Hungry Ghost?

So I've never heard of the term 'hungry ghost', but according to wikipedia: "Hungry ghost is a Western translation of an Eastern phrase representing beings who are driven by intense emotional needs in an animalistic way."  This video is from a couple of years ago, but I can tell you from first hand experience that this is exactly what happens at this library every morning during finals week at opening time.  What you don't see is that when the students enter the library, they start sprinting to get the spots they want.  Tables with plugs are in high demand.  You can also hear the Singaporean accent in this video!  Pretty crazy, huh?

The Singapore Cinema Experience

Singaporeans love watching movies and going to the cinema.  Many people do it to get inside and cool off from the hot and humid weather outside (or the random down-pour that occurs daily).  I often justify going to the movies by telling myself it's a "cultural experience".  However, it doesn't really make sense to me as to why it's so popular.  From my experiences at the theatre, I've found that they are uncomfortably cold, LOUD LOUD LOUD, and I don't even get to pick my own seat.

Another thing that irks me a little bit is that mainstream movies come out much later than in the US.  The reason for this is the intense censorship process in Singapore, which focuses mainly on sexual, political, racial, and religious issues.  My roommate is taking an Asian film class and she learned that in Singapore, they won't allow movies that promote equal rights for same-sex couples.  The delay is also in part due to subtitling in Chinese.

I apologize if I'm getting annoying by talking about Justin Bieber all the time, but I'm going to see him in concert in ONE WEEK!  I'm just so excited.  Anyways, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never came out in the US on February 11th.  It comes out in Singapore tomorrow.  That's TWO MONTHS of delay.  What on earth could they possibly find offensive in a Justin Bieber movie?  (This question is meant to be a rhetorical question.  I don't want to hear your jokes about his music offending you haha)

I was able to see the Justin Bieber movie today in a "sneak preview" and needless to say I loved it, but I'll spare you the details.  I saw it by myself, which was actually a really fun and awkward experience.  I encourage you all to go see a movie by yourself.  When the movie first started I was SO excited and thought, "I wish someone was here with me to share the experience!"  Then, I ended up crying in the movie so I'm kind of glad I went by myself haha.

Well that's my 2 cents about movies in Singapore.  Speaking of money, the movies are cheaper by about $3 USD, if not more.  I plan on diverging from the mainstream movies and viewing an Asian movie soon.  They're pretty weird from what I've seen and heard from my roommate, but I guess it's all part of the experience!

Remember when I said that Singapore has the cleanest bathrooms in the world in my 'Say Uncle' blog post?  Well, I take it back.  That's all I'm going to say.

Welcome to the good life

There are many hotels and places in Singapore that come to mind when I think "luxury".  I find downtown Singapore to be an extremely classy place.  Even when I'm just walking around there I feel refined and elegant.  Marina Bay Sands is at the top of that luxury list.  The hotel includes a shopping mall, an ice skating rink, a theatre, a plethora of dining options, a casino, an Art Science Museum, and a Skypark complete with 3 olympic-sized swimming pools, jacuzzis, and a priceless view of the city.  You might recognize the hotel from an earlier post of mine where I talked about how I wanted to stay there!  WELL... after a long search of finding the absolute cheapest price through travel agents for a 2 person room, on Friday (April 8) Emma, Cass, and I took a break from our fairly budgeted yet very blessed exchange student lives and stepped into the life of luxury for 22 hours.

Activities of our slumber party included:

• pretending to be super rich kids while lounging on the skypark deck next to the pool on the 57th story

• taking endless photo shoots documenting the view

I didn't get the memo about the leg pop.

• enjoying freshly made bruschetta (by Cass), tasteful cheeses, olives, and French bread

so classy

• pushing our two double beds together to make a large, incredibly comfortable super bed with fluffy pillows and blankets :)

Good morning!

Just being silly.

• devouring complementary macaroons that we were delightfully surprised to find in our room after our pool session

• walking around the mall and looking at things far out of our price range
• testing the perfume, makeup, and nail polish in Sephora

• wearing our hotel robes and slippers everywhere we could

• hanging out by the bay admiring the view of the city that never ceases to amaze me

Marina Bay Sands

• tearing up to a chick-flick
• eating endless amounts of food at the included breakfast buffet

• sipping on fresh lime, lemon, or orange infused water

To wrap it up, it was a very fun and much-need girls night (with a guest appearance from Alex and Toby, but what's a girls night without boys?).  I'm soooo grateful for all the things I get to experience!

