Blowing Out the Candles: Top 5 Sleepless in Singapore Stories

The above above video is character-driven montage of “Portraits of Southeast Asia,” a photo-heavy post  from September 2013 on Sleepless in Singapore that shows a beautiful cross section of the characters who inspired many of the stories on this cultural blog.

One of the many characters I met in my Southeast Asian travels, this funky monk was all smiles. Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Today marks a year since I created Sleepless in Singapore. To celebrate, I’ve created a top-five list of my favourite posts over the past year, as well as the video above.

I published my first blog post on April 5, 2013 after about a week in Singapore. This involved several sleepless jet lagged hours hidden away in my hotel room on Joo Chiat Road guzzling gallons of Vietnamese coffee and Badger Beer just to maintain my sanity as I designed the site. I must admit, it was a struggle at first, and one that didn’t end after I left Southeast Asia, either. I created this sitting in beer parlours in Bangkok, hostels in Cambodia, and coffee shops in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Wherever I went, Sleepless in Singapore followed. It was — and continues to be — my passion, and obsession.

Now as I sit writing this in my North Manhattan Dominican neighbourhood of Washington Heights, my environment is very different than where I was a year ago. Latin music is playing down the block, police sirens echo in the distance, and wrinkled, old South American men are selling fruit on the street.

However, a vibrant pocket of Southeast Asian culture lies just north of here in the New York City borough of the Bronx. It’s allowed me to keep Sleepless in Singapore alive, and create “Cambodians in New York City,” a four-part series focusing on the Bronx’s Cambodian community. I learned how to meditate, ate fish ball soup amongst the local Bronx community, and listened to refugees tales of escaping the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and their journey to America. For this continued exposure to the culture, I’m extremely grateful.

This post is a shout out all the characters I’ve featured ofrom Phnom Penh to New York City. From the ice sculpting kebab chefs of Singapore, to the empathic leaders of impoverished villages I visited in the Malaysian countryside, to the serene monks of Wat Jotanaram temple in the Bronx, you’ve re-instilled my love for journalism. Without you, Sleepless in Singapore wouldn’t exist. Thank you.

And for everyone that’s ever read or followed my blog — terima kasih (thank you in Malaysian). Earlier this week Sleepless in Singapore hit 10,000 views and beyond. This exceeded my wildest expectations when I first started this site. I love Southeast Asia and it’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to me — including Sleepless in Singapore.

Happy birthday, little guy. Time to blow out the candles. Now if only I could get my hands on some Chang beer and baht to celebrate. Chul mouy! Here are my top-five favourite posts on Sleepless in Singapore.

5.  Genocidal Tendencies: Fractured Cambodia & the Khmer Rouge (Pt. III — S21 Prison)

Imprisoned memories. Chum Mey stands inside the exact same cell that held him captive in 1978 & 1979 at the Khmer Rouge’s Tuol Sleng prison.

4.  Malaysian Gang Baptisms: The AKP73 of Kota Kinabalu

3. Explosive Phnom Penh: Boom Boom Pow in the Jungle

2. Fountain of Life: Balud Batu’s Water Crisis

Portrait of perseverance.

Unlike most North Americans who can walk into a 7-11 and purchase bottled water, Rodiah would walk 20 minutes in the intense heat to fill up this container of water at the old reservoir.

The long house Rodiah lives in. Windowless portals keep her house cool.

This is how villagers collect water for chores at their homes. The rain will dribble off the roof into these large barrels underneath.

Simple reigns supreme in Rodiah’s home. Red basin used for washing dishes.

Auntie Rodiah Aling uses a small plastic pot like this to retrieve water from the rain barrels for small household chores.

Magdlin Chin Ow Kun walks to the newly installed water source in Balud Batu.

All the celebrations in Balud Batu were over this one small thing: a water tap.

A triumphant moment, Rodiah Aling proudly shows off her new, fresh water source behind her house in the village of Balud Batu.

Water splashes down and trickles off Rodiah’s hand.

Marlini Jackson, 4, was the cutest villager of them all.

These Balud Batu teenagers and children stand by a basin of rainwater that has fallen from the roof of Roadiah Aling’s house. Using this method for household chores will continue to conserve the fresh water from the reservoir being channeled to the tap nearby.

1.  Skin Deep: Phi Phi Island’s Bamboozling Tattoo Industry

Tattoo artists on Kho Phi Phi in Thailand. On this small island, tattoo artists are the celebrities, often dripping from head to toe in permanent ink. Notice the MS-13 gang tattoo on the fellow on the right’s face.

BONUS — Wat Jotanaram: Buddhism in the Bronx (Cambodians in NYC Pt. IV)

Venerable Kandaal Pheach stands outside the gateway to Wat Jotanaram, a Cambodian Buddhist temple in the Bronx that has a rich & endearing history. Pheach is concerned about the temple’s future.

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Connect with Dorian Geiger, editor of Sleepless in Singapore.