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After Bali we took our last pre-arranged airplane trip to Singapore for a few days. We were lucky enough to stay with some friends who treated us to a comfortable bed, several delicious meals, and a soothing swimming pool. We had our first taste of Mandarin as 70% of the population is Chinese, the remainder are Indian, Malaysian , and from the Philippines. Exhausted from our trip to Bali, we didn't delve too deep into the culture other than a visit to the Hindu and Chinese temples. We also visited their respective food districts,"Little India",and,"Chinatown". We ate Roti Prata, some excellent curries, and dim sum.

Singapore was notably clean and orderly. There were several amusing public health postings throughout the city addressing SARS concerns like spitting and hand-washing (see photos);  and there were several billboards and advertisements boasting that Singapore was "ok" with regard to SARS. Upon entry, at the airport, we had to walk by an infra-red computer camera which could tell our body temperature, projecting a computer image reminiscent of Terminator. The bus and subway systems were streamlined and easy to use and we made the most of them getting around town.

Our main order of business, having now learned that SARS had ebbed and visiting China was going to be possible, was to buy a ticket to Hong Kong and make our way to Beijing by mid July. In the Orchard Road area we found a budget travel agent who booked our ticket to Hong Kong and we were off in a matter of days.

Hong Kong was as neon and bustling as pictures promised. Our first two nights we stayed in a tiny guest house tucked into the 6th floor of a high-rise in Kowloon. We took in the streets and markets, the masses of people, more dim sum, and several views of the harbor. After one evening of the Ladies Market, full of people selling every type of trinket, backpack, hair pin, etc., we ate sitting at small make-shift tables in the street aside a small shop.  We had snails in garlic, scooped from a huge wok bubbling on the corner, and Deb worked some chinese to get us some garlic-rich stir-fried greens.  Across the street, we witnessed a similar cafe proprieter grabbing frogs from a styrofoam box, and hukking them at the sidewalk as hard as he could; after six lay stunned on the walk, he collected them on some cardboard, and ran across the street to prepare them for his patron...we were in CHINA!! A friend treated us to a drink on the top floor at the famous Peninsula Hotel overlooking the harbor. We navigated the buses, subway and ferry, and took the peak tram up a steep hillside on Hong Kong island for fantastic night views of the skyline.  We took advantage of a hilltop restaurant for a beer and late dessert.  We also saw the longest escalator in the world which climbs up the mountain on Hong Kong Island. Finally, we took the subway and a small minibus, not really knowing if it was the right one, to visit a lively fish market where you choose and bargain for your fish live from the tanks and get it cooked up and served as you like it at a neighboring restaurant. And, we bought a train ticket into mainland China.