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  • Kuala Lumpur Trip: Day 3

    The last day of our trip was still an eventful one.  But, before I get into that I’d like to share this with you:

    The previous day, after we got back from the Batu Caves and waited out the rain, we went downstairs and walked to the monorail station.  On our way we thought we saw a cat that had gotten run over in the street.  Turns out it wasn’t a cat!  I put my foot next to it for a frame of reference.  I wear a US 9 and I think a UK 43.  After seeing that rat we’d stopped to smoke and saw two more running around on a window sill on the building across from us.  I guess there are a lot of them in that area.

    Anyhow, we got up on the third day with no clear goal in mind.  We had to check out at 11 am that morning.  We were able to leave our bags in the lobby area so that wasn’t a problem, but we wanted to go somewhere close by so it wouldn’t take us long to come back and get them before heading to the airport.  I wanted to go see the museums and art galleries, but decided it was a bit far away.  Then our stomachs made the choice for us.

    On the small map we were given at Hostel Cosmopolitan we saw a place marked Kampung Baru.  It was close by and the description said it was a food center.  So, we went downstairs and headed in that direction.  I wound up leading us to the wrong street at first and thought the place wasn’t there anymore.  Luckily, we found it by accident!  I suggested we go down a side street and then we stumbled into Kampung Baru.

    The place must be more lively at night because the map said that there are hundreds of stalls.  We only saw a few and wound up picking a really big one that had a huge crowd.  It’s always good to follow the crowd when it comes to eating establishments.

    It doesn’t look like much, but the food was really good and it was really well priced.  When you walk in you get in line and self-serve yourself from the buffet tables.  There are a lot of selections available.  After you take your seat a guy (or girl) will come around and take your drink order.  They’ll also write you out a receipt that you take the counter when you’re done.  It seems to be a sort of honor system, but I guess they’ve had problems because I saw a sign that said theft would be prosecuted.  I think we paid about 16 ringgit total for the two of us, including our drinks.

    After eating we decided to walk around and explore the area a bit.  We headed off into the neighborhood thinking we could walk straight to downtown.  Well, that turned out to be a minor disaster.  We wound up hitting an elevated highway.  We thought that at some point we’d be able to cross over or under it, but the road we were on kept going until it turned left and went further into the neighborhood.  We had to double back and get on the RapidKL train at Kampung Baru station.   It was good exercise though and we got to see a regular Kuala Lumpur neighborhood which was nice.

    Speaking of the RapidKL station… it looks familiar doesn’t it?  People who’ve been to Singapore will know what I mean.

    We took the train over to KLCC.  We were hot and tired after walking around, not to mention we were still a bit worn out from all the walking and stair climbing we did the day before, so we figured a good cool mall would be just the place to relax.  Suria KLCC looked pretty much the same as I remembered it.  The only thing that had changed was the central display area.  Instead of a Lego competition there was a huge, garish set-up for some perfume.  I don’t remember what brand.  The Legos were cooler in my opinion.

    We sat around for a bit at Starbucks.  I had one of those toffee nut lattes and surfed the net on my iPhone for a while using the free wi-fi.  We also spent some time in the huge Kinokuniya bookstore.  I’ve always loved bookstores and I could get lost in that one for days!

    We didn’t have much time left before we had to go get our bags, so we spent the last few minutes of our time in Kuala Lumpur enjoying the area outside the Suria KLCC mall (which is below the Petronas Twin Towers if you don’t know).  The last time we were in Kuala Lumpur the weather wasn’t as nice and it was raining while we were there.  This time we got a chance to look around.

    The area is really nice.  There were a lot of people sitting around talking and smoking.  If you look at that second picture you’ll see there’s even a pool area.  The statues of the whale and dolphins was a nice touch too.

    After that we took the RapidKL to KL Sentral, then switched to the monorail and went to Chow Kit, then… went back to KL Sentral and got there just in time for the 6:30 PM bus back to Kuala Lumpur International Airport. We realized on the way to Chow Kit just how roundabout of a way we took.  It looked like one of the stations (Bukit Nanas I think it was) was almost right behind the pool area we’d seen. We’ll just keep that in mind for next time.

    The bus ride back to KLIA wasn’t too bad at all.  The air conditioning was cold and the total ride time was only an hour.  It didn’t take us long at all to get through the check-in line and immigration check-point.  A short flight later we were back in Singapore.

