I'm back in the US! Sitting at my mom's house about to embark upon some serious bar studying. Very happy to be back in the US - already enjoying the many comforts of things like a comfortable bed, cool nights, fresh Oregon strawberries, and the company of friends and family. So, I'm off on my many weeks of studying.... since this blog is targeted toward my at-home audience while I am traveling overseas, it is temporarily suspended until the next big overseas adventure. I will make sure to send out an email when that time comes, though it probably won't be for a couple of years. The horror! ;-o Until then, you all know how to contact me via email- I'm here and very contactable!

My last day in Singapore, and what do I do? Sit around at home, clean my room, study, get bored, contemplate going out and then think that there isn't really anywhere I want to go, or anyone to go anywhere with.... Not a very exciting last day, let alone last week, in Singapore! I was talking to my roommate, Doshila, today and she mentioned that she thought no one ever fell in love with Singapore. It's a good place to live for awhile, but, well, there really isn't all that much to LOVE about this city. Like it, sure, but there's no passion here. Funny, I've had this conversation with multiple people lately. When Miah was visiting we talked a lot about how this is a town where the White Man is God- it's almost still colonial in some of its mindsets. These white, male expats sweep in and live in their high-rise condominiums on Orchard Rd. They hold really high-paying exec positions at multinational corporations and spend their days having people suck up to them at work and their nights being fawned over by local women. After this most recent visit, Miah even started to think twice about moving here. She's not sure if she could put up with that sort of environment and attitude- not to mention that she (and any woman moving here actually) would have to just give up on the idea of finding any sort of relationship, let alone even dating, while here! Apparently a very high number of marriages break up out here, mostly because the husbands can't resist the local temptation. Quite sickening really.

What was the point of this discussion? Ah, well, I think it is that I had a good year here but I'm not actually going to miss Singapore that much. The things I love to do here are not really special to this city- going out to eat with friends, wandering around town and shops at night, going to the movies, etc. These are things I enjoy doing anywhere. And indeed, I am really looking forward to hanging out with all my friends in DC! I will miss travelling around the region- I do LOVE places like Bangkok, Chiangmai, Luang Prabang, Hoi An, Ubud.... but I will be back on vacation sometime, no doubt!

A friend suggested that I take this week off to enjoy my last week in Singapore and go visit my favorite spots, etc. But I couldn't think of a single thing that I really wanted to do before I left. huh. I think I will try to get some studying done instead. Definitely time to head out of here... 4 days.

Less than a week now until I leave Singapore, and I'm getting that feeling everytime I go anywhere that it is my last time there (probably true for awhile- though I'll probably be back to Singapore in the future. It is an easy stop-over on the way to many places). Yesterday I had my last "outing" and went with Miah to Pulau Ubin, a small island off the East coast of Singapore. It is known for being a rustic island that is an escape from the urban atmosphere of Singapore, and like stepping back in time 30 or so years. Well, I wouldn't exactly rave about Pulau Ubin as a must-see location for any tourist coming to Singapore, but it is kind of a nice place to visit. Something different. There's not really much to do there, and it's quieter than mainland Singapore, which can be a blessed relief. We rented bikes and rode around the island for about an hour, while getting bitten by many mosquitoes, then went and sat near the jetty at a hawker stall where we had chili crab. The East coast is known for its seafood, and the chili crab was definitely good, though I can't say I noticed it being anything special compared to the other chili crab I had with Miah at Chinatown in the fall. It was a very relaxing evening though, and I was glad I had the chance to visit Pulau Ubin before heading home. Here are some pics:

And all of a sudden, like a lightning bolt, the solution came to me... there is no reason I have to actually be in this country that is making it so hard for me to get any studying done! Ah ha, I will just go back to the US! ding ding ding. And I am- May 27th.

