Yangon

‘yangon is as modern as myanmar gets’, writes the lonely planet. reading this, then knowing about the social situation in the country, and considering the political one too gives rise to many thoughts. the most tricky ones probably regarded the decision whether to go or not. while there is definitely a lot to see and experience, the downturn could be that some of the money spend still goes to the oppressive military regime. in my case, this was less likely since i didn’t travel within the country, nor booked myself in one of the governmental-run hotels.

still, my respect for this trip was definitely larger than with any trip before. though i heard from many people who have been traveling there safely, it is nevertheless a friable situation. don’t ask why i still went there – and why i plan to go there again for my last weeks in south east asia …

one possible answer might be given by the pictures you can view online. another are the people i met. people that have this inquisitiveness – a thirst for knowledge about the foreigner and the world he comes from. one evening, one chinese-originated guy and me had a little chat over a beer. his friend was listening as we talked about football (CLASSIC TRAVEL TOPIC). suddenly, he asked whether obama has the ability to change the world, and continued the chat about the current economic crisis. as i started to explain what i think about the impact, about obama, about possible outcomes, more and more people sat next to me and listened to my words. twelve people, of whom half of them did not even understand the language, listened, nodded, smiled. and me, i suddenly became the ambassador of the western world. that was not easy, as i really had to think what i’m going to tell these people (since the current situation is not a positive one, unfortunately). they don’t know much about the world –they know david beckham though, hehe ….

moments likes these happened quite often – four, five times a day. people stopped me on the way, smiled and greeted, invited me for coffee or tea to practice their english and listen to what i had to tell about the world. and i asked my questions, as far as they were ‘politically correct’. from all experiences i made during my time in yangon, these were definitely the most remarkable ones.

yangon is as modern as myanmar gets. i’m still confused about that sentence. if this was the most modern part, how does the rest of the country look like? yangon, the former capital, without atms. with dusty, crumbled streets and sidewalks. with blackouts, 10 – 12 hours everyday, sometimes longer. with taxis that in most cases consist of their white, iron body – and not much more interior.

the whole city seems to be a market, with people selling everything among fruits & veggies, screws, dvds, clothes – you name it, they have it. as the pictures show, they sit on the floor, which is just covered by a canvas cover, in the heat of the day, and skin the meat. hygiene? don’t ask for it. but enjoy the colorful hustle and bustle, which is truly one of a kind.

as mentioned, football IS of main interest, as in so many countries of south east asia. and OF COURSE it is the english premier league that gets all the attention. it is thereby not really important which teams are actually playing. people literally can discuss every game, and know more about the squads as people back in the uk.

sitting on these tiny chairs, drinking dagon beer or a myanmar whiskey (mixed with - more or less - water), people argue why (such popular teams like) sunderland ended their game against (even more popluar teams like) wolverhampton in a draw. imagine, they would show more german ‘bundesliga’: people then would debate about the game of bielefeld against wolfsburg. or even better, danish sas ligaen: the guys would constantly wonder why aarhus gf lost (and probably again) against (the very famous) vejle bk. what a hilarious image, hehe!

it certainly was fascinating trip. the noise of generators on the street (remember, loads of blackouts). the dust and exhaust fumes in the air. the local busses with no clear stops, not to mention bus schedules, but ‘employees’ who rather advertise the trip by shouting out of the vehicle. taxi drivers, who don’t know where to go because they either cannot read the hostel’s business card or map, or don’t understand due to my poor burmese language skills.

i definitely want to go back as soon as possible. to the country, where the young still hope for the better, while most elder people already seemed to give up hope for political change. the land of the thousand pagodas that has so much more to offer, and that from now on is one my favorite places in the world.

beside that, my time in Singapore is ticking away. my internship ends in about four weeks. actually, i didn’t agree that the time should pass that fast, but i guess the (also quite strict and powerful) singaporean government didn’t consider my request. well, i guess that's the kind of sign needed then that tells me: 'finish your studies' – finally.

take care!

