Somewhere between Vox & Hunter S. Thompson
If the Internet is to be believed, there are 2 main sights that need to be seen in Singapore. The 1st is the statue of the lion shooting water out of its mouth, and the 2nd is the Marina Bay Sands hotel. These are always the things that I see pictures of at least. You’ve also seen pictures of these somewhere before, right? This is the area that we'll explore night.
The city state of Singapore is a former British colony and, now, one of the financial capitals of Asia. It is the third most densely populated country in the world (behind Monaco and Macao) and it really is just a perfect little bubble. The rule of law in Singapore is enforced with an iron fist, right down to the tiniest infractions, such as littering and smoking in public. The result is a quiet, clean, orderly, urban paradise. And while I disagree that drug-related infractions should carry the death penalty, this dose of peace and quiet was just what the doctor ordered after a year in Hanoi, Vietnam. Because... yikes.
I could go 'stream-of-consciousness' about this for pages, but I'll spare you my existentialism. The point is, I loved Hanoi, and I will miss Hanoi, because it challenged me. And I think that was the whole point of coming here, although I didn't expect it to happen quite in this way.
While I was between jobs I begrudgingly began working for a company called TOPICA. This company employed teachers to do classes online. It didn’t pay the best but it was easy money, had no commute, and they could make international direct deposits. One day I got an email from them telling me that I was a “cool teacher” and asking if I would be interested in being in their upcoming commercial, which was to be filmed from 7am to 11pm on the 4th of July.
Continuing on now, I know that my point of entry into India will be Kolkata, via Dhaka, Bangladesh. There is a cheap train that can take me across the border. From there, the plan is to continue on to Varanasi, The Himalayas, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, and eventually, Mumbia.
I’m leaving Hanoi! But before I come back state side I’m doing a last little stint of traveling. I’m leaving Hanoi on August 18th and I will likely be back in the States somewhere in the Halloween ballpark.
In this post, we'll cover the first few destinations of the trip: Singapore, Burma, and Bangladesh.
During one of my rainy days in Sa Pa, one of the hostel workers told me about an organization that had just been initiated that allowed foreigners the chance to have a question and answer session with former Viet Cong soldiers, and interact with children who were growing up with disabilities caused by Agent Orange. I was beyond excited to hear that such an organization existed. This was going to be the real deal.
I was both relieved and disappointed that our 25-kilometer trek up Mount Fansipan had been canceled. In fact, thanks to the torrential rain that morning, every hike had been canceled save for one. It was called the “Non-National Park Trek”. Everything about this promised to be less than ideal, but it was the only option I had left, so I went for it.
Located in the Hoàng Liên Son Mountains in the Northwestern limits of Lào Cai Province, Sa Pa is one of the most famous places in Vietnam. Travelers will fly into Hanoi to go to Ha Long Bay, and then Sa Pa. Sa Pa itself is just a little mountain town, but it is famous because of what it serves as a jumping off point for. Surrounding this little piece of civilization are some of the most beautiful mountains and rice paddies that you’ll ever see.
Sorry guys, this is gonna be a gross one. It all started one particularly hot week in Hanoi... er... well, the symptoms did at least.
This is the story of my worms. R.I.P.
