Singapore- The Land of Some Made Up Beast for Marketing

(disclaimer: this rambles)

So, I have been in Singapore now for 4 days or so. That is probably enough time to see everything of great note here. For one thing this is a minute place. One of only 3 "city-states" in the world although people who think that Vatican City is actually a city are a little weird. Secondly, there just isn't all that much to see here. I am staying to await the arrival of my friend Trevor and to go to the Singapore Beer Festival on Thursday night.

Singapore feels a very set-like. The construction, the run-down neighborhoods all have the feeling that someone built them from some kit. I think the best way I could describe this place is as adhering to a "mall" aesthetic. This is not surprising since so much of this city is dominated by huge malls and people have described to me that the most popular sport on the city is shopping. In addition things are creepily orderly which creates an even stranger feeling. I have to ask myself am I actually still in Asia? I imagine this type of law and order certainly creates a very different feeling on the way the world should be and the way it should look. Enough philosophizing though...

Over the weekend Singapore hosted the first F1 night street race. I have never watched car racing with anything other than very low-level contempt. It always seemed dumb to watch cars going around in circles. After this weekend my convictions on the subject are more hardened. Car racing is sheer stupidity. And it's also really fucking loud. Basically for the weekend anyone selling either apparel with Ferrari logos on it or encouraging middle aged Australian and European men to act like idiots made off like a bandit. My favorite Baudrillard book (yes I know I promised no more high handedness, I lied) talks about how people watched security training to protect the president of France because it implied that some great catastrophe COULD occur. Everyone was hoping that in the moment some horrific assassination would occur. I am convinced this is the only reason people could sit through 40 laps of sonic punishment. For the briefest glimpse of some disaster...

Oh well. I got to see most of downtown, about 5 different sprawling multi-level malls, ate a bunch of food. I will say, for all its sterility, Singapore has amazing food. Whether it is hawker stalls or some trendy fusion spot they certainly have a passion for all things comestible. I had dinner with my friend Jeff and some of Sophie's friends and friends of theirs etc. Seemed like generally nice people, perfectly fit for this city. We went to some place on Kandahar street and ate an amalgamation of Chinese, Thai, Malay food. It was pretty amazing.

Stay tuned, I'll probably have 1 more entry dealing with beer in Singapore before Trevor and I move on to wherever it is we go next (Borneo, Bali, Sumatra...)

Getting Out of 대한민국

I arrived in Singapore to begin my 3 month journey through South East Asia, but first I had to escape the clutches of officialdom in the land of morning calm. Oddly enough, it was much easier than I thought. As plenty of people probably know my visa situation was none too clear, nor legal in the last 8 months or so. This was not a problem while my ersatz visa functioned. However, due to my incompetency I was two months tardy in leaving the country. To compound matters I lost my wallet with my ARC a while back. This became the sticking point when I arrived at Incheon.

I made sure to get to the airport nice and early, exchanged my ill-gotten-gains for T/Cs and stood in the ticketing queue for too long. When the booths finally opened I was one of the first to try to get a ticket. Unfortunately the ticketing lady was far more diligent than any immigration officer I have encountered. She made quick work of my expired visa and surmised I had no ARC within seconds. From there it was icy glares from others in line while I held it up with what was sure to be a bureaucratic ordeal. After I explained my situation, I was escorted to the immigration office. I pled my case again, but I am sure that whatever the Sing Air lady said was all that really mattered since my Korean is definitely not up to the level of explaining things inside the state apparatus... After 20 minutes of waiting, having my passport handed off to the manager, and some other dude who frankly looked like an assassin (not the Vin Diesel bullshit assassin, more like Brother Mouzone from the Wire. Totally together, proper, bit of an egghead, but obviously slightly off-kilter) I started to sweat a bit. I could understand enough Korean to hear a lot of numbers for fines being bandied about. I wonder if I made a break for it they would actually shoot me... After more minutes of the immigration lady trying to get her printer to work I was presented with several papers to sign. Glad they were translated for me... for all I know I confessed to assisting in an attempted Japanese invasion of Dok-do... several official looking stamps in my passport later and I am being escorted back to get my ticket.

Do you have a return ticket?... No... You need a return ticket to enter Singapore... Oh, well I was unaware... We can't give you the ticket... Yes, you can... Please go speak to the manager...
I did. I had to sign more paper work promising that Singapore Air was not responsible for me getting turned away from entering Singapore. I was only allowed to sign this after I revealed how much money I was traveling with.

6 hours, several triple shots of Johnny Red, some quaility in-flight entertainment later I am at Changi International Airport, immigration card in hand, no evidence of a plan to depart. The lady at immigration takes one look at me, tears the immigration card stub, stamps my passport and doesn't even wish me a good night. Huzzahs for the tedium of bureaucracy! My trip has begun.