Day 158 - Singapore 🇸🇬

Singapore is the only place I’ve ever been where chewing gum is illegal. I didn’t know this as I innocently chewed some gum on the immaculate Singapore MRT. Luckily I got away with it.

I’ve visited Singapore twice, both times while travelling to and from Australia. It’s the perfect place to break up the trip to Australia, and the mix of cultures makes Singapore a really fun place to spend 24 hours. You can be transported from Little Delhi to the Buddha Tooth Relic temple in minutes. Every imaginable type of cuisine is on offer and the mix of Chinese, Malay and Indian cultures lends Singapore a feeling unlike any other city on earth.

I spent the rest of my time in Singapore eating delicious chicken and rice and sipping refreshing Singapore Slings at Raffles. I even got to enjoy the sunset from the top of the dazzling Marina Bay Sands skyscraper.

Singapore is a great place to spend a few days, but I was really surprised to learn about its politics. The People’s Action Party has been in power for six consecutive decades and Singapore is often described simultaneously as a technocratic dream state and a thinly veiled dictatorship.

I really recommend taking a look at this Polymatter video exploring the political situation in Singapore.

Day 153 - Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦

Today we head to Saudi Arabia, the largest in Western Asia and second largest in the Arab world after Algeria. Saudi Arabia is situated on the Arabian peninsular, and if you’re in the mood for superlatives, the Arabian peninsular is the world’s largest peninsular. Oh and Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the world without a river.

Saudia Arabis is a country I’ve always associated with harsh laws, such as not allowing women to drive, or performing public beheadings. Saudia Arabia also has a reputation for human rights abuses against the LGBT community. For example, in March 2017, two transgender people were forced into bags, beaten with sticks, and tortured to death. I’m going to have a tough time seeing past this.

That said, Also Saudi Arabia has long been a strategic ally of the West, cracking down on religious extremism and serving as a staging post for the Gulf War. More recently, Saudi Arabia is opening up. As of 2019, women are now allowed to drive, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has introduced several headline-grabbing social reforms. As of 2019 Saudi Arabia has launched a tourist visa allowing foreigners to visit Saudia Arabia for tourism for the first time. 

Saudi Arabia is a country which has for a long time existed on a knife-edge between the prospects of oil wealth and highly conservative values. As climate change reduces our demand for fossil fuels this is likely to have a disproportionate affect on Saudi Arabia, a country where the majority of the population does not currently work. I very much recommend checking out this VisualPolitik video on the subject. Saudia Arabia is really in for a decade of change.

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Day 145 - Russia 🇷🇺

Today we head to Russia. A country I’ve been dreading writing about. There’s just so much to write about Russia. 

Russia is the largest country in the world, is home to Moscow, the largest city in Europe, and is the country with the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world.

I still find it incomprehensible that Russia borders with both North Korea and Finland. Russia has the world’s coldest town, but also has a sub-tropical resort on the Black Sea. It’s unsurprising then that Russia has the longest railway in the world, the Trans-Siberian Railway, spanning more than 9,000 km. 

Anyway, I’ve had a really long day at work where I had to give a talk to the entire company. It’s 10 pm, so I’m signing off early. The only thing I will commit to, is I’m going to visit Russia as soon as it’s humanly possible. 

Russia is a truly fascinating place. If you don’t believe me, just look at this drone footage of Moscow that inspired this entire blog series…

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Day 143 - Qatar 🇶🇦

Welcome to Qatar, a tiny middle-eastern country a similar size to Jamaica. Unlike Jamaica, Qatar is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. The IMF predict that this year it will have the highest GDP per capita in the world.

Qatar is due to host the FIFA World Cup next year. So far this has been mired in controversy with alleged bribes and concerns about working conditions for the foreign labourers building the three new state of the art stadiums for the games.

Qatar is home to a vast foreign workforce, in fact, migrants make up 85.7% of Qatar’s population! As a result of this, men outnumber women by three to one.

Similarly to nearby Bahrain, the Qatari economy transitioned from pearl diving to oil production in the twentieth century. Nowadays the majority of Qatari exports are oil, or oil-related products, but Qatar is making efforts to diversify. You’ve probably heard of Qatar Airways, Qatar’s jumbo-sized airline. Qatar Airways serves over 78 countries making it the 6th largest in the world in terms of the number of countries served. It also apparently has a mean business class.

