Despite the great friends I traveled with, I did miss my best friend on this trip. Singapore is right up Jojo's alley with the riverside dining and nightlife, hot and humid sunbathing climate, and the incredible amount of people out running, jogging, exercising and smiling.
Joan, Carol, Sandra, Lynn, Granny and I smiled a lot too on our four day tour in which we took rooms at the beautiful Fairmont hotel, just a short walk from the Marina. At the Marina we drank an ice cold Tiger while we waited on our Water Taxi. We water taxied the Marina and the Singapore River daily: Boat Quay, Clark Quay, and the iconic Marina Bay Sands. Granny, Carol and I did make one venture into the sea of one-arm bandits, table games and people. I only spent an hour at the Craps table, and I found out why - as I was told by our initial taxi driver from the airport - that the two casinos in Singapore gross more receipts than all of Vegas put together. The Sands was huge and loud like most casinos I've been to, but I was blown away by the $100 levy for Singaporean residents to get in the door - a casino with a cover charge, seriously? Anyway, the fact that they charge a hundred bucks to come in and burn your money certainly doesn't seem to slow buisiness. As tourists, the girls and I didnt have to pay for entry, but we did have to scan our passports on the way in and show them again in order to get out.
I am going to try to validate the Vegas comparison that our taxi driver made, but he certainly was a self assured dude whose initial intrigue about where we were from and what we were doing in Singapore bordered on uncomfortable. Ultimately I think he was, like most Singaporean's we encountered, a pretty nice guy and just curious, but he did have a snide sense of humor and a snarky attitude towards "you Americans". He made reference to each of our home states and laughed his way through one comment about our hotel.
"Ohhh, the Fairmont," indicating a bit of condecension about our choice. He seemed to be saying c'mon rich Americans, why not the Ritz Carlton?
"Eh, since you girls are from Alabama then you'll fit right in at the Fairmont." Got jokes, huh? We laughed too though, and in reality he was pulling our leg about the hotel - it was great!
Taxi guy referred to DC as the ultimate paradox, "it's the 'center of the free world'; can't they stop shooting each other and get a Mayor who doesn't use drugs?" Do all Singaporeans have this much scary insight into America, or is this guy an avid reader of USA Today?
"You ever been there?" I said.
"As a matter of fact I have," he replied.
I had to tip my hat to that I guess.
When I told him I was from Philadelphia he thought that made me a Steelers fan. "Where I come from dem's fighin' words," I rebutted to knowitall, "wrong part of the state bro."
"Oh right - cracked bell."
He pretty well knew his stuff to the point where Carol and I joked that he must be Googleing it while driving us around. Keep your hands on the wheel dude. It was late and we were hungry when we arrived though, and he kindly adjusted the route to lead us by a spot to eat - an outdoor market of cookerys called Gluttony Bay. Perfect for us, I thought, based on our feeding patterns during our week touring Beijing.
One thing he made very clear to us was that Singapore was not cheap. Being almost midnight, we found Gluttony Bay was closed, so we made our way to the hotel and looked over the menu at Ink Bar. A draft beer at the Ink bar - $15 Singapore, about $12 USD - eeeeek! The fortunate part is that most places seem to run happy hour all day long, so we tried out many places to spend all of our Singapore Dollars before boarding our return flight to Beijing.
We rode the 50 second elevator ride to the Equinox Club on the 70th floor of the Swisshotel, the tallest hotel in Asia, and third tallest in the world(I'm gonna check this claim too). Happy hour at the Equinox comes with a spectacular view from above the city and we looked down on the Singapore Flyer, the tallest ferris wheel in the world.
Across the Bay we visited the oberservation deck on the Marina Bay Sands and took in the breath taking views of the skyline; however, we were quickly consumed by dark storm clouds that approached us from across the tops of the fascinating skyline. It took me 15 minutes and two Stellas in the Ku De Ta club to ease my shoulders back down from my ears, after what was certainly the closest I have ever been to a lightening strike. Carol and I stood under an overhang out on the deck looking at the the rain, "you alright?" she asked.
I don't know if the word, "sure" was compleley out of my mouth when the flash-bang hit on the building, or darn close to it. I just looked at her wide eyed, then bolted for cover.
After the rain cleared we walked the deck again under pristine skies and I saw one of the most impressive things I have seen in my life - The Straits of Mallaca. One of the early memories I can recall from World History class is reading about the positioning between the Dutch East India Company and the British East India Company to control trade routes in this part of the world. I stared out at this passage of water, dotted by hundreds of vessles that from this height looked like toys in a bathtub, and could understand the pride these people feel for their pivotal role both historically and on the world stage today. This is the passage connecting the Indian ocean with the South China Sea, and it is easy to discern why this is probably one the most significant ports of trade in all the world. Riding the boats through the quays and experiencing this vibrant and bustling nightlife, it was impossible for me to ignore the historical implications of this little seaside town.
On our last night I went out in search of a Chili Crab and was driven to a coffee shop where the locals eat and gather. The coffee shop resembled an outdoor cafeteria with plastic tables and chairs spread out under a roof. The sides were open to the elements and I got the sense that this group of regulars who welcomed me to eat with them spend much of there lives here drinking coffee or beer and smoking cigarettes. Mr. Fang eplained to me that, "this is what we do in Singapore". Just as our driver had assessed the paradox of DC, Mr. Fang explained the paradoxical nature of this place. Many rich come here to party or vacation, everything is expensive and the people who come are willing to pay, but those who live here are happy with "enough". He explained that Singapore people don't live with the pressure of getting any more than what they need, and when they have what they need, they sit and enjoy life at the coffee shop. I got my Chili Crab for $20 at the coffee shop, half of the lowest price I found on the touristy Boat Quay the nights before. We had walked Boat Quay each night seeking a spot for dinner and for the first time in my life I actually haggled for the price of dinner at a restaurant. At each store front along the water young waitresses held out menus and chirped, "hello sir, Indonseian food 30% off, just for you."
"Free round of drinks if you come my restaurant."
"Sir, I'll give you 20% and first two rounds of drinks, free."
We navigated this process for each of the three or four meals we had on Boat Quay. Singaporean fish and noodles, Indonesian seafood soups, fresh made Italian pasta, burgers and microbrews.
The ladies and I had a blast, as I assumed we would, cruising from meal to meal around Singapore, ironically though, the only place we never got to eat, and certainly the one that would have been most approptiate, was Gluttony Bay.
Sent from the iPad of
Paul R. Koch
http://dugahole.blogspot.com/
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