I started off my day by heading down to the waterfront to see the “Eye over Singapore” and the city-scape.

The "Eye over Singapore". I couldnt afford to ride it....

The Downtown Business District

After taking in these sights I walked down to see the famous Singapore Merlion.  Aparently its the most famous landmark in Singapore but when I got there I found it rather underwhelming.

The Singapore Merlion!!!!

While not that spectacular, it is a better monument than the Singapore “Tourism” Cat:

The Singapore "Tourism" Cat

After the Merlion I caught a quick game of Cricket at the local Sports Club.  I became a huge fan of Cricket during my travels and it was only fitting that I would be able to watch a live match the day before my trip ended.

Singapore Cricket pitch by the waterfront

I searched out for more ice cream after the cricket match was over and came across this:

A brick of ice cream in between two paper thin wafers

My final activity in Singapore was a quick stop at the famous Long Bar inside the Raffles Hotel to sip a Singapore sling.  The Raffles Hotel is rumored to be the most famous hotel in the world and almost every visitor to Singapore since its opening as passed through the doors at the Long Bar.

The World Famous Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel

I gave myself the “When in Rome” treatment and orded a $25 Singapore Sling as any good Singaporean or traveler would do.

A Singapore Sling at the Long Bar

Pt. III tomorrow

After leaving Bali I flew to Singapore.  Due to the daily living costs being extremely high in Singapore and the availablity of fun attractions, I decided to only spend 2.5 days.  

Singapore is considered the cleanest city in the world.  There is no graffiti, litter, homelessness, crime, or smoking.  As a matter of fact the running joke among travelers to Singapore is that Singapore is a “fine city”.  Observe:

See what I mean.

Its pretty much illegal to do anything in Singapore which if you ask me isnt a bad thing.  You can practically eat off the streets.  Take a look at the cleanliness of their subway system:

The Singapore MRT Line

Why yes it is!

I spent most of my time in Singapore exploring the island and the streets around Orchard Rd.  

Singapore isnt a very big island. If you were extremely ambitious you could bike top to bottom in a day.

One of the highlights for me was the ice cream sold by street vendors.  My favorite was a mixed medly of sherberts on a neon colored piece of marbled bread.

Delicious

Stay tuned and thanks for reading.

-matt

Hostels:  I slept in 92 different beds

Trains:  11

Buses:  149

Taxi:  63

Americans:  37

Car:  12

Other forms of tansport (horse, donkey, atv, etc…):  7

Boats:  27

Rickshaw:  38

Coach surf:  7 nights

flights:  14

Motorcycle:  17

Pictures taken of me by locals:  44

6 hours from Singapore to Beijing followed by a 6 hour layover in Beijing and then a 12 hour flight to Los Angeles.

I still have about 10 blogs that are set to publish so keep checking back. 

Some of the topics include:  My two days in Singapore, end of Bali, trip wrap up, and the time I was detained in the Bali airport and almost thrown in jail.

Morocco

-the two german guys who I shared a taxi with into Marrakesh

-the french couple who let me use their shower in Essouira

-Mikhail in Meknes.  Thanks Brotha!

Tunisia

-Will and Jon for the Sahara adventure.  What were we thinking?

-The owner of the hostel in Mahdia who let me sleep on the roof when I had no money

-They sketchy guy who changed my travelers checks on the black market

Egypt

-Fonzy, Riley, Derrick and the entire Egypt crew.  I made it!  Clap Clap Clap

-Hamada the Egyptian

Israel

-Shia for letting me sleep on his floor, taking me around Tel Aviv, and feeding me.

-David and his roommates for letting me be a bum and sleep on the couch in their apartment for 5 days

-The dutch guy with tourrets at the Dead Sea

-The Jerusalem Drinking Crew.  JDC!  JDC!

Joran

-Carlos the mexican guy with the Canadian passport in Amman

-The dude in Petra who made the chicken sandwiches

-All the Jordanians who let me hitchhike with them

India

-Duffy for taking me to the rat temple.  Cheers Mate!

-Derrick and Monica for meeting me in Goa

-The village of Gumanpura for letting me work and live there.

-English Tom in Agra

-Elanora in Hampi

-Beth in Rishikesh.  Sorry…

Nepal

-The Dutch girl who did puzzles with me in Pokhara

-Judy @ Gauri Shankar Guesthouse.  Im still hungry Judy, still hungry.

