My last 24 hours in Singapore were lovely. Carol played mahjong with her friends in the living room while I had my first Tiger beer poolside in the courtyard with Rex and his friend Khalid. After a midnight swim, I fell asleep to the sound of the mahjong blocks being shuffled and the aunties chatting between hands. On Saturday morning, we met Carol's friends for brunch. I downed two Singapore teas - a concoction of strong tea with sweetened condensed milk - and we all slurped spicy noodles with duck, sweating despite the early hour. I got to hold Sophie, Carol's god-daughter, who is a fat, Buddha-like Chinese doll at 16 months old. If she wanted something, she squawked like a chicken instead of crying but it was still hard to let her go.
A short air-hop later...I was in Bangkok! I decided to skip over Malaysia during Chinese New Year - I'll have time to explore slowly overland on the way back to Singapore. I must admit that the prospect of Bangkok terrified me. But fears need to be faced. And my neighbours from PEI, Walter and Connie, just happened to be there for a few days. So I took a deep breath and jumped. It really isn't as bad as my imagination could dream. Okay, so many streets smell like pee (cat, dog, human) and a rat scurried by my feet when I used the payphone on my first night. But it is organic and comfortable in Banglamphu, the tourist quarter. Not dangerous at all. I've had comfy but spartan digs, cheap massages, great food, lots of amazing live music and many accidental run-ins with my little network of people, friends both new and old.
I need to get out of the haze of Bangkok's pollution fast fast, but I know I'll be back - I feel like I know this neighborhood after only a few days. Next stop is Siem Reap in Cambodia, which is the town closest to Angkor Wat. I feel like there are an infinite number of wonders in this world...but I'm about to go see number 8. I'm relaxing into travelling: eat, sleep, read, look, nap, smile. It really is a beautiful rhythm.
More love to follow...lots of love to everyone back home.
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