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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