Hong Kong, Macao and Shenzhen

sitting on the veranda of baba’s guesthouse in batu ferringi, penang, northwestern malaysia, overlooking the sea while sipping icecold …. water …. i finally found time to reflect what happened the last weeks – and is going to happen in the coming months. wasn’t it that i’ve been to hong kong just recently? well, apparently, hehe ….

i was of course very excited to visit asia’s ‘new york’, the city of which everybody comes back with so many stunning experiences. and indeed, i wouldn’t mind to go there another time … taking two days off and finding a positive number on my account, was then a good reason to charge my credit card once again, for two plane tickets, and a booking at hostelworld. furthermore, i met felix, a fellow student back from aarhus, which was another fine reason to get up at 4.00am in the morning, after only 1 ½ hour of sleep, and a relaxed and funny birthday night in singapore.

felix then picked me up at the airport (YOU FORGOT THE NAME TAG), and together we made it to my hostel. the term ‘hostel’ got a complete new meaning though. before leaving to hk, i heard a lot of stories, and internet ratings left enough room for a lot of interpretations. well, just imagine a 17 storey building which facade could need a bit more than just a new paintwork. a dodgy entrance area with vendors that try to sell all kinds of more or – rather - less useful stuff (and that OF COURSE have the best price, especially for YOU, my dear SIR). you then try to imagine an elevator for which you wait at least 5 minutes – because the house is like a small city inside, which small businesses on all levels, from tailors to key service and sales & ‘marketing’ enterprises – and hostels. it would probably take at least an hour to walk around the aisles that face the grungy courtyard, to check out the single activities on each storey. in all that concrete, people have their tiny apartments – and in all that, there are these hostels.

i’m not even sure if the bed i got was in the hostel i’ve booked before. however, one reception (basically, a table and two chairs in the middle of the corridor where elderly nice chinese ladies fulfilled all check-in and –out activities) fitted for a whole bunch of hostels (in my case: usa hostel, traveller’s hostel, garden hostel, city hostel, and hk hostel … apologies if i forgot one). long corridors from which new aisles go off to rooms of the size of shoeboxes. like my one, filled with one normal and one bunk bed, an air con that worked – or not – and a neon lamp. oh, the room of course had a door that could be hardly opened (same with the ones of the three 1.5sqm all-in-one ‘shower + basin + toilet’ – bathrooms). beside that, there was nothing but great limitedness. no window, of course. no common room (well, the floor of the corridor could be considered as a HUGE one). nothing - but actually, all i needed, for a bargain price of 7,50€ per night (it’s hk – and hk is expensive in that manner). and after a looong day in this bustling city, it even gave a quite relaxing (???) atmosphere. would stay there again, hehe!

one of the first things to do was the classic ‘let’s take the star ferry and then, the cable car up to the peak’ – thing. well, they build quite a skyline on hk island. finding buildings in hk with less than 6 stories is almost impossible. the city is packed with houses that direct their noses skywards. an amazing jungle of concrete, decorated with neon signs, air cons, and outside-laundry racks. like it or not, but thinking about the dimension of people living and working in all these blocks leaves you wondering. parts of kowloon (hk peninsula) house more than 200.000 people – per sqkm, on of the highest populated areas in the world.

hk island certainly has a wide range of stunning skyscrapers that turn into one ocean of lights after sundown. personally i must say that this gets boring after a while though. that might sound weird, but what is really enjoyable about hk is the (traditional) daily life (as far as you can spot it – remember my hostel? it isn’t really imaginable how much more is happening behind the facades of these blocks). markets you can stroll along for hours, temples that give insight in the great religious heritage, and – most beloved – street eateries, corner shops, and all kinds of family retailers. it is a wonderful contrast to the modern hk, a place where something interesting happens in the moment you look at it.

hk in its variety is a must-see destination as it is full of strong impressions that leave you behind with go-for-more memories.

there is the enormous taoism won-tai-sin temple, that i visited on a sunday. it was packed with 1000s of people that worshiped their gods with millions of joss sticks that turned the air into one big cloud of incense. watching their rituals of getting into a state of trance, was simply amazing, and my camera had one of their busiest jobs ever.

foodstalls offer all kinds of food, so if you are fancy to try roasted bats, hk is the place to go. markets are full of fresh fish (SMELLY!!!), butchers follow their routine job right on the spot (fresh pig snout, someone?), elderly ladies bind chains of dried tangerine and orange skin, others sell all sorts of fruits, nuts, or spices you can imagine. it’s a busy colorful world you can experience for hours without getting bored.

