Singapore - We really like this town

We have officially left our four month trip through the once mighty British Commonwealth, and have now embarked on our jaunt through Southeast Asia. Our first stop, Singapore (ok, perhaps this may still be a little British empire-y, but for all intents and purposes, we ain't in New Zealand anymore).

Admittedly, we were all a bit nervous about the intense cultural shift we would experience leading up to our first stop, and I couldn't seem to believe most everyone that said Singapore is a great place to ease in to Southeast Asia. Perhaps it was the fact that this was the first sketchy Airbnb experience we had when our host unexpectedly cancelled our booking a week before we were to arrive, and most of the other reviews we saw seemed to indicate it was a common occurrence. Fortunately we found a great hotel (The Dorsett) near Chinatown via booking.com and it all worked out.

Let's first start out by saying, we really liked Singapore. Everything they say about this place being clean, orderly, safe, and easy to get around is absolutely true. But what we particularly loved was the perfect blend of old and new, and nature with structure. The place is as planned and manufactured as it gets, but done in such an organic way that everything feels so natural. Even the 200ft tall Super Trees sort of feel like they magically grew from the Earth in a haphazard sort of way. Throughout the greater core of the city, pockets of old world commerce are perfectly cradled by futuristic buildings and upscale shopping malls*. These pockets cater to different cultures (Chinese, Indian, Malaysia, etc) that have contributed to the history of this small island country and carried a unique look and feel.

The Highlights...

Day 1

Firstly, the highlight of our time in Singapore was certainly watching Autumn spend a precious six hours with her best friend, Kaitlyn (on a 12hr layover from a trip to India with her family). This was originally not going to happen, but as fate would have it, an erupting volcano in Bali forced us to change course at the last minute to intersect our pathways. There really is no more joy than seeing someone you love reuniting with someone she loves. 

We spent most of the morning exploring the Gardens by the Bay, which is truly an excellent example of when brilliant design meets flawless execution. Our next stop before the dynamic duo parted ways for another six months was to find the perfect pair of hats that they could say they bought together in Singapore. There are no lack of malls to chose from, and we ended up at Ion on Orchard Rd (a road dedicated to parting ways with money).

After a tearful goodbye we doddled about Chinatown, visited the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, braved our first Hawker** meal, and found our way back to the Gardens for the evening tree light show choreographed to a festive mix of holiday tunes. The crescendo was Nicole's absolute favorite holiday tune, "All I Want for Christmas", by Mariah Carey. It always solicits an embarrassingly loud duet at the end of the song. Makes me chuckle (and cringe at the same time).

Inside the Buddha Tooth Relic were countless figurines.

While tourists wandered about, this was definitely a place where people came to find their peace.

I took this photo not for the artistic imagery of the incense, but rather to highlight the curiousness of a group of people doing line dancing to loud music just outside the front door of this temple. 

Typical shophouse setup without the major crowds. Shops below, residence above to create a covered walkway.

Because yeah, we're going to get that.

Notice the dejected looks on Zane and Bryce's faces as they had already wasted their treat of the day on a Dunkin Donut from the mall. Their bad.

This is a permanent outdoor Hawker center with massive canopies covering the street. It kind of felt like something Disneyland would build with amazing fake building facades. 

The Gardens by the Bay are even more spectacular at night. The green lighted structure to the right is a temporary holiday decoration that towered above. Curiously, it was made with a hodge podge of wooden polls and bailing wire. 

I really wish we had these in the states, somewhere, anywhere. It doesn't have to be SF, but why not. The scale is really overwhelming. It's kind of like how the Golden Gate Bridge, or the Eifel Tower never gets old, these would never get old.

This is the big baby exhibit. From a distance it just looks weird. 

From up close it looks even weirder. 

Sometimes gimmicky buildings are a bit off putting. But not this one. Kudos to the visionary that created this masterpiece. 

Day 2

New Year's Eve day decided to be wet. In anticipation of a late night, we slowly eased in to our day starting with the kids favorite, studying. We had done the Malaysian, and Chinatown villages, so today was Little India. After another raucous lunch of hawker food, we went on a walking journey thru town sprinting from one covered sidewalk*** to the next to avoid the rain. This wouldn't have been so bad but for the super slick flip flops I was wearing turned the tiled sidewalks in to what seemed like oiled roadslicks making me shuffle along like I was a ninety year old.

Don't recall the name of this Indian dish, but good golly it was delicious. Some kind of egg thing with onions, and cheese and yummy-ness that you dipped in to another bowl of even more yummy-ness.

They are generally not afraid of color in Singapore

Typical stroll through the tight markets selling all manner of knock off trinkets

Even a wander through the Mustafa Mall was a tight navigation through colorful departments.

To ensure we had ample energy for the evening festivities, we forced an afternoon nap on everyone, parents included. After much resistance, slumber finally took hold and everyone awoke so refreshed that the boys have actually asked to build that in to future agendas.  New Years Eve was to be a glorious warm evening of fireworks set against a tropical moonlit skyline of Singapore on a floating platform in Marina Bay. What we got was three hours of ever increasing cold rain that climaxed in to a downpour at 11:59pm. We spent most of our time huddled under garbage bag like ponchos wondering what the heck were we doing. That evening shall be burned in our collective memories forever.

Thankfully an internet company was selling promotional ponchos and picnic blankets. Definitely put them to good use.

The picnic blankets were converted to personal tent structures.

Took a solid half hour to exit the stands and make it to the MRT. We were drenched by the time we made it home.

Even in the rain, it's an eye-catching city.

