IN DA CLUB

With my first night here in Singapore, I've reached country number 50 overall and number 35 on this trip.

Not that this is a contest...but if it was......I'd be winning (cough, cough), Eric.

-USA
-Canada
-Mexico
-Peru
-Australia
-New Zealand
-South Africa
-Mozambique
-Swaziland
-Namibia
-Botswana
-Zambia
-Uganda
-Tanzania
-Egypt
-Jordan
-Croatia
-Slovenia
-Ireland
-United Kingdom
-France
-Portugal
-Spain
-Italy
-Czech Republic
-Austria
-Switzerland
-Germany
-Netherlands
-Belgium
-Turkey
-Greece
-Hungary
-Slovakia
-Poland
-Denmark
-Sweden
-Vatican City
-Norway
-Finland
-Russia
-Mongolia
-China
-Vietnam
-Cambodia
-Thailand
-Laos
-Malaysia
-Indonesia
-Singapore

--------

My passport is looking REAL good. Twelve clean pages left with thirteen countries (I think) to go.

Wasn't real sure what to expect in Singapore. Most folks encouraged me to visit, but never with much exuberance.

I walked around town this afternoon, on the Muslim feast of Eid-al-Fitr (meaning lotsa stuff was closed) for about four hours and here are a few thoughts I came up with.

Overall, this seems like a metropolis that any American big-city mayor would dream of. It is/has:

-immaculately clean
-seemingly safe
-wide, uncrowded streets
-multicultural/multilingual population
-solid tourist infrastructure
-world-class mass transit (they used the same sign contractor as Hong Kong...which is a good thing)
-perhaps the best airport I've ever flown into
-a beautiful inner-city river flanked by retail on either side (I still assert that Cairo is the only "river city" I've ever disliked)
-booming economy
-green spots
-a Hooters AND a Long John's Silver ("SEA FOOD SHOP!!")

Having said all this, I'm not sure I love it in terms of somewhere I'm interested in visiting while in SE Asia. It just feels like you could lift it up and drop it in the U.S. As I wrote on Facebook, it reminds me more of San Antonio than of, say, Bangkok.

Spending a couple more nights here and then I'm off to Perth, Australia.

Go Phils!!!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry