The True Meaning of DHL

Singapore Skyline

My first image of Singapore, even before the stubborn ATM outside of 7-Eleven, was that of a DHL truck laying at a 45 degree angle in the bushes of the meridian leading out of the airport.*

"Do you know what DHL means?" asks the cab driver in a strong Philippine accent. I search my jet-lagged expat memory and am forced to admit that I don't.

"Don't hurry la!" he says glancing at me in the rear view mirror as I burst into laughter and immediately take a liking to Singapore.

Ginger Tea to Universal Adaptor

Ginger Tea

So what's the first thing I want after I get my ATM card working again? Food! And being from Los Angeles with a host of Indian buffet lunches, and Taiwan having a severe lack of what I think of as curry dishes, I head out to Little India.

About 15% of Sinpagore's population is from India and from the moment I step off the subway car I can see I'm in a totally different part of town.

At lunch I get my curry fix with a fork and spoon while fingers all around me mix together rice and sauce into small mounds on their plates.

April (four-letter-word) Fool's!

I ended my employment at Kojen on Wednesday and as is the custom for foreign teachers who leave their jobs in Taiwan, I needed to make a visa run the very next day. So I packed clothes for a 6-day trip to Singapore, every possible document the consulate might need neatly copied and organized in both paper and electronic forms, and a bit of work to take with me for the those afternoons in air-conditioned cafes when I'd be avoiding the mid-day heat. Then I was off for a nice little vacation before my official "working vacation" in Taiwan began.