Day 3

We slept in the following morning an opted to visit the Art Science Museum instead of the Singapore Zoo (the skies were ominous and one night was more than enough of that). The museum is this amazing lotus shaped building as eye catching as the Sydney Opera House, and surrounded by a pond will lily pads and flowers. Again, a perfect marriage of nature and science. The exhibits were largely about light and were all very interactive.

The pond surrounding the Lotus brought life to an otherwise sterile structure.

Directly underneath the Lotus structure. There is a hole that collects the rainwater that creates a waterfall in to the pond below. 

While slightly nauseating, this was a cool exhibit where you stood inside a room with the projection going all around.

Draw on the paper, scan it in to a machine, and it turns in to a 3D imagine on a huge moving mural.

This was our last night in Singapore and we had been eyeing the platform on top of the iconic Marina Bay Sands hotel for days (it's that arched ship looking thing sitting on top of three skyscrapers). We timed our ascent to coincide with the Super Tree light show, and the Bellagio-like water fountain show that goes off two times every night in the Bay. Fortunately the weather cooperated and made for incredible views. Here are some shots going anticlockwise around the tip of the skydeck.

Looking down on the Gardens during the light show. The scalloped structures on the left are indoor flower garden and rainforest.

Apparently that ferris wheel is the tallest in the world. Taller than the London Eye. 

Looking down on where we got drenched the night before. We sat in the yellow section. 

The fireworks launched from the middle of the bay.

Singapore is even colorful at night.

The water and light show from high above. They also shoot lasers down on to the water surface during the show.

General Thoughts

Let's talk Getting Around...
The MRT system (subway) is awesome and so cheap it's seemingly free. It's efficient, frequent, clean, and so wonderfully open it never really felt crowded (even after New Year's fireworks). There are lines running everywhere, this way and that, so getting nearly anywhere you want is within a ten minute walk. It's like the effectiveness of the London Underground, with the cleanliness and comfort of Stockholm. Oh, and it's perfectly suited to the diminutive among us with overhead hand holds within easy reach for a 5'3" woman (speaks to the average size of a typical Singaporean). Frankly a bit too low for my taste as the handles would play wack-a-mole with my head.

I wonder if they have had some issues with infectious diseases lately. This poster campaign was EVERYWHERE in the MRT

So were these minion-esque creatures encouraging common courtesy.

*Hawkers...
Scattered about the city in the islands of old school are "food courts" with vendors called hawkers. This is where the locals go for cheap eats, because everywhere else is out to gouge the tourists (we paid $8 for a glass of apple juice once). Imagine rows upon rows of tiny food stalls no bigger than a postage stamp separated by cafeteria style tables and stools in an area the size of a city block. As an outsider, it's a bit intimidating as every stall appears to be making nearly the same thing and you have no idea whether the noodly soup in stall 76 is vile, yet liquid gold in stall 77. Longer lines by the locals is certainly an indication. I kept thinking how great it must be to be Anthony Bourdain and have a friend in every country to guide you through the chaos. We frequented several during our stay and each time was a bit of a nail biter. I quite liked them (in part because I'm a penny pincher, and paying $4 for a hearty meal with coffee was appealing), but it was a bit much for the rest of the family.

Typical scene

Each hawker had about a 10ft x 10ft area to do everything. 

It's a divide and concur situation. One person hunts for food, the other hunts for a table. For a family of five, it's tough, but I would eat at these nearly every day during a work lunch break. Apparently so does every Singaporean. 

**Shopping Malls...
It's actually a bit of a head scratcher how many shopping malls there are in Singapore. You'll have one massive city block sized mall connected with a sky bridge to another city block sized mall, encasing a flea market style shopping emporium. I frankly don't understand how any of them stay in business as the supply seemingly far outpaces the demand. One more thing... What's with the uber high end stores like Coach, Prada, and [insert name of any of the other stores with one solitary item sitting on a barren wasteland of a shelf, here]. The main mall in the Harbour Bay Sands was effectively half a mile of these stores with quite literally nobody in them except the smartly dressed bored clerks desperately waiting for any passerby to show the slightest interest in dropping $10,000 for a bag that carries things. How do they stay in business too?

***Let's talk Architecture...
Similar to Melbourne, Singapore definitely figured out the mixture of old and new. While the new buildings certainly demand attention, it was the old two and three story buildings that made up the villages that became the subject of so many pictures. All of the buildings are flush with the roadways with walking arcades creating the sidewalks and providing protection from the elements. The upper story windows are all shuttered with eyebrows. The buildings and trim are painted in such a random and clashing palette, yet it all seems to work perfectly.

Loved the colorful shutters on this old Victorian building. 

New behemoths dwarf the little dudes that just won't go away. Let's hope they are there for centuries to come. 

Random Thoughts...

- We never saw the sun during our four day stay. Rain threatened to dump the entire time, and saved the best for New Year's Eve. But in the end, the inclement weather brought cooler temperatures and relatively mild humidity, so it's all good for me.

- At the risk of offending my fellow geeks out there, I couldn't help but notice how nerdy looking the general population was in Singapore. I felt right at home...

- Napkins are a curious thing in Singapore (we'll have to see if it is an entirely southeast asian thing). We sat down to our first meal and I promptly soiled my hands and face. I reached for the napkin holder on the table and found none. I scanned my surroundings, and still found none. I went to the cashier to ask for some, and they charged me a dollar for a small bag of tissues, which solicited a one eyebrow raise. Apparently locals carry a handkerchief around as a personal napkin, and the small tissue bag is actually meant more to reserve a table at a hawker emporium. (But handkerchiefs be damned... I snagged a wad of paper towels from the nearest restroom).

- The sense of smell has a remarkable way of teleporting your mind to another time and place. The lobby of our hotel had a real Christmas tree and it became compulsory for us to smell it before heading up to our rooms.

Next stop... Penang, Malaysia.

Cheers!