Until recently Qatar was planning to construct a huge 40km causeway to Bahrain, however this infrastructure project is now on the back-burner due to the Qatar diplomatic crisis. This crisis unfolded in 2017 with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE accusing Qatar of supporting terrorism. Saudi Arabia closed their border with Qatar, effectively turning Qatar into an island nation. Thankfully the crisis came to an end this January, and Saudi Arabia has now reopened their border with Qatar.

Right, that’s enough football, oil and diplomacy for one night. Tomorrow we’re off to Romania!

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Day 140 - Philippines 🇵🇭

Today we travel to the Philippines, a country a little smaller than Italy, but with a population of over 106 million people. The Philppines is the world’s second largest archipelago and consists of 7640 islands, of which only 2,000 of them are inhabited. Nearly 5,000 are still unnamed.

The Philippines is apparently a bit of a surprise when travelling through South East Asia as it shares a lot of cultural influences with Spain and the US due to its history in the galleon trade and America’s occupation following World War II. To this day the US and the Philippines continue to have close ties.

A remnant of this can be seen when travelling around Manila as “jeepneys” are the dominant form of public transport. Jeepney’s are small buses converted from the thousands of army jeeps that the U.S. military left after World War II. They can carry around 18 passengers and are brightly painted and decorated as well as apparently being swelteringly hot and uncomfortable to ride in.

Despite the fact that English is the de-facto language in the Philppines, there are around 175 other languages spoken. The Philippines is developing rapidly, and it’s English-speaking population makes the Philippines a very popular off-shoring location for services. In fact I work with a team in the Philippines at work.

Manila, the capital city of the Philippines is the world’s most densely populated city. In fact, the world’s three most densely populated cities are all located within the Philippines.

Time for a San Miguel (not the Spanish type), or actually in this case a glass of cold wine from Alsace. Our friends accidentally over-ordered, and this is something I’m more than happy to help out with.

Rice paddies in Luzon, Philippines

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Day 135 - Palestine 🇵🇸

Today we head to Palestine, a country synonymous with fighting, and being the Holy Land. Therefore my main goal with today’s post is to try to avoid politics (and also religion). 

I then realised how impossible it is to avoid talking about politics when writing about countries because countries are defined by their borders and borders are inherently political entities. Palestine is also a country that is mostly defined by the Israel Palestine conflict. Basically, whatever I write about in this post is political.

One slightly unusual thing about Palestine is that it is a “de cure” state. This basically means that, unlike most countries where the area being governed and the territorial claims are the same, in the case of Palestine, much of Palestine’s claimed territory is under the de facto control of Israel.

Talking of territory, Palestine comprises Gaza and the West Bank. These two areas are separated by Israel. One thing I learned recently is that it is not possible for residents of Gaza to travel to the West Bank, and if residents of the West Bank decide to visit Gaza it will be a one-way trip. To me, it’s kind of mind-blowing that Palestinian citizens can’t travel freely from one part of their country to another.

There’s so much I don’t know about Palestine and the ongoing conflict with Israel. All I can do is hope for a peaceful outcome, and in the meantime perhaps cook some Palestinian dishes.

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Day 133 - Pakistan 🇵🇰

Today we head to Pakistan, the gateway to the Indian subcontinent.

What I knew about Pakistan before today

I came very close to visiting Pakistan back in 2008. I was travelling around India and reached the blistering hot city of Amritsar. We took an evening trip to the Wagah border to watch the bizarre Wagah-Attari border ceremony. It can only be summed up as a boisterous explosion of nationalism, pomp and ceremony. It was a spectacle unlike any I’ve ever seen since. It was so tempting to cross the border into the unknown. Probably not a great idea for two gay 22-year-old backpackers. 

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The chaotic Wagah-Attari border ceremony. At 50 degrees, this was the hottest moment of my entire life.

What’s Pakistan’s top tourist attraction?

According to my very diligent Googling skills, Faisal Masjid, a mosque in Islamabad is Pakistan’s most visited tourist attraction. Dominating the landscape of Islamabad, Faisal Masjid was built in 1976 using the money from a Saudi King who just so happens to have the same name. I have to admit, it is a pretty striking building.