    Tomorrow: A review of Hostel Cosmopolitan, the guest house we stayed at during our trip.

  • Kuala Lumpur Trip: Manga Exposition at Sungai Wang

    On our second day in Kuala Lumpur we stopped by Bukit Bintang.  While exploring the area we looked around in a mall called Sungai Wang.  I was excited to see that there was a manga exposition set up in the events area.  I’ve had an interest in manga and anime for quite a few years, but I’ve never been to an expo so this was an interesting experience for me.  These sorts of things just aren’t that common in the US, where manga and anime are still considered strange by most people.   I didn’t recognize the name of the publishing company but I got the impression that the event was highlighting and rewarding local talent.  It was nothing major and was set up in a small area but it was packed with people and very exciting.

    I took the time to walk around and examine the different storyboards that had been set on display and browsed the racks of manga for sale.  Unfortunately, most of them had been written in Chinese and Bahasa Melayu, so I didn’t see anything in my language that suited my interests.  I’d really been hoping to leave with a keepsake.  The items being sold were limited to two per customer so I assume they’re limited run prints.

    If you can read Chinese and / or Bahasa Melayu and want to find out more about the event, it was called Gempak Starz 2009 and you can get to the website by clicking through on that name.  Their site is graphics heavy so it’ll load slow.

    Here are the photos I took:

    1

    This is the main stage area.  I think each cardboard cut-out was done by one of the manga artists whose work was represented at the event.

    2

    These black boards were set up with manga storyboard panels on them.  Some of them were more complete than others, but none seemed to have any text.  A few had empty speech bubbles but most didn’t even have that.  I was impressed by how detailed some of the drawings are.  Two board sections had color images with ribbons marking them as finalists or winners in a competition.

    6 5 4 3

    This board was set up in another part of the event area.  Each character drawn here has a signature next to it.  I’m thinking that these were done by each of the artists represented at the event.  Maybe it’s their representation of themselves or maybe it’s their main characters in their mangas.  I don’t have a clue since we walked in on the event late and had missed the opening day.

    9

    Later in the evening, after having dinner and looking around a bit, we walked back through the event area and saw that they were doing a giveaway.  There was a glass display case with anime-style swords in it off to the left of the stage.  Those swords might have been one of the grand prizes.  We stopped to watch for a while.  We didn’t understand everything being said but there was a lot of cheering and laughing and everyone seemed to be having a good time, especially the kids that were there.

    7

    8

    We also saw these two girls in kick ass maid cosplay. They worked there as part of the event crew. As they walked around the room I think they were handing out fliers.  Oh, and they had candy in their baskets.

  • Kuala Lumpur Trip: Day 2

    Kuala Lumpur Trip: Day 2

    Our second day in Kuala Lumpur was very fun, but also very tiring.

    Our first stop of the day was the Batu Caves.  The Batu Caves are a Hindu temple that has been in use since the 1890s and is still a major tourist attraction today.  It is also still used for worship, especially during the holy festival of [insert festival name here] at the end of January.  This celebration draws about a million visitors over the course of three days.

    When you approach the Batu Caves the first thing you’ll notice, likely before you even notice the entry arch decorated with Hindu gods, is the giant golden statue that stands at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the caves.  The thing is huge!

    After that you might notice the monkeys.  When we first walked up to the stairs we saw a few hanging off the bars and walking on the concrete because people were feeding them.  As we began to ascend the stairs we realized that there were monkeys everywhere.  Some were fighting, some were begging, a few were playing, and we even saw one pair having wild monkey sex on the staircase handrail.  Ya, really.  Later, on the way down we also saw a monkey snatch a lady’s bag away from her to get the food inside.  They can be pretty mean when you have food and don’t give it to them.

    The caves themselves are fairly impressive.  The statues weren’t anything we hadn’t seen already, except for the huge one out front, so we were mostly there to see the caves themselves.  When you get to the top of the stairs (there are 272) you’ll be at the entrance to the first cave.  You descend a short flight of stairs into the first chamber and then, when you’re done looking around, you walk up another flight of steps to the next area.  I wouldn’t quite call the next spot a cave since it’s completely open to the air on top.  It’s very cool to look at though.

