One of the problems about a round the world trip is that even with three months off, you still never have enough time to see everything at each stop. Singapore was no different, as I had only two and a half days all told to explore what's an entire country (albeit a tiny one).
I started with the best of intentions – getting out of the hostel by 7:30am, and enjoying the very short early morning window where the city wasn't roasting. A bus ride and a walk down to the bus station sorted me out logistically for the next leg of my trip, and then it was a chance to stroll through the Muslim quarter of the city – a cool district of old single-story building and mosques under the gaze of the downtown skyscrapers.
Interesting place – and another sign of how the multi-cultural nature of Singapore seems to work really well. Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists are all scattered through the city working and shopping without anyone raising an eyebrow. I did hear that the Malaysian portion of the population is under-represented in the elites, but overall, my impression of the city was of a pretty tolerant place, religion-wise. Litter? Chewing gum? Totally another story.
I ended up having breakfast in the same hawkers/food court as yesterday, since it was such a reliable air-conditioned place, plus it served every Asian food under the sun. This time, it was a Japanese food place, where rice, corn, veggies and raw meat are served on a sizzling hot iron plate. Three minutes later, it's good to go, and man, was it delicious.
As a business idea, it's a good one, although my thoughts of bringing the franchise to the States or the UK were derailed by a quick thought of how easy it would be to sue. If the lady can sue McD's for super hot coffee, imagine how easy the legal exposure with placing a seriously metal platter on each and every customer's tray?
Recharged and cool, at least for the moment, I headed to explore Little India. Just like Chinatown, it's another place whose personality seems to break free of Singapore's normal vibe. Lots of markets and crowded sidewalks, the air redolent (shamelessly going for bonus points for SAT word there) with exotic spices – it's a fun place to wander around.
Singapore tends to get a short, but heavy afternoon deluge. Since the skies were getting dark and stormy, I decided to take refuge in a bar and ended up talking to a cool Scottish guy who has been living in Brunei for 20 years. Nice gig, as he's been able to raise his family in the sunshine and an international environment AND save serious money due to the low cost of living.
Once the rain stopped, I had to go check out Orchard Street – Singapore's Regent Street and Fifth Avenue combined. With something like ten multi-story malls in a half-mile strip, it's shopping Mecca to the locals.
I ducked into a few malls before getting completely burned out – but the newest, a twelve story monstrosity, was... different. With a climbing wall and a five story woman statue (see the little girl at her feet for scale) among other things, you definitely didn't lack for things to look at.
By this point, my rumbling stomach was telling me quite firmly to start sussing out dinner plans, so I had a great meal at Epicurious in one of the lesser-known Quays along the river. With a fusion philosophy, they recommended the Vietnamese spaghetti bolognese, complete with lemon grass. Strangely delicious. Dessert was a traditional, but oh-so-tasty apple crumble.
The walk back was fantastic, since it took in a succession of riverside developments, all chock full of bars, restaurants, and who knows what else. They made for great people watching, and some good night-time photography as well, before I called it a night.
A ride on the fast and efficient metro, and a long awaited cold shower, before crashing to the techno music beat of the cheesy pub downstairs. I forgot to mention – while food is cheap, everything else is fairly pricey on a backpacker's budget. I ended up hostelling it at a super-friendly, if poorly located hostel. Thankfully, my ear plugs and the Hawkins family legacy of being able to crash whenever and wherever came to the rescue and it was a good night's sleep at last.
The next day was basically spent at the world-class Singapore Zoo. I was initially hesitant about going – how different can a zoo be, after all? But, man, was I glad to be wrong!
The design of everything was spot on; from enclosures that seem entirely natural, with cleverly hidden moats and fences out of sight and mind of the tourists.
And then there were the animals... starting with a pair of white tigers, to a number of Malaysia's endangered orangutans, cheetahs, and who knows what else? But it was fantastic – entertaining and informative all at once, with thick glass allowing you to be within 5 feet of the animals.
I was winding down my visit, before deciding to stop in for the polar bears, which turned out to be the highlight of the day, since the zoo had an underwater viewing area for when the polar bears take a dip to escape the heat.
In this case, I set up shop with my camera right at the corner of the tank, and the same huge bear kept swimming in a loop, before approaching our nook at pointblank range. A few kids were right at the glass, and they were enthralled as I was...
Finally, I had to pull myself away, and headed back downtown, ducking into the famous temple dedicated to the Golden Tooth of Buddha. Amazingly ornate, it was packed with believers chanting, chatting, and just looking around. My camera couldn't do the interior justice, so I had to settle for close-ups of the intricate details that lay at every turn:
A food court meal and then a shower and packing at the hostel – all in time to show up early for my twelve hour bus trip up the east coast.
Next stop? Some super chilled out and beautiful tropical islands called Pulau Perinthians...
1 comment:
Absolutely fantastic!
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