Australia Fourteen and Beyond: Sabbatical XIV

Wednesday June 19 – First night in a bed for sixteen days, much less with a roof over my head. I’d brought my last bits of field breakfast, so I was able to wake, remember where I was, make coffee, shower for the second time in twelve hours, and get out of my AirBnB without foraging.

Into Perth. I have been here fifteen times since 1985; the nine years since my last visit might be the longest break. In the meantime, Perth has continued to boom, due to commodities, mostly geologic – iron, gold, PGEs, REEs, copper, diamonds, oil and gas and others. Almost all goes to Asia. This means more buildings, more growth. I had the day to renew my acquaintance with the CBD. I’ve spent most of my time there, close to the Geological Survey offices. PA and PR had told me stories of some of the horrid new developments: I had to see for myself. Perth is still quite pretty:

It is cool. There are no flies. There is no dust.

So tasks: check in to my flight to Singapore – check; walk in Kings Park – check; buy lunch – check; buy maps – check; take a look at the new Elizabeth Quay development – check (gag, gag, gag) – I just hope the architects were punished (the Barrack Street jetty was bad enough); contact my friends Carol and Shawn about getting together for dinner – check; do laundry – check; go to Aus Post, buy a box, fill it with stuff and mail it home – check. I didn’t feel like carrying all my camping gear around Asia.

Thus the day. Down to Fremantle on the train to see Carol and Shawn. The train system has continued to expand since my first trip as has the Perth main station:

I miss the human conductors. It was exciting to figure out the train system when I was just a lad.

I know Carol and Shawn from my first long trip to New Zealand – a long story, they were both geology students then, but have now been in Perth for a good decade. I’ve seen Carol here a couple times (Shawn has been in the field). Last time, they had a giant dog name Aoife, and we went look at stromatolites. This time, Shawn was here, Aoife had passed, and they have two young daughters. We had a good dinner, got caught up. It is nice to continue my trend of visiting with smart and interesting people.

Thursday, June 20 - A 4 am Uber to the airport for my 6 am flight to Singapore. Boarding: on the world’s longest jetway:

Some of the rubber bands in the A330’s engine were broken, so an hour takeoff delay. No matter, I sleep. Airborne. Breakfast. Sleep more. Watch Korean movies. Admire the flight attendant uniforms:

Really; these costumes look constraining, but they seem pretty stretchy, and are color coded by rank. The male flight attendants are as well decked out. Adds to the grandeur if you will, of flying Singapore Airlines.

Changi International Airport. It’s Singapore alright, I immediately get a hit of the distinct smell I associate with this city – some mix of clove, tea tree, and several varieties of flower. I don’t think it’s artificial, it’s been to consistent over the years. It got into my long term memory when I slept in the airport in yup, 1985.

Changi has changed since then. Now unarguably the world’s best airport, massive growth of infrastructure, both before and after arrival. Paralleling Singapore’s economic expansion.

Terminal 3

But first, clearing immigration puts the lie to the “best airport” designation. It may be a crush of flight arrivals, but it takes 40 minutes to get my passport stamped. Oddly, it’s all by hand, and the dude in my line likes to reink his stamp all the time. Every other border I have crossed on this trip has had electronic immigration in place. Oh well. At least my luggage is waiting for me.

I have a list of things to do before meeting up with Xin. It will have to be shorter, given the rubber band problem on my flight. No worries.

First, to The Jewel. Sengita sent me architectural articles about this months ago. Basically, it’s a giant ovoid shopping center and tourist attraction in the middle of the airport complex. It was crowded with travelers and Singaporeans. The variety of shops and density of people reminded me of the upscale arcades I’ve been through in Las Vegas. I am not sure this is a complement or not. In any event, it was a pain to drag my luggage around with me, but I was still tired enough that I didn’t want to leave it somewhere and forget where.

The centerpiece of The Jewel is the world’s largest circular indoor waterfall:

Like I said, Singapore rocks. This thing was too big to get in a decent photograph. The four tiers surrounding the waterfall were filled with the equivalent of a botanical garden; peaceful change from wandering around Vegas. I sit and watch the water for a bit, but I’m too restless to really contemplate it, and too many people are shuffling around me to bag the required selfies.

