Be careful on arrival, as you might trip over a mall. This country, packed with high end shopping centers & fancy plazas, is a melting pot for successful foreign nationals, as well as a hub of cultural culinary—from Indonesian, Korean & Chinese to Indian, Malayan and more—the diverse dishes will demand a passport for your palate. My taste buds have done more traveling in this small country's borders than it's done around the bloc of Southeast Asia. But, the most unique thing about Singapore is their $1,000 fine for littering, which cleans up nicely. This country is immaculate. Not too mention, sparkling. And not just because it's shaped like a diamond. 

This country has an inspiring upbringing, which was impressively cultivated by longtime, but recently deceased leader, Lee Kuan Yew. His passion, focus and intelligent utopian design fashioned his country with divine growth points, focusing on unity and fairness. Lee put strong attention towards national security, economic strength, anti-corruption measures, population control, corporal punishments and strong water resources. In fact, because of Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore ranks one of the highest countries in the world with regard to standard of living, education, healthcare and economic competitiveness. Under his leadership, Singapore transformed from third world to first world in one man's single lifetime.

As usual, Lisa and I showed up with a backpack full of dirty, smelly clothes (only to find out it costs $10 US for load) and four infected eyeballs—conjunctivitis—which we somehow acquired in Indonesia (watch those bedsheets, people). Arriving on a Sunday and a public holiday, we managed to find the only medical care clinic that was open in the heart of Little India and waited in an intensely long line with a swarm of Indian men. After being called in, the doctor quickly diagnosed us, then began some pleasant, amusing small talk. She told us that people in Singapore don’t take holidays—labor is the leisure. Anyone who flocks to Singapore comes for work and/or advanced study and they come to succeed. There are institutions from all over the world—America, Germany, United Kingdom and beyond—and everyone gets strait As. It’s healthy, wealthy and proud if it. 

However, the downside from a backpacker's perspective, is it's incredibly high prices for everything from water to transportation to accommodation. It's tough to go from $5/dorm bed in every other southeast Asian country to $20. It causes mental gasps and financial fevers, especially if unrealized until arrival. Not to fret. There are plenty of ways to enjoy Singapore with a budget & the right attitude. 

1. Make your own walking tour. Since the bikes are $5/hr for hire (no thank you) and the sites to see don't really require you go inside (temples, universal studios, zoos, etc). Just get a map (or use google maps) and start walking. It's great exercise and will be much more spontaneously exciting than the train/metro. 
2. Save your water bottle because, for once in S.east asia, you can drink tap water! Thank mr. Lee for that as it was he who urged Singapore acquire their own fresh water source to secure more independence from Malaysia. 
3. Hop on a double decker bus to see more of the city. Why not wear some jogging clothes? Then you can hop off in various places, like Botanical Garden, for a quick speed walk. Careful as there are some jurassic looking creatures crawling about the various pathways. 
4. Check out www.Couchsurfing.com! There are so many hosts offering their spare bedrooms and living room couches. The cheapest dorm bed we found $13! It’s really worth it the try and score a free place to stay, as well as get the local experience. 
5. Lastly, dine out at food courts (more commonly known as Hawkers). The food is the cheapest you’ll find, delicious and worldly. 
   

We somehow managed to couchsurf our way into a traditional Sudanese (ethnic group specific to the island of Java & predominantly Muslim) wedding. After collecting our traditional Basak wedding attire in Bandung, we hit the road towards Tasikmalaya (West Java ) only to arrive to the groom's home at 1am the night before the wedding. Naturally, they were already sleeping, so we decided to play Shithead in the street before being let into the house.

We woke up early (6am) to begin traditional procedure: Ginger tea, Soto soup for breakfast, and a family sarong adjustment session (very binding). The traditional Basak wedding attire is extremely colorful--bright yellows, greens, royal blues, fierce reds, etc. The traditional clothing for Sundanese women consists of a kebaya, a long-sleeved, fitted lace blouse that is worn over another layer of clothing, and a sarong. As well as a sarong, a length of decorative cloth that is wrapped around the waist and hangs down to the ankles, which makes for an extremely difficult bathroom experience. Men also wear a sarong, but instead of a kebaya, they wear a long-sleeved batik shirt or a fitted, embroidered jacket. Of late, these traditional dresses are being influenced by Western and Islamic styles--as in sexy, stylish & cool.

They adorn the wedding couple, car & venue with fragrant flowers such as jasmines as well as other cheerful garlands and hair adornments. Then, the line of wedding guest cars is led to the venue by "Polisi" and the whole village stands on the streets waving & smiling. It looked like a funeral brigade, but felt like a parade. When we arrived, we lined up on a red carpet to enter. As we watched to colorful crowd mingle, we were handed an array of wedding gifts for the bride to bring into the venue and watch over while we took our seats. The ceremony began at 9am sharp and for the next couple hours, there was a series of Sudanese songs, speeches & sermons delivered. During that time, I discovered the couple had actually been married one week before and this was just the celebration where extensive family & friends come to congratulate and take photos. The typical wedding will have 200-500 guests attend--this one had 1,000!

Eventually, the bride & groom moved to two chairs in the front center & sat as all the guests gathered to stand around them. After one more song, they begin the "saweran" (throwing coins, mixed with flower petals and candy for the unmarried guests to collect and believed to bring better luck in romance). A frenzy ensued & I wound up with two candies & one coin wrapped in plastic with a special note inside, which read #7. This was a door prize that won me a sweet tas (purse) fashionably fit for an 8-year-old girl, which is who I gave it to later.

Next, the bride & groom are summoned upon for "huap lingkung"(a tradition in which the bride and groom feed each other by hand, with arms entwined to symbolize love and affection). Then comes the "bakakak hayam" (when the bride and groom rip apart a grilled chicken through holding each of its leg; a traditional way to determine which one will have the most financial success, which is the one that get the larger or head part).

Then, we all stand again for a traditional Merak dance (peacock dance). This hilarious interpretive dance tells about the beauty of the male peacock which aims to attract the female peacock. Every movement of the dance is full of cheer and happiness, so this dance is used as a gift for the visitors or to welcome the groom to the altar in the wedding ceremony.

Finally, the wedding feast begins while the wedding couple prepares for five hours worth of photos with family & friends.