I went to Singapore and bought t-shirts.

Singapore. Disneyland with the death penalty. A shopping mall with a seat at the UN. I went there in late September with several friends from Montana State University to help teach classes in film for our college friend, Clifford Yap and his College of Film and Television. Singapore was interesting; very affluent, very up to date and in fact made me feel as though I was coming from the 3rd world to stand in the shiny city on the hill, not a feeling I expected. All their infrastructure project and architecture outclasses anything I have seen in the States for many years. It truly is Asia's century. The food was great and English was spoken and written everywhere. There are many neighborhoods in the US that have less English in evidence. There was an almost oppressive sense of success around the city. The political scene is changing, where the government is in everything now, I got a distinct sense that the people want something a little different for the future, not that they want to give up the affluence that semi socialist iron fisted regimes can bestow, they would like cable TV uncensored and to buy chewing gum. We stayed at the "Hotel 88 Sakura" in the red light district on Joo Chiat Road in Singapore and watched Thai and Vietnamese hookers walk up and down the street in front of our local bar, the "Dragon Palace" where we would sit and drink Carlsberg beer. Rick and I visited a Hindu temple one evening and found it beautiful. We ate the local food in hawker courts and more mallish food courts. Much beer was consumed and I visited a whore house in Kuala Lumpur (without partaking of the beautiful young women paraded like a 4H auction). We also visited Maleka in Malaysia. The flights to and from were long and I missed Laurie and the kids very much. I was glad to come home.It was fun but I did miss what turned out to be a lot of work. The benefits of travel and reconnecting with old friends always outweigh the loss of income but it hasn't been as lucrative a year as last year so it is noted.