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Published: January 16th 2013
What a kaleidoscope of sights, sounds, tastes, ideas, beauty, newness and so much more these past four days in Singapore.
It's hard to describe the complexity of this nation-state. On one hand it's the epitome of a country that has figured out how to define itself, and seemingly redefine itself every decade, without the stranglehold of legacy infrastructure, bolstered by deep pockets and a dynamic attitude towards change and futurism. But scratch the surface and you see much more. Yes, the streets are amazingly clean, and yes, the ubiquitous security cameras are everywhere. The ex pat community lives a life unheard of at home, and yet, when describing the living accommodations of the the Filipino women who support this lifestyle, Steve's cousin Tracy said that at first she broke down in tears. A complex country indeed.
The Big Dig, Singapore style
The whole city appears to be under construction. SunTec Center, a block from our hotel, opened less than 20 years ago but appears to be undergoing a total remodel. As Brian, Steve's cousin's husband, wryly said, " If it's 10 years old, it gets torn down and replaced." Cranes dot the skyline and
Chili crab
Hot, messy and deliciousthe sounds of construction are everywhere. Singapore is known for its adventuresome architecture and it truly is extraordinary. The new ScienceArt museum, designed by Moshe Safdie and opened a little over a year ago, is one of the most recognizable shapes on the new Singapore skyline in the Marina Bay area, its fingers jutting out over the Singapore River. The entire Marina Bay Sands complex is Las Vegas - Singapore style - over the top, busy, a lot too much. Every big name in architecture is represented here - I M Pei with his two dimensional building, Sir Norman Foster with his spaceship Supreme Court building along with hotels, skyscrapers, and anything else you might want - my guess is that you don't make it on the global architect list without being represented here. But there's a soft underbelly to this global development, as seen by Rem Koolhaus in his seminal 1995 essay "Singapore Songlines".
From the blog Polis, comes this commentary, " In the opening passage of “Singapore Songlines” — Rem Koolhaas’ seminal essay on the Westernization and runaway modernization of Singapore — he critically discusses the Singapore Model as the “Portrait of a Potemkin Metropolis ... or
Raffles Hotel
Magical and memorable 30 Years of Tabula Rasa.” He points out that there is a “sense that no one in Singapore speaks any language perfectly”: The planning regime has kept pace with the rapidly growing population by perpetually uprooting, leading to a state of permanent cultural disorientation. “From one single, teeming Chinatown, Singapore has become a city with a Chinatown,” Koolhaas writes."
But there are glimpses of the multi-ethnic cultures and background of Singapore, preciously preserved in Chinatown and other ethnic enclaves, rife with tourists and locals, as well as the Sunday crowds of guest workers, looking for a touch, taste, sound of home. The Black and Whites, the century old British colonial style homes, also have their role in Singapore history and are protected from demolition.
If you've seen one Prada, you've seen them all
It's a little like the ubiquitous lightbulb joke "How many Prada stores does it take to equal Singapore?" Shopping appears to be the national sport and a very competitive one at that. At the starting line you get $1M - or a black Amex card, take your choice - and she who returns with the most shopping bags wins. As
ArtScience Museum
Incredible architecture in Singapore we've sat on the terrace outside our room in the afternoons, the click of heels, followed by the shush of the bellman laden with shopping bags, is music to the ears of the global brands represented all too prominently throughout the city. I stopped counting after my eighth Tiffany store, and on Orchard Road you don't even have to cross over to the mall on the other side because you'll find Gucci stores right across the street from each other. Clearly the market is here but the prices aren't cheap. Singapore is ground zero for global brands - if you've seen it in a luxury publication you'll find it here, and generally in multiple iterations. As the Marina Bay area has emerged as the new hot spot many of the merchants have moved there and the multi level mall - with the world's first and only floating Louis Vuitton store- is a paean to the gods of commerce.
There is a wonderful sense of polyglot Singapore here - in the customs line at the airport the fully veiled woman with only her gorgeous kohl rimmed eyes peering through the slit in her veil, the sound of "Singlish"
Light show at Marina Bay Sands
So over the top you have to love it in the streets, the older Chinese man practicing tai chi in the Botanic Garden, golden retrievers prancing along with their ex pat owners, the hawker stalls full of food vendors selling something you think you might want to eat but you don't have a clue how to order.
We've enjoyed our four days here, exploring the city, collapsing in the afternoons, beat by the heat and humidity, and luxuriating with lunch poolside, visiting with Steve's cousin Tracy and her husband Brian, an expat executive for SAP, and meeting their adorable little girls Mia and Olivia. The weather saps your energy but Steve is exhilarated with daily late afternoon torrential tropical rain showers.
Sunday morning started with our typical morning walk, only this one led us by the Singapore Flyer, the Marina Bay Sands hotel with its top hat 57th floor pool deck, and back by river, then on to a lovely brunch in the Botanic Garden with everyone. Sunday evening we almost were lured into watching the Manchester United-Liverpool match being shown on large outdoor screens in the plaza next to the hotel but we succumbed to jet lag instead.
