The Avid Ambler: My Adventures in Southeast Asia: Making Up For Lost Time

When I left for Malaysia, I had just blogged about Tuesday, June 8th, when we went to the museum and explored the waterfront. Since I am horrendously behind, I'm going to try to blitz through the things I've skipped to make up for lost time.

Wednesday, June 9th

I spent most of Wednesday in the library doing homework and giving myself a break. After class, though, Mattis and Devika and Tess and I went to the Engineering Canteen, trendily named "Techno Edge," on campus. While there, a monsoon arrived, and it rained like nobody's business! It was absolutely insane - the gutters and intricate drainage systems all over campus turned into not-so-little rivers, and the rain just kept going. Fortunately, I was able to stay under cover until it ended!

Wednesday night is "lady's night" at most of the clubs in Singapore, so a big group of us went to a club called "Zirca," located in Clarke Quay (my favorite place ever). It was a TON of fun, and the club actually got really crowded!

^^ Clarke Quay! That's me!

Thursday, June 10th

After class, a group of us went to the Arab Quarter to shop for clothes. We have a lot of events (I think I've mentioned this before) that require "smart casual" outfits, and I didn't really bring anything like that with me. Plus, the Arab Quarter is rife with super-trendy "hipster" stores with clothes similar to what one might find in Urban Outfitters or American Apparel. There is an alley called Haji Lane lined with hip boutiques that look like they could be in Paris or New York, and this is where we headed. First we tried to stop by the Sultan's Mosque, the largest mosque in Singapore, but they were having prayer and wouldn't allow us inside.

The interesting thing is that the mosque is one street over from trendy Haji Lane. And even more interesting, right behind the mosque, and parallel to Haji Lane, is the lane I'm standing in in the above picture - Arab Street. In stark contrast to its trendy neighbor, Arab Street features lots of touristy stalls and lots of "traditional" Indian and Malay clothing. Singapore is such an interesting fruit salad of different "cultures" and lifestyles!