unfortunately, time was scarce, as i also went to macao. being an old portuguese colony, macao’s inner city hosts some very beautiful mediterranean churches and facades. small alleys are busy with food stalls and antique stores, and seeing ethnical chinese people everywhere is confusing and interesting at the same time. macao is of course also home to some of the largest casinos in the world, and has – according to some sources – already overtaken las vegas in gaming turnover. while the casino areas are definitely not as stunning, twinkling and loony as las vegas must be, it still feels crazy to imagine how many people might sit in these complexes and lose money that would be so much better invested – tickets for a new travel destination for example, hehe.

one of these complexes is the venetian. check the webpage to find out more about this weird world of hotel, casino, shopping , and entertainment. but to give you some crazy ideas about it: they have a 11.000sqm poker room, 21 restaurants, a gondola canal (like in venice, SURPRISE) that once goes around the 3^rd floor (including gondola rides and an artificial blue sky that almost feels real). the whole complex is tremendously huge, standing in the middle of nowhere, and framed by ‘original’ venetian architecture like a venetian tower. it is a twisted and peverse idea that became reality, and though it is stunning, it is horrible!

felix and me also made it to china, better said to shenzhen – a weird place as well. a place that was developed almost from scratch. 30.000 people lived there in 1979 – 6.5 million do today, and including all legal (and illegal workers), shenzhen has a total population of over 12 million people. you might be able to imagine how this looks like. in fact, that’s not how it does on first sight. it’s modern, yes, with many skyscrapers that want to be state-of-the-art, but miss the last touch of extravagance. there is no real structure, just huge streets, blocks, streets again, houses. in between and all of a sudden comes, for example, a small arab community, then again modern architecture. shenzhen felt like a place that had no time to catch its breath while it developed. a city that looks half way to being perfect.

moreover, it was so quite, and not at all busy as you would expect from city with 12 million people. felix and me were always wondering where all these people are. but the view, while having a beer in a sky restaurant (which felt weird, and kind of like sitting on the tv tower at alexanderplatz in 1985), gave kind of an idea about the dimension of the city … HUGE!

it was not the crazy china experience as i hoped for, but that was somehow expected as it is too close to hong kong. however, we got a kind of taste for more of china.

overall, it was a quite exhausting, but very wonderful, awe-inspiring, amazing trip that was enjoyable in every moment, with stories and memories for a life time. photos need a little bit more time, as days and nights are quite busy …. as mentioned at the beginning: i’m already on the next trip …..

Advent season at 30° - SNOW, PLEASE!

meanwhile, it's already the day after the 1st advent. time to get this posted!
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today is the 1st advent. if my dad would not have sent me an email with all the best advent wishes, i would have totally forgot about it. which is not that tricky - it's 30° outside. although the whole inner singapore is fully decorated with xmas lights and ornaments, the real xmas feeling is light-years away. to be honest, i find that quite sad - but i would be daft to drink mulled wine under the singaporean weather conditions. thus, i need to use my imagination - and try the skiing hall to get my portion of snow.

thus, instead of xmas drinks, i had mango lassi in little india. yes, it's sunday evening again and little india is a must at that time, at least for me. as mentioned once, it's simply a great experience. that small area is packed with people. well, actually it's packed with male people. i have no idea where all women and kids are, but apparently the sunday night is made for the guys.

thus, hundreds and thousands of indian men stand and sit and hang around in small alleys, on squares and sidewalks. the shops are bursting at the seams, the car traffic almost comes to a complete stop, and a single person becomes one big crowd with all the others. a crowd that is pushed objectlessly from one point to another. escaping is almost impossible, not to mention stopping no matter for what reason. it's one big flow, approaching from all sides - an ocean of unfamiliar faces, voices, smells.

of course it is not enough that this big crowd already produces a distinctive noise level. NO, of course the quarter is also packed with shops, markets, street vendors. and if music store A on the left side of dunlop st decides to play the latest indian newcomer, then music store B (which is either next door or on the other side) MUST play its own favorite. i should also metion that the loudspeakers are not really ultra-modern. and nevertheless - even the world's best speakers have a certain tolerance level. at a specific volume, music does not sound like music anymore. however (and guess what): it's GREAT fun to be in the middle of these two shops.