What was the last war or conflict Pakistan took part in?

Pakistan is widely known for its numerous wars with India, but most recently it’s been fighting an ongoing insurgency against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in North-West Pakistan.

A Bizarre fact about Pakistan

I’m not sure how bizarre this is, but Pakistan is home to the world’s second-highest mountain K2 and is also home to the world’s highest paved road (and border crossing), the China-Pakistan friendship highway which reaches 4800 metres at the Khunjerab Pass.

Was Pakistan a former colony?

Yes, Pakistan was formerly part of India before partition in 1948 when it was part of the British Empire. You probably already knew this thought.

What are Pakistan’s main exports?

Pakistan’s top two exports are linens and rice.

What’s Pakistan’s National dish?

This is such a hard call. Pakistani food quite rightly has a phenomenal reputation. Punjabi food may be my absolute favourite cuisine. Pakistan’s national dish is widely considered to be nihari, a spiced, slow-cooked lamb or mutton stew. Now I’m hungry.

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Day 132 - Oman 🇴🇲

Today we head to Oman. Oman is the oldest independent state in the Arab world and has been ruled by the same family since 1744. They’re now on the 15th generation. Oman is also larger than I imagined, it’s larger than Italy but a smidgen smaller than Poland.

Oman used to be even larger as from the late 17th century, Oman had a powerful empire stretching from Iran in the North to Mozambique in the South.

Unlike its neighbours, Oman prides itself on its traditional architecture and new buildings are required to look traditional in style. Talking of rules, Oman also requires people to get a license before purchasing alcohol.

Oman is home to a surprising amount of biodiversity including Arabian leopards, chameleons and the critically endangered Arabian humpback whale.

Right, I need to prep my cardamon flavoured coffee for the morning. Tomorrow is the day I get vaccinated after all…

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Day 124 - Nepal 🇳🇵

Today we head to Nepal, a landlocked country a little bigger in size than Greece sandwiched between India and China. Nepal is synonymous with the Himalayas, the world’s highest peak and is also home to the World’s most dangerous runway at Lukla Airport.

Here are a few morsels I didn’t know about Nepal. Despite its reputation for being a mountainous country, Nepal is home to sub-tropical grasslands and the one-horned rhinoceros. Come to think of it, Nepal is home to all kinds of unexpected creatures such as the critically endangered South Asian river dolphin, the red panda and Asian elephant.

Nepal’s biggest annual celebration is Dashain, a festival that traditionally involves wide-scale animal sacrifice. This may be coming to an end though as in recent years Nepalis have begun questioning the ethics of animal sacrifice. Now many Nepalese people have begun sacrificing coconuts and squashes instead of buffalo and chickens.

The national flag of Nepal is the only national flag that has more than four sides. The shape of the Nepalese flag is known as a double-pennon and its shape is enshrined as a formula in the Nepalese constitution.

Right, I fancy some momos for dinner.

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Day 121 - Myanmar 🇲🇲

Myanmar or Burma as it’s also known has experienced a particularly tumultuous year so far with the military government seizing full control of the fledgeling partial democracy and arresting Aung San Suu Kyi. The BBC has a pretty good summary of what’s happening with the coup in Myanmar.

We have friends over this evening, so today’s post is testing my multitasking abilities. So I’m going to keep things simple and share two interesting things about Myanmar.

Naypyidaw

Myanmar’s planned, new capital Naypyidaw is 4 times the size of London and was purpose-built between 2002 and 2012. It boasts 20-lane highways, but they’re almost entirely empty, as is the gargantuan city itself. Read more about Naypyidaw - Burma's bizarre capital: a super-sized slice of post-apocalypse suburbia

Moken people

Burma is home to Moken, a semi-nomadic Austronesian people living mostly at sea. Moken are one of the few remaining hunter-gatherer populations in Southeast Asia. Approximately 3,000 Moken people live around and on the 800 islands of the Mergui Archipelago in Myanmar. Due to their nomadic, sea-dwelling lifestyle, they’re considered stateless and vulnerable by Human Rights Watch. 

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