Thursday, June 7, 2012

Week Away: Singapore


It seems kind of odd to spend eight hours on a plane to get to another country, to then spend 90% of the time in said country in meetings, in a rather anonymous conference room. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn more about my job and meet my colleagues from across Asia... but as an inveterate explorer, it was somewhat frustrating not being able to see much of the city.

Nonetheless, I managed to get a bit of free time to see the strange, identity-less Singapore, on early morning runs by the river.

Mostly I had to stay around the Quay and Marina Bay areas, which are shiny with tall, sparkling buildings, and almost as bright at night as during the day.


Every night was a feast from each of Singapore's main populations: Chinese, Thai, Malay, Indian... and expat? Everything was delicious, and the restaurants were often lovely, dramatic affairs... but the portions were somewhat American in size, to the dismay of my waistline. The view of Marina Bay from Level 33 (pics above) wins for most dramatic backdrop, however the afternoon tea at 10 Scotts on Orchard Road had some of the most amazing desserts I have had in a while, particularly the rose-flavoured macaron with raspberries.

                           


Thanks to my lovely boss, I had half a day to run free, and spent most of it near Arab Street, shopping in the nearby mall (yay country-wide sales and cheap shoes!), before going to the street itself to visit the mosque, ramble about while listening to the muezzin sing out the call to prayer, and then stuff my face with delicious falafel and hummus. 

All in all an interesting experience, and I never thought that I would be going on business trips so soon in my career :) 

9 comments:

  1. wow what a neat looking city! i love buildings in the 3rd photo, looks so European! Once again the food looks amaaaazing~!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. That building in the third photo is crazy hahaha. Looks kind of interesting there, I'd like to go.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The boat building is rather odd, and at night is does an incredibly garish light show

      Delete
  3. Scones and clotted cream, falafel and hummus! Drool. What about prices - as hideous as Tokyo's?

    I find it quite hard to get a grip on Singapore, so your comment that it's identity-less is very interesting. It looks a bit like a luxury Disney resort to me. (I've spent half my life in transit at Changi Airport, but I've never gone into the city itself.)

    PS: That hotel with the yacht/boat on top? That just looks WRONG!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The best comment I have heard about Singapore came from Matcha-kun:Disneylandあり、ゆたかな北朝鮮。 笑
      Since it was a business trip, the only things I paid for were the hummus/falafel, some shoes and a few beauty products and omiyage. Thanks to the strong yen things are about 20% cheaper, but still pricy.

      Delete
  4. Venture into the heartlands and drop by the hawkers the next time you are there!
    They taste way better than hotel and restaurant food to all of us locals.
    :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Welcome to South East Asia.. and I wouldn't say it's identity-less. Not being distinct from any other major cultures make a diverse country an identity of its own. =)
    From A-town with love.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Chee!
      I will just have to ramble over to Malaysia to compare :)

      Delete