Everyone says not to judge books by their covers, but if you’re lazily looking for a quick way to review them then there really is no better way. I took the same attitude when trying to decide the cleanest country in Southeast Asia. Sure, I could have done a whole lot of research and bombarded you with facts and figures – but to be honest, the only figure I really care about is the number of rats I see (I have a fear of rats, check out this post to find out why). The rat factor may be a flawed system, but it’s as good as any other and could 1 day be the official cleanliness yardstick in respected publications like Lonely Planet (as long as they pay me for using my idea!).
rats
Kampong Buangkok: The Last Remaining Traditinal Village in Mainland Singapore
The pumping pistons of the Singaporean dream machine are in full swing, turning this former rural backwater into the modern metropolis we know today. This sweeping modernisation definitely has its good points; Singapore has become the safest, cleanest and richest country in Southeast Asia, but at what cost?
Turn the clock back 50 or 60 years and a different picture of Singapore emerges. Dirt roads wind through small villages (kampongs), chickens roam through overgrown gardens, the only thing dominating the skies are the heat and the haze, and people don’t work insane overtime hours just to get ahead. Some would call this paradise, but some would rather destroy this way of life in favour of progress. That progress has bought wealth to the nation, but such a large lifestyle shift, in only 1 or 2 generations, left a hole in the soul of the country.
My Travel Fears (Including Rats, Bats and Drowning)
I hope you aren’t looking for a deep, philosophical piece about loneliness or missing out on a normal life. Those things don’t scare me; my travel fears are much more concrete…
Rats
As a kid I was always scared of mice. Maybe it’s the way they scurry, or the fact that they can get anywhere they want to, but they always stressed me out. I never saw many, but just like the show Mad Men, I saw enough to know I wasn’t a fan. Rats are just like big mice, so I guess it’s natural that I’d be scared of them as well. I’d heard horror stories of rats in beds, eating through backpacks and even on plates served as dinner.