    What disappointed me about the Batu Caves is that they’re in a serious state of disrepair.  I’m not sure what’s going on in there, but the edges were all littered with garbage.  The lower portions of the walls were also covered with graffiti.  I also noticed that a lot of the small stalagmites within arm’s reach were broken off.  I wonder if they were broken into pieces and sold to pilgrims in the past?  Regardless, it makes the lower portions of the caves look really cheap and filthy.  Don’t let that discourage you from going though.  The upper portions are still really nice.  Click through on the photos for a better look.

    Oh, and be careful on your way down!  The stairs are very small and steep!

    After leaving the Batu Caves we went back to the guest house we were staying at and relaxed for a while.  Those stairs are tiring!  It had started raining too, and who wants to walk around in that?

    After a few hours we got back up and went to Bukit Bintang.  We had no clue what was there, but saw it listed as a place tourists should visit so we stopped to check it out.  It was only a few stops away from Chow Kit on the monorail.  It looks like a small version of Singapore’s Orchard Road.

    Across the street from where you exit the monorail is a very posh mall called Lot 10, which was almost completely deserted.  The place didn’t seem all that popular.  I wasn’t surprised.  The stores there all seemed to carry very high end items that most people wouldn’t want to be bothered with anyway.

    The one cool place we did see there was Jackie Chan’s tea and coffee cafe.  Jackie Chan must like his tea and coffee with a little kick because there were bottles of Grey Goose vodka lining one side of the bar.  Other than the fact that the place had Jackie Chan’s name on it, the couches you sit on are incredibly luxurious.  The bottom portion is very long, so you remove your shoes, climb up, lean back and relax.  Each sitting area has a set of small tables that swivel so you can arrange them the way that’s comfortable for you.

    The mall across the street, called Suleng Wang (sp?) was jam packed with people.  It’s huge too.  You wouldn’t be able to tell from the outside but there are hallways running off from the central area that seem to go on forever.  It was definitely the more popular of the two malls and it was so packed it was hard to walk around without having to constantly sidestep people.  I got the impression it was a popular hangout location.

    By the way, what’s up with KFC in Malaysia?  There was a KFC in Suleng Wang mall that was huge and it seemed like there was a KFC at every monorail stop.

    On the bottom floor of the main area there was a small manga event for what seemed to be local artists.  There were black dividers set up with manga storyboards on display.  There was a stage with figure cutouts, a case with manga style swords, and booths selling manga and merchandise.  I’ll post more about it tomorrow, including photos of girls in maid cosplay!

    We spent about 4 hours wandering around the Bukit Bintang area.  It seems to be a major shopping hub.  We saw another mall that I can’t remember the name of that was full of electronics stores.  If you’re from Singapore, think Sim Lim but with the looks of Tampines 1.

    After that, it was about 10pm so we took the monorail back to Chow Kit station where we kicked back and relaxed in the guest house for a while.  We wound up going back out at around midnight for more satay!

    More tomorrow!

  • In Regards To The Philippines Massacre in Maguindanao

    Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard the news about the massacre in the Philippines, in Maguindanao.  59 people (as of 1:18 AM November 27th SGT) were killed for political reasons.  The short of it is that a local “clan”, the Ampatuans, has been running the area warlord style for years.  A local mayor, Ismael Mangudadatu, wanted to file his intention to run for office and was sent death threats.

    Let me just stop for a minute here and repeat that.  DEATH THREATS.  As in, killed to death until you’re no longer breathing or moving, and until you never will again.  A death threat is the sort of thing that should make you stop and think about your situation and maybe, just maybe, reevaluate what you plan to do.

    Instead of using common sense and accepting the fact that it was a lost cause, this political hopeful decided to send women and other family members, unarmed, in his place to file his intention to run for office.

    Now let’s stop to think about this again.  He received death threats.  Any person with any sense would realize that if you are threatened with death if you file to run for office, then anyone you send in your stead faces that same fate.

    I’m not justifying what happened at all, because it’s disgusting, and a tragedy.  What I’m saying is that this tragedy could have been prevented and is due completely to the stupidity of Ismael Mangudadatu.  I think he’s partially responsible for the deaths of all of these people and should also be tried and convicted.

    In regards to the actual issue of the killing for political reasons, I’m not understanding why there needs to be much of an investigation.  It’s obvious what it was done for and who was behind it.  A bunch of militia and police didn’t just get together on the road and kill 59 people by accident.  They didn’t then use the governor’s backhoe to try to hide the evidence without anyone knowing.