there are also promotion stalls everywhere, mainly for phonecards (local or overseas to, GUESS, india). same game, basically. the singtel (mobile network no.01) dude tries to be louder than the m1 dude (mobile networkno.02), and is additionally facing BOISTEROUS competition from the overseas phone card fella. the dude's solution then is to climb on chairs and tables, speak faster, scream louder ... until ecstasy is only a click away. i'm always wondering someone even understand what these guys are screaming. probably, they do not even understand their own words - no surprise if you would see their promotion equipment (they kind of sound like radio emcees in the 50s - on short wave).

a common thing among indian men is to hold hands and arms, an walk along arm in arm. what looks strange in first place is a totally normal thing. holding hands here is a meaningful sign of deep friendship (not what you thought. JESUS!). however ... it is cute and weird at the same time. guys in germany usually walk arm in arm ONLY if the last beer was one too much. by the way: one of india's beer is called 'knock out' .... CHEERS (it has almost 10% alcohol)!

beside that, and as mentioned once, shops have the best offers in town. jeans are 3 - 5€. t-shirt are as cheap as 1€. one shop even claims to sell the whole product range BELOW COST! since this seems to work in reality (forget the whole business and economics theories - this is a real life case), i will copy this business model for my first firm. apparently, i won't need accountants then. i just purchase at price x, and sell for x-1 ... EASY!

did i mention that little india is a lovely place? and that indian food is fantastic, too? that indian people rather use their hands to eat their tandori briyami? that mango lassis can cover one whole meal if served in a 500ml glass? apparently, i need to visit the real india one day ... (better not now, i guess). meanwhile, i will take my camera soon and film the whole spectacle.

meanwhile, i'm listening to the 'dynamo live radio' - my favorite football club that (right now and, that's not really a surprise) is 0:1 behind. why am i not a real manchester united supporter? nevermind ...

the last weeks were quite busy ones. days in the offices stretched from 8am till 8 or 9pm. two bigger projects were running at the same time, and many things had to be done until last minute. but now that we finished both successfully, the weeks until xmas should be smooth and relaxed. lovely ...

in order to reward myself i will fly to hong kong on early thursday morning for almost 5 days, and meet felix, a fellow student from aarhus. xmas and new year is also fixed and will bring me to koh tao and railay beach in thailand (not by plane, though). and in between, i still try to see and experience as much of singapore as possible without falling into stress.

today was one of these days. leaving the house at 11, breakfast at a coffee store (rather due to heavy rain than to intention), and then national museum, OOHOOOH. a photo exhibition of a taiwanese artist was shown. themed 'doubleness', he portrayed e.g. chinese families that are separated - the husband (illegally) living and working in chinatown, new york in search for a better life (money, money, money), and the families back in china that, though they suddenly have a much better (materialistic) life, faces the loss of the main family member. something that was meant to be a a lucky chance turned out to be a family's tragedy. very impressive, dramatic, and touching photos. another part of the exhibition pictures the story of vietnamese women that (voluntarily or not) were sold to taiwanese men, in order to get married. again, very moving pics.

afterwards, i just went over to the singapore art museum (where we, currently, display the highlights from the daimler art collection), and checked not only ours (OURS ... funny), but also a japanese exhibition - fresh, funny, colorful bits of japanese media and entertainment. since it was raining (again), i played a bit more of nintendo wii with on of the exhibition guides, hehe.

later, i spend two hours in the arab quarter, planned a bit for xmas (i should have planned hong kong, instead), and DID some things for my upcoming master thesis - which, in fact, means that i read at least some articles about corporate social responsibility.

due to the fact that i met a lot of (business) people on several company events lately (it pays off to work in the external affairs department, hehe), the network regarding my thesis increased - however, the level of insight about a clear topic is still ... rather ... low. SURPRISE! if anyone has an idea, PLEASE let me know.

beside that, i finally uploaded my manila photos (plus some more ... and another 1.000 are still pending ....).

hong kong's next ... let's see what happens there!


cheers everyone!

