One of the problems I’m finding in maintaining this blog is trying to capture what I’m seeing and experiencing in each place I visit. That and having the energy at the end of the day to write something!! I can try to describe each place but you really have to be here to not only see (and let me assure you my pictures do not do justice to the locations), to smell the air and to hear the sounds. Singapore is a great example of that – it really has to be experienced first-hand. But let me give you at least a few of my impressions.

Singapore is a polyglot mix of cultures that works. There’s no other way that I can think of to describe it. Culturally, it’s a mix of Chinese (Buddhist), Malay (Muslim), and Tamil (Hindu) and each culture has contributed to the mix, with a lot of cross-cultural exchange. Then you also have to take into account its British heritage which is perhaps not as obvious as it once was but is still there. Each culture has a center with Singapore proper – Chinatown, Little India and the Malay/Arab quarter – and each its own unique features on display. Each has a market area, with stalls selling whatever you want. Some areas are clearly geared towards tourists passing through but if you get away from the tourist routes you find the little stores that the locals shop at.

Hindu Temple in Chinatown

Buddhist Temple in Chinatown

Mosque in the Malay/Arab quarter from the grounds of the Malay Cultural Center

One way you can see the mixing of the three main cultures in Singapore is in the food. Each culture has its own unique cuisine but each has borrowed from the other two over time. The food is very good, very cheap and very plentiful. In each cultural zone you find restaurants that specialize in the local cuisine but in other areas there are food courts that feature foods not only from Singapore but from other countries around Asia. These food outlets are highly regulated and rate by the local health authorities to assure the food quality. The ratings are displayed prominently at each shop front so you know who to trust or not trust. An “A” rating means everything is good, a “B” rating means the food is still ok but other things may not be up to par, a “C” rating means go somewhere else. There are other ratings but you will not see those as the stalls have been shut down. Figuring out what each dish contains is not difficult as the menu’s usually feature pictures but all you need are a few words and you’re in business. For instance, anything with nasi in the name is built on rice; anything with mee in the name is built on noodles. So you can get nasi goring or mee goring, similar dishes but different bases. There are three different types of noodles – the thin rice noodles, a thicker wheat-based noodle and a flat noodle – each of which can be boiled or fried.

I was lucky in having a guide to show me around Singapore. One of my younger brothers, Robert, lived in Singapore for two years back in the 80’s, has returned several times as his wife is from Singapore and has family there. Rob was on vacation and in Singapore at the same time as I was, so he showed me around. I was not interested in seeing the usually tourist stuff (although we did go to Orchard Road to see what it’s like – lots of high end stores like Gucci, Louis Vouitton, etc, geared towards tourists and the well to do, but not for the typical Singaporean), I’m more interested in getting to know the culture of the places I visit. Consequently, we visited each of the cultural neighborhoods, visited the cultural centers in each, and wandered through the markets. We also visited the National Museum of Singapore, The Peranakan Museum and the Malay Heritage Center, the last two featuring displays about the early Chinese and Malay/Muslim histories of Singapore, respectively.

My brother Robert and his wife Christine

Chinatown market

Chinatown market

We did do a little “tourist” sight-seeing but the weekend I was in Singapore also coincided with the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix. Fortunately, this had little impact on our sight-seeing (it also meant that I paid a premium for my hotel!), other than to block access to the Singapore Eye, a large Ferris wheel located on the Marina foreshore. It was located within the Formula One track and the only way to get to it was to buy an entrance ticket to the racetrack (cha-ching, thank you Bernie Ecclestone!). Rather than pay the outrageous entrance fee, we chose to go to the observation deck on top of the Marina Sands Casino (which I had wanted to do as I had seen a documentary about the building of the SkyPark on top of the Casino last year). This provides spectacular views of downtown Singapore, only spoiled by the smoke that blows in from Indonesia, a product of the ongoing slash and burning of the forests.

On top of the Marina Sands Casino-smoky Singapore in the background

The "Durians"-named because of there similarity to the notorious fruit

The Singapore Eye inside the Formula One track

The financial center of Singapore

Getting around in Singapore is easy. There is a very good public transport system in the form of the subway, buses and, in the north, a light rail system. These are linked together by exchanges, and the four lines of the subway also intersect at interchange stations to allow easy transfer from one line to another. Between the three systems there is virtually nowhere you cannot reach quickly and cheaply, either directly or after a short walk. The trick is to get a pay-as-you-go pass called the CEPASS. This is scanned when you start your journey – say enter a subway station – and again when you end your journey – leave your destination station – and the cost of the journey is deducted from the card. There are top up machines at the stations so if your card runs low you can easily add value. This is a very common feature of many public transport systems around the world (I’ve seen it in several cities in Australia, I’ll be using it in several cities in Europe, and I’m using it here in Hong Kong right now). If all else fails, there’s the taxis which are cheap and efficient and available 24/7.

One of the impressions you get of Singapore is that there is constant and unrelenting development going on. This is in part because the amount of available space is finite and each square foot needs to be used as efficiently as possible. Orchard Road is a good example of this – according to Rob every few years one of the older buildings is taken down, and a new one put up in an attempt to keep it fresh and attractive to the tourists/shoppers. You also see this in the buildings which go both up and down – most apartment buildings go up 30 or more stories, and office buildings and shopping malls often have two basement levels with shops and food courts. But to really gain more room, over time land has been reclaimed from the sea b dredging and filling, or importing sand from Malaysia to use as backfill. If you look at a series of historic maps of Singapore you can see the progressive change in the coastline particularly around the Marina area which is built on reclaimed land. This not to say that there is no undeveloped land in Singapore. We did take a ride on the North-South subway route which loops out from the city northwards to the northern shore of the island, then continues westwards before heading south to join the east-west line. Much of this route is above ground and you do pass through undeveloped areas along the way before you enter the industrial area along the northern part of the island. I have no pictures, unfortunately, because this line is very popular and we had to stand throughout the trip.

This apartment complex was across the street from my hotel

Another apartment complex near my hotel

One final comment before I wrap this up. Most people come to Singapore for the shopping, if they don’t come for business and most head for Orchard Road as this is the shopping area that gets the most press. If you wander through Chinatown you’ll find the classic street-side stalls lining every street and alley most featuring variations on the same theme. I wondered then, and still do, how they all manage to make a living but I guess they can somehow. The one place I would encourage anyone to checkout is a store in Little India called Mustafa’s. This store is legendary in Singapore and having been there I can understand why. To say it’s big is an understatement. It’s another example of buildings going up and down. There are several stories in the main store but there are also two basement floors and that’s when it gets interesting. You start wandering around the basement levels filled with all manner of items, all brand names, and covering every imaginable category; I can put it this way, if Mustafa’s does not have it, it probably does not exist. It’s kind of like a Super Wal-Mart but on a heavy dose of steroids. The basement floors go on and on, so much so that when you finally return to the surface and exit the store, you find yourself not just on another block but on a completely different street. It is quite an experience and not one to be missed if you’re ever in Singapore. 

The famous Raffles Hotel

A decorated house front

Anyway, that’s a few impressions of Singapore. Next up Hong Kong.

Doc