After a week in Singapore, I have mixed feelings about the place. It's hard to explain. Ordinarily, I would write a chronological account, but in the case of Singapore, this would turn out to be one long and boring summary of things seen and done, and I want to do better.
First of all, our hostel was lovely. Up until Singapore we had always been able to afford a double room, but here that wasn't an option for us anymore. Remember how I told you about the many hours that Jochem and I spent behind a computer in the Cameron Highlands looking for a couple of dorm beds? It turned out that our efforts had not been in vain. The Travellers Inn is a small hostel where 6 people share 3 bunk beds in 1 airconditioned room. There is a small but cosy common room where you can watch movies or write. Breakfast and internet use are free. Most importantly, this is a family business and, as such, it breathes genuine hospitality. Patrons Daniel and Jenny couldn't have been better or more helpful hosts. If you need a cheap place to stay in Singapore, this is the place to go.
Moreover, there is just so much to see and do in Singapore! It's really quite overwhelming and almost impossible to make choices. The amount of neighorhoods alone worth visiting is difficult to imagine. Of course there is the Colonial District and the financial hub CBD. There are the Quays by the water. There is Orchard Road and all its diversions. Let's not forget about Chinatown, Little India and the Muslim quarter called Kampong Glam. And this is just the city center that I'm talking about - on the outskirts of the island there's even more to see.
We did lots of things during our 7 days in Singapore, but there is also a lot that we didn't do. We visited 0 museums. We skipped the world-famous Orchid Garden. We didn't pay 30 Singapore dollars for an original Singapore Sling at the Raffles Hotel. But we did watch the light show from Merlion Park. We rode the 165-meter-high Singapore Flyer. We tempted fate by riding a cable car over the city.
In short: Singapore is expensive, but there are many ways to enjoy the city cheaply. Here are a few of my favourites:
I guess that this is a bad first example, but a guided tour with the Original Singapore Walks is well worth the 30 Singapore dollars per person. The tours are given by quirky historians who know how to tell a good story. Soon you'll be mesmerized and hanging from their lips. Helena told us a great story about the Kampong Glam neighborhood, where she personally outfitted me with this pretty sarong. If I'd had the money, I'd have spent all on these tours. There is a different tour every day through a different neighborhood. If there is one thing worth doing in Singapore, it is this.
One of the things that I really loved about Singapore is that there is so much wild nature in the city. What can I say? The only thing I did on Orchard Road was see a movie - I couldn't care less about the expensive shops.
There is Sentosa Island, which I found quite weird. It's unnaturally clean, tourists are everywhere and there is always music playing from invisible sound systems. It's kind of like being in Disneyland, except that it's NOT Disneyland - this is 'just' an island. But we couldn't resist the (admittedly, totally scary) cable car ride and the sight of the beach. After seeing that and taking this picture, we ditched the island and went on a 9-kilometer hike on the Southern Ridges on the mainland, which ended in a beautiful canopy walk.
It seems that there are about 100 Buddhist temples, Hindu temples, Chinese temples, mosques and other places of worship worthy of your visit. To be honest, we had seen so many of these religious buildings in the past 2 months (does Angkor Wat ring a bell?), that we were simply too tired to do anything besides walk past and take a picture. We did make a stop at the Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery up north, where we found this amazing Buddha sculpture. Or, 'supposedly', this is Buddha.
One of our last activities was a hike through the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve for a patch or urban primary rainforest and a visit to the Tree Top Walk at the MacRitchie Reservoir. It just baffles me to find things like this in a cosmpolitan city like Singapore.