Cambodia

-Army Dave @ Earthwalkers guesthouse for the stories at drinks

-All the Cambodians who let me hitchhike with them

-Lee the moto driver in Siem Reap

-The entire city of Phnom Phen. 

Vietnam

-Wilson “the scott” in Ho Chi Minh.

-Isabella in HCM.  Thanks.

-Semsi in HCM.  What a date!

-Aussie Sam and his family

-Gerry L in Hanoi.  I’m bound dood!

-Kayte in Halong Bay.  USA!  USA!  USA!

-Lawrence the creepy South African

Laos

-The American couple who bought me dinner and drinks in Luang Prabang

-The family @ Odomphone Guesthouse

China

-Hippie Dave in Lijiang

-Oliver in Kunming

-Mama Naxi in Lijiang

Thailand

-Rick and Amy in Bangkok.  Forever greatful.  A->B

-Mark @ Sunshine Divers

-Ting Tong Bar on Koh Chang

-Simon and Andrew in Surat Thani

Malaysia

-The hungarian guy who looked like Michael Phelps in Penang

-Old Penang Guesthouse

-Canadian Ryan and his girl

-Montana Matt

-Kansas couple in KL

Indonesia (Sumatra)

-Rubiah Tirta Divers

-James and Stacey in Toba

-Tia from Finland.  Call me.

-Lauranet for the diving pictures.  No sharks?

-Creepy English guy who got me a room in Medan

Borneo

-The English couple who let me hike with them in Bako

-Borneo B&B

-Chicken and Rice hawker at Green Hill Corner in Kuching

Brunei

-Ayamku Chicken Restaurant.

Indonesia (Java and Bali)

-Alejandro from Peru for coming to Bali, leaving Bali, coming back to Bali, and then leaving again

-Gong Corner I, II, and III

-Security Patrol at the Jakarta Airport

-Military Matt in Bali

-All the Balos who shared the ocean with me

-Toba surf shop.  Ayyyyyyyyyyyy!

-Stephane from New Caldonia and Camille from Denmark.

Stephane from New Caldonia, Me, and Camille from Denmark. One of these 3 people just spent a month in Bali. Can you spot him/her?

Thanks again!

Top 5 Destinations:

In no order-  Indonesia, Vietnam, India, Cambodia, Laos

Least favorite destinations:

Thailand-  Its really not that cool.  Over hyped.  Over priced.  Its a victim of its own sucess.  There are far better island destinations in south east asia.  It was one of the most disappointing countries of my trip

Nepal- Not what I expected.   Unfriendly people.  Boring food.  The scenery was nice in Pokhara but that only gets you so far.  Also, if you dont trek there really isnt much else to do.

Most physically difficult experience:

Definitely the 36km bike ride in did in Laos on the bike built for an 8 year old girl.  My legs just recently recovered.

One thing you learned about yourself:

I wont know until after I spend some time back home.

Things you miss about home:

I really didnt miss much.  You can find just about everything you need on the road.  I did however miss American sports, certain foods, my computer, the ability to update my ipod, my dog, Las Vegas/gambling, Arizona’s Las Vegas Bowl Victory, Arizonas run to the Sweet 16, holidays with me family.

Favorite activity on the road:

Surfing in Indonesia.  Im absolutely dreding the day when I have to put on a wetsuit and paddle out into the cold and crowded Malibu water. 

What did you enjoy most about life on the road:

All the fun surprises like communist road blocks, bus rides that take 8 hours longer than advertised, rats in my room, bugs in my sheets, chicken testicle soup, people with no faces (India), dead bodies, things like that.

I did however really enjoy the actual traveling portions of my trip.  Long journeys across new terrain were more pleasant than I thought they would be.  I also enjoyed the excitment of entering a new country and getting the much covented passport stamp.

What did I enjoy least about life on the road:

Dealing with touts and getting hasseld 24/7.  It amazes me how nearly every activity I did was ruined by people involved in the tourist trade.

I also didnt enjoy meeting other travelers.   I know this sounds odd but after a while you end up having the same converstations over and over and over again.  You also end up meeting a lot of people who find it necessary to “one up” you at every stop.  If you’ve been to India for example, the guy youre talkign to will have been to India also but traveled there with only 1 shoe, a can of beans, and an Big Bertha 3 Wood.  Dealing with these people got old really fast.

Ironicaly though I also hated having to say the phrase “table for one” nearly every night for 9 months.  That gets old fast as well.