Manila

it has been some of the most thoughtful, impressing and lasting memories of my life. manila. a city, 650 sqkm in size. officially, 11 million people - but that is probably not even close to the real numbers. it’s a moloch of a city. a dirty, noisy, overcrowded place that seems uncontrollable, tumultuous and stunning (not in beauty though). a loose cannon.

no, manila definitely will never win a beauty contest. i do not even have a single clue about where they should start with polishing, ordering and constructing. too huge seems the chaos, too large appear the problems, too corrupt is the government. manila rather has good chances to win a prize for one of the most polluted cities in the world. it’s traffic situation is a big mess, rules exist but – does someone care?

manila therefore receives my personal trophy for the most contrary place i’ve been to. however, there is another picture you get of this city. it’s the philippinos, mainly. a phenomenon, people always talk about when they were traveling to considerable poorer countries: no matter how hard the life seems to us westerners, the people who live in these places still seem to be happy. they laugh. they sing. they smile.

i don’t wanna start the discussion whether they are the happier people or not. whether we can learn from them by giving our own problems a new relation. at the end, we live in a different world with its own problems, its own ups and downs. but it might help sometimes to reevaluate the things that trouble us. it might help to appreciate much more what we have, the environment we grew up, the possibilities we have. at the end, this gain of experience, this way of thinking is what made this trip so valuable for me.

i skipped the modern part of manila - on purpose. from the bus i could see that they build up a lot of skyscrapers, housing offices and modern apartments, mainly for expats and those philippinos that benefit from the economic development. mataki, as this area is called, probably represents the modernization of manila, turning into an air conditioned, commercialized, high gloss world. i heard enough about it, and decided that i rather wanna see the manila that is still behind development process. but is it?

being there only for 2 ½ days makes it hard to judge, so the answer to that question is not a clear YES. that would definitely not do justice to the people that handle their everyday life with commitment and willingness. and simultaneously, it would mean that everything we do is the desirable aim in life.

experiencing manila was certainly a culture shock for me. and fun, at the same time, then shocking again. it was a constant rush of pictures, smells, sounds, and impressions that tumbled down on me. and, as you probably recognized: i try to explain this experience quite for a while now without finding a real, ultimate point, hehe.

manila’s streets are simply full of cars. basically, that’s no difference to many other large cities in the world. but the dark, stinky diesel exhaust fumes of thousands and thousands of old minibuses (that seem to be filled with another thousand of people) make walking along these arterial roads a quite smoky something. road marking exists, but five lanes (each direction!!) can suddenly become eight on large main roads – it’s magic. huge trucks drive next to small horse-drawn carriages, facing rickshaws in opposing traffic (of course contrary to the traffic, and on the wrong side). however, this is not that big deal, since main streets are usually congested, anyways – average speed easily drops to 20 km/h and below.

beside three elevated train lines that are operated within central manila, and that make the sometimes grey, dusty roads even more unpleasant, there is no public transport system in this huge city – at least, not as we know it from our world. instead, millions of old u.s. army jeeps, converted into mini busses with two benches and space for 25 people, are cruising around. each comes with a personalized design. from paintings of virgin mary to liverpool fc, decorated with flags, figures and other items. people jump on and off – even on big crossroads if the bus needs to stop due to congestion. main route destinations are painted on the car body – and for a ‘special’ price, you could probably have a whole bus for yourself.

chinatown was definitely an attraction. a spooky, polluted, stressful, wicked place that is simply exhausting. even on a sunny day, the narrow alleys appear as one dark room that is rather brightened up by the colors of a thousand shops. everything you can imagine is sold: copied cds next to vegetables, next to spare car parts, next to loudspeaker systems, next to porn movie dvds , next to …. the list could be continued endlessly. one large noise level that can simply become too much only after a few minutes. not to forget the mud, the humidity, the heat. a smelly air – some delicate flavors, some rather not so delicate ones. and if the rain came, you could exponentiate all these factors once more. impressive - and uncomfortable at the same time.

poverty is a big problem, still. even there is a growing (lower) middle class, one cannot ignore the situations in the slums, or the problems of homeless people on the streets. i again and again got a little shock when being faced with these aspects. we all hear about these issues, and we all know a little bit of what’s going on. and so did i before i went to manila, preparing myself for sad, thought-provoking moments.

i arranged a taxi (with my new friend danny), and was going around the slums for more than an hour. it looks surreal if you just look at outside the window – but it is there and you can’t ignore it … you cannot escape from all these thoughts that come up to your mind. and it makes a difference if you just think about all these problems beforehand - or if you almost run into a woman that is breastfeeding her baby on the sidewalk of a congested main road – although she would need some food and help for herself, first.

