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 :)