Conspicuous Consumerism

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We spent part of our honeymoon in 2000 in Singapore and J lived there back in 1987 so it was fun to return for a couple of days on this trip. We stayed on Orchard Road and spent much of our time caught up in the Christmas shopping frenzy of that area. The street is lined with shopping malls and filled with street vendors as well. Each had a huge Christmas display and you could find a giveaway contest of some sort in every block. In fact, the level of commercialism in Singapore was overwhelming to the point of being disturbing. It reminded us of the consumer-driven culture back in our Seattle suburb. We were not amused. We much prefer the atmosphere in Thailand - laid-back and accepting regardless of socio-economic status.

J wanted to see if he could locate his old house so we took a taxi out to the neighborhood he lived in and went for a walk. We successfully found the house - it is currently being renovated and there was a workman inside who kindly let us in for a look around. J was so excited! Unfortunately, in his excitement, he left the GPS in the cab, and filing a report has been as yet unsuccessful at finding it. Most of the trip data was lost, despite an attempt the previous day to back it all up. So it looks like the pictures tagged with exact GPS coordinates is not going to happen for our 4 month trip. :-(

Singapore has every type of food imaginable! We had lunch at the Newton Circus Hawker Center the first day. Hawker centers are basically huge open air food courts, so called because the proprietors call out to you and try to get your business by telling you how wonderful their food is. We had a traditional Singaporean chicken and rice dish followed by a massive fruit plate which included durian, rombutan, and dragonfruit. A walk down Orchard Road and a few dollars lighter, we headed to Crystal Jade Palace for dinner. We ended up sitting next to a Chinese-Canadian couple who helped us decipher the huge menu, and order a few specialties not on it. The food was excellent! On our way out to the airport the next evening, we stopped at the Long Beach Restaurant for some famous Singapore chili crab as recommended by J's aunt and uncle. We ended up ordering the set menu which included a prawn dish, a scallop dish, noodles, the chili crab itself, and rolls. We were stuffed and ready for our late night flight to Bali.

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Photos

Shopping at Night
It's much cooler outside at night in Singapore, perfect for shopping on Orchard Road.

Making Roti
This was taken in a massive food court along Orchard Road.

Thai Silk Pillows
CM picked up a few of these for her Mom.

Serious About Safety
This was taken in the backseat of a cab.

Durian Stand
This smelly fruit is banned in hotels across Asia.

Fruit Plate
Clockwise from top: rambutan, durian, dragonfruit, lychee

Cutest TVs Ever
CM loves the TVs made by Hannspree; she first saw them in San Francisco.