Singapore

For me, all Asia is dominated by two great women…Hong Kong and Singapore. Hong Kong is a woman with a wild and mysterious past. She is older now and her abandon has been tempered by maturity. She still carries a wild streak and you know you're in for an incredible ride when you take her out.

Singapore…Singapore is the 19-year-old girl with the perfect body and stunning beauty. She is almost too perfect to look at straight on. She is uncertain and aloof. Hong Kong wraps her arms and legs around you and drowns you in her sexuality. Singapore sits back and waits for you to make your move. She is willing and friendly, but she hasn't gained the boldness of experience. I spend this weekend in Singapore and I drink in the delights of this wonderful place.

Singapore is an island city/country that lies at the bottom of the Malay Peninsula. This is as close to the equator as you can get and the heat and humidity here hit you hard as you leave the hotel. The city is one of the cleanest and most beautiful in the entire world and it is both exotic and cosmopolitan. You will not find so much as a speck of trash anywhere here and the jungle seems to blend right into the city streets, leaving all green and lush. This is a very modern city, but it is filled with remnants of its British colonial past. There is a large Cricket Club across from the Parliament House and the Boat Quay is lined with Irish Pubs and Tea Houses.

Mosques share the streets with Buddhist and Hindu temples and there are Episcopalian churches sprinkled thru ought. As you walk the streets, you pass Indian women in Sarongs, Chinese in silk dresses, and Malaysians in flowered prints. Eating, drinking and partying (and shopping for those who care) dominate everything!

Red Chinese lanterns line the Boat Quay along the Singapore River and I sit drinking a Tiger beer and waiting for my Peppered Crab (the local specialty and an incredible dish!!!). Water taxis ply the river and there is the sound of conversations in a dozen languages as people laugh and talk about the day and the coming evening. Dinner here is late (like in Europe) and the diners move right from their meal and into the bars and discos. The parties run all night long and after things begin to slow, everyone either heads to breakfast or off to bed (until about noon).

There's a Jimmy Buffett song with the lines…"I could use some rest I can't run at this pace very long. Yes it's quite insane; I think it hurts my brain. But it cleans me out and then I can go on..." Yep. That's how I feel. I know I could never run with this woman full time, but damn she makes you glad you're alive!

Best! Norm.