Fili’s world

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Continuing with my east-Asia orientation in Singapore I went for a few Korean and Chinese movies which I enjoyed immensely. (Korean movie : http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0434008/ , Chinese movies : http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0483957/ & http://us.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/pid-1004017738/code-c/version-all/section-videos/). To sum up my Chinese experience at Singapore I went on my final night for some classic Chinese dinner and opera with the Chinese Theater Circle (http://ctcopera.com.sg) and was surprised to be part of an exclusive 8 people to have a private show and discussion. Chinese Opera, that tend to sound like squeaky voices with lots of banging, gets a lot more interesting when there’s an English lecture about the legends and traditions before the show and some English subtitles when it’s playing. Fascinating.

After the show, while walking around in China Town to admire the temples I did the mistake of saying something in Hebrew to an Israeli guy who was shouting next to an Indian temple. Then… It turned out to something like that:
Him : “So, are you before the army or after? No wait, don’t tell me, Doron, Doron, how old does he look?”
This over-sweating what-the-f2ck-am-I-doing-in-Singapore Doron : “I’d give him about 21 to 22, 23 tops”
Me : “I’m actually more like 27″
Together (laughing) : “No way, go pull someone else’s …”
So this Him guy, who’s a family-guy in charge of a very respected non-profit organization in Israel visiting Singapore for a convention, goes on further, after knowing me for 2 minutes :
Him : “So, are you having a good time out? ”
Me : “Yeah, great time, sure”
Him : “You know what I mean, right?”
Me : “Going out to pubs and bars, right?”
Him : “No, common, the Asian girls.”
Me : “Yeah, I’ve made some good Asian female friends in Vietnam…”
Him (irritated, pointing at a massage place above us) : “They are very clean, you know. Very cautious about practicing safe sex so there’s nothing for you to worry about. Don’t tell me you go to sleep alone before midnight every night! I can’t imagine anybody coming here and skipping out on the adventure”
This went on and on for a about 15 minutes with glorious details as all I was doing was just nodding politely. I ditched the whole conversation when, finally, when he turned his attention to another street Cantonese Opera.

I think the Singapore Airport kind of summarizes the whole Singaporean experience. It’s the best airport I’ve seen in all my travels. The have the best MRT (subway) and public transport, the cleanest streets, the best food selection, the biggest malls etc. etc. … Truly impressive.

Bangkok just doesn’t feel the same the second time around. I know that now, having been to 5 countries, I’m in less of a pressure to ‘do more’ so the whole thing gets a different angle. It’s only been 6 months but I’ve managed to forget so much - the awful wonderful smell, the heat, the people, the streets. My oh my, Bangkok…

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