i cannot forget this! and honestly, i sometimes don’t know how to handle these situations, how to act when i’m faced with them. what to do, or better not do. what would help, and what would make matters worse. what is appropriate, and what might be even dangerous for me. there are no real answers upon that …. it’s very sad. and it is very frustrating!

however, and as mentioned before, the philippinos are one my favourite people so far. why? because, beside their friendliness and openness, they really appreciate the wonderful art of photography, hehe. it was the same everywhere i’ve been to: as soon as people saw me with my camera, they came and asked for a picture. or at least, i could see that they wanted a photo. whether it was a street musician, a bank’s security guard, the chess player – or even the police general with his whole company. they went crazy for a shot and were proud and happy to be captured. telling them that they would be appearing on the internet, where my german and international friends would see them, made them even prouder.

the best were, above all, the kids. even though the begging for food brought me in very uncomfortable situations (having ten children hanging on your body, hands everywhere, can be quite awkward), most situations were simply stunning (this time in a positive manner), lovely, beautiful, and funny. taking pictures of them was a big enjoyment. and, of course, they wanted to see the outcome. showing them the result always ended in big laughter – and in another picture … “agaaaaiiiin”! remarkable moments. and THANK YOU to the person who invented the digital camera, hehe! once, when showing them the picture while sitting on the ground, i suddenly founf myself with eight kiddies lying on me. fun! i played these very basic ‘clapping hands’games for almost an hour, talked to them a little, did stupid grimaces. an unforgettable memory! should i rather change my career and become a kindergarden teacher? who knows ….

summing up, visiting manila was a very wise decision - a gain in experience that will last forever!

however, since that trip, i appreciate singapore a lot more. walking around at night without safety concerns, in a city that is clean, structured, and offers all these possibilities to do a whole bunch of things is truly something, i should not simply take for granted!

the weekend will bring me to bintan, an island in indonesia, only an one hour ferry ride away. beach, sun (hopefully), relaxing times …. no complaints anymore!

take care!

p.s. one last story: philippinos are very religious (almost everybody is catholic). so, i decided to attend a church service close to my hostel on sunday evening. and guess what: the priest’s words from his speech, the prayer, and all song lyrics, were presented by power point slides, via a beamer, on a big screen. interesting ….hehe!

p.p.s. pictures will follow. however, it will take a while to go through them and do my little extra work! sorry for that …. be patient, please!

New Photos online!

... as promised, some more pictures (added in my singapore folder). just click on the link - and make your way through! or click on the slide show on the left, and look at ALL of them again, hehe!

enjoy - hope you will!!

The most expensive flat in the world ... kind of!

i moved out. and in. but wait. i need to start differently. i'm sorry for less than little news i have spread over the last two weeks. two weeks? wow, that's not THAT long though. feels like that. however. this shortage of information is due to many facts.

i moved out. and in. which in fact was a necessary move. not, that the other place was so bad. it was just simply to expensive. 650€ for one room is not really a bargain. therefore, i chose that .... room .... here. room is however not really the right word. compartment might be a better one. or how would you call something of the size of 6.5 sqm? i know people whose wardrobe is three times bigger. and i mean the one for their shoes.

the best about the new place is the following fact: each sqm costs me more than 55€. a bargain! no kidding. this luxury palace in my new 5 room flat share has the lordly price of 375€. it has features like 'few daylight' for a nice saturday morningnoonafternoon sleep after a lovely friday night. at least the aircon is working (oh, by the way... air con ... there was something i wanted to complain about last time .... later then). and here comes the best part: it's one of the cheapest places in singapore i've heard of. weird!

but seriously: if i see my normal day, then this is more than alright. it's clean, i've friends living next door, there's a 24h food court. and most important: the whole area is way different than the singapore, people (let's call them tourists) would find when they drop by.

it's authentic. that itself is already the right word. the people on the other side of our dark, smelly alley are mostly from india. they work as construction worker - or have whatever job they could find. they wash themselves in a dark, awkward basement - no own bathroom, NO. water bowls is what they mostly use. you find these guys lying outside at night, having their nap on some pickups or even the garbage can, if it's getting to noisy or packed inside.

