Singapore is still clean as ever. We got in yesterday evening at 5:15 and headed off to our hotel in Changi Village, had a final street food dinner of wonton soup, oyster sauce vegetables and char siew, and then headed off to bed. Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of Singapore’s independence from Malaysia, so that was a big celebration. When you think about it, 40 years just isn’t that long.
Malaysia seemed to be enticing us to leave, in a way. The smog and smoke was so bad that the government issued warnings for children not to play outside and for people with respiratory illnesses to avoid non-essential exertion. Both JM and I could notice the effects–JM’s allergies acted up, and I had a sore throat with a frog in it. The reason for the unbelievable pollution is human activity, in this case the burning of rain forest land for cultivation. Fire creates rich soil and clears the land for cheap. Too bad rain forests have large economic value as well.
So that’s it for us in Southeast Asia. Those of you in the US, we’ll see you soon; those of you in Indonesia and Malaysia, it’s been a blast.
Tom Pepinsky 