Exploring Singapore

If you have been keeping up with my blog, you've probably noticed that I've been in and out of the country a few times and haven't spent many weekends in Singapore.  This isn't because there isn't a lot to do on this 271.8 square mile island, there's actually a lot to do.  I have yet to see the Night Safari, Singapore Zoo, Jurong Bird Park, hit the hiking trails, experience "Asia's Favorite Playground" (Sentosa Amusement Park), shop at the famous Bugis Street markets, check out the museums, and get acquainted with the many hidden treasures of the city.

When I first got here, when most locals spoke to me, it sounded like a foreign language.  I can definitely say that during the 6 weeks (I can't believe it's been that long!) I've been here, I have been able to pick up on the local accent.  It's a huge relief because I feel so rude when people speak to me in English and I respond with "what?", "sorry?", "come again", "pardon", and then eventually just smile, give a forced giggle, and say "yeah...".

This week, I was able to explore a couple new places in Singapore!  On Monday, a group of us went to Wine Connection for Tim's birthday.  This is one of my favorite places!  The wine and cheese is so good for a good price too.  It makes me feel classy.  It's the first place I've had cheese that isn't processed.  Coming from Wisconsin, the largest cheese producer in the United States, where I consistently have at least 4 different types of cheese in my fridge, it was refreshing.  With the wine and cheese, we got platters to share filled with cold cuts, olives, bruschetta, bread with spreads, and much more.  Wine Connection is located in Robertson Quay, one of my many Quay's in Singapore where there is always so much to do.

My classy friends waiting for the bus.  L to R: Parisa, Maggie, Morgan, Kira, Tim, Emma, Cass, Alex.

Food!

Cheese :)

Me, Alex, Cass

On Wednesday, I FINALLY made it to Little India and Mustafa with Emma.  Being in Little India really felt like being in another country!  It definitely doesn't feel like the rest of Singapore.  It was disorderly, much dirtier, and not diverse in a cultural sense like the rest of Singapore... which I guess makes sense because it's Little "India".  The streets were filled with stalls selling produce, spices, flowers, and anything else you can think of.  Every time I took a picture people gave me funny looks - resulting in me not getting many pictures.  I'm sure I'll be back there though and I promise to get more pictures!

We went to an Indian restaurant called Kashmir (named after a territory in Northern India) that was recommended by Lonely Planet.  There were locals in the restaurant, which is always a good sign.  They played traditional Indian music that gave it a good vibe.  Before I came here, I had no idea that there was a difference between Northern Indian food and Southern Indian food.  Southern Indian food is very focused on vegetarianism.  The service and the food were both excellent.  Afterwards, we went to a different place to try some Indian sweets!  The desserts in Asia are not what I'm typically used to.  The sweets of SE Asia are usually between-meal snacks made from sticky rice, shaved ice with syrup, beans cooked in sugar, and many others.  Indian sweets are usually dry or syrupy and are almost always consist of reduced milk, ground almonds, and sugar.  The tastes are very different any may have to be acquired, but I really enjoyed them.  The Indian dessert I had reminded me a lot of the Filipino sweets that I loved growing up.

Kashmir, the restaurant we went to.

Our food.  I got some kind of chicken cooked with yogurt gravy sauce and seasoning.  Emma got fried eggplant.  We also got naan with some yogurt dip!  yummm

They gave this to us at the end of the meal and we had NO idea what it was or what to do with it and were a little embarrassed to ask.  Do you eat it?  Do you smell it?  Does anyone know?!  Help me out here.

After dinner we headed to Mustafa, which is a 24 hour shopping center located in Little India.  It's like a huge department store.  They have literally everything!  I didn't get any pictures, so you'll have to take my word for it.  It's known to be pretty cheap.  The quality of some of the stuff is questionable, but they do have some nice things too.  They had a HUGE section dedicated to men's underwear alone.  The only thing I bought was a money belt because I'm kind of a paranoid traveller.  Hopefully I'll be put at ease when my passport and money are plastered to my body.

That pretty much concludes my visit to Little India and I'll get some pictures of it soon!  I'm also staying in Singapore this weekend for what seems like the first time in a verryyy long time.  I'm excited to explore more of the island and catch up on my studies before I leave for the Philippines for Spring Break!!!