Slap on a little Neosporin, you'll be fine.

Singapore Experience of the Day

My plan for my lunch break was this:  Bike 5km to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve to buy a new Nalgene bottle, bike home while stopping for Thai food along the way.  Easy peasy, right?

The first bad decision of the day was to bike on the sidewalk against traffic.  (No, biking on the sidewalk is not illegal here, I'd even say it's downright advisable because of the aggressive drivers.)  Because of this, I was forced off the sidewalk and into oncoming traffic not only once, but twice.  The first was because an older Chinese lady refused to move even six inches out of the way to let me pass.  I could see her annoyed glare from 50 feet away, so I was at least ready for it.  I wanted to tell her, "Don't get mad at me, lady, it's not my fault this country has no bike paths!", but of course I did nothing and instead apologized to her.  I swear if you could bottle the power of the Old Chinese Lady Stare you could fuel the world.  Or solve world hunger, all you would have to do is have them stand over anyone with a full plate of food and they would be so intimidated they'd hand deliver their meal to whatever hungry country was closest.  No wonder all the kids here are so well behaved.  The second time was because there was a motorcycle coming straight at me (did I mention that I was on the sidewalk?) and I  thought I'd better give that guy the right of way.

The second bad decision of the day was not carrying cash.  I keep $5 in change and a credit card in my backpack, but this was no match for the older gentleman at the register who could not figure out how to work the credit card machine.  *Sigh*  Back on my bike, carrying it up and down the overpass stairs to the mall a few blocks away to find an ATM.  But no bike racks.  I wasn't about to leave my bike unattended so before giving up and heading home, I tried the smaller mall next door.  Score, an outdoor ATM!  Cash in hand, I headed back to the park (carrying my bike up and down the overpass again) to buy my Nalgene.  The cashier was surprised to see me, he gave me a 10% discount for my trouble.  Sweating profusely in the heat and ready to leave, we were interrupted in our third attempt at a transaction (I have no idea what happened to the second, for some mysterious reason he had to cancel the whole thing and hand me my $20 back) by the following conversation by a woman behind me holding a few items:

Lady:  "Is all this okay?  I'll pay when I return.  Two hours."
Cashier:  "Okay, no problem."

Lady, stopping by the shoe rack at the exit:  "I need shoes!  What size have?"

Cashier:  "Thirty-eight, thirty nine and forty two."

Lady, grabbing a random pair:  "Here, find my size."

Cashier:  "Sorry?"

Lady:  "Is this my size?"

Cashier:  "What size shoe you wear?"

Lady:  "I don't know.  Find my size"

Cashier, giving a blank stare.  I laugh.  She glares at me.

Lady:  "Find my size so I can get them when I get back."

Cashier, shrugging:  "Okay."

Slightly cheered by this random conversation and knowing that I'm not the only one intimidated by the Chinese ladies, I hop on my bike and head to the Thai place to get my take-out.  Loading up my back pack with Pad Thai and spring rolls, I head to the safety of the side streets.  And within one minute crash my bike on the sidewalk after I catch my front tire on the side of a curb.  Farging clipless pedals!  Elbow and knee scraped but otherwise unharmed, I get up and assure the gathered, staring, Indian workers that I'm fine, and get back on my bike.  And promptly clothesline myself on a tree branch, falling again.  Assuring the people again that I am fine, I turn away from the crowd and burst into tears behind my sunglasses.  Bleeding and smelling of Thai food, I walk the few blocks home.  And then realized I forgot my Nalgene bottle on the counter at the store.

This time, I took a cab to go get it back.