Day Six
Today I'm in: Singapore
No pictures with this post... the internet at my hotel has slowed to a crawl and every attempt I made to upload some resulted in my browser locking up. They were mostly going to be pictures of food, anyhow, so it's not the end of the world.
It turns out that aside from food, there's one other area where Singapore excels - shopping. Aside from (maybe) Hong Kong, I haven't ever been somewhere so dedicated to buying stuff. I went to Orchard Road today, which is basically two miles of shopping malls on both sides of the road. Some had scarily expensive designer brands (Ion Orchard), some had cheap electronics (Far East Shopping Centre), and some had weird mishmashes of luxury brands and cheap electronics (Lucky Plaza). Today being a Saturday, the street was thronged with people. It was at least twice as long as Michigan Avenue in Chicago and twice as crowded. No bucket boys, though, so at least it was quieter.
The best part of the day was - again - a trip out into the housing estates for dinner. These areas seem to come alive at night, and although the downtown skyscrapers were visible in the distance, when I stepped off the MRT in Geylang I was definitely back in Asia. Narrow lanes, shops selling goods that spilled out onto the sidewalk, flashing neon signs for karaoke parlors. Mixed in among the apartment tower blocks were some old colonial-era shophouses. Just like Orchard Road, the streets were thronged, but it had a completely different feel.
When I got to the Old Airport Road Food Centre, it looked like everyone in the area was there. Everything was on one floor this time, but it was at least three times bigger than the place I went to the night before. There were lines in front of most of the stalls (always a good sign!) I started off with a curry puff - a doughy pastry filled with spicy shredded chicken, potatoes and egg - and then had an order of kueh soon, a glutinous pouch stuffed with rice, beans and meat. For dessert I had a cendol, a blend of coconut milk, shaved ice, red beans, palm sugar and a weird rice jelly that looked like green worms. To make it more adventurous, I had them pour durian cream over the top of it. I don't think I've had that many different textures in one food item before, but it was sweet (and good!).
I realize my time here has been short and my assessment of this island as a nation of compulsive foodie shopaholics is based on extremely limited data and a healthy dose of cultural myopia. There's plenty of Singapore I didn't see - like the Haw Par Villa, which apparently has some sort of attraction replicating the Chinese concept of hell (forever scarring/titillating my friend Evan when he was a child), the island of Sentosa (which has a Universal Studios Theme Park), or the offshore hamlet of Pulau Ubid, which is covered in temples and beaches and offers a glimpse into Singaporean life before Lee Kwan Yew rushed the country headlong into the modern age. This is a major world city, so I think it's likely I'll find myself back here at some point - hopefully with someone who knows their way around (ahem, Evan.)
I'm off to Kuala Lumpur in a few hours - happy early Mothers Day to Mom and Berniece!
Today I'm in: Singapore
No pictures with this post... the internet at my hotel has slowed to a crawl and every attempt I made to upload some resulted in my browser locking up. They were mostly going to be pictures of food, anyhow, so it's not the end of the world.
It turns out that aside from food, there's one other area where Singapore excels - shopping. Aside from (maybe) Hong Kong, I haven't ever been somewhere so dedicated to buying stuff. I went to Orchard Road today, which is basically two miles of shopping malls on both sides of the road. Some had scarily expensive designer brands (Ion Orchard), some had cheap electronics (Far East Shopping Centre), and some had weird mishmashes of luxury brands and cheap electronics (Lucky Plaza). Today being a Saturday, the street was thronged with people. It was at least twice as long as Michigan Avenue in Chicago and twice as crowded. No bucket boys, though, so at least it was quieter.
The best part of the day was - again - a trip out into the housing estates for dinner. These areas seem to come alive at night, and although the downtown skyscrapers were visible in the distance, when I stepped off the MRT in Geylang I was definitely back in Asia. Narrow lanes, shops selling goods that spilled out onto the sidewalk, flashing neon signs for karaoke parlors. Mixed in among the apartment tower blocks were some old colonial-era shophouses. Just like Orchard Road, the streets were thronged, but it had a completely different feel.
When I got to the Old Airport Road Food Centre, it looked like everyone in the area was there. Everything was on one floor this time, but it was at least three times bigger than the place I went to the night before. There were lines in front of most of the stalls (always a good sign!) I started off with a curry puff - a doughy pastry filled with spicy shredded chicken, potatoes and egg - and then had an order of kueh soon, a glutinous pouch stuffed with rice, beans and meat. For dessert I had a cendol, a blend of coconut milk, shaved ice, red beans, palm sugar and a weird rice jelly that looked like green worms. To make it more adventurous, I had them pour durian cream over the top of it. I don't think I've had that many different textures in one food item before, but it was sweet (and good!).
I realize my time here has been short and my assessment of this island as a nation of compulsive foodie shopaholics is based on extremely limited data and a healthy dose of cultural myopia. There's plenty of Singapore I didn't see - like the Haw Par Villa, which apparently has some sort of attraction replicating the Chinese concept of hell (forever scarring/titillating my friend Evan when he was a child), the island of Sentosa (which has a Universal Studios Theme Park), or the offshore hamlet of Pulau Ubid, which is covered in temples and beaches and offers a glimpse into Singaporean life before Lee Kwan Yew rushed the country headlong into the modern age. This is a major world city, so I think it's likely I'll find myself back here at some point - hopefully with someone who knows their way around (ahem, Evan.)
I'm off to Kuala Lumpur in a few hours - happy early Mothers Day to Mom and Berniece!
This post is making me nostalgic for the few months I lived in Singapore earlier this year! Glad you enjoyed your time there. And yes, there are basically three things to do in Singapore: eat, shop and go to the movies.
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