren't all that scary, more just the fact there were 15!). Talking with the owner after the incident(and in case you're interested, he did fill out the form in a hasty manner), he said this is pretty typical procedure. I asked how he dealt with it and he said it helps that he knows the numero uno guy in the government to go to in cases like these so normally he isn't affected.
In Cambodia, the military owns and operates everything, inefficiently and corruptly. Basically, a couple of years ago the person who got into power was only put there because he was a puppet to the military and now gives them everything they want (including ownership of all the land, which they sell mainly to ex-pats for lots of moolah). It's also incredibly hard to get into the military, because once in it's a frat-boy super club where you are feared absolutely and have to pay for nothing. Apparently, you have to either be born into it or pay $50,000 to join.
It's very sad the area around these beaches is being so built up and the government is selling all the beach front property to 5 star resorts. By next year they say there will only be 1 public beach in the area (last year there was close to 10). I asked a lot of the ex-pat owners if they are worried they'll just be kicked out of their business one day without notice and they say it's always a very real possibility. To the point that most Cambodians are so used to it that they build their businesses very impermanent (Like non-cemented tiles) so they can move at any point. However, there is money to be had and the lifestyle's great so until they are told they can't be here there is no where else they'd rather be. Very brave and good on them.
Cambodia and the Voice of God
I woke up this morning at 7:30 on a SATURDAY to a scary, angry voice on a loudspeaker followed by traditional cambodian music blaring. Literally, minus the music I thought the voice was having a horrible one-sided, schizophrenic argument and urging us all to go to war. Not the greatest wake up call. I mean NORMALLY a 7:30 wake up call wouldn't bother me, as you know Andrew and I like to run a half marathon every morning at sunrise (up hill through the rain no less haha) but last night we may have par-taked in 1 too many...what are the kids calling it these days? oh yeah, BEERS and while listening to the awful racket was contemplating suffocating myself with a pillow. (Inevitably, I chose not to as I thought a Cambodian funeral may be a hard for my parents logistically). I know it sounds very culturally ignorant to not appreciate the music, but to my hung-over head it sounded like Andrew's niece, Jasmine, rocking out on her $5 keyboard mixed with fingernails scratching down a chalkboard. Needless to say, I'm not buying the CD.
Finally able to fall asleep, Andrew and I rose a couple of hours later and worked our way to the breakfast table to inquire as to the 'lovely' symphony that was actually STILL GOING ON (4 hours later). A few fellow breakfast-goers were asking the same questions, with the commencement time of the music creeping closer and closer to sunrise. (I thought 7:30, people apparently heard it at 6) Upon further inspection, it seems that the scary announcer guy and the wonderful melodies were part of a wedding ceremony! You can imagine my surprise when the waiter told me that not only dose it start early in the morning, that it's actually a 3 day event!
We promptly checked out of the hotel and will be heading back to Pnomh Penh tomorrow. The leaving may or may not be related to the wedding music, however, it was good motivation.
And now my internet time is up, and I hear the wedding music again (of course). May be I'll drop in for a dance b/c you know I enjoy it so much.
Finally able to fall asleep, Andrew and I rose a couple of hours later and worked our way to the breakfast table to inquire as to the 'lovely' symphony that was actually STILL GOING ON (4 hours later). A few fellow breakfast-goers were asking the same questions, with the commencement time of the music creeping closer and closer to sunrise. (I thought 7:30, people apparently heard it at 6) Upon further inspection, it seems that the scary announcer guy and the wonderful melodies were part of a wedding ceremony! You can imagine my surprise when the waiter told me that not only dose it start early in the morning, that it's actually a 3 day event!
We promptly checked out of the hotel and will be heading back to Pnomh Penh tomorrow. The leaving may or may not be related to the wedding music, however, it was good motivation.
And now my internet time is up, and I hear the wedding music again (of course). May be I'll drop in for a dance b/c you know I enjoy it so much.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Pictures, Pictures, and More Pictures
Hello Hello!
We have new pictures up of Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam! Click on the link below.
http://picasaweb.google.com/LindsayCollins
We are heading to cambodia tomorrow for probably a couple of weeks. Vietnam's been great, we've done a TON of stuff.
Enjoy the pics!
We have new pictures up of Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam! Click on the link below.
http://picasaweb.google.com/LindsayCollins
We are heading to cambodia tomorrow for probably a couple of weeks. Vietnam's been great, we've done a TON of stuff.
Enjoy the pics!
Monday, February 11, 2008
The road less travelled...For a reason!
We've spent the last week and a bit in Laos and it was definitely our favorite country so far. However, getting there was a bit of an adventure.
Being the smart people we are, we decided to take a 1 day bus ride and a 1 day slow boat from Chiang Mai in Northern thailand to Luang Prabang in Laos. The normal, beaten, cheap, and SMART way to do this is take a bus ride to the northern thai-laos border and a 2 day boat ride. We were like, 2 days on a boat? That's just silly when you can do it saving a day. Why wouldn't everyone do this?
Here's why: You're in a mini-bus for 8 hours. Fine if you have a normal, SANE driver. Ours was a lunatic, accelerating around mountain curves with 100 meter cliffs. The irish girls we were with have a video of it and we're all being thrown around, laughing and screaming because we're so scared. Then we get to the border, and calling it a border is a bit of a compliment. It's a road with a parking lot barrier on it and a little booth where the custom person was drinking beer with his friends. But he's only the border patrol, not the person that can let us through the border. So we have to wait about an hour and we walk a bit further to a 'proper' customs building. (and why they can't drive us through? That's still unclear) The first thing we see when we come in is ping pong tables and andrew immediately steps in dog shit (hilarious!). After they've stamped our passports (which by the way had a mysterious 100 baht fee) we were directed to a tuk tuk. This wasn't advertised in the brochure. For those who don't know, a Tuk Tuk is a taxi in southeast asia, but it's basically a truck and you sit in the bed. it's covered and has two benches, but that doesn't make the situation any better.
