Even though jet lag had me up at 2:07 am again, I must say that this has been a pretty easy transition so far. Singapore is 15 hours ahead of Calgary, which means that it’s basically just swapping AM for PM (or vice versa) and adding 3 hours. That seems to be easier on the body than those places that are 6 or 7 hours’ off and everything is wonky no matter what. We’re coping by taking naps and trying to stay active when we’re awake.

To that end, I hit the streets early on a mission to bring back croissants from the bakery a couple doors down. They weren’t open yet, so I walked a little further and got some kopi. I’m really, really going to miss this.

I picked up some instant - I know, I know, it’s a piss-poor substitute, but it’s the closest I’ll get after I leave here. I also picked up a jar of kaya - a toast spread made with coconuts, cream, and eggs. It’s also very traditional Singaporean. By the time I’d had my kopi, the bakery was open and I picked up a couple croissants and a Toblerone pretzel. It was all delish.

We went out again at 8:30 or so, which is still too early for most things to be open, and had a look around Chinatown. I said, “smells like the durian stand is open already” and Rob said, “ugh, is THAT what that is?” I feel sorry for the shops anywhere close to that stand, because I have a feeling nobody browses in them for long. As much as I love the taste of durian, I needed to vacate that area quickly.

We also happened on a gay bar called “Dorothy’s” (after the Wizard of Oz character - in places where it’s dangerous to be openly gay, being a ‘friend of Dorothy’ is code you can use to find allies). I looked it up, and Singapore decriminalized homosexuality in 2023. That’s shockingly recent, considering the progressiveness of most other things here.

Neither Rob nor I fit the gay stereotype and our age difference tends to throw people off if they think we might be a couple. That comes in handy when we’re in places where our very existence is illegal and punishable by imprisonment or worse. I checked, and about half of the places we’ll visit on this trip fall into that category. If you ever wonder why you rarely see gay couples holding hands while walking down the street, this is why. You never know who will get triggered and cause you trouble. Even in places like Canada, where gay is mostly a non-issue, there is still a risk of getting harassed or worse.

In happier news, we did see a few interesting signs and will head back to Chinatown a little later once everything is open. One of those things was this:

Now I have questions - ones I’m not sure I want answered, actually. (OK, I looked it up - the restaurant is called “Mustache BBQ” so that explains it better.)

After some napping back at the hotel, we headed back out to Chinatown for lunch.

We perused several menus (most places have them on a stand outside) and opted for Noodle Man, a place with lots of culinary awards, if the framed articles, photos, and medals are to be believed. The interesting thing about Chinatown (and Singapore in general) is that you can’t tell the quality of the food or the price point by how fancy the restaurant appears. Noodle Man is a nondescript hole-in-the-wall sandwiched between souvenir shops with hard stools to sit on and plastic menus. We had fried rice with diced chicken and some pork dumplings, plus hot tea.
All was delicious… and the bill was $50!!
This is why we so often eat in the hawker centres. The food is just as good, at a fraction of the cost.

We found out when they brought the bill that the place is cash only. Singapore seems to be an either/or society. Lots of places are cash only. Lots of places are card only. It’s sometimes hard to know which kind you’re in until the bill comes. We didn’t have any Singapore dollars, so the hostess told me where to find a money changer. It was in a ‘dollar store’ type of shop (you can see it in the photo of the Chinatown street above) and now we have local cash.

We found a nice little gelato shop and got two small scoops. For $14. Geebus, I’m appreciating those hawker centres more and more! Anyway, it was delicious.

Interesting thing I noticed: I got two different kinds of $1 coin. I looked it up and the bronze plate coin with the periwinkle flower ceased production in 2013 (this coin is 2009) and the newer coin is brass plate with nickel plate in the centre.

…and since we passed the kopi shop, we had to stop and get more kopi! It’s a good thing that a lifetime of serious coffee consumption has left me basically immune to the effects of caffeine, as this will be my 3rd and 4th cups today. Kopi has about twice the caffeine as regular coffee.

Back to the hotel for a quick nap - yes, I can drink two cups of double-caffeine coffee and go right to sleep. I’ve been drinking coffee since I was three years old, I don’t even remember the last time I got a caffeine buzz from it.