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Post by bjd on Mar 17, 2017 7:33:50 GMT
Why do you say backpackers spend only one night in Little India? It looks so much more interesting than the skyscraper parts of the city. I would love some of those little yellow mangoes.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2017 8:28:59 GMT
Did you see the photo of the dorm room under the name of the place?
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Post by bjd on Mar 17, 2017 8:56:37 GMT
Ah, no. I didn't look very carefully. But the area itself looks fine.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2017 13:00:41 GMT
Oh, the area is fine -- and after all it is no more than 5 blocks away from the comforts of the modern world if it is lacking in certain amenities, but that sort of hostel is the type that backpackers talk about in hushed tones and call "the Hostel from Hell" when they are relating their adventures.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2017 10:19:04 GMT
Sorry for the slight delay in continuing but I have been having upload issued. You know how backwards some of these underdeveloped countries can be. And so here we are. Kind of funny calling anywhere Chinatown here because the ethnic population of Singapore is 76.2% Chinese, followed by 15.0% Malays and 7.4% Indians. It is the second densest country of the world after Monaco, and should Monaco even count? The population is also 3.3% "other" -- mostly people of European ethnicity.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2017 10:28:16 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2017 18:19:59 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2017 0:15:42 GMT
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Post by mossie on Mar 19, 2017 15:18:35 GMT
Quite a place, but not for me thank you.
And Kerouac, I do wish you would put your shirt on if you are going to appear on CCTV
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 19, 2017 21:20:35 GMT
Finally, finally I'm getting to sit down and go slowly and happily through this amazing look at a place I can't quite believe. I have to echo Gabriele in saying that it's not somewhere I ever cared to go. But now I really understand the appeal and would love to visit Singapore. For one thing, you've showed something that gets left out elsewhere, i.e., the enduring exotic character of the place despite of and coexisting with all the modernity. As far as modernity, you have seen me happily goggling at high-rise ultra-modern buildings, so Singapore pings on two important points for me. Apart from the informational aspects, your pictures are killer -- all those wonderful angles captures so artistically! As I think Bjd pointed out, the city seems so much less crowded and busy than I'd imagined it, although certainly very alive. All the food, fancy and everyday, is tempting. A Michelin-starred ramen restaurant -- who'd a thunk it?! Having never been to an Asia city, I'd be tempted to continuously snack at all the food stands in order to try as many things as possible. Your remark about Singapore having a "Chinatown" even though it's more than 70% ethnically Chinese was interesting. Do you suppose it came about long ago, and there were far fewer Chinese there then? Oh ~ your "kitchen whisks" are actually head massagers. I know this because itinerant vendors sell them here in the main square. They'll come up to you from behind and use the damned things on your head -- things that have been on someone elses head and hair. Is it actually possible to fly from Paris straight on to Singapore? That had to have been a long trip! How many days would you recommend for a first visit and should it be combined with a jaunt to someplace else in that part of the world? Cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2017 9:35:52 GMT
Thanks to everybody for their comments, but there is so much more that I just have to keep plodding along. The skyline is always full of startling contrasts. The round building is the Stamford Swissôtel (formerly Westin). When it was built in 1986, it was the world's tallest hotel. It held that title until 1997 when a hotel in Bangkok was even taller. I am sure that Dubai now must hold the title. Three people have fallen off their balcony (or jumped?) and died since the hotel was built. Frankly, I think that it is privilege that one purchases when paying for such a hotel. If places like this decided to put in protective grills like the Eiffel Tower or the Empire State Building, they would totally lose all of their charm.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2017 9:59:07 GMT
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Post by bjd on Mar 20, 2017 10:29:09 GMT
They certainly do a good job of restoring the old buildings, even though many seem to have changed usage.
