Day 3: Johor Bahru

Today I had the great pleasure of getting another stamp in my passport. We crossed the straits of Johor from Singapore and ended up in Malaysia before lunch time! We ate lunch in the food court of the immigration center. I had noodles with curry sauce and peppers, while the non-vegetarians had chicken and rice. Apparrently it is a national delicacy. We also tried The Tarik, which is a beverage that can be roughly translated to mean "pulled tea." They pour it back and forth between cups to cool it down. It was still very hot when they served it to us, so it must have been boiling to start with. It was so delicious. It's pretty close to a hot version of Thai iced tea. 

We had an interesting time exchanging money at the immigration center. The current exchange rate for every US Dollar is 3.14 Malaysian Ringgit. I had been carrying around US $20s that I wanted to exchange, but when I approached the counter, the lady told us that for any denomination that was less than $50 we would have to take a lower exchange rate of 2.8 Ringgit. I didn't want to accept that, so I went to another adjacent money exchanger. They had a similar story, but at that counter I was offered 3 Ringgit per dollar for my $20 bill. I know 3 Ringgit is pretty close to 3.14 Ringgit, but I still felt like I was losing money. I was talking to another student on the trip, and he had been able to exchange $20 bills for the 3.14 Ringgit at the first counter (but with a different teller). So, since he had been deemed the favorite for some reason, I had him take my money to the same teller he had worked with, and I got the full 3.14 exchange rate after all. 

We walked to our hotel through a giant shopping mall. Not wanting to pass up any visible food, we got a sampling of dessert on the way. My favorite that I tried was a green sticky rice square. 

Our hotel is beautiful, and features a very strong Muslim influence. The squares of cement outside the building are decorated with a typical Muslim design, all the female staff that I have seen are wearing a head scarf, and the ceiling of our room has an arrow decal that points towards Mecca. 

After settling in to our hotel, we went to a Sikh temple. Upon entering, I donned my head scarf and took off my shoes. We followed the priest up a flight of stairs and washed our feet and hands before entering the sanctuary. The priest told us a lot about the church's beliefs, and was very patient to answer our detailed questions in near-fluent English. I say near-fluent because he occasionally mixed up "too" and "so." At least that's what I assume. He told us that the Sikh religion requires that men have too much respect for women. Also, he described his various trips to the United States saying that he had been there too many times. Being nearly-fluent in only one language, I applaud his efforts, and talents. 

They were so hospitable. After we were done viewing the sanctuary, they took us back downstairs for a cup of very hot tea. It was so good. It tasted a lot like the tea we had for lunch, but with more spices added. Maybe people get accustomed to the heat after a while, but devout religious people of Malaysia--men and women--are often required to layer up their clothing. And let's not forget that it's pretty humid here. Just adding a head scarf to my outfit made me feel like I was nearing the overheating point. Then I drank a mug of hot tea. Seriously though, I must say that I really appreciate the hospitality of the Sikhs. They made a point to emphasize that their doors were open to men and women of all ethnic backgrounds and various religions, and that anyone could come to their temple for a free meal, or as in our case, a spot of tea. 

We walked around what must have been Little India after that. It was beautiful, with fragrant strings of flower garland being woven and hung from the roofline above our heads. We found a Hindu temple just as a service was starting. Woodwinds were blasting out tunes that reminded me of bagpipes, bells were ringing out a steady rhythm, and drums were backing up the bells. Meanwhile, a small group of priests was walking around the temple courtyard performing the ceremony. The temple was decorated with such vibrant colors, and beautiful fresh fruit was prepared as an offering to the gods. The service was as loud as a marching band, and everyone seemed to enjoy seeing it. It is always interesting to see how different religious groups express their devotion through worship. For some, complete silence is preferred. For others, certain types of music are chosen over other genres. And then there are services like the one we witnessed today, that seemed like an all-out religious jam session. It was very cool to see. 

We went to dinner after that, and had various South Indian delicacies (although I didn't eat with my hands this time) and fresh squeezed orange juice, my favorite!

After dinner we walked to the Hindu Mirror Temple through an area of the city that Tori aptly named the 

"valley of the shadow of death" because it was very dark. But we stayed with our group and made great time with all of our aggressive powerwalking. 

The Hindu Mirror Temple is entirely covered in mirrors. It's very beautiful and shiny. It took 5 years to construct and decorate. It just makes me so sad to think that after 12 years of use they will go through and completely redocorate it. Sigh.

On our walk back to our hotel, we stopped at a convenience store where we tried lots of different fruit. The durian was not as bad as everyone made it out to be! After that, we found a two-level store full of saris. Each one was so beautiful with vibrant colors, elaborate beading, or intricate patterns. I was slightly overwhelmed by all of the options and I didn't end up buying anything. 

Tomorrow we will have a flight to Kuching, where more adventures await. 

