8 October 1995
Dear all:
Daniel here. Yes, I am back. Actually, I am writing this during a night of insomnia in Singapore. Or more correctly, I am now editing it back in Bangkok. As I look back, my trip was touched tangentially by several natural disasters. More later....
MANILA, AGAIN
I do not exaggerate in calling Manila dreadful. There really is no city that I have seen with so few redeeming characteristics. Manila makes living in Bangkok seem positively luxurious. It was impressed on me how much of the population is living in misery and poverty. Prices are expensive, and wages are lower than in Thailand. Every trip to a restaurant is a culinary Russian roulette. Although one good thing is that it is very easy to buy Hershey’s chocolate. After a difficult meal, a large Hershey bar was often my chaser.
Speaking of roulette, I went to a real casino while I was there, with some Mexicans who had come on a study tour paid for by a World Bank loan. Some lucky roulette action enabled us to leave a few dollars richer.
By the way, I was there for a conference: “Promoting Domestic Manufacture in Energy Efficient Products.” Sponsored by the UN, the whole thing was in grave danger of being cancelled at the last minute due to UN-wide freeze on all expenditures. Indeed, only one UN representative made it -- his boss couldn’t come. About 9 other foreigners came from around Asia -- the rest were Filipinos or locally-based consultants. Why promote domestic manufacture when so many companies, prompted by local trade agreements, need to start thinking regionally/globally? Who knows... it’s the UN.
Of course, the freeze was caused by the US’s late paying of dues. Again, after seeing the UN in action, I wholeheartedly endorse further cuts. Of course, my organization benefited from the largesse; I got over $700 for my troubles, in travelers cheques/cash, although I didn’t get free air fare (shouldn’t have admitted I was had been planning to go in the first place.)
I got to make the first “real” presentation at the conference. I am not sure what impression it made--nobody comes up later to ask you questions. In any case, it was 3 days of agony.
I was invited to visit a local volcano, Tagaytay. I went, but couldn’t see anything -- a typhoon (natural disaster #1) hit us, and what wasn’t obscured by rain was made invisible by a thick fog. It was a nice little trip, except everybody smoked like Pinatubos. I also got to find out that it is not only the rich Filipinos who overstuff their children; seems now anybody who can afford to do so does. A family with three boys came along; one of them, a 5 year old, weighed about 40 kilos, which translates into something like 8,200 pounds. The boy was all gut, and I understood the full weight of my 25 years (I am 25 now, you know) when I unsuccessfully attempted to lift the spherical child by one of its limbs. (As consolation I simply grabbed him by the stomach and sent him a-jiggling away.)
Natural disaster #2 was the virulent bronchopneumonia that struck my local colleague. The sickness left me with nothing to do for 2 days. So the first day I went sightseeing--to the Chinese cemetery. It is quite a place ... being the richest ethnic community in Manila, they really go out in style. They have massive aboveground crypts, some open-air, some enclosed, most with benches and bathroom facilities, some with kitchens, tables, folding chairs, generally no more than two stories high, most of them with little marble lions with balls in their mouths out front. Actually, the whole thing may be done in marble. They stand in “stark contrast” to the slums just outside the gates -- so much so that some slum dwellers have moved into the less well sealed of the tombs. You see their laundry hanging up above the tombs--indeed, sometimes they are inside reclining on the benches. From their choice real estate, the tombs also have a really great view of downtown Manila. Second day I had a meeting, lunch, and a nap. Life in the fast lane!
(PS I eventually met with some people--mission accomplished, for now).
SINGAPORE
After a week of this and that in Manila, I went to Singapore. I did this (1) to avoid the suspicious Thai embassy in Manila, (2) to visit some people we are going to work with, and (3) to see Singapore.
Singapore may make news for floggings and bannings, but the place does function very, very well. Moreover, it must have the highest shopping mall per capita concentration in the world. I walked out of my hotel and a block away was a huge one ... clean, pretty, expensive. I was actually smiling while walking around, just looking at the glittery consumption. I am afraid that Singapore girls crush any other female competition that I know of in Asia. Most are Chinese; some are Indian or Malay; a few are mixes of these with Europeans. The same goes for the men, by the way.
Singapore is East meets West as Miami is North meets South. Singapore is Chinese like Miami is Cuban, but I would say Singapore is more sterile, more orderly. The government is always experimenting with various little eugenics and prosperity building programs, all of which are successes, so says the newspaper.
I don’t know if I have been sitting up typing too long, but I just felt our building wobble. (It is 2:15 am.) I called downstairs and they told me it was nothing, have a nice sleep. I hope I read something about it tomorrow. I suppose, though, there is no better place to have a crack up. :-)
Nothing on TV about it, either!! They have a 6 channels: one Malaysian (which edits out the kisses); one Indonesian (which keeps showing pictures celebrating the 50th anniversary of Indonesian independence, in which President Suharto is still warning about “communist infiltration”) and officially celebrating diversity with an English, 2 Chinese, and one Malay channel. BBC World is unavailable; only filtered CNN makes it through. Likewise most objective media gets on Singapore’s bad side.
It’s the next day. I found out that an earthquake hit South Sumatra last night, 7.5 on Richter scale -- close to us (natural disaster #3). And, now that the news is on, I hear that the earthquake was at the top of the news!!!! Whee!! My first one!!! I was so scared when it happened I couldn’t figure out whether to immediately run out into the hall (with potential for being crushed pantsless) or to put on my shorts first (risking being crushed but in a more modest fashion). I chose the latter option and survived, as you can see.
I should explain also that my hotel was the cheapest to be found in Singapore...and everybody who heard I was staying there seemed to know enough about that they couldn’t believe I would stay here. It is not so bad -- beds are a little wiggly. I think this also made me wonder whether the earthquake could have just been a Chinese-food induced hallucination.
There isn’t too much to do in Singapore. You work, you shop, you eat, you fall asleep at 11 pm and dream nice things about Lee Kwan Yew. The last night I was there I walked across half the scenic sites in the city--it is so well-lit and safe it barely seems like you are doing anything remotely interesting by visiting Chinatown, Little India, Raffles Place, the Harbor, etc. But it was nice to see.
Also got to see something new -- one of our (diabetic) funders got a hypoglycemic attack before my eyes, before we went out to dinner. Quite a sight -- luckily his wife was there to force him to take some sugar pills. Her amusing story on these attacks, during which he breaks out in a tremendous sweat, becomes intoxicated and sometimes a little violent:
Once they were in a car, her driving. He slows slips into a “hypo” state:
Where are we going?
Home, dear.
I don’t want to go home.
We just ate. It’s time to go home.
I want to go to a bar!
Dear, its time to go home now.
(Surprised) Who are you?
I am your wife.
My wife? You’re too ugly to be my wife!
Et cetera...
Anyway, enough of that. I made it home alive, and I am good for another three months. Indonesia may be next, or maybe back to Manila for a meeting!!!!
Write ya later,
Daniel