Sleep on pillows made in Singapore.

I like thunderstorms. I like travelling. But that doesn’t mean I like them at the same time! When the captain said it might be “a bit bumpy” on the way in I can only guess that he was trying not to alarm people. Read that sentence again replacing “a bit” with “extremely”  and “bumpy” with “life threatening”. I must admit though – it didn’t really scare me as much as I was expecting. Until it did that crazy up and down style turbulence and we could see lightening out the windows – that’s when I wished I had a spare pair of shorts. Anyway – I’m alive. I can’t wait for the next few flights. Bring on the cyclone!

So after my super friendly taxi driver delivered me to my hostel at 4am this morning I managed to catch a bit of sleep, get showered and think about what I was going to do. My decision was to go for a walk and try and see something quintessentially Singaporean. I saw a shirtless, old Chinese guy smoking and ordering his son around their shop. I saw Indian workers sleeping on mats in the street. I saw business men tucking into a fish head curry. I saw middle-aged Malay women chowing down on Nasi Lemak. And then I ate a 3 dollar laksa and drank some 100 plus. I’m not sure which one was the most Singaporean but it was all pretty interesting. After the laksa I managed to find a small Chinese bakery and point to the items I wanted. The only things the dude behind the counter knew in English were ‘thank you’ and ’salty’. Sometimes I wonder what I’m eating when don’t recognise the names of the ingredients. I can only imagine that I’m eating a certain kind of pastry that is specifically created for pregnant women to keep their salt levels up. You know what the Chinese are like. They’ve got all kinds of that shit.

Singapore is cool. The weather and vegetation are just like Solo. One good thing about this place is that I feel completely safe. Nothing seems that dangerous. Which kind of leads me to the conclusion that Singapore isn’t really travelling. Sure it’s far away – but it’s not a place for an adventure. Anyway, the hostel is very nice. The beds are comfortable and there is free wireless internet, air con, breakfast and it’s on a very picturesque street which has a big mosque that can be seen at the far end. In your face Perth YHA!

Okay well, I’d better leave it at that. I don’t want Josh to get too homesick. But I might cruise to KL tomorrow and see what’s there. Or hang around the streets practicing my Singlish. Check out the gallery to see what I saw today. Until next time lah!

Give me one reason

I just stayed overnight in Perth. The city is nice. But the place I stayed in was really quite poor. So I thought that experience would be best descibed in the form of a haiku.

Room smells like wet dog.
Thirty-four dollars a night.
Dude, please stop snoring.

We all wanna be happy…

Oh no. Another boring travel blog. Yeah – but I am just so damn gen Y that i had to do it. What’s next? Probably Jassa on facebook.

While some may see it as a shamelessly egotistic way to let everyone know what I’m up to, I prefer to look at it from a different angle. Think of it as a place you can come to read about what you could be doing with your life instead of sitting in that office. Or at home. Or in an internet cafe. Alternatively we could all just use this as a proof of life endeavour. Something to let you know I haven’t been kidnapped in Mexico or gassed in a bus in South East Asia (hey – I’ve heard stories about it!). Hopefully I can ensure it stays both interesting and regular enough to keep you coming back. So as I cram my whole life into a backpack and make sure my passport is still valid – I just thought I’d let you know where I’m headed.

As it stands I have tickets that take me to the following places: Perth, Singapore, Hanoi, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Toronto. However I would love to go and check out Laos, Cambodia and even Thailand (if only for the ping pong show) as well as possibly scooting over to Korea from Japan and Cuba from Mexico. In general I have decided to take things easy and just find my way through these places. However there are no set plans for most of these destinations. Which reminds me – I should really think about booking some accommodation for Vietnam.

All in all it should be a pretty good adventure. I’ll hit you suckers with another post when something interesting happens.