This picture is from the lower, food court level, looking at the giant drain tube, as it were, for the waterfall:

Lunch, and the MRT into town. I’m not in the same part of the Commonwealth anymore. Signage in four languages (Malay, Hindi, Chinese, English). A great diversity of people. I am tall. Outside, hazy tropical sunlight, not as clear as Perth but more intense. That smell.

My AirBnB on Beach Road is truly the smallest space I’ve ever enjoyed staying in:

This is a 270 degree pano

An afternoon and evening in Singapore. It’s hot; there are no flies or dust, but the humidity must be over 90%. Everyone moves at that languid tropical pace, and I’m pleased that I’m not the only one who is sweating. Singapore has a reputation for being orderly and clean. It’s true; my favorite example is the sign saying “No Durians” on the MRT. Durian is an amazingly good tropical fruit, but when it’s ripe, it smells like some horrid combination of dog poo and rotting flesh, plus the individual fruits are football-sized and covered with spikes. The main smell now is just big city – a mix of that smell, tropical air, people, cooking oil, and lots of exhaust hydrocarbons.

Xin suggested and evening meeting at a bar in Clarke Quay (I picked Cuba Libre, one of her suggestions), so I use my few hours for a few quick sights around the city. Alas, due to the rubber band issue, I decide to forgo the Botanical Gardens, again. Some year I’ll make it there.

Singapore is totally easy to get around by MRT. I find the station, figure out my route. I like Singapore for many reasons. It's just exotic enough to be a good entry into feeling like I'm really really in a different place. It has a refreshing diversity of people. The flora are tropical: this ain't the Kimberley. I have always had good experiences exploring. The food is enjoyable. It's definitely an urban experience:

So, first to the Gardens by the Bay, basically a big urban park; they were under construction when I was last in town. I wanted to see the Supertree Grove:

The Supertrees are essentially vertical gardens, but they are also covered in PV cells, which power the gardens, and collect rainwater for irrigation. I am frustrated in my attempt to get close to them; there’s some kind of a children’s event going on; the area is swarmed by families.

Must keep moving, so to stop two, the Marina Bay Sands Resort, which you may recognize from the film “Crazy Rich Asians”. I needed to see this thing before I could believe it was real. Imagine three sixty floor-high hotel blocks, arranged in an open arc. Then put half a giant banana on top, which rather than fruit, is a giant park/swimming pool/restaurant complex:

This pano exaggerates the curve of the SkyPark (banana)

That’s the Marina Bay. It's horrible in a way, but also daring and bold in the asymmetry of its design. I sort of like it. Inside, it has Changi levels of shopping and a casino. I wander into the lobby, and get disoriented as to which tower I'm in:

I can’t find the elevator to the Skypark. It’s hot. I’m running out of gas and I want to have some focus left to visit with Xin. Some year I’ll make it up there. In hindsight, I wonder why I didn’t stay longer in Singapore. The only answer that I remember from planning is that a quick stop made the most logistical sense. But I can’t remember what that sense was.

I stroll through Chinatown:

Another sight from that movie: the only Michelin-rated street vendorish place in the world:

The sun sets:

On to meet Xin, who was my UCB TA for a couple years. Clarke Quay:

Xin’s Singaporean. I immediately like her when we met to discuss the TA job; I felt at ease, we had Singapore in common, and she had the guts to question my interpretation of a photograph I was planning to use for a quiz (a landslide at Chaco Canyon). I assume this ease was mutual as she put up with me more than once. She helped improve the class in a number of ways; it was such a relief to have somebody competently watching my back, especially when my knee was out of full commission. And we had the same grading philosophy (evil laugh). I was glad to be able to see her again, 18 months out of school, working, and in a non-academic setting. It's rare that I get to follow up with one of the assistants I've had in the course of my geolife.

We get caught up. She’s working for the Ministry of Finance, I sense it’s a job, not a career, and that she’d like to come back to the States, have a better direction. I try to be encouraging. I can’t quite read Xin; there’s may be some level of cultural communication that I’m missing. I don’t want to say the pithy things that I’d say to an American of her age. I also know that I’m probably twice her age, and when I was young it was hard to know how to be around such ancient adults, however friendly. Just try to stay awake and present.

