(By Annie)
Our overnight train to Singapore was not the best nor worst. It was very efficient as Malaysian customs officers came to you to stamp your passport on the train. Even the Singapore border was relatively easy seeing as they had a special area for train passengers. Perhaps the only frustration was knowing our friend Anne’s house was just minutes away and yet we had agreed to meet her downtown, but alas neither knew – next time.
Sure, Rachael and I wanted to see the sights of Singapore but our real motivation in heading farther south was our friend Anne – a peace corps buddy from Benin. She has worked there for two years at the Singapore American School as a grade school gym teacher. So, our first day was hanging out at her school at teaching some of her classes with her. Our lesson was gymnastics and Rachael helped out with the floor exercise and I helped the kids to climb the ropes.
(Miller: picture if you will, Annie the Boys and Girls club saint and me, the not so kid friendly amazon, wrangling kids in a padded room…)
That night and really all of the day of the next we did nothing but chill, surf the web, and watch movies. (Miller: and get starbucks!!!!) It was wonderful and amazing and exactly what we needed to recharge our batteries. Anne was busy teaching and we were busy relaxing, until Friday when we conquered the bar and club scene including “the stage” at our last club. Oh yeah, and, if you haven’t scene what happens to mannequins when you leave them on the curb, well then you should click our you tube video right now.
The weekend came and Anne was a gracious hostess. We saw the Asian Civilizations Museum, the Mer-lion – a giant half lion/ half fish vomiting water in a fountain manner, the Cricket Club, and wonderful Christmas Decorations. It is hard to call Singapore simply a city but that is exact what it is – perhaps the only fair comparison is if Manhattan was another country.
Our last dinner was at Brewerkz a microbrewery near the Singapore river. It really was AWESOME and spawned our favorite beers on this trip. Rachael went for the oatmeal stout and I opted for the lighter golden ale. We had chicken wings, multiple pints, and watched the new Sex and the City movie before heading to bed.
We were up with the sun to wish Anne well and do some errands before we headed back to Malaysia. (Miller: Annie ripped me out of bed to announce that President Bush had just been attacked with shoes by an Iraqi reporter. It’s probably the only time on this trip an emergency wake-up has been warranted.) It was only a ten-minute bus ride from Anne’s house to the border patrol and cheap public buses lead us to the bus station in JB. From there we had enough time to change money and buy two McD McChicken meals before our ride to Malaka – the former colonial giant of Malaysia.
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