The last 48 hours in Singapore have been rather busy with sightseeing and seeing friends, so that we only now get a chance to update the blog. Also it's currently raining, so a perfect chance to take some time out and to update you on the progress we've made since leaving Australia.
First impressions from Singapore have been very positive overall. Here is the view from our hotel room (we are right on Orchard Road, which is the big shopping road here):
A bit of trivia right upfront: The state of Singpore and myself share the same age: We are both 45 years old - ...how about that for some useless information. The big national day parade here is coming up soon...
Since I last visited this place over 10 years ago, it seemed the city has expanded in all directions. And quite literally: There has been an enormous amount of land which was reclaimed from the sea, which has resulted in entire new areas of the city being created on it. Coupled that with the artistic license that seems to have been given to the architects, you end up with some amazing new buildings. Here are some images about MODERN Singapore:
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| MODERN Singapore |
In contrast, there are still the old quarters, like Little India, Chinatown, the Arab quarter etc., which they are keen to preserve (and if only as tourist attractions). Anyways, these areas are testament to how multi-ethnic Singpore's population is. There are basically four main groups of people living here (Malay, Chinese, Indian and "others" - including all the Western expats). And it's that mixture that makes things here very colourful and rich. Here are some images about the CULTURE of Singapore:
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| CULTURE Singapore |
The other factor that needs to probably be mentioned is the strict government control that lead to the old joke about Singapore being a "fine city":
For example, Singpore has the highest number of death penalty cases per capita. And it's well-documented what happens to people who smuggle drugs or drop their chewing gum on the pavement. But what is lesser known is the safety and low crime rate that people benefit from, e.g you can leave your mobile phones etc. on the table to reserve a space in public foodcourts before you then get your food. Or 10 year olds can take public transportation on their own without a worry for their parents.
The other two aspects worth mentioning are food and shopping. Singaporeans seem to enjoy a special love affair with food - and resulting from it, there is a wide choice of different food types available here. Even Lucy has started to take some risks and finally has ordered something else than "fried chicken tenders"...
The shopping malls here are legendary - especially around Orchard Street you literally fall from one shopping mall into the next. And we are talking here about dozens and dozens of the most modern shopping malls, on multiple levels - underground and above ground. Almost too much if you ask me. Here are some things that caught our eye in the SHOPPING heaven that is called Singapore:
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| SHOPPING Singapore |
How does one make sense of all this?! How do you describe the phenomenon of this city / state?! Well, the best descriptions I have heard so far are that Singapore is like a "Californian resort town run by Mormons" and/or that Singapore is like "Disneyland with the death penalty".
Well, anyways ... we like it. Given that we are only here for 4 days, we got one of those multi-day hop-on bus tickets to take us around the city. Plus we did a river cruise, too.
Most informative, however, was meeting up with some of the "locals" here, including my old colleague Jonathan who we met for lunch (including a tour of the Ogilvy office in Singapore). Plus we got together with my old friends from New York days, Saleem and Dinaz, for a "Singapore Sling" drink when the kids were asleep.
After all the sightseeing and meeting up with friends, we still hope to see (if the rain ever stops) the Botanical Gardens and / or the famous Singapore Zoo - before we then leave tomorrow afternoon for Vietnam.
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