SINGAPORE

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18.12.08

Km travelled 21453

The 15th at night we’ve been sitting outside the guesthouse waiting for a car to pick us up and take us to Georgetown. In the meanwhile the man in the car was waiting for us along the road. After a while he finally waved and we realized we’ve been sitting there waiting for each other. He was quite a talkative man, and his son, on the other end very quiet, was sitting beside him. In Georgetown we got on a minivan that took us to the bus station. The journey to Singapore lasted more than 13 hours. The so called VIP bus had 27 wide reclinable seats, all very uncomfortable. The night was very long and sleeping seemed just impossible.
In Singapore we’ve been dropped off at Beach Road. We got a taxi to the hotel where we left our bags but couldn’t check in until 15.00!
We had no choice but walking our way towards town and spend the day out. On Victoria St we had some lunch at Zac’s, a very good Mediterranean restaurant. So to cut it short, on the first day we just wandered the central part of town, the day after we walked to Marina Bay, Chinatown, Little India, and had a cruise on the river, and the last day we entered all the shopping malls on Orchard Road. We both felt it was more than enough. So what do I have to say about Singapore?
It all suddenly came to my mind while we were cruising along the river on the Chinese junk.
Every few minutes a joyful voice came out of the speaker to acknowledge us on whatever we were looking at. But I simply couldn’t see anything. I was staring outside at…void?
If you think that consumerism is devouring us and that our future looks the darkest ever, you can see your nightmares come true here!
Arranged in a clean and tidy mix of average buildings and green gardens, it is indeed one of the most anonymous places I’ve ever been. Along the river a colourful façade of restaurants, banks, shops and hotels (the only things you can find in Singapore), hides a jungle of air con boxes hanging outside just like the washing in Naples!
Everything you see has only one name, profit. What do people do here? Work, work, work.
Anyway I forgot to say that I did see a beautiful thing, and it was a sculpture along the river of kids jumping into the water.

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