"Uniquely Singapore"

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Before moving to Japan I had always said that Singapore was a country I wanted to visit. Why, I am not quite sure... but it has always been at the back of my mind. So... this year, having spent Christmas in Malaysia, it only made sense to spend at least a few days in East Asia's 'safest,' and 'cleanest' city/country. The slogan of Singapore's tourism board is "Uniquely Singapore," but although it is a beautiful city, I can't say that it is very different from any other major city worldwide. It is true that you can visit a Chinese temple, Muslim mosque, Hindu temple and Christian church - all in the same neighbourhood, but ... it is also packed with Starbucks, McDonalds, Gucci, Armani, Calvin Klein, HMV, and...　well, you get the point. There are thousands of international shops and restaurants located throughout the city, making it hard to see the unique side of things. But, on the other hand, this cosmopolitan city is a shoppers' paradise and a food lovers' heaven! The population (almost four million), comprises of 77%!C(MISSING)hinese, 14%!M(MISSING)alays, 8%!I(MISSING)ndians and 1%!E(MISSING)urasians... providing a wide variety of everything and anything your heart may desire.

Aside from our visits to Merlion, and the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, our Singapore visit was spent eating, shopping, eating... and eating throughout the day, and experiencing Singapore's famous clubs at night. Taking advantage of what this modern city had to offer, we thoroughly enjoyed our 3 days!

Looking back, I would have to say that the highlights of my Singapore experience all revolved around food. After 2.5 years in Japan my taste buds have forgotten what it is like to have an explosion of spice hit them, and my throat now feels a little funny when I eat something moderately sweet. With a mélange of flavours from around the globe to choose from, I could not help but wake up each morning and dream of the meals to come! There was an endless variety of food, served hot or cold, at any hour of the day (or night)! Even when we couldn't recognize something, we tried it. Best discovery - fried carrot cake with soy sauce!! Amazing!

So, in the end, although the raw cultural experiences may have been missing, the quality of shopping and dining was far better than we could have imagined, and we had a fabulous time spending our money in Singapore!! 😊

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Photos

Turns out Jenna's was better than Brian's
... but I guess that's what you get when you drink the sauce with the peppers in it!!

Merlion the Famous Lion of Singapore
Merlion, as described by the "Visit Singapore" website: "The lion head represents the lion spotted by Prince Sang Nila Utama when he re-discovered Singapura in 11 AD, as recorded in the "Malay Annals". The fish tail of the Merlion symbolises the ancient city of Temasek (meaning “sea” in Javanese) by which Singapore was known before the Prince named it “Singapura” (meaning “lion” (singa) “city” (pura) in Sanskrit), and represents Singapore’s humble beginnings as a fishing village."

Group Photo with Merlion
Can someone please tell me, in the modern age of digital cameras, how it is that this lady did not notice her finger nail piercing our heads on the screen of my camera? Was this a funny joke? (I would have posted a different picture, but this is the only group photo we took.)

Could we interest you in a trishaw ride?
No problem, we can handle this. All we ask is that you bring a map!

Turkish Ice Cream Delight
This was the most amusing purchase of ice cream I have ever made. Turkish ice cream is made of goat's milk which makes it very sticky. Before actually being able to eat our ice cream we were the victims of this vendor's numerous tricks. With his metal spoon he could steal the cones right out of our hands and make it appear as though we were about to drop our ice cream. It was cool... but a little stressful!

The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple
a.k.a. The only cultural thing we really did.

Comments

[Mom]

FOOD !!!

[Casey Lary]

wish I was there!
a great end to a great trip. awesome risa-chan~

[DAD]

Well it looks like you found more worldly delicacies.Some you didn't even recognize????????MMMMMMMMM tastey. LOVE YA DAD..