    No one ever claimed the government in the Philippines was a just and right one, well at least not in our lifetime, but I never thought it was this bad.  These people who committed this tragedy are supposed political allies of the current President, not that that’s saying anything at all.  She’s corrupt too.  She’s announcing the 26th of November as a national day of mourning for the victims, but what’s that going to do?  Is that going to bring back all of those dead people?  Is that going to implement real and meaningful government for the people of Maguindanao?  I don’t think so.  What’s needed is speedy justice in a clear cut case.  Remove all Ampatuans from political positions, imprison the ones involved, disperse the clan, and ban them from running for political office for 5 generations.

  • Kuala Lumpur Trip: Chow Kit Market

    Just down the street from the guest house we’re staying in is Chow Kit Market.  We were actually under the impression that it was a huge hawker style area where we could get good local food for a good price.  Instead, it turned out to be a sprawling, mostly covered wet market.  It was definitely wet too.  The floors were cut with grooves to help water flow out of the market and into the drainage system.

    It was pretty cool to walk through.  We saw everything from fresh veggies to cat fish so fresh they were still flopping.  I wonder if there’s something similar in Singapore and we just haven’t seen it yet?

    Walking through this market was also the first time I noticed just how many Malaysian flags are flying in Kuala Lumpur.  They’re everywhere.  Malaysians are definitely proud of their country.

    Enjoy the photos!

  • Kuala Lumpur Trip: Day 1

    Going to Kuala Lumpur isn’t too big a deal when it comes to the actual travel part.  By the time the plane gets leveled off and the steward or stewardess hands out the immigration cards to fill out, you have about five minutes before the pilot will alert the cabin crew to prepare for landing.  Ya, it’s just that fast.  I think the total flight time is about 35 or 40 minutes.  We actually spend more time getting to the airport in Singapore and getting from KLIA in Malaysia to Kuala Lumpur than we do in the air.  That’s one of the great things about traveling in Asia.  It doesn’t take much time to get to a new place.

    This being our second trip to the Kuala Lumpur area, we weren’t as stressed out about how to get from the airport to the city.  On our last visit, we flew Tiger Airways and landed at the budget terminal, so coming in at the regular terminal was a bit confusing.  It was still easy to find the buses that take you to the city.

    KLIA’s main terminals are VERY nice looking.  They’re very classy, very modern and I saw a banner that said it had won an award as the best airport in the world for three years running.  That’s quite an accomplishment!  The inside looks like a brand new mall and there’s an Air Train that will transport you between terminals.  The interior actually reminded me of Changi International in Singapore a lot.  Even the name of the train was similar.  In Singapore it’s called the Sky Train.

    There are a few different ways you can get to the city from KLIA.  You can take a cab, which is expensive, a high speed train which is also fairly expensive, or you can take the airport bus.  There are also other shuttle buses, Star Buses I think, that will take you to KL Sentral.  KL Sentral is a train station near the heart of the city.  The buses are a good deal.  You only pay 9 or 10 ringgit in comparison to about 35 for the train and they leave the airport every hour on the hour.  I don’t even bother with taxis anymore if I can avoid them.

    The bus we took dropped us off at KL Sentral.  From there we crossed the street and got on the monorail.  That was kinda fun.  The only monorail in Singapore is the one that goes from Harbourfront to Sentosa Island and I don’t ride that much.  The ride also gave us the chance to get a good look at the area.  There are plenty of windows.

    Finding the guest house we stayed at was a little difficult once we got to Chow Kit station, but there was entertainment along the way.  We were standing at the intersection below the monorail station looking around, when we noticed people dashing through traffic to get across the street.  Apparently, waiting for the pedestrian green light is optional here.  It wasn’t just young healthy folk doing it either.  I saw a man with ONE LEG navigating his way through a busy street full of traffic.  Ya.  That old man may be missing a leg, but his balls are certainly intact!  That’s him in the above picture, with the crutch.  After he made it across the road he stopped to have a smoke.

    Once we got settled in at Hostel Cosmopolitan (more on that later), we walked through the Chow Kit Market (look for photos tomorrow!) and then sat down to a meal of Nasi Ayam Goreng.  It’s made a bit different in Kuala Lumpur than it is in Singapore.  I’m not sure which I like more.  Both versions are pretty good.