Time for another Singapore rant... I have moments when this country just drives me INSANE! And today, unfortunately, I had to deal with more of that Singaporean attitude that drives me up the wall. As most of you probably know, I have decided to do most of my studying at the National Library for the next couple of months. It is air-conditioned, conveniently located, and well-equipped. So I pack up my computer and one book I am currently using to write my thesis, and find my way to the library, only to be told that I am NOT ALLOWED IN. What the hell?!?! Apparently, there is no studying allowed in the library and you can't bring any of your own books in. It's a LIBRARY- that's what library's are for! But no, they have set up a separate study lounge which is the only place students are allowed to study. Of course, the only problem is that this study lounge is extremely small- especially for something that calls itself the "national" library- and is totally full. Ahhhhhhhh.... Do Singaporean rules just seem completely and totally ridiculous to you sometimes? Because they sure do to me. I have NEVER been to a library before where they won't let people in to study. Why is this country trying to make it so hard for me to pass the bar exam and finish my thesis?

We had a public holiday on Friday, so it was a 3-day weekend for most. Singapore has lots of public holidays because it celebrates the religious holidays of its many ethnicities and religions. This particular holiday was Vesak Day, commemorating the birth and enlightenment of Buddha and his entry into Nirvana. Not that I could tell by anything going on in Singapore what the holiday celebrated- I had to look it up. Public holidays really just mean shopping days in Singapore. It is like Boxing Day or Thanksgiving weekend every time there is a public holiday here. Orchard Rd is literally flooded with families and teenagers having a giant shopping outing. It's kind of sad. I want to shout at those parents sometimes to do something more valuable with their holiday and take their kids to the Zoo or Underwater World! Anything besides dragging them around the shops and stopping at KFC for real, valuable "family time." Right. First, this practice is instilling in them the shopping addiction and materialism that is so present in Singapore. Second, no kid loves to stand around in a store while their mom looks at purses! More often than not, the parents just leave their kids in some corner of the store to whine or scream while they then go off and browse the merchandise. Soooo annoying. Obviously I was shopping this weekend too, though, in order to experience the holiday madness, so maybe I don't have the right to complain! I went out to Orchard on Friday to meet Heather since it was her last day in Singapore before going back to Canada for the summer. And then on Saturday I went on an errand run that turned into a marathon endeavor, trying to negotiate the crowds, etc.

Look at me, posting multiple entries after a bit of a dry spell- and photos as well! Not really much to report, except that Heather is going back to Canada on Saturday and I am going to be entering study exile. At least Miah will be here next week so I'll get a few more days of human contact before I retreat into study hell.

So, honoring Heather's last week in Singa (though she will be coming back for at least one more semester), we went to her favorite restaurant, Carnivore, last night. It's one of those Brazilian restaurants where they bring around selections of roasted meat to carve onto your plate, and you eat so much meat that you feel like you never need to eat meat ever again....

Heather's roommate, Jessica, also came, and here is a pic with her:

At last, more Vietnam photos are here!

First, here are some photos around Hoi An, waterfront in town and fields just outside of town, etc:






Now, seeing as motorbikes are an important part of my experience in SE Asia, and I seem to ride them all over the place, here are some of my bikin' photos. I am such a dork (or, as I like to see it, a wise and safety-conscious woman) and always insist on helmets everywhere I go (nobody wears them out here and it is sometimes difficult to find someone that will provide a helmet with the bike!). Oh, and Heather wanted to be as cool as me and take a picture with the motorbike too- though she is always relegated to the back seat in reality :-)





And here is our favorite restaurant ever- Mango Rooms (fusion Asian/Latin). This place is amazing- we went there 3 nights out of 4!! So here is Heather and I at the restaurant and the waitresses striking a Charlie's Angels pose. Oh, and Heather showing extreme skill with the chopsticks, and me enjoying about the only coffee I have ever enjoyed:






Can't sign off without showing a pic of our beautiful hotel room, and of course, me at the beach:

Big non-shocker of the week: the PAP won the elections here in Singa. 82 out of 84 seats. The two non-PAP members with seats were incumbents facing re-election. Singapore and democracy- can we use those two words in the same phrase without irony?

