After battling mud, leeches and other creepy crawly things in the wild jungles of Indonesia stepping onto the spotless streets of Singapore was a welcomed change. Singapore is quite possibly the cleanest city I have ever had the pleasure of visiting although much to my dismay I saw a person litter despite their strict laws.
The few days I spent here I basically just wandered around taking in the sites and observing a mix of Asian cultures go about their daily lives. The hostel I stayed at was in Little India and just around the corner from the famous Buddhist temple Kwan Im Thong. It was really interesting watching people of all ages stream in and out of the temple at a rather frantic pace praying so intensely and openly, offering gifts of burning incense and 
flowers to their Gods. I really love the open proud presence of religion here. People of all ages aren’t afraid of worshiping in the public and can’t seem to resist walking by a statue of chubby Buddha without rubbing his belly, earlobe or baldhead for good luck.
After Singapore I headed north to Malaysia and to it’s beautiful Tioman Island on the east. I stayed on the Salang beach and soaked up a few days lounging around in the turquoise water, lying on its soft white sand and watching the huge Monitor lizards swimming in the lagoon behind my bungalow. They are a very interesting lizard because they look like kimono dragons, swim like alligators and have snake-like tongues. I also went diving down to a huge shipwreck here and swam with schools of yellow striped snappers. Every evening I played beach volleyball with the local boys before drinks at the bar and maybe a puff of strawberry flavored tobacco on the shisha pipe.
Then it was off to Malaka on the west with is beautiful Portuguese town center, ugly boatless harbor and bright beautiful rigshaws. I went out of my way attempting to make an effort to learn about real Malay culture by visiting a “living museum”- a traditional Malay home whose residents give tours- but unfortunately my experience was ruined when the dirty old owner asked me to take a photo with him and proceeded to grab my right breast. I naturally backhanded him off his little wooden stool leaving him shocked lying on the floor pathetically apologizing claiming it was an accident. It’s not an accident if you squeeze- jerk! So a warning to any female traveler headed alone to Villa Sentosa…
On a brighter note the best part of Melaka was their weekend night market that fills the streets of Chinatown with vendors selling anything from magic wallets to giant pet scorpions. The whole street was glowing with lanterns and strings of lights while the air was filled with a mix of aromas from all the food vendors. While meandering down the
small streets I was fortunate enough to witness the biggest karaoke stage I’ve ever laid eyes and watch the locals get serenaded by an old man singing Elvis’ “Can’t Help Falling in Love With You” in Chinese except for the chorus. But the most memorable highlight was witnessing the “Pointer Finger Kung Fu Master” in action as he broke through a coconut using only his index finger- A mangled, fat little digit which I think he dislocated/broke in the process because I saw him pop it back into place after although he claimed it was his special healing oil- which of course was in ample supply for sale- that cured him.
After Melaka is was off to Kuala Lumpur with its interesting buildings and relatively hassle free inhabitants. I took a ride to the top of the Menara Kuala Lumpur- the fourth tallest telecommunication tower in the world (421 meters)- and got some great panoramic views of the city as a wicked thunderstorm rolled in. I also visited the nearby Batu Caves where a huge gold statue of Buddha guards a temple at the top of 274 steps in the belly of the limestone cave.
Before heading off to Thailand I sought refuge from the stifling heat in the Cameron Highlands and did some more jungle trekking and visited the well-known Boh tea plantation.
I guess my biggest impression I took away from both Singapore and Malaysia is that neither place had a real identity. They were such a mix of Indonesian, Chinese, Malay and Indian it was hard to detect a distinguishing culture.
With that being said it was remarkable how well they all mesh and seem to co-exist without any major conflicts. It’s amazing how some places can find that balance with such conflicting cultures and religions and others who only vary slightly from one another have such a raw hatred towards their neighbors.