    Later that night, after a shower and a nap, we went out again and found out that there are lots of stalls set up along the street at night.  They carry quite a few different things, from stuffed animals to telescopes but we weren’t really there to shop.

    We just wanted to try local food, so we found a vendor selling satay.  It was really good!  The two sauces pictured are a curry sauce with shallots on top and a sweet and spicy peanut sauce, which I preferred.  I like curry, but not on my satay.

    We followed that up with some ice cream that an old man was selling from a cart attached to his bicycle.  It was better than I expected, especially with the crushed peanut sprinkled on it.  I think it’s peanut anyway.  The guy called it ‘kachang’ I think.  The ice cream was mostly vanilla but there was a strong hint of durian flavor as well.  I normally can’t even stand the smell of durian, but it was ok mixed with the ice cream.

    More tomorrow!

  • Enjoying a Vacation!

    Starting today and going through Tuesday my wife and I will be taking a short vacation in Kuala Lumpur.  It’s nice to get away sometimes right?  We found ourselves a nice guest house with some great amenities and we’re looking forward to checking out the Batu Caves, hopefully tomorrow.

    Anyhow, I didn’t take the time to write any posts in advance so this blog will be quiet until perhaps Teusday night or Wednesday, depending on how tired I am when we get back to Singapore.  I already wrote one good draft though, so you can expect to see a lot of great stuff about Kuala Lumpur later this week!

    Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend and has a great start to their week!

    (Just a side note:  As I type this I can hear what sounds like the Muslim call to prayer coming in through the windows.  It’s a very lovely sound, but it brings back memories for me.  The last time I heard it so clearly was when I was in Iraq in 2003 sitting on the rooftop of a building in the outskirts of Baghdad.  We were playing cards to pass the time and when it was getting dark a building a few blocks away exploded.  It lit the sky back up with an orange glow and I could feel the thump from the blast deep in my chest.  One day I think I’ll blog more about that.)

  • Hawker Centers in Singapore

    Hawker Centers in Singapore

    Hawker centers in Singapore are basically food courts.  I’ve had a few people argue with me that a hawker center indoors is actually a food court, but they have the same types of stalls and selections of food so I don’t see the point in differentiating the two.  Coming from the US I initially considered them to be the ‘poor man’s’ choice of dining establishments, but experience has proven otherwise.

    There are a lot of good sit down restaurants in Singapore, like Sakura and Seoul Garden, but the majority of what Singapore has to offer in terms of food comes from its hawker establishments.  Hawker centers can have anywhere from a handful to dozens of stalls to choose from.  You can get anything from ‘Western’ style food (typically fried chicken, steak, lamb and fish & chips) to mee goreng and roti prata.  You won’t find much in the way of Italian food that I’ve seen, or anything Russian, etc.  The choices seem to focus mostly on Asian cuisine, which only makes sense given that Singapore is in Asia.

    Some of the best eating I’ve had has come from hawkers, like Hainanese Chicken Rice, which is one of Singapore’s signature dishes.  You can also find chili crab in hawker centers, which is another local favorite.  These hawker centers are like a door to experiencing Asian eating.  I can’t even count the number of foods I’ve ‘discovered’ through eating at them.  My latest discovery is a great mutton soup from a hawker stall at Bedok’s interchange.  It’s incredible!

    Indoor hawker centers do closely resemble what you’d see in the US in terms of set-up.  The only major difference is that when you want drinks you have to go to a separate stall to order them, where in the US you would order your drink along with your food.  The stall that serves drinks is also where you go for local desserts like pulut hitam or ice kachang (sp?), should you want to sample them.  The outdoor hawker centers are typically covered, or partially covered, by a roof with fans.  Most will also have a TV to cater to the beer drinking, football (a.k.a. soccer in the US) loving crowd.  People do tend to gather together in the evenings here, especially the weekends, to watch TV and drink at the hawker centers, which is pretty cool.

