Good morning INSEAD! Sitting in Changi airport on 2.5 hours of sleep, getting ready to board a plane to Bangkok. Didn’t get my passport photo in time to turn my student card application in, the upside of that being that I still have my passport, and therefore need to travel. I couldn’t find anyone to come with me, so I figured I had better go somewhere I could cram a bunch of walking around in by myself…Bangkok came highly recommended. A little market, a little temple, maybe a river cruise, and just general street-hitting. Hustle-and-bustle sort of deal. Lord knows having just left the Andamans less than a week ago, I don’t need to return to tranquility. I also have to admit to going to the other end of the luxe spectrum for this trip. Brendan “4FoW” Collins recommended a sweet looking hotel in the ‘kok, but they were all out of rooms. They did, however, have a 90 sq meter suite…..

So far, Singapore is quite a mixed bag. First the pluses: Great campus, great weather, good food, walking has re-emerged as the dominant mode of personal transportation, the airport really is gorgeous, and fast, everybody looks happier (and, quite frankly, better than they did in the woods), and it is convenient as hell compared to France…it’s almost as though businesses here have some sort of interest in serving their customers, but I could be misinterpreting something…

As for the negatives: My apartment really couldn’t have less charm…the new galleries in FBL have more character. Maybe people will disagree with me, but you really feel like someone is always watching you. I get a giddy adolescent high when I jaywalk. This is the only city (or country or whatever) where the taxis are the slowest most deliberate cars on the road…being all owned by the government, their drivers cannot afford to slip up. It compels you to spend money (I’ve been toying with “spendapore” or “comsumapore”…not sure, let me know). There is maybe the craziest fucking store I’ve ever seen in little India. It’s called Mustafa, it’s open 24 hours, and it sells everything from Rolexes to condoms to flashlights to toys to shoes to computers. At 11PM Friday night even the second basement level was so packed you could barely move. 8 months ago if you have put me there, my first thought would have been “fuck, this is crazy. How are you supposed to find anything?” but now, mid-MBA, my first thought was “fuck, this is crazy. How are you supposed to find anything? And how the hell do you do inventory at a place this big, with this much stuff, which NEVER CLOSES?” I don’t have an answer to either question.

Oh, back to the Big Brother (to use a term I couldn’t be more sick of) effect, you are not allowed to smoke on the dancefloor of clubs. You are not allowed to drink on the dancefloor of clubs (although you are allowed to dance on the drinkfloor). All of your movement is pretty well regulated when you go out. There is no room for “negotiation” with anyone. I would imagine getting your 10 NA “no’s” would be a breeze here. Just go up to any security or law officer anywhere, and say “can I…” and you’ll probably get a “no” before you even finish your sentence.

I’m pretty sure the hotel has internet…..I’ll try to drop a line from Thailand. Adios.