I am going to miss Asia so much. I have developed my "hot spots" trip that I think I am going to have to repeat many times in the future. Here it is: Bangkok-Chiangmai-Luang Prabang-Hoi An-Bangkok

It's an easy loop that I could make if I only have time for a short vacation, and it has all the elements of my favorite type of vacation- shopping (including going to the tailor), eating really good food, relaxing and partaking of spa-type experiences, enjoying beautiful countryside strolls and such, and the beach. Bangkok is one of my shopping meccas. It is my favorite big city in the region and I love going to the MBK shopping center and to the Chatuchak weekend market. Chiangmai, of course, is a nostalgic visit for me since I used to live there- I have favorite restaurants and outings there. I love to rent a motorbike and go driving through the countryside, strolling through the night market, and to dinner at Riverside Restaurant. Luang Prabang is a peaceful oasis in Southeast Asia. It is perfect for early morning strolls, relaxing spa treatments, and chocolate croissants. Hoi An is my tailor and beach stop. Not to mention that Mango Rooms is one of the best restaurants I have ever been to. mmm. And then back to Bangkok to jet home! I could easily do that trip in a 10 day to 2 week space, though more time would be even better.... still, it is perfect!

The other 2 places I would add to a Southeast Asia itinerary if I had the time would be Singapore of course (to visit friends and such), and Bali (specifically, I really liked the town of Ubud). Those places are not very enroute with the above loop though, so might have to be a separate trip. Of course, there are lots of other great places to visit in SE Asia, some that I have been to and enjoy but just don't have that same magnetism for me as the above-listed places. And of course there are so many places I haven't even been yet.... I would especially like to explore more of Bali and other parts of Indonesia, as well as more of Vietnam.

The beach at Hoi An was surprisingly idyllic. I hadn't expected the beaches in Vietnam to rival those in Thailand, but I definitely think they do. This is nice because the beaches in Vietnam are far less developed than those in Thailand- for the time being. Hoi An had a gorgeous white sand beach that looked out over a wide blue ocean vista. Unlike Thailand, the beaches here are not bathwater-warm and protected by reefs. The water is cold (though not shockingly so) and small waves lap at the beach. We spent one afternoon lounging under sun umbrellas (the sun was scorchingly hot and burned the sand under our feet) and trying to put off the women who kept trying to sell us jewelery, fruit, tiger balm, and foot massages or manicures. Though I admit that I did buy some necklaces and, in fact, unintentionally incited a bit of a turf war because I bought from one girl and not another.

I am convinced that Hoi An is one of the best vacation spots in Southeast Asia. It has everything- a beautiful beach, fabulous restaurants (the food in Vietnam is soooo good), a very cute and historic city center (the town is a UNESCO World Heritage site), skilled tailors who can make you a whole new wardrobe in the space of just a few days, great shopping (crafts and art), and clean, affordable guest houses. Perfect.

Here's a pic of the beach and the river behind the beach:

My limited exposure to Vietnam this week revealed a country that is defined by simple elegance. It seemed that nearly everywhere I went, my head was turned by some small but elegant form or gesture- my bed carefully arranged each day with three flower buds resting gently on the smoothly pressed white linens; a farmer pouring rice from a basket overhead in a smooth and perfect stream of flowing grains; a young girl silhoueted in a pristine white ao dai (the national dress of a long slim-fitting dress over loose trousers) on her way to school; an old man, back perfectly straight as he pedals slowly through town on a rusty old bicycle. I was most struck by the innate elegance of this country when I was riding through the countryside on a motorbike one afternoon, and I couldn't take my gaze away from the woman perched on the back of the motorbike in front of me. She was covered from head to toe, and clearly a woman of modest means, yet to me she became the most elegant woman I had ever seen. Her posture was perfect, the scarf that fluttered from beneath her hat caught the breeze in just the right way, and the way in which she nonchalantly crooked her fingers through the bag hanging at her side reflected confidence and relaxation at the same time. She wore heels and hooked the heels over the foot rests so that her toes pointed skyward, creating an elegant angle between the knee and the foot.... such little details, but I was struck by how very uncontrived her elegance was, and that this has actually become quite a rarity in the world I seem to revolve in.