|
Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2017 12:36:08 GMT
Singapore is one of the cities of Asia in which I have spent the most time over the years, normally not as a destination in itself (but sometimes, yes) but as a stopover point on a trip to somewhere else -- Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia... Even though these other places had direct flights from France, I normally fly on cheap standby tickets available to airline employees so it is preferable for me to go somewhere with lots of flights that I can fall back on rather than getting stuck. Singapore has a huge airport and a zillion flights in all directions. Anyway, I have been here more than a dozen times and except for a few times when I made two trips here within a year, it is always different. I would say that about 90% of Singapore has changed completely since my first trip around 1980. They keep tearing down things, building things and then rebuilding what they already built. In the 1990's they suddenly realised that they should save a bit of old stuff. By then it was almost too late, but what they have saved has been saved so well that it might as well be Disneyland. Nevertheless, I have always liked Singapore because the population is incredibly friendly, the people are amazingly optimistic about everything, and the whole place is so dynamic that it is practically scary. It looks exactly like what would happen if the promises made by all of our various politicians all came true. And yes, it is still mostly a dictatorship. My flight arrived almost on schedule, so I hopped on the MRT to get to my hotel and made my first (minor) mistake. I knew that my hotel was near the old Raffles Hotel and the modern Raffles City shopping mall, both of which I know very well, and for some reason it seemed obvious to me that my MRT station would be Raffles Place. Wrong! I should have alighted one stop earlier at City Hall. No big deal-- it just meant that I would walk a bit more.
|
|
|
Post by mickthecactus on Mar 14, 2017 13:15:26 GMT
I stopped off in Singapore for a couple of days in 1970 on my way back from a cricket tour to Australia.
It hadn't been cleaned up then and we spent one night in Bugis Street Market now described by Lonely Planet as the "most infamous sleaze pit". I have to say the transvestites were fascinating.....
|
|
|
Post by onlyMark on Mar 14, 2017 15:22:21 GMT
I'm very interested in this as I've never been. K2, if you have a moment can you briefly say what the city is like in comparison with other major Asian cities like Hong Kong, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur or any others?
|
|
|
Post by breeze on Mar 14, 2017 21:18:13 GMT
kerouac, the second photo after the beer menu--what IS that in the background? Already you've got me hooked on Singapore.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2017 21:20:58 GMT
We'll get to that very soon, breeze.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2017 21:50:52 GMT
After finally getting checking into the hotel, which took a little longer than planned due to a bit of confusion over the rate and about which I will be interrogating hotels.com when I go home, night had Fallen around 7 p.m. but there was Something I knew I wanted to see before any sort of jet lag could click in.
|
|
|
Post by onlyMark on Mar 15, 2017 6:03:56 GMT
After finally getting checking into the hotel, which took a little longer than planned due to a bit of confusion over the rate and about which I will be interrogating hotels.com when I go home, No IBIS Styles then?
|
|
|
Post by gabriele on Mar 15, 2017 6:21:57 GMT
I've never wanted to go there but already I love tagging along with you. I can see why you'd make the garden visit your first priority. I was going to ask you about the top of the hotel but thought I should check it out myself and found this: www.archdaily.com/70186/marina-bay-sands-safdie-architects/
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Mar 15, 2017 7:12:15 GMT
What a contrast with Mark's Namibia pictures. It all looks so synthetic.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2017 11:05:32 GMT
I'm very interested in this as I've never been. K2, if you have a moment can you briefly say what the city is like in comparison with other major Asian cities like Hong Kong, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur or any others? I'm still collecting data, but it has always been clear to me that Singapore has always been a step ahead of those other cities, at least in terms of hygiene, sustainable development, discipline (with quite a bit of help from the authorities), language skills and social harmony. It is interesting on the MRT to see small children speaking to their parents almost exclusively in Singlish, while the parents often reply in Mandarin, Malay or Hindi. But even the old people seem to have a good command of Singlish, which is really quite necessary since all announcements are in Standard English and nearly all of the signs are in English. It will take a few days because the wifi at this hotel is terrible, but I promise that I will have numerous less antiseptic photos later in the report.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2017 11:26:45 GMT
And speaking of the hotel, here it is. This type of older hotel is disappearing fast, and since this one is only a block from the Raffles (where I stayed 3 times when it was old and tired but have not set foot since the renovation and the new rates of 500 euros a night). Anyway, this place is spotless but it was built back in the days when Windows were not a priority. Since my room doesn't face the street, I have a strange little window on a side wall that does allow me to get some daylight but which opens onto a narrow slit of an alley.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2017 15:24:18 GMT
On my first trip to Singapore, the Cathay Cinema was decrepit and clearly scheduled for demolition. But somehow the main shell of the building escaped that fate and has become the base of the Cathay Cineplex, shopping mall and restaurant zone. It seems that there is plenty of work left to do in the domain of transportation. We arrive at Plaza Singapura, one of the oldest shopping malls. I had to go in because this place has always amazed me, even more so when I saw the "Memory Lane" exhibit in one of the side corridors. Tbere were photos of how it looked when built in the late 1970's, then its new incarnation in 1986, then another remodeling in 2008, and then it was redone again in 2016. Just about everything has been changed each time except perhaps for the travelator ramps going to the basement. Carrefour had two hypermarkets in Singapore until 2012 and one of them was here.