Days 1 & 2: Continued

Just a quick snapshot of day two:

We started with a guest lecture by Dr. Wong, who has lived all over the world and who gave us some great insight on the politics and society of Singapore. It was interesting to hear about how the government is set up. The government owns EVERYTHING. Bus lines, taxi companies, and airports, are a few items at the top of the list. The whole place is designed as a business, and it runs with maximum efficiency. The idea seems impossible to me, because I am so used to a democratic government. But it seems to work well for the most part. The one thing I will say is that Singapore is beautiful, clean, efficient, and highly regulated. There isn't that much land here, so the government owns most of it and leases it to the people. They have the power to take the land that they don't own in an expression of extreme imminent domain. Taxi drivers must have lots of cameras on their cars because in the case that they get in an accident they are assumed to be at fault unless they can prove otherwise. Two accidents for any driver would mean the loss of a driver's license. The average person doesn't seem quite as free, at least in the American sense of the word. 

We toured the Paranakan museum yesterday, and then headed to the SIngapore Art museum. For dinner we went to Chinatown to a traditional dinner where we had salted egg and fried noodles. It was pretty typical of what I have had in San Francisco's Chinatown, except for the salted egg. I am not sure if it was hardboiled or preserved with salt, but it was potent. I had to cut it up into really tiny pieces and mix it in with the rest of my food because it was SO SALTY. 

For dessert, we went to the very touristy section of Chinatown. As we sat down at a Thai restaurant on the street, we were passed by a parade of AARP members, cameras flashing, being driven in bicycle carriages. We had a delicious coconut ice cream with raisins and cashews for toppings. 

The cool thing about Singapore is that there is so much diversity here, and it is a completely different kind of diversity than I've ever seen in the United States. One street can have a Hindu Temple, Muslim Mosque, and Baptist Church within earshot of one another. Dr. Wong made an great point that diversity is not just about tolerating one's neighbors, but accepting them and getting to know them as your community. And it's this mindset that makes Singapore work so well. 

Peranakan Museum

My addition to the Singapore Art Museum

Salted Egg

Days 1 & 2: Exploring Singapore

I can't believe all that we've done in the last two days. So far, the trip has been jam-packed with amazing experiences, sights, and food. 

We got a great overview of the city yesterday, and spent a lot of time in Little India. Some of the highlights of yesterday include...

Malaya Cultural Center

Mustafa Shopping Center (or as I like to refer to it, Mufasa Shopping Center)

Sultan Mosque

Ghandi Restaurant, where we ate Indian food off of banana palm leaves with our hands! I'm building my immune system!

Perumal Hindu Temple

Buddhist Temple

Indian Street Market, which smelled amazing because many vendors were stringing flower garlands.

A torrential downpour (I have never seen rain like this in my life.)

Raffles Hotel (There was a harpist in the lobby!)

National Public Library, which I must say is the busiest library I've ever been to. 

Garden by the Bay

Eating at the Hawkers Food Stalls

Marina Bay Sands Hotel, which is made of three pillars that support a cruise ship-shaped rooftop and viewing platform

Seeing the city lights at night 

Singapore is such a beautiful and, yes, pristine city. Before I arrived everyone told me I would be amazed by the cleanliness. It's true. Singapore is, by far, the cleanest city I've ever been to. 

The people here are very active. There are running trails and picturesque walking routes all over the city. There are many beautiful parks. We visited a couple of them yesterday, and they are nice escapes from the busy city. 

Our meals yesterday were tasty cultural encounters. At the Ghandi restaurant, we sat down to a tray covered in a banana leaf with spoonfuls of two different types of curry and a dollop of chili paste. A man came to the table and scooped some white rice into the middle of the leaf. Not a utensil was in sight. We had a piece of bread the consistency of a tortilla chip and the size of a CD that we used to scoop food together to eat it. But once that was gone, we just went for it with our hands. The food was so delicious! It was actually a really fun experience, but it wouldn't be the type of place to go on a first date. 

For dinner we stopped at a Hawker center. It is basically a grouping of rows small food stalls. The stalls surround a square where people gather with their friends in the community to catch up on the latest news. It was hard to find a lot of vegetarian food there. We were a little deterred by some options that we found because they had received a "B" rating of cleanliness, and we didn't want to get food poisoning on the first day of our trip. Soon we realized that ALL of the Hawker stalls had "B" ratings, which, strangely, took a load off our minds. We found a place with garlicky tofu and sauteed bok choy that came with rice and a spicy gravy. It was really good! Right next door we ordered spinach dumplings, which were also quite delicious, but became less so when Jenna pulled a shrimp out of hers. I had eaten mine first, so, who knows if it was standard in all of the dumplings. We got shaved ice with fresh mango and condensed milk for dessert. This dessert is MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE. YUM! And the best part about the Hawkers is that for three of us and all our dinner courses, the cost was less than $15 Singapore dollars. That's even less in U.S. money! It was a great experience. 

Our trip is off to a great start! 

And so it begins! After months of classes and prep work, I am finally on my way to Malaysia and Singapore!
This is more than just a fun trip with friends, (although that is one of the most important elements) it is also part of the honors curriculum at La Sierra University.
Seven students are on the trip this year, along with two teacher's assistants and our professor, Dr. Perumal. Each student on the trip will spend the next 20 days documenting his or her travel experience and studying particular aspects of the region we are visiting. I will be studying the architecture of Singapore and Malaysia. From what I have gathered from my guidebooks and frequent Google searches, there is no shortage of amazing architecture in the area. I can't wait to see it in person. Stay tuned for more blog posts throughout our trip, and follow our official trip hashtag, #nerdsinasia .