    There are a few things you have to keep in mind when eating at a hawker center, as a foreigner.  The first thing you need to know is to bring your own napkins!  Hawker centers won’t provide you napkins, with few exceptions.  Most food in Singapore is spicy too, so if you don’t come prepared you’ll wind up using your hand and pants / shirt to wipe away your sniffles.  I’ll admit I’ve had to do that myself a few times and it’s not at all pleasant, and is a bit embarrassing.  Another thing to keep in mind is that you’ll want to wash your hands somewhere else before-hand, or bring hand sanitizer.  Not all hawkers have a restroom, and the ones that do are often not the best smelling or cleanest looking.  That’s more the case with outdoor hawkers than indoor ones, because indoor hawkers are typically located in malls which have great restroom facilities.  Also, most hawker stalls have pictures on billboard style menus to help customers with the ordering process.  It helps in a lot of cases, but don’t let the pictures fool you.  Sometimes the food is better than it looks.  And well… sometimes it’s not.

    During my first trip to Singapore in March of 2008 I avoided the hawker centers.  Like I said before, I considered them to be the ‘poor man’s’ choice and assumed I would find better food in sit down restaurants.  I was actually disappointed with my choices and wasn’t too impressed with the food offered in Singapore.  Later, my wife told me to stop being so damn picky and to eat at the hawker and I’m glad I did.

    In closing, if you come to Singapore don’t fall into the trap that I initially did.  Don’t assume that price equates with quality or good taste when it comes to Singapore’s dining scene.  If you come to Singapore and don’t try the hawker food you’re going to be missing out on most of the best of what Singapore has to offer.

  • A Tale of Fear and Panic in Singapore

    Ok, just to get it out of the way, this isn’t my story.  This is the maid’s story.  I thought it was worth sharing because it highlights a problem that’s unique to Asia.  For the sake of the story and her privacy we’ll call her Cookie.  Ok, here we go:

    Cookie was at the mall with one of the boys she looks after.  They’d been having a good time at the arcade, but it was time to head home.  It was starting to get dark out and it was close to dinner time.  So, they walked down to the bus interchange and got in line.

    While they were waiting in line, Cookie noticed that there was an old white guy in the line behind her.  He looked to be in his mid-50s, was bald with scraggly white hairs around the sides of his head and a he had a rough, unshaved look.  He also looked like he was smuggling a small pig in his shirt, the way his gut overhung his shorts.  In other words the guy was pretty gross looking all around.  Cookie didn’t pay him much attention, but every now and then she’d catch a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye.  He was watching her.

    When the bus showed up, Cookie hurried herself and the boy onto it and they made their way to the center area, close to the exit door.  The old white guy got on the bus with her and sat down where he could see her.  During the short trip to her bus stop, Cookie noticed that the guy kept glancing over at her.  She was starting to get uncomfortable with it so she was glad when they were able to get off the bus.

    As she started walking down the sidewalk she looked over her shoulder and saw that the old white guy had also exited the bus at that stop.  She started walking faster.  She looked over her shoulder again and saw that the old man had matched her pace.  She started walking even faster, but whenever she increased her pace so did the old man.

    When she reached the bottom of the building where she lives she grabbed the boy’s hand and ran to the stairwell.  She took the stairs quickly and then dashed down the hallway to her door.  She could hear the old man running behind her, chasing her.  For an old fat guy he was pretty quick on his feet.

    When she got to her door she started fumbling for the key and finally got it out of her bag but she was so nervous she couldn’t get it into the lock.  She heard steps approaching and knew the old man was right there, coming around the corner.  She finally got the key in the lock and looked over her shoulder and…

    The old man was right there behind her.  She backed up against the door gate and asked him what he wanted.  He reached in his pocket and quickly pulled out…

    A piece of paper.  With his phone number on it.  He handed it to her and left.

    WTF?

  • Prostitution in Singapore

    Prostitution in Singapore

    Prostitution is one of the oldest professions in the world and one of the most enduring.  It is probably the only profession that will remain the same throughout all of history as there will always be a supply and there will always be a demand.  You can find prostitution anywhere you go, but in ultra-conservative Singapore, it took me by surprise to find out that prostitution is not illegal here.

    Here’s a quote from the “2008 Human Rights Report: Singapore” as per the U.S. Department of State:

    Prostitution itself is not illegal; however, public solicitation, living on the earnings of a prostitute, and maintaining a brothel are illegal. The authorities periodically carried out crackdowns on solicitation for prostitution and arrested and deported foreign prostitutes, particularly when their activities took place outside informally designated red-light areas. In practice police unofficially tolerated and monitored a limited number of brothels; prostitutes in such establishments were required to undergo periodic health checks and carry a health card.

