Singapore 1

I will write little to nothing about the Evil Corporation I was working for on the other side of the world, and focus on the country this 'corpo' was exploiting.

Singapore is truly a land of strange wonders - some of the greatest food from the three ethnic groups that reside there (Indian, Chinese, Malay), and a major shopping hub for the rich and devoid.

The first hotel we stayed, paid for by the E.C., was the Grand Hyatt, full amenities, crazy breakfast buffet with imported aged cheese and organic breads, and two (count 'em : 2) televisions in each suite. Oh yeah, the 'shower' was, ummm, these holes in the ceiling of the stall, to better replicate this 'rainfall' experience they were going for. And I was a tad disappointed that they only had 15 treadmills in their modest gym.

I should also say that great food and shopping usually means great architecture, and there was no shortage on this little island. The parkview entrance, for example is sumptious and elegant - the building rises like a fortress over the city.

After the gig was done, we had to say goodbye to the Hyatt and find a suitably budgeted place to hang out before our return flight 4 days later.

The first hotel was in Singapore's semi notorious red light district, the hotel was called Happy Ending over at the Galang 5 district. I say semi-notorious because the red light district in Singapore is where the locals go, not the tourists. It's for the regular Joe who saves whatever of his $100 a week to release stress, get a little bit of 'home', whatever. Not to be confused with the fully notorious red light districts of Bangkok and Amsterdam.

And here (bottom picture, above) is an innocent view out of my red light district hotel room window down onto the street.