|
|
|
Post by fumobici on Mar 15, 2017 19:12:17 GMT
What a contrast with Mark's Namibia pictures. It all looks so synthetic. Having two excellent but completely different photo essays unfolding concurrently is a nice agridolce. I think they compliment each other. My better Asian-traveled family say that Singapore is a near-perfect entree to Southeast Asia for an English speaking westerner. This report is making it look well worth an exploration, although I think Hong Kong still draws harder on me.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2017 23:10:18 GMT
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Mar 16, 2017 7:34:58 GMT
The few streets you have photographed look rather empty of cars for a small place with a high population (for the area). Is that the case or just a coincidence? I imagine many people don't need cars and there wouldn't be many parking places.
|
|
|
Post by tod2 on Mar 16, 2017 7:52:01 GMT
I'm lapping this up as I see so much I recognise and so much I don't! I hope you are going to take us to several Hawker food centres. I see Newton's Circus is still in existence after being earmarked for removal years ago. Unfortunately I think the only way to get to the Seafood places on East Coast Parkway is by taxi but that's were I go for Chili Crab. Please tell me you are going to Sentosa! I wonder if the butterfly farm is still there... Kerouac have you ever hopped the MRT and done a complete circuit of the island - maybe with one or two changes? It's my most favourite thing to do as you can hop off in many of the tall blocks of apartments with just a restaurant for the immediate locals. And, and , have you got time to go the island of Pilau Ubin - time has stood still in this quiet backwater of an island quite accesable by MRT & boat.
More photos soon please!
|
|
|
Post by onlyMark on Mar 16, 2017 8:25:31 GMT
Tod, he's not a young man any more. Give him chance. He has enough on his plate trying to remember his camera memory cards.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2017 8:54:36 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2017 9:11:03 GMT
|
|
|
Post by onlyMark on Mar 16, 2017 12:31:59 GMT
It all looks so clean, neat and tidy. Must take a lot of work.
By the way, there's nothing wrong with President cheese triangles from time to time. And the Laughing Cow burger cheese slices are nicer than the sandwich ones. The light ones though, yuk, just taste unhealthy.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2017 13:11:33 GMT
The few streets you have photographed look rather empty of cars for a small place with a high population (for the area). Is that the case or just a coincidence? I imagine many people don't need cars and there wouldn't be many parking places. Actually traffic is intense all through the day. It only begins to calm down around 20:00. But, yes, I do try to eliminate as many cars as possible in my photos because I don't like to look at them.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2017 14:52:14 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2017 15:01:32 GMT
|
|
|
Post by mossie on Mar 16, 2017 15:22:13 GMT
A tremendous mixture of cultures. I note you managed to smuggle one of your pet cats in.
|
|
|
Post by tod2 on Mar 16, 2017 17:13:45 GMT
Lovely to browse your photos Kerouac. I too would feel totally fizzled out when it came to night time Singapore. It's a pity because it is quite lively - in the food courts but really disappointing in the night clubs. Well, it was for us... maybe we were too early. Night clubs aren't our thing and I'm darn sure not yours but you try everything once. What about the famous "Night Safari"?? That was OK but not mind blowing to a person from Africa.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2017 22:47:53 GMT
When I first visited areas like this about 35 years ago, the buildings were just whitewashed with black splotches of tropical rot. Prosperity and perhaps some municipal encouragement have made a big difference over the years. And new cultural centres have also been created. While sitting on a bench, I admired once again the work of a Veolia technician well as the equipment. Various styles of twig brooms, a broom rake and all sorts of picking and scraping tools, each in its place. The man was actually in this service alley with a scoop and hoe to clean the sludge out of a little drainage slot, after sweeping and picking up everything he could get in every nook and cranny.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2017 23:13:05 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2017 23:30:23 GMT
|
|
|
Post by mich64 on Mar 17, 2017 1:37:31 GMT
I can not think of seeing a cleaner city, that is my first impression. Secondly, the shopping possibilities are quite overwhelming. And third, the food markets are very orderly, that appeals to me.
So far I find it exotic and almost futuristic if that makes sense.
Is this your intended destination or are you visiting other countries in the region?
|
|
|
Post by tod2 on Mar 17, 2017 6:34:43 GMT
Oh groan ( with increasing envy)! Glorious photos Kerouac. The old shop houses are just beautiful in their myriad of bright colours. I remember the bus stop to Jahore Baru very well! I must say we couldn't wait to come back into Singapore - Malaysia is no comparison. You are killing me with the food ads - your meal looks great. The open market revealed my much loved snake/long beans, and those pale yellow mangoes were so perfect - not a blemish. The only 'unclean' thing I spotted was the large plastic bins(with plates of fish on top) in the fish market. They looked like they needed a good scrub. Enjoying your trip report and photos very much - need more!
|
|