    (Note: The quote says ‘foreign prostitutes’ because the majority of prostitutes in Singapore are not locals.  They are from the poorer surrounding countries and enter Singapore on a temporary visa, during which time they engage in prostitution to raise capital.  They then return home and, I assume, repeat the cycle as necessary.)
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    Coming from the US, legalized prostitution is nothing new to me.  It’s legal in Nevada and until earlier this year it was legal in Rhode Island.  However, I grew up in a conservative family and spent most of my childhood in the South, which is commonly referred to as the Bible Belt.  Until I was older and put more thought to the subject I viewed all prostitutes as inherently evil.  I now know that most prostitution is done out of necessity.  That doesn’t make it right in my eyes, just understandable.

    I had always assumed that this sort of activity was illegal in Singapore.  The laws are very strict here, including fines for eating or drinking on public transit and the outlawing of chewing gum.  So, I can’t help but wonder why prostitution is legal.  I see it as dangerous and morally reprehensible, but that could just be a cultural difference.  When it comes right down to it, consensual prostitution doesn’t really hurt anybody, and given the prostitute’s circumstances it may be beneficial to her (or him) financially.  The banning of prostitution in Singapore could be more detrimental than helpful to social order.  Or another way to look at it would be that since it’s not a problem, there’s no reason to fix it.

    Legality aside, there are three places in Singapore that are known for prostitution.  I’ve mentioned most of them in passing in previous posts, but I’ll detail them here again.

    The first place is the Geylang area.  Singapore is divided up into town areas for political and governance reasons.  Geylang is located in eastern Singapore along the East-West MRT Green Line.  The MRT won’t drop you directly in Geylang.  You have to get off at the Aljunied station and then catch a bus the rest of the way.  It’s not a long ride.  Geylang itself is a sort of seedy looking place.  It’s an older part of town that’s a bit run down.  A lot of the buildings look like they’ve been standing since before Singapore was Singapore.  The best spots for finding prostitutes in Geylang is to look in the mostly dark alleys around Lorongs 10 thru 12.
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    The second place that’s fairly famous for prostitutes is Lucky Plaza.  Lucky Plaza is a mall along Orchard Road that caters mostly to the needs of Filipino foreign workers and Permanent Residents.  The mall contains shops that sell imported Filipino goods, remittance centers, Internet cafes, and Filipino restaurants.  It also has a lot of Filipina prostitutes.  If you click through on the link at the beginning of this paragraph there’s a photo of two of them in that post.

    The last place is Orchard Towers, which is also known as the Four Floors of Whores.  It’s located at the end of Orchard Road, next door to the Thai Embassy.  My wife and I had heard rumors about the place but we’d never actually been there.  So, when we were out enjoying this year’s Christmas decorations we figured, why not?  We were close to it anyway.  As I walked up to the building and peeked down the stairs I saw two girls hanging around in the hallway area.  It was obvious what they were up to.  My wife had looked around the corner of the mall and told me to come see.  She said there was a whole bunch of them lined up back there.  So, being the ass that I am, I turned on the video recording function of my camera and recorded as I walked down the side of the mall.  How many prostitutes can you count in the video below?

    There’s the girl all in white, the group sitting by the curb, and obviously the ‘couple’ against the wall who were negotiating a price as we walked by.  The inside of the mall was even more packed.  By the back entrance there was another group of them chatting as they waited for potential customers, as well as isolated pairs standing around.  They always seemed to be in groups of two or larger, except when they were appeared to be negotiating.  It was somehow exciting to see so many women engaged in an act that we considered wrong and criminal so blatantly plying their trade in an otherwise picturesque part of Singapore.

    As we left the mall we speculated on whether or not President Obama would be put up at the hotel across the street, and what Michelle might think about it all.  We also saw some of the girls that we’d seen standing around in or on the side of Orchard Towers moving up the road a bit and engaging potential customers.
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    Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that I don’t condone prostitution, nor am I posting this for the sake of directing people where to get paid sex. I’m just detailing an aspect of Singapore that I discovered while living here. What you do with this information is up to you. So, if you go to Orchard Towers, get paid sex and then find out you have black syphilis and can’t return to your country due to health reasons, don’t blame me alright?