Coffee Cup Stain

Singapore is a gloriously international city state, with a very remarkable population that is enormously diverse.  It is an endless source of fascination, for locals, expats, as well as people who’ve visited here, and after one trip, most people get a taste of the magic that is very peculiar to this place.  There are always plenty of exciting new attractions, with live entertainments from all over the world.  The local talent is fairly extraordinary as well, and there is an active arts community, creating fantastic new work in visual arts and performance.  There are some practitioners who have dedicated their lives to learning very traditional forms, and there are also many interesting talents who excel in radical innovations.

Some of the best of these innovators combine art with technology, making some of the most exciting work in the world.  The film industry has always been a place where art and technology come together, and there are certainly strong communities for film here.  You can see how exciting the community is by visiting any Indian restaurant and asking if any movie stars have ever come through. Chances are good that there have been some famous guests, since it is a relatively small place, and with good restaurants, word gets around pretty quickly.  You may not see anyone famous yourself, but you’re guaranteed a magnificent meal.

One of the most exciting times in film history for the local Indian film lovers here was in 2004, when the International Indian Film Academy held their awards ceremony here.  It seems as though it wouldn’t take much to create a local buzz, however, because this year, when the Bollywood actors and actresses had a stop over in Singapore on their way to Macau, there was a tremendous buzz at the airport.  Movie magic is highly regarded here, and celebrity fever is a very exciting local condition.

Denise and her former boyfriend Brian took a romantic vacation together three weeks before they broke up. They had actually been having problems for a few months and had discussed ending their relationship when Brian came up with the idea of taking a trip to Algarve, Portugal to try and save the relationship. Denise reluctantly agreed to it, and if she were to be completely honest the main reason she finally said yes was because she was interested in visiting Portugal. She had some distant relatives who lived near Algarve and thought she might be able to visit them while they were there.

They made their reservations at an Algarve hotel and argued most of the plane flight on their way over. However, for a few brief moments after arriving they were both so captivated by the beauty of the landscape that it returned them to their original intrigue and fascination with each other. The geography was beautiful and they stayed in a great little resort right off of the beach. As it turned out they were visiting Portugal not only near the end of their relationship but also at the tail end of the main tourist season. It was actually a beautiful time to be there and while there were plenty of other tourists, they all seemed to be pleasant and similarly in awe of the beauty of the land and sea.

However, by the end of their first evening there they had already begun to argue again and they realized that their fascination with the landscape corresponded more to their fascination with resuming a single lifestyle than with each other. However, Brian and Denise had grown extremely close in the last couple of years and one thing they always shared was a unique sense of humor. This carried them through the rest of their trip and they actually enjoyed each other strictly as friends for a while and stopped arguing. That trip will always hold a special place in each of their memories and ironically they are closer as friends than they ever were while they were dating.