Wednesday, December 28, 2011

More than enough time in Singapore

So I leave Singapore tomorrow to go back to the US. This time I’ve really gotten to explore Singapore and seen some interesting stuff, but I find myself wishing I had planned better so that I could have travelled up into Malaysia for a day or two. I had worked out an itinerary to shoot up to Kuala Lampur this morning, visit the Batu Caves and take the overnight train back so that I could make it to the airport a few hours before my flight left. After further consideration, I realized too many things could go wrong and the risk of missing my flight was too great. So here’s my reflection of my time in Singapore (SG).

Yesterday I decided to visit the island of Sentosa, which lies just South of the main island of SG. I knew the island was mainly resorts and a theme park, but it also had beaches I could walk around on. I underestimated how much of a tourist trap this whole island is. I took the overpriced ($28!) cable car with a family from India shouting at each other the whole way. The views were decent, but the ride only lasted 2-3 minutes. As soon as you step off the cable car you are shuffled into a gift shop where you can buy a memento from your 2-3 minute ride. After you pass that hurdle you are surrounded by “attractions”. Maybe you want to pay $3 to look at a statue or pay $30 to ride a zip line, or maybe you just need to see another gift shop.

The only thing on the island that doesn’t cost money is the shuttle bus service. I found my way to the bus stop and waited 20 minutes for the bus. I was examining the route map and saw several stops, such as the “Ranger Station”, where it was not clear why the bus would stop there. The bus was crowded and noisy so I got off a few stops down the road. I noticed a sidewalk and thought maybe I could just walk to the beach. However, once I got off and started walking, not only did I realize there was nothing around to justify putting a bus stop there, but the sidewalk also came to a dead end so that you had to walk in the road dodging the buses to get anywhere!

I’ve never been to a less “walker-friendly” place. The signs were difficult to interpret and sidewalks appeared and disappeared at random. I walked by several high-class resorts and views of golf courses. Eventually I had to give up. I been walkign for 45 minutes and wasn't any closer to anything that looked like a beach. I walked up to one of the resorts to ask how I could just leave the island. Luckily, they disregarded the way I was dressed and assumed I was a guest at this $500/night resort. They had an hourly shuttle that went back and forth to the main shopping district of SG. 

The flagrant commercialism and sterile landscape of man-made attractions and golf courses on Sentosa island seems to be a caricature of SG itself. You can never seem to get away from the shopping malls. Even areas advertised as parks and “nature walks” are never too far from a shopping center. Everything worth seeing in SG was built with the sole purpose to get people to come see it. If I was into architecture I might get more out seeing all the unique buildings, but I like seeing things that have some natural beauty on their own. Overall, Singapore has been a forgettable experience, with a few exceptions…

I unintentionally stumbled on an open jam session last night at a bar called Blujaz. I was able to get on stage to play a bit and stayed at the bar drinking with the other musicians until after the place closed. It was a great night with a spectacular group of musicians. Many of them were expats and have been playing professionally in Singapore and Malaysia for a decade or so. For those of you who don’t know, I’m a huge fan of jazz organ music, and the drummer at this jam has played with many of the great jazz organists when he lived in the US, so his stories were especially interesting. I host a similar jam in Fort Collins once a week and when I started I thought it was something unique. After last night’s experience, (plus a similar one in Tokyo last summer) I’m realizing that this type of thing is very common, and it makes me happy to see that.

Eating Dim Sum everyday has been great. Here was my lunch on Wednesday, which consisted of prok buns, eggplant, pumpkin cake, and almond "tea":



Staying next to china-town was an excellent choice! I also ventured into the area with middle eastern restaurants for some delicious food and a hookah tuesday night with a friend from the hostel.

I also really enjoyed the botanical gardens. I'm not usually amazed by flowers, but the orchard garden was remarkable.




There was also a ginger garden, which was fascinating. I never knew that so many plants (like bananas!) were related to ginger. Ever since I worked at the Ithaca Beer Co. I've always loved strong ginger soda. The more it burns my throat, the better! The Schweps ginger ale in SG is especially strong, but unfortunately its hard to find stuff like this in the states.

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