Which city would you relocate too if given the chance:

As I’ve said before It would have to be one of the bigger southeast asian cities.  Hanoi, Bangkok, Phnom Phen (this takes a lot of explaining) or Singapore would be my choice.

Top 3 travel destination wishlist:

After doing this trip I am only interested in doing similiar journeys.  That is to say, I only want to do long term multi country travel.  My next three trips are as follows:

Cairo to Capetown-  Hitchhiking and camping my way from North Africa all the way down south in time for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa

Central American Surf Trip-  Surfing my way througCentral America with one of my fraternity brothers who recently moved to Costa Rica

Turkey to Beijing overland-  Traveling the silk road from Turkey to Beiling while visiting all the ” ‘stan” countries.  On my way back I want to pass through Tibet and Bhutan.

Advice to someone going on a similiar trip:

1.  plan nothing

2.  pack as little as possible

3.  figure everything out yourself

4.  expect nothing

5.  use only the maps in guidebooks and nothing else

6.  dont be afraid of the things all the travel books and websites tell you about.

Quick story:  All of the guide books and travel websites have opinions on just about everything travel related.  One of these things is what type of clothing you should wear on the road.  These “experts” advise you not to wear red, orange, or yellow becuase it makes you stand out.  You should also avoid blue and green becuase they are associated with miliary.  Wearing black will make you too hot and wearing white will show dirt.  This leaves you with the choice of khaki or khaki.  I must pass 20 people everyday decked out head to toe in khaki and believe it or not they stand out more than someone wearing a Ronald McDonald outfit would.

7.  go before you give yourself a reason not too

8.  Think for yourself.  Dont be a traveling tool!  (see above story)

How have you changed as a person:

On the inside-  same person.

On the outside-  I’m tan enough to play for the Lakers and skinny and blonde enough to be one of Hugh Hefners girlfriends.

What did you take away from this experience:

1.  In the not too distant future the entire world is going to be praying to Allah and speaking Chinese.

2.  If you want proof that stereotypes are true, travel

3.  America is the greatest thing since sliced bread

3 things you take for granted living in America:

1.  Gambling

2.  Clarity of information

3.  Baseball

How do you envision life after traveling:

I see myself packing up and moving away so I dont have to re hash every detail of my trip to the 10,000 people who are going to ask me about it.

yes.  transport?  transport?

helloooooo.  want massage?

ok.  yes.  rent motobike?  hello.  rent bike?

transport?

cheap price.  rent bike.  yes?

shopping?  yes.  buy now

massage?

mate.  massage mate?

hello.  sunglasses.  yes mate.  cheap price

transport?  trans-port?

yes.  have look.

yes.  tshirt.  cheap price

hey mate.  shopping mate?

yes.  spend money

buy now.  give money

massage mate.  yes mate

transport?

yes. hello.  hello.  rent bike.  yes

Yes.  Ubud?  transport?

massage?

hey mate.  massage.  yes

yes. shopping.  have looking.

yes welcome.  information.

rafting?  cheap price.

gilli islands?  hello.  information.

It almost makes you never want to leave.  This onslaught happens everytime I go anywhere in Kuta.  Its terrible.

-  The water temperature is a scalding 86 degrees.  Believe it or not, it can  actually be too warm at times.

-  I snapped a fin making a huge bottom turn yesterday.  I wasn’t that bummed and all it cost me was a few bucks.

Look ma... no fin!

After my fin breaking I was given a new board to use while my other one was being repaired.  The shop had nothing left in my size (6’2″ – 6’4″) except this one:

The ugliest board in all of Bali.

All of the Balos surf really well and they are really nice about sharing the waves.  Considering the ocean is technically theirs they do a good job of making all the tourist surfers feel comfortable in the water.  They rarely steal waves, drop in on you, or force you out of the lineup.

edit: right after I wrote this post I went surfing and came back with this:

The Kuta reef and I did not get off to the best start

Without further ado, here is a picture of me in every country I have been too except for Brunei.

Watch my hair grow right before your eyes!

Los Angeles, California

Marrakesh, Morocco

The Sahara, Tunisia

Giza, Egypt

Jerusalem, Israel

Petra, Jordan

Agra, India

Kathmandu, Nepal

I lost a lot of my Cambodia pictures including all of those with me in them. This one will have to do.

Cu Chi Tunnels, Vietnam

Luang Prabang, Laos

Shangri-La, China

Koh Tao, Thailand

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Sumatra Indonesia

Borneo

Java, Indonesia