It turns out that this is bachata night at Cuba Libre. A dance class starts up. Xin says, oh my boyfriend and I are learning this, do you want do join? Hesitate, but why not.

So. Here I am. For my one night in Singapore. Trying not to injure my ex-TA while learning the bachata. It’s fun. There are too many men, so we have to circulate between partners. So I try not to injure probably a total of twenty women. They are patient with my newbie skills. It’s still fun. We make it through the whole class. On a run in Seoul a couple days later, I discover I am sore in bachata muscles that I didn’t know existed.

What’s the bachata like? Maybe this. I was not this smooth. This would be fun to do well. I may stick with taiji.

Dancing continues after the class. The bar is noisy. I suggest a walk. I see the darkness of Fort Canning just above Clarke Quay. I want a view of the city at night, so we work our way up the hill that dominates the park and discover the Singapore Bicentennial exhibit.

I’m still awake enough to get sucked in. The exhibits are topically arranged in a series of open wire frame structures, all lit by LEDs. Cool. I confirm what I thought I knew about Singapore’s history (not a lot). We play with some of the AR features.

It is late. Slightly cooler. A late night snack at Starbucks. Adios to Xin. Nice visit. MRT back to Beach Road.

Friday June 21 – A short night, I leave at 5 am for my 8 am flight to Seoul. It is a good day; as I leave Beach Road, a taxi pulls up. I have a lovely chat with the driver, who’s deeply proud of Singapore, all the way to Changi.

Goodbye to luggage. I came to the airport early to see the Jewel without the crowds. In this I succeed, but the waterfall is turned off. I forgot this was possible. I guess it’s only flowing during business hours. Well, there is coffee and an acai bowl for breakfast.

Time to count lithologies of stone flooring. I know this makes me a total geonerd, but I can’t help it. I am sure you may have noticed this if you’ve read this blog. Xin gave me a look like “what planet are you from” when I went on about this last night. I count nine distinct types of granite, a pair of gneisses, and the inevitable travertine. I am curious about provenance – Malaysia?. My favorite by far is this phyllitic schist in front of the Durasport store:

Needless to say, the flooring is spotless, even with heavy foot traffic, and the rock coordinates well with the nearby storefronts.

Another Singapore Airlines jet, this one an A350. Nice. Legroom. Breakfast. Sleep, and a bad Singaporean zombie movie, which is fun as the actors are speaking at least three languages. The boy gets the girl in the end. In a chaste way.

Six plus hours pass quickly. Welcome to Seoul:

Holy crap, time for the edge of the envelope part of the trip: this hits me when I start seeing signs in hangul and hearing announcements in Korean. There is enough English that I know where to go. Electronic entry. I get my luggage, and it plays a little tune at me. ??? There’s a yellow beeping tag attached to my bag. I go to the exit and am directed to the search lane. My little bottle of Chinese herbal tincture was the flag during X-rays. I am amused at this, as is the woman checking out my bag. She helps me cram everything back in.

Finally, I enter South Korea. It is warm. There are no flies or dust. I wander around Incheon airport to collect myself before going into town. Exchange all my Singapore dollars for Korean won. Have my first Korean meal in Korea. Watch a marimba performance:

Avoid luxury airport shopping:

And depucker - my AirBnB; my host had not broken radio silence, luckily an email with amazing detailed instructions was waiting for me when I landed. Abandon Plan B.

Bus to city. I get excited. I have to plunge in, just go with this experience in a brand new place. I haven't done this in a country where I don't speak the language in too long. I relish getting into it, seeing what I see and experience. This will be fun.

I follow the bus route on my phone, curious to see what is passing. This causes worry when the bus deviates from its putative route. I figure that it’s to avoid traffic. I am right.

Wow, Korea. I’m in Asia for sure. The architecture, climate, and vibe remind me strongly of Tokyo. We drive out of Incheon, over a causeway, and towards the Han River and Seoul. The buildings are not appealing at first glance, it all looks fairly harsh and angular. Weathered, well used. Seoul is huge – 25 million people, and it shows as the bus drives for an hour before I sight what might actually be downtown. Eleven stops, and I debark. I am tall.

Wtf am I? Direction obvious from my phone map, I set off for my AirBnB on Saemunan-ro A left up Gyeonghuigung Gil-1. The Omani embassy; this will be a good landmark: