I flew to Singapore last Tuesday. Actually, after the 22 hour flight moving across several time-zones it was Friday when I landed… I think. Considering I don’t even know what today is, I am not really in any condition to try and figure out what I was doing this time last week.

I checked into my pre-booked hotel (the only one of the trip) and soon learned why so many people fall in love with Singapore. It’s a vibrant ultra-modern city that has more charm and character than all of America’s large cities put together. It is a nearly crime-free country known for economic growth and clean (some would say sanitary) living conditions. Everything seems to run like a finely-tuned Swiss watch. It is a city that leaves a person breathless in its shadow.

Singapore is so perfect that I actually get physically upset thinking about it. I am so angry that the United States screws-up so much when it comes to city planning and urban development. I kept asking myself why the United States doesn’t have cities like Singapore. What is keeping us from having a “Swiss-Watch-City” rather than the Knock-off-Timex-Cities we tend to produce? We waste billions of dollars every year “studying” urban issues when what we should be doing is buying every city planner a direct flight to Singapore.

Which reminds me of something I left out of the last newsletter. The last email I pointed out that I would be looking for real work when I return to the States in February. What I meant to say is, “If your company would like to open an office in Singapore ….”

Being that my past two entry points into SE Asia were through Bangkok, Singapore really stood out as a pleasant change. I stayed at The Royal Plaza on Scotts, which is a 4-Star hotel (aiming at 5, I suspect). I had already exchanged a few emails with the Marketing Manager to inform them of my trip, travelogue and a few other things I had planned. They graciously provided me with a free upgrade to the executive floor, including free breakfast and snacks daily, free cocktails, and free high-speed internet access for my laptop. All of this for a little over $75 a night. The last time I paid that little for a hotel I was at a Super 8 somewhere in the middle of rural Iowa. All they could offer me was a stale Danish and all the pig-manure smell I could soak up.

Side Note: the shopping in Singapore is fantastic. I hadn’t planned on making any purchases while in Singapore, mostly out of necessity to keep my pack light. The only problem was that I had forgotten a few essential items. Being that I was starting a two month trek through one of the hottest regions on earth, I was smart enough to forget to pack shorts. You know, those shorter length pants that help you keep cool when it’s hot. Go figure, right? I guess knowing that I would be one degree north of the equator wasn’t a big enough reminder that I was going to get hot at some point. Funny thing is that it took me two days to figure it out. Who would have thought a packing lists would actually serve a purpose?

Completely wardrobed in the finest $11.70 Arnold Palmer shorts I could find, I was ready to greet my travel partner. The plan was to have me fly in a few days early to handle the logistical planning elements such as, “what are we going to do first?” The plan was simple, two days after I arrived, Susanne would get there and we would be ready to go. Did anyone ever expect that to happen?

Susanne came directly to the hotel where I was waiting for her on the front steps. No, seriously, I was. I was pretty happy to see someone I knew. Despite what you may have heard, Singapore is full of Asian looking people. I’m not sure how to say this in the most politically correct way, other than to say I was the “white” guy no matter where I went. My attempts to blend in by wearing a “got rice?” t-shirt were unsuccessful.

Susanne arriving also gave me a break from shopping, which was a good thing, knowing that anything I purchased would have to be carried on my back for the entire trip. Naturally, I had to show her all the stores. It’s fortunate that I did this while she was still jet-lagged otherwise I might have had to buy a shipping container to send back all the new digs she would have bought.