Monday
Library roulette
Take your chances with reading recommendations found us on the Hippo hop on hop off bus tour (of course we had to take the Hippo tour) which was a great way to get an overview of the city. We hopped off to explore Chinatown and their famous hawker centers which are filled with small vendor stalls selling everything from dried mushrooms, to cheap Chinese imports, to what seemed like hundreds of food stalls. We gamely wandered through the delicious...and strange...smells and sights and finally settled on a bowl of laksa, a local soup filled with fish balls, vegetables and noodles, along with the mandatory Peking duck. Monday evening we indulged ourselves with drinks at the top of the Marina Bay Sands hotel, with a view clear over to Indonesia, overseeing the straits filled with tankers bringing lifeblood to Singaporeans.
Tuesday started out with a visit to Gardens by the Bay, a man made project on reclaimed land, highlighting the horticultural heritage of Singapore, but in ways you'd never imagine - think SuperTrees which are metal tree sculptures stories high with clinging vines and plants, replete with a cat walk among them and a night time light show (night time light shows seem to be the deriguerer these days here). We collapsed onto a Singapore river bum boat to travel the river for about an hour - the weather truly is enervating here - which was a great way to see another view of the city. Tuesday dinner with Tracy and Brian was a highlight with chili crab at Jumbo, an outdoor seafood restaurant in the East Coast waterfront park - fabulous, messy, fiery hot, and fun.
Wednesday Steve declined the opportunity to explore the malls of Orchard Road so Tracy and I spent the morning together, goggle-eyed, laughing at the prices - $25 for a container of long stem strawberries in a posh food shop, eyeing all the things I didn't need to buy and agreeing that both of our husbands don't understand the difference between shopping and buying.
Just because it wouldn't be me without a bit of a busman's holiday, I coerced Steve into a quick visit to the National Library of Singapore, and its new interactive exhibit soliciting input on the design of their newest project, the library@orchard. I loved the digital slot machine wheel for reading recommendations and the reading cocoon - take notice local libraries. But the best was the exhibit on the founding of Singapore, including handwritten letters by Sir Stanford Raffles, never before on public display. It was a fascinating display of English egocentrism. Wonderful farewell dinner at IndoChine on Boat Quay, watching the evening lights come on and the river come alive, topped by the light show from the top of the Marina Bay Sands on our walk back.
For a city the size of Singapore the traffic seemed very contained and the vehicles all late model, apparently a result of government edict. If you thought buying a car was expensive in the US, don't even think about here. Before you even buy a car you have to get a COE (Certificate of Entitlement) - for a 2013 car that will cost you about $90K. COE's are traded like stocks and the price rises and falls with demand. They are only good for 10 years - meaning a 2005 car can only be owned until 2015- after that the government will buy your car back in order to reduce pollution and you get to start all over again. Singapore is second only to Japan in the number of used cars exported. NYC could learn a few things from Singapore about congestion pricing for traffic, with ERP (Electronic Road Pricing) all over - some folks spend upwards on $500 a month just to get around. There are big digital signboards all over the city, advertising in real time the number of parking slots available in the garages - nice when you don't have to deal with legacy infrastructure and you can build all your garages with space sensors.
So where does everyone live? Expats gather in leafy enclaves, renting flats, moving every two years, making a life out of uncertainty and constant change. 85% of Singaporeans live in government supported HBD (Housing and Building Development) flats, some with purchase prices ranging near half a million dollars. Income eligibility for the flats goes up to $10K a month. Not exactly Cabrini Greens...
Our hotel, Raffles, is magical. In a city that recreates itself continually, we are luxuriating in a 125 year old model of travel, from the age of steamer trunks and butlers. Think "Downton Abbey" in tropical mode - Lady Grantham would have approved. Each morning in the dining room, the small birds welcome us and the wait staff seem genuinely disappointed if we don't order from the full English breakfast menu. Our suite is palatial, replete with fresh fruit every day, a butler at your beck and call, and a terrace overlooking a private garden. Every evening a white linen mat is laid on the floor at my bedside with Good Night woven into the fabric in one direction and Good Morning the other direction. We've started our trip at a high point in accommodations and this will be hard to top.
Singapore is a complex conundrum - spandex clad ex pat joggers running on the Esplanade in the evening; the cacophony of languages and accents - Brit, Aussie, Kiwi, Irish, Iowa, German, Mandarin, Japanese; hundreds of office workers exercising in unison in the early evening on the steps off the river led by enthusiastic music; celebrating the election of the first woman Speaker of Parliament; the iconic National Library Building in the shadow of an HBD high rise with laundry hanging out windows; a busy harbor filled with cargo ships and tankers, bringing in the everyday needs since nearly everything has to be imported. I enjoy reading local newspapers when we travel and The Straits Times focuses on money, education, money, travel, money, Chinese New Year...and no crime reports.
So, one country down and off to Sydney tomorrow!
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Lisa Dewey
non-member comment
Incredible! Looks amazing!