I'm going home...

Well.. the time has come.. today is the last day of my trip.

As I've said, Siem Reap was an amzing town, and the people I hung out with were really excellent. Marissa is still there, living at Ivy 2 guesthouse (so if you're in the area, say hi from me), but Za Za and Alan have headed onwards for Phnom Penh and Vietnam. Some other guys I met there who also live and work in Siem Reap: Bevan, Ben, and Lim, as well as the girl who works at Angkor What, whose name escapes me right now. On my last day, after visiting the school, I was walking along the street when Lak - one of the students approached me to come and eat at his restaurant. He was still wearing the jumper that Marissa had given him, even though it must have been around 34 degrees at least!

I flew into Singapore from Siem Reap, via Saigon airport, where I bumped into Maike and Jose, a Spanish couple from Madrid I first met on the bus from Nha Trang, and have been bumping into ever since. They were also on the Singapore flight, and so after a coffee and the worst airport food Pho Bo (Vietnamese beef noodle soup) I've ever had, we headed off.

Singapore airlines would have to be one of the most amazingly fitted out I've ever been on. Really comfy seats with adjustable backrests (lumber support and reclining) as well as individual tvs in every seat... unbelieveable!!

After leaving Siem Reap, Singapore was a huge culture shock. I've come from dusty dirt roads, tuk-tuks, landmine victims, street kids, really old school markets, taxi girls, expat bars, excellent low cost street food, friendly smiling people to Singapore...

I caught the fast modern MRT (subway system) from the airport. There were ticket machines, announcements, everything was clean and orderly. The whole city was ablaze with lights, and everyone was either on a mobile phone, listening to music on an iPod or playing on their PDAs. Train announcements were in 4 languages, and included gentle reminders that passengers could get their refund of $1 on a single ticket from any machine at their destination. Signs in the station announce that being friendly to each other is gracious and makes for a better Singapore. Everything is about how to do things so that life runs more smoothly - 500 video camera survey this station for your safety - don't eat or drink on the train, keep it clean for everyone - chewing gum is now allowed, but only sugar free and from a pharmacy.

Singapore is a totally modern, up-to-date city. But it's a very sterile one. Everything is for your own good, and to make things better, so little inconveniences are tolerated so that everyone can enjoy the finer things. For example, food stalls (a common way of eating throughout Asia) are regularly visited by the health department and given a rating that they have to display, so that customers know how clean the establishment is. All of this of course means that you know you aren't going to get sick, but it just makes it all feel very ordered and predetermined. It also means that tourists won't necessarily visit those stalls who may be fine, but who just aren't up to the "A" standard..

It's nice to wander into those parts of the city where there are still some chances to be taken - where you're not 100% sure that everything has been certified and double-checked before you even saw it.

Of course there's a lot of benefit in all of this - you know you're in a safe modern city. Should anything go wrong, you have access to all the latest medical facilities and so on. But as a place to live I would find it a little difficult.. I think it would dull your senses - when everything is always double-checked for you in advance, you stop doing it yourself.. and you become complacent.. at least I think I would.

After getting over the initial shock of the new, it is quite nice here, and I'm very glad my friend Jo's Dad has let me stay with him. I've been able to do some shopping to replace some of the things that were stolen in Vietnam, and today I took a boat down the Singapore River which was really nice. I just find that everywhere I go is mainly shopping areas, and so it makes it hard to just sightsee, or wander around. I guess it's also that in comparison to Vietnam or Cambodia, some of the 'spice' is missing...

On a 12:30am flight tonight....