Issue #1

15 August 2010

Hello from Singapore,

The name of my current newsletter makes reference to a comment I heard the first time I was in Singapore 9 years ago.  The Yamagata Monthly (the newsletter I wrote when I lived in Japan) for October 2001 said:

Dear Readers
I apologize for not having written since August but
as you know, a terrible thing happened in September
which shook the foundations of my faith.  It has taken
me this long to recover an 'even keel' so to speak.
This YM is coming to you from SINGAPORE!  I have been
here as the guest of my cousin Monica since Wednesday
of last week.  One of the expatriates I met here told
me that Singapore is often referred to as AFB - Asia
For Beginners, due to the ease with which one can
manage here. I have certainly been enjoying myself
and can recommend it as a relaxing and safe vacation
destination.  Singapore gets top points for being an
example of how all people can live together regardless
of colour or religion.  This amazing city-state gets
thumbs down from me for NOT having a recycling program!

Things have changed which is not surprising in a modern, dynamic country like this.  There is a recycling program in place now and I noticed that there are a lot more people riding bicycles than when I was here before.  Chris, who is Malaysian, has lived here for more than twenty years and she told me that bicycles went out of fashion for a while but are coming back now.  She said the biggest changes in her mind are the cleanliness of the city and the improved transit.

The question I get asked most so far is "How do you like the food?" and I must admit that the abundance of tropical fruit is wonderful.  There are some menu items, like frog porridge and fish head curry, that I am not quite ready to try even though I do pride myself on being an adventurous eater.