Something Strange about Singapore...

I went to Singapore about a month ago, and the place still irks me. When I arrived, my immigration and customs experience couldn't have gone more smoothly, but right after I stepped past the customs booth, I saw a soldier carrying a huge machine gun (it looked like one, though it was probably not). My friend Jay met me at the airport and took me to his apartment in a cab as he started to explain the city to me, the good and the bad--there is a very small gap between the rich and the poor (there are no bums in Singapore, god forbid!), prostitution is legal and registered, most of the housing is government-owned and each building upholds racial quotas to ensure mixing...the list goes on.

As we were driving along the highway, I noticed the perfectly manicured trees and felt like I was in some sort of jungle oasis, but in a city. We passed the Singapore skyline, which is lovely, and headed toward's Jay's apartment--which isn't government owned, but owned by the ministry of education since he is a teacher. After settling in a bit, we went down to Clarke Quay-- the harbor area where the major clubs, restaurants and bars are located, there's even a bungy-esque adventure contraption--for dinner, drinks and a fun night out.

Partial view of the Skyline and the Durian building

Perfect streets

Out in Singapore was also quite the experience. The expat community is older and the clubs are filled with a lot more Caucasian people, unlike Thailand. The clubs also tried to be a little glitzier and more exclusive than some of the ones in Bangkok. I guess this fits in with the whole intensely materialistic culture that reigns in Singapore. Like Bangkok, Singapore has tons, and tons, and TONS of malls, but shopping in Singapore seems to be a more ritualized activity than in Bangkok.

The next day, Saturday, Jay took me downtown to see some of the major sights--the government buildings, the Durian building and the Merlion fountain--definitely one of my faves--the Raffles Hotel, the colonial-era hotel famous for their Singapore Slings. We also went to the Fullerton, a 6-star hotel--to be honest, the Raffles, a lowly 5-star hotel, seemed just as nice to me, though the Fullerton was definitely more modern.

Jay, Kate and the Merlion

The Raffles Hotel

Then we continued on in the heat to the air-conditioned malls of Orchard street where I experienced Singaporean shopping and style. I got a great pair of jeans on sale which I love. It's funny, even though these jeans fit me, they were the largest size this store offered, a size 28. In the US, jeans run usually size 24-32, with most women falling between a 27 and a 30. And, amusingly, the jeans I bought, an American brand, were considered to run large, whereas in the US, this brand is considered to run small, as the brand is called "Rich and Skinny." Oh Asia.

After shopping, we returned to Jay's apartment for a nap and to get ready for another night out. We first went to Chinatown to see the famous temple with the Golden Buddha Tooth, had Foot massages, and then headed to dinner at an Indian-Asian fusion restaurant, just on the outskirts. Chinatown was okay, but it didn't feel incredibly authentic or special, I prefer the Chinatown in SF or NY. We continued our night at a bar called Helipad, which was an interesting concept-bar overlooking Clarke Quay and the bungy-like contraption.

Lights at night in Chinatown

The next day we headed to the Zoo, which was by far, my favorite thing in Singapore. The animals were great and the surroundings, while perfectly manicured in true Singapore-style, were open-air and natural for the animals. For the remainder of the day, we went to Little India and the Little Arabia. There was a cool market in Little India, but the intense incense everywhere made it impossible for me to walk around outside for long without sneezing. We then headed to Little Arabia, which was my favorite of the "Little" ethnic neighborhoods. The mosque was very pretty and there was an alley of very hipster boutiques and restaurants made for lounging and hookah reveling; the mosque was also quite pretty.

Monkeys at the zoo

Artwork on a temple in Little India

Flower offerings and incense in Little India

Hipster hangout in Little Arabia

Mosque in Little Arabia

What's strange about all the ehtnic neighborhoods is that they're fairly interchangeable with each other, you just have to change the writing on the signs from Chinese, to Tamil to Arabic--the Singaporean government tries to celebrate the diversity of it's population by delineating these spaces as "Indian" or "Chinese," and uses the same flags and markings to mark them. Little Arabia did have a more distinct personality--they each had distinct personalities, but there was still a common thread.

Overall, here are my thoughts on Singapore:

• It's a strange place, but I could never figure out how to articulate why it's so odd. Everything is perfect and well-run--the sidewalks, subways, signage--but something is off. Perhaps it's because everything is too forced. Just like Singapore tries to highlight it's diversity by highlighting cultural differences, you miss the point of diversity in the first place, and it all starts to look the same.

• The government sounds.....I probably shouldn't say. There are serial numbers on doctors notes, which you need to get a sick day. There is intense censorship. No gum....but prostitution is legal?

• There is some great architecture in Singapore, there's even a building that looks like the Gotham Building from Bathman. And hey, it all looks new. That's because the Singapore government tears down buildings more than 20 years old....

• For a city that's remarkably clean, I've never had worse environmental allergies in my life, I could not stop sneezing. And, for a city that tries to sterilize everything and gives grades to each of its restaurants--even street food vendors, which are kept off the streets and put in centers called "hawker centers," have grades--I somehow contracted a terrible bout of food poisoning that hit me on the plane home....
  

That's all I've got. I'm glad I went and experienced the oddities for myself....