The hardest part of re-adapting to Asia is re-adapting to the weather. I favor hot, sticky climates and will doubtless do so again, but I also caught a cold while en route, which means the combination of congestion and humid weather makes it somewhat difficult for me to breathe. I apologize to the nice Singaporeans having to listen to me make strangled hacking sounds.

I had forgotten all about the mutable nature of prices in Asia – even in Singapore – and only remembered when I accidentally bargained my way into a decent price on a new battery for my camera because I’m cheap and tend to walk away to price-check things on my phone, even in the USA. Then I remembered.

Walked up to Fort Canning this morning, which I managed never to do on my previous visits. It’s a little stretch of Malaysian jungle in the middle of the city, which I liked, although I am feeling increasingly bad about having never actually visited Malaysia or Indonesia. (You’d think all those damned TRULY ASIA commercials would have got me properly motivated by now). I wandered around by the tombs of the Malay Kings and Raffles former bungalow – read his letter to a Duchess back home and now want to read more about him/by him, as he seems like an interesting guy.

The memorial plaques featured above are interesting, and I’ve always had a morbid interest in reading the memorials of British colonialists who died of some fell tropical thing while sojourning in the colonies. I was actually rather impressed that most of the plaques were for people who’d died at the relatively venerable age of 50, though maybe that’s just the age you needed to be for someone to bother making one for you. That’s a scary thought.

Back out go see some more culture, cold-be-damned. I’m pretty sure it isn’t Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever.