Singapore Sling

We flew to Singapore early Saturday morning. The taxi driver that picked us up pointed out everything he thought may be of interest to us, and then some. My dad bet us that we couldn't find any trash on the streets, which I took as a personal challenge. The roadways were beautiful, shaded by twisty trees and lined with miles of potted flowers which acted as a median.

We reached the YWCA, which was to be our home for the next few days. As in Bangkok, the rooms had twin beds which we smushed together, but since they were on rollers, our attempts were rather unsuccessful. We headed out to lunch in the basement of the nearby mall, which took some searching. I think it was Japanese food, but it's hard to draw the line sometimes. We spotted a van that goes to China Town for free, so we hopped on and visited the heavily populated area known for its markets. Chinese are Singapore's largest "minority", making up over 70% of the population.

We were getting warm and tired, so we waited for a long time where we were dropped off by the van for it to come again. We gave up and walked for some ways to a taxi stand. Even here, we couldn't get anyone to agree to take us back. They wouldn't answer questions. They'd just shake their heads, roll up their windows, and drive away, with you still hanging onto the car. We found out later that they can be fined for picking up people within the city center.

Singapore is known as The Fine City. It's appropriate, because it is, to date, the finest city I've ever seen. It's clean, orderly, technologically updated, and bustling with energy and innovation. Its law enforcement is also very harsh on violators of their many, MANY regulations. Drug traffickers are punished by death. Urinating - $500. Spitting or Smoking (in an unauthorized area) - $1000. No Durian (smelly fruit), no unusual sex acts (?), no flammable goods, no eating or drinking on the subway, and if you're caught with gum (illegal), fork over $1200. My mom brought gum in and chewed it in her room, hiding it well in the trash. With the money they make from these fines, Singapore has built its city on a gold standard - even the sidewalks shine. I didn't see a slum anywhere.

We finally took the subway home after being very frustrated as to whether the ticket machines would give change, and not knowing how to get out again. That night, mom stayed in, and Derek, Dad and I went exploring.

We walked downtown and into the Fullerton Hotel. Strings played in the background and carp swam in the fountains. We walked along the little canals and saw a unique sculpture of boys jumping into the water, some on the edge, some in the air, some with their clothes half off. We wandered finally into the Merlion area. Now, Singapore created a half-lion, half fish creature for publicity reasons in 1966 and it stands at the entrance of Marina Bay, spewing water from its mouth.

That evening, we happened to walk by a group doing a program for Earth Hour, where the blue building in the picture counted down to a one-hour block of time where people from around the world turned off their lights to save energy. Many lights went out, and for that hour, people at the demonstration ate and sang in the dark. We found food finally in a nearby mall, where we had pizza.

The next day, in an effort to preserve funds in such an expensive city, we took off to the Botanical Gardens, where we could wander around for free. We loved the pond, with turtles and swans everywhere. We were impressed by a certain tree that grows backwards (branches drop and grow into the ground).

We went next into the jungle area, and were so overwhelmed with the heat and humidity that we escaped for a park bench where we could finally breathe. We found the ginger garden with a nice waterfall and watched some other tourists feed the catfish bread.

We stumbled upon the National Orchid Garden, which did have an  admission fee. Mom stayed behind in the air conditioning, and I was a bit jealous of her as we got on further. I've never seen so many types of orchids in my life! All brilliant, with unique markings. You could grow anything here!

The yellow orchids in this picture were used at our wedding, mostly in the centerpieces. They grow like weeds here. We found a special place where they display hybrid species - you can see our favorites on our Shutterfly site.

That evening, we took the subway to Clarke Quay for dinner at Tapas Tree, a Spanish-inspired restaurant where you enjoy small portions, like appetizers. Mom picked it - three cheers! We wandered down the pier and found The Clinic, a new-age concept for a bar of which we all approved. It is set up like a doctor's office, with drinks in IV bags and take your shots in plastic syringes and test tubes. You sit in wheelchairs while you drink. At $50USD a pop, we didn't sit down. We also enjoyed watching a man selling Turkish ice cream. He worked the ice cream with something that looked like a crow bar, to keep it from sticking to the sides (dry ice), and wore a funny hat. He could take your ice cream away from you by keeping it stuck to the bar and would ring bells with the backside of it before handing it out. He loved his job.

We took off for the famous Raffles, Singapore's most well known hotel that was built in 1887. The Long Bar is where the Singapore Sling was invented, and we found it had been moved since my dad had last visited. We were sent to the second floor when they learned we were not staying with them, which was fine, since the second floor seems better anyway. We split two Singapore Slings among the four of us (courtesy of Craig - thanks, Dad!) because they are famous and high in demand - economic term for EXPENSIVE. One Sling costs $25 SIN ($18USD). They were very pink and very good. A band played while we sipped, and I got up and danced. Amazingly, they all followed me, but my dad was mortified that he had to get up, and when I ran to get the camera, they all sat down.

The next day was pretty tame - we took the subway all the way around, to the very edges of the country. All we saw were very orderly apartment buildings. We got off at Little India (Indians make up 14% of the minority population) but were only there a minute. I realized all the restaurants were southern Indian food, which I don't care much for. My Hindi was useless too - they only spoke Tamil. We rode the subway to the mall and had lunch at McDonalds/Subway. That night, we wandered down Orchard Road, the "Rodeo Drive" of Singapore. We had dinner at an Italian restaurant, with blueberry cheesecake for dessert. Derek and I dropped our heads at the prospect of walking away from so much development, so much sugar, such a clean city. But, we're trading them in for lower prices, friendly people, and work that will actually bring Thailand closer to Singapore's developed position.

The morning my parents left, we wandered out for "donuts", cream-filled sugared bread and an attempt to use the internet without paying, which was useless. We took a cab to the airport and dad took pictures out the front window the whole way; my mom sighed louder with each shot taken. I had a hard time letting them go - it's a unique thing indeed to get to know your parents when you're older, and to have so much time to yourself...no work, no activities, no television. Just you and them, traveling together. I wouldn't trade that time for anything in the world. We miss them very much, but consider ourselves very blessed to have had them here for a time. We miss both our families very much, but are enjoying life in Khao Lak, sure as ever that God has a plan for us here.