But there is also something weird about all of this. There are so many beautiful places in Singapore, but there are hardly any people there. I never understood why, although I never dared to ask either. Perhaps the people are no longer impressed with what they see as a normal part of their surroundings? Or do the well-to-do people in Singapore look down on such simple pleasures as walking and having a picnic outside when there are so many more prestigious/more expensive entertainment options to choose from? Or are they simply too busy working in order to pay for their affluent lifestyle? Who knows, but it stuck with me. I have come to know neighborhoods like Chinatown and Little India like messy and chaotic pools of people. Is it busy? Of course. Is it sometimes overwhelming? Certainly. Does it smell? Unfortunately, this is also true. But there is also a sense of authenticity there that I missed in Singapore. Everything is just so CLEAN and ORGANIZED and devoid of proof of human life. Perhaps that's a little bit too harsh - the cleanliness and organization obviously guarantee a nice stay in the city and you'll always feel safe. Kind of like Asia for beginners, I imagine. From everything that you see and hear and witness, you get the sense that Singapore sees itself as a self-made Utopia, which I find a bit creepy. I bet that you expected me to love this kind of strive for perfection, but the truth is: it makes me a bit anxious. I once read in a guidebook that Singapore is managed by the government in the same way that an executive would run a multinational corporation - I guess that says it all.
Which is why there were not a lot of people at the beautiful Botanic Gardens when we were there, even though there was no rain for once and the sun was even showing its face. Where were all the students with their quickly-assembled fridge-leftover picnics and cool beers? Where were all the mothers with their toddlers? Where were all the runners with their dogs? It remains a mystery.
By the way: it was at the Botanical Gardens that I FINALLY found a good plate of pasta worth eating.
And this brings me to my absolute favourite thing to do in Singapore: EAT! There are many beautiful restaurants and bars with extensive menus while soft lounge music plays in the background and you overlook Marina Bay and the Singapore River. Skip all of these places. There's no time! Instead, get thee to a food court, also known as a hawker center, order up some local cuisine for a few bucks and start people watching. Because it's amazing - the way that the people in Singapore come together at these food courts. Young and old share in the meals. Old men drinking Heineken sit next to yuppies in suits. It was almost my favorite thing.
Because my favorite thing in all of Singapore was a little corner restaurant hidden on a busy street in Chinatown. This vegetarian restaurant, called Thousand Veggies, has got to be the BEST vegetarian restaurant in the world (or at least it was voted best in Singapore, which I think must say an awful lot in a city where eating seems to be the favorite pastime next to shopping and going to the movies). Because it's one thing to make good vegeterian dishes by leaving out the meat and fish, but to use fake meat and fish, and to make it almost indistinguishable from the real thing - that is craft indeed! I had laksa with fake shrimp that looked like shrimp, smelled like shrimp and tasted like shrimp. Our grilled fish had a slightly different structure from a real grilled fish, but it still tasted the same. It even had fake scales! Jochem (because he's being sympathetic, or so he says - I believe that he's turning into a vegetarian) ordered fake steak, and although he said it tasted more like a really good beef burger (which is a feat in itself!) you've got to love a chef who would put a thing like a vegetarian steak on the menu! The restaurant itself was splathered with names of famous vegetarians and quotes that leave little to the imagination when it comes to eating animals. I suppose that someone who isn't vegetarian could be put off by such an overly-present vegetarian vibe, but I loved it.
And now we are in Indonesia, on the island of Bali, in the town of Padangbai, on the eastern coast of the island. We celebrated first by having a beer on the beach, as it was our first encounter with a real beach (we strongly feel that Sentosa doesn't count). And we have some exciting things planned! Tomorrow we take a boat to the Gili Islands. There are 3 Gili Islands, but Jochem wants to go to Gili Meno to act out Elizabeth Gilbert's period of silent solitude at the end of Eat, Pray, Love. I'll be happy as long as there is beach and sun. After that we're going to spend a few days on the beaches of Senggigi on Lombok before going on a 6-day cruise through Nusa Tenggara with one goal only: to spot a Komodo Dragon! And, you know, to snorkel. After that we need to haul our hasses back to Bali, to Sanur to be precise, in order to meet my parents at the beautiful Respati Beach Hotel for a week of absolutely nothing. I'm not sure how I'll be able to keep in touch in the mean time...
If you'd like to see more pictures of our world trip, check out our picture gallery here!
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