this little world is so far away from the glamour and gloria that singapore tries to sell and represent to the outside. and i am happy to be here. to experience the other side of the coin. soon, i will load up pictures - it's probably better you see that (somehow). i'm still discovering it - and don't find the words for it right now.

beside the location change, i did a lot with the people i met here. almost everyday brings a new experience, a new place to see and explore. usually, work is done by 6.30 at latest - and then it's time to stroll around. a beer at the new asia bar for example. 70th floor, erdinger for 5€ (!!CHEAP!!), the city being at our feet. or food courts. chinatown. little india. arab quarter. korean food tonight? malay? sushi? kebap, maybe. rice or noodles? prata.

these are the tough decisions in a city that has more eating spots than i've ever seen before. tough decisions because there is so much on offer. and tough, because rice, rice and more rice everyday leads to a frustration that - from time to time - guides us directly to the big yellow M. so far, i had my best big macs here in singapore, hehe! however, in most of the cases, the assortment and prices of eatery spots is simply great! and finishing all with a freshly squeezed fruit juice for less than 1.50€ is always again a hard-to-beat moment.

singapore is also a brilliant starting point for any kinds of trips in the region (SURPRISE!). two weekends ago, we all have been on tioman, an island on east coast malaysia - at the end, we were 20 people .... some nice and some ... different. it is not that untouched spot as i hoped. but .... COME ON .... getting a sunburn on a white sandy beach or while snorkelling in the lagoons or around huge rocks in the open sea is actually NOT BAD! and it wasn't, really. not, that is comparable with my fiji island, i've once been (NOTHING IS!). but, i had one of the most beautiful moments in my whole life, seriously.

we did that boat trip the whole day. heading for different bays, snorkling around (which, again, was cool - surprisingly cool if you know what a horrible swimmer i am, and how MUCH i DISLIKE swimming). then it happened. we were stopping into our last bay. the sun was preparing for her good night. the water was shining in a dazzling turquoise. in the backdrop, a deep-green, vigorous rain forest. we, snorklling in the sea. and suddenly, it started o rain.

an amazing moment. the warm ocean, the cool rain, the sun still there, everything shining in intense colours - and raindrops dancing all around you. we were all standing there for minutes. stunned by the beauty of the moment. i turned a bit away from the others. looked around. realizing how special it was. how special all this is what happens right now. how lucky i am to be here. how much i MUST appreciate it! a special moment that i have to keep as memory in my mind (DAMN, no one took a picture, hehe!!!!). but how can one ever forget ...

the job is going alright, too. i won't suffer from a work overload, though. however, i got involved in a quite nice project that keeps me busy until march. as my employer has an art collection that will be exhibited in singapore soon, my job will be to handle (well, for now i should say to 'assist the handling') the organization of media, journalists, workshops, more media, involvement of schools and universities .... the fun thing about my internship is definitely the different kinds of people i deal with everyday. our asians at work. the interns all around. journalists that drop by. the pantry and cleaning ladies that always smile.

singapore is definitely a place to live for a longer time (i come back, though - no worries .... yet!). a great art museum. little india that is PACKED with people on sunday nights (best offer: two ORIGINAL swiss watches and an ORIGINAL swiss knife. set price: 11€. placing an order, someone?). good bars. a very efficient, very modern, very tidy, very SAFE city. at the same time the mentioned contrast that need time to discover - and definitely worth it!

what's next? manila is waiting on the weekend, which is extended to monday thanks to a public holiday. well, this holiday would actually have been on tuesday. but the government decided to bring it forward one day earlier. no problem. in fact, would the holiday have been on a sunday - they would have done the same, hehe - monday would still be off. as i said already: NICE place!

the most impressive thing above all though is indeed the fact, that so many different ethnical groups - with all their own history, habits, religion - live together peacefully in this quite tiny place, as if it would be the most normal thing ever. you see: it IS possible! let's tell the ones, who always make that ridiculous trouble .....

Air cons suck big time, still!

... i realized that i haven't talked about my problems with air cons at all (why did i call this post like this then?!).

i will discuss this topic next time. however, they are responsible that a liquid with a consistency of pure islandic rain water is running out of my nose ... constantly. talking to a journalist face-to-face is anything but pleasure ... for me, as well as for him (i suppose).