manninchina

This information comes from a taxi driver I had late night Wednesday, he was very cool…

1. Cannot purchase gum in Singapore, period. Importing is illegal. People have gum only from bringing it back when they travel.

2. I was wondering why I didn’t see any police officers the entire time I was there. The majority of the police in Singapore are under cover.

3. Fines - SG$100 for littering of any kind. Piece of paper, cigarette butt, anything … these fines are handed out by the under cover cops.

- Singapore is amazingly clean - everywhere. Couldn’t believe it, but there’s the reason.

4. How they limit the # of cars on the roads…

- Driver’s license can cost as much/more than a car ($20K plus)

- “Peak hour” tolls, all over the city. Taxis also charge “peak hour” fees on top of the fare

The story goes like this … we were all supposed to go hang-gliding … I was the only one who didn’t. Why? Basically, the guy who was supposed to take me said I was “too big” (there’s some more motivation for me!). Anyway, they told me not to worry…I could para-glide off the mountain. OK, didn’t think it would be as much fun, but I’ll do it.

I drive up the mountain with this little guy (not much over 5 feet tall), in one of the first “bugs” ever made…he may have told me it was from the late 50s (think they started to be made around then?). Anyway, we get up there, looks reasonable, not too scary. Then, we go to the “runway” (see pic below). Then, he gets strapped to MY back, with the parachute laid out behind him. Then, he tells me “stand up, walk fast” … over, and over, and over … He told me if I “sit” we would just fall to the bottom. Great!

So, here we go… stand up, walk fast … I lead the way…holy shit! But, we made it… as soon as we started floating, he repeatedly patted me on the shoulder and said good job. Yeah, I was relieved too. It was a great ride…only about 15 minutes in the air, but it was unreal.

The last pic here is probably my favorite one from the trip. I took it one of the mornings on the way home from one of the parties…