That Marina Sands Hotel looks like a giant subway car/commuter train that is about to move forward and shoot off its pillars.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2017 11:25:24 GMT
Here are a few little excerpts of the free nightly light show in the gardens. Sorry about the jerky camera work and not even knowing what to look at, but I can assure you that this is a bit overwhelming the first time you see it in person.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2017 16:16:18 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2017 17:18:41 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2017 22:14:34 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2017 23:03:20 GMT
I was hot and sweaty by now (it is always at least 30° in daylight and the temperature dips to 25° in the middle of the night). I took refuge for a few minutes in the lobby of the Ibis. After drying out, I wandered out of the back door. I had a quick dinner at this disappointing place (but cool) before returning to my hotel around the corner. New morning, new destination. I really got tired of all of these local churches, though. I wanted to go to an ordinary housing estate with no tourists and nothing special of interest. I chose Telok Blangah because it was an easy destination as well as somewhere I have never been. The housing estates are the most important part of Singapore and yet they are not mentioned much to outsiders. 82% of the population of Singapore lives in these government owned housing estates (down from a high of 87% in 1988-1990). The reason that the percentage has become lower is because Singaporeans are becoming more affluent and can afford to move to higher end private porjects (remember the "King of Kovan"?). There is an excellent Wikipedia article entitled 'Public Housing in Singapore' which is very enlightening if anybody is interested. I have had the privilege of being invited to some of the apartments in the estates, and I found the design brilliant. For example, in the older buildings, the lifts only served half of the floors on intermediate landings, which saved lots of money. In a typical 20-storey building, the lifts went to ten levels (2-4-6-8 etc.). If you lived on the 17th floor, you took the lift to 18 and walked down half a flight. When you wanted to go out, you walked down half a flight to 16 to the lift. Of course in modern times, I'm sure that the lifts now go to all levels or else there are ramps for the disabled, because Singapore seems to me to be the best equipped country in disabled facilities that I have ever seen. Anyway, one reason that Telok Blangah intrigued me is that it was the site of the 2nd largest demolition of private homes in Singapore, keeping in mind that in many cases these 'private homes' were disgraceful hovels and needed to be eliminated. The Singaporean friend whose wedding I attended lived in a private home in which I stayed once or twice, and it was very nice, so I was a bit worried about whether it still existed in 2017. So I checked out the street on Google Street View and it is still there, so that's nice to know. Even though living in a private house is probably more and more a major privilege in Singapore, it is good that some of these ordinary homes still exist. It was the house of my friend's parents. His father worked for Michelin, which was clearly a good job. I contacted my friend recently and learned that his father is actually still alive. My friend and his wife emigrated to Vancouver almost 30 years ago, and his father is there too now, in a home with dementia. End of digression, escept that the more I remember about my times in Singapore, it appears that I must have been there at least 20 times rather than the dozen or so times I imagined. The ground level of these communal towers is always an 'empty' space to prevent flooding in violent rain (always a consideration in this part of the world) but also to provide a place to get out of rain and provide a meeting place for the residents and a safe area for the children to play.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 21, 2017 3:14:48 GMT
Yay, more Singapore and more variety. More people in this installment for sure. I'm glad you went to the housing project, something I wouldn't have thought would be so interesting. I imagine there are people in their teens and twenties for whom that kind of neighborhood is all they know. It actually looks rather pleasant, what with the local market and the open air gathering places. I am surprised at your not mentioning the mailboxes. Do you know if emigration to places such as Vancouver is/was common and if your friends went because of a job offer or because they wanted to better their quality of life?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2017 5:57:17 GMT
They left for two reasons:
1. There was a feeling of anxiety in Singapore that either Malaysia or Indonesia might decide to take over Singapore. While the country has an army, it is well aware that it could only hold out for a week at best if one of those hugely populated countries were to decide that this rich little diamond would enhance them. They already had the example of Indonesia invading and annexing Portuguese Timor in 1975, and of course China was on the verge of taking back Hong Kong and Macau...
2. Like young people in any country, they aspired to more freedom than Singapore allowed. Things have changed a lot over the years, but even I hit a censorship wall the other day on the internet. It wasn't important to me as an extremely temporary visitor, but imagine how a young local adult would feel.
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Post by bjd on Mar 21, 2017 6:25:48 GMT
Did you have your aura read?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2017 12:00:18 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2017 12:34:33 GMT
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Post by tod2 on Mar 21, 2017 14:09:29 GMT
I am so happy looking at your photos Kerouac! Most eateries look like there is lots of place for more and as evening falls it's jungle I'm sure. I am hoping like hell you are going to Sentosa.
You might agree with me when advising Bixa to visit - I always say go over Xmas and New Year. The city is more splendid than you can imagine. Our friends who have a Jewellery store in Orchard Road also recommend this time as it is the coolest temps. in Singapore.
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Post by mickthecactus on Mar 21, 2017 14:20:42 GMT
Is the New Hip Hotel for old people?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2017 17:17:51 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 21, 2017 20:10:38 GMT
The way this is unfolding is really just like being there, to coin a phrase. The Grove is something else! What a brilliant idea to create it in a culture where I assume people were already in the habit of strolling about in the evening.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2017 21:00:29 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2017 6:42:47 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2017 13:09:46 GMT
So, I went to where the cable cars cross the harbour to Sentosa island. Since Singaporeans feel that there is not enough going on in their city state, Sentosa has been developed as a leisure resort. When I went there 30 years ago, most people went there just to have a picnic on the beach or take the little train that made a circle of the island. Times have changed, because now there is a butterfly park, dolphin and bird shows, an old fort, a holographic K-pop show, Madame Tussaud's, zip lines, a laser-water-flame fountain show, a pirate ship, an aquarium, a viewing tower, the "southernmost point of continental Asia," Universal Studios Singapore, 21 hotels and a casino -- and that is not even the complete list. What was I thinking? It was late morning Saturday and the moment I saw the queue to buy tickets for the cable car, I knew I was not going. However, the international ferry terminal is there, too, so I looked to see for future reference where you can go and how often. Notably, there are ferries to Batam, Indonesia about every 30 minutes. It is a city of about 1,200,000 people only 45 minutes away, and if I am not mistaken it offers a bit of sleaze that is lacking in Singapore. And of course a lot of Indonesians like to come to Singapore for a day reverse exoticism.
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