So we're heading in the Tuk Tuk and the previous bus driver says "have fun, no paved roads in Laos." Excuse me? So for the next 3 hours were bouncing around in the back of a pick-up truck with no paved roads on crazy mountain roads. At least this driver isn't a looney, but it had recently rained so parts of the road were eroding and we were constantly, narrowly avoiding these 10 foot gorges. Good times!!! The scenery truly is beautiful and my favorite part was having to wait for animals to cross the road...anything from cows, goats, and an elephant!
Eventually, we made it all in one piece after a very uneventful but beautiful slow boat ride down the Mekong. At least we were smart enough not to opt for the speed boat-it's a glorified canoe and they give all the passengers helmets. No thank you!
As for Laos, luang prabang was just lovely. A very beautiful, clean city with french colonial architecture and a very laid back atmosphere. The funny thing is the entire country has an 11:30 curfew so every restaurant, bar, etc. close and the city becomes a ghost town (thank you communism). However, for the foreigners in the city you can go 'illegal bowling' after 11:30. The first time I heard that I was like is this some sort of code word for an afterhours rave? Sure, let's go 'bowling.' But no, it's actually bowling!
Tuk Tuks drive you out to a converted warehouse with about 5 lanes of bowling and hundreds of westerners contininuing their drunkeness. And now we've been bowling in every southeast country we've been to! It's definitely a wierd thing to be able to boast about.
Next we went to Vang Vieng, but that journey and the town deserves a post in itself. We're in Vietnam now, meeting up with Andrew's Mom, sister, and Niece who get in tonight! More later!
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Welcome To Thailand
Thailand: A country of beautifully manicured white sandy beaches, majestic mountain scenery, crystal clear blue water and Monkeys who pee on you.
So Andrew and I are in Rai Leh beach in southern thailand, minding our own business walking along a path when I feel something wet on my arm. My first instinct since I'm an ex-new yorker is air conditioning drip which is inevitable in that city, but then I remember I'm in the middle of a JUNGLE. Rain? No not a cloud in the sky. I hesitantly look up to see a monkey in the tree PEEING. ON ME. I immediately scream, run away and proceed to pour a whole bottle of water on myself. And although I have showered for a good half an hour I still do not feel clean. The horror.
Other than that, Thailand has been wonderful. We were in bangkok a couple of days and met up with our good friends from New York Shannon and Jordan who were taking vacation for two weeks. So we followed them to Phuket and Koh Phi Phi and had a blast. Koh Phi Phi is where the movie "the Beach" was filmed and it's absolutely beautiful, albeit run over by tourists. But I have to admit there's a reason for it, it actually is that beautiful.
Next we're off to Chang Mai for some elephant trekking, up to Yunnan in China for Chinese New Year and then to Vietnam to meet up with Andrew's Mom. That's all for now!
P.S. I seriously can't have a post that doesn't mention food...The food is obviously delicious here, surprisingly similar to thai restaurants from home. And I say surprisingly because you never know, for example Andrew's sister went to India and said the food was not what she expected at all. Andrew's main complaint is that there aren't solidly thai food restaurants, but mainly a smorgesboard of menus that range from pizza to weiner schnitzel. My favorite was "On the Border, Mexican Grill and Pub. With Pizza, Steak, and Pasta." And the best part wsa that it was attached to an Indian restaurant. And they obviously served thai dishes as well. So it goes!
So Andrew and I are in Rai Leh beach in southern thailand, minding our own business walking along a path when I feel something wet on my arm. My first instinct since I'm an ex-new yorker is air conditioning drip which is inevitable in that city, but then I remember I'm in the middle of a JUNGLE. Rain? No not a cloud in the sky. I hesitantly look up to see a monkey in the tree PEEING. ON ME. I immediately scream, run away and proceed to pour a whole bottle of water on myself. And although I have showered for a good half an hour I still do not feel clean. The horror.
Other than that, Thailand has been wonderful. We were in bangkok a couple of days and met up with our good friends from New York Shannon and Jordan who were taking vacation for two weeks. So we followed them to Phuket and Koh Phi Phi and had a blast. Koh Phi Phi is where the movie "the Beach" was filmed and it's absolutely beautiful, albeit run over by tourists. But I have to admit there's a reason for it, it actually is that beautiful.
Next we're off to Chang Mai for some elephant trekking, up to Yunnan in China for Chinese New Year and then to Vietnam to meet up with Andrew's Mom. That's all for now!
P.S. I seriously can't have a post that doesn't mention food...The food is obviously delicious here, surprisingly similar to thai restaurants from home. And I say surprisingly because you never know, for example Andrew's sister went to India and said the food was not what she expected at all. Andrew's main complaint is that there aren't solidly thai food restaurants, but mainly a smorgesboard of menus that range from pizza to weiner schnitzel. My favorite was "On the Border, Mexican Grill and Pub. With Pizza, Steak, and Pasta." And the best part wsa that it was attached to an Indian restaurant. And they obviously served thai dishes as well. So it goes!
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