Singapore
I arrived in Singapore in the middle of the night. A seaman at the airport in Tokyo told me about the Singapore night spots, but it was a bit late for that. The neighborhood in which the dingy taxi dropped me off was not inspiring; I had booked this place based off Lonely Planet's recommendations of an inexpensive hotel (In this case inexpensive meant US$50 / night, ouch.) but they failed to mention it was in a creepy area, though admittedly it was within blocks of the fancy Raffles Hotel area. I felt somewhat guilty waking up the old Chinese man who ran the Mayfair City hotel, but there was nothing for it. He was snoozing in the lobby when I arrived but woke and checked me in.
On the whole, I was not very impressed with Mayfair City Hotel and only stayed there two nights (instead of the five I was planning). The elevator and toilets seemed to be 100 years old, and that is only cool for elevators. See elevator photo with gate you have to pull close and everything. The Chinese landlord knew the toilets were broken in my room when I told him, oddly, but moved me to a new room, anyway, which was only slightly better. I could not seem to locate the drain for the shower. It was a style of shower I had not seen before (but have since seen since elsewhere in Singapore and in Malaysia) where the shower is basically a shower head in the same room as the toilet and sink (which means pretty much everything gets very wet.) I probably should have just given it a try and watched where the water ended up, but my confidence in the plumbing was not sufficient and my freaked-out-ness high, so I satisfied myself with a sponge bath.
It was weird to be wearing T-shirts and shorts in December after several weeks of coats and scarves and I had to adjust to the heat and humidity. I ate a yummy breakfast (and had a positive public restroom experience) at a place called "Banjos", passing two internet cafes on the way. My first stop of the day was Jurong Bird Park. I took the subway there. The park is almost at the end of the island, but only about a 30 minute ride from where I was (more or less in the center), which tells you just how small an island Singapore is. The subway ticket machine did not take bills, though a money changer was on hand. Half of the ads on the subway were for internet-related stuff (and this was in 2000.) And, like the T-shirt I eventually bought, Singapore truly is "a fine city": Here are some actual fines I saw listed on the subway:
So I guess this means don't go carrying lighters on the subway? Yikes. As I rode, I observed the scenery outside. Like Hong Kong, Singapore is a city where the population lives in high-rises. I saw clusters of 15-storey buildings surrounded by lots of open space. High Rise living means High Laundry! I didn't see many balconies, but I saw lots of poles sticking out with clothes drying on them. And oriental rugs were hug out over the railing (like futons are in Japan.)
I met a woman from California on the bus and we ended up aimlessly walking the bird park together. We saw hawks and hummingbirds (with glowing feathers?!), flamingos and any number of colorful tropical birds. It was wonderful weather and wonderful conversation - a great time. My favorite part was the bird show. A multi-lingual bird counted in English and Chinese, sung a Malay song then after that sung Happy Birthday sounding for all the world like an out-of-tune British opera singer. It made me happy when the bird suddenly spouted Japanese as well ("Chotto matte kudasai!"). Speaking of which, I saw lots of Japanese tourists in the penguin room and ended up in quite a few photos.
For dinner, I went to a giant food court, choosing the stall with a line since many of the others looked kind of sketchy. I had a bowl of ramen with gyoza-type wontons in it for $3. To add to the atmosphere, a TV in the corner was playing a Chinese history / drama with English subtitles.
That evening, I boarded the crowded MRT (subway / train) to the Night Safari. This is at the top of the island, so including the airport at the far east of the island, I've managed to nearly make a complete loop around Singapore in the last 24 hours. By the time I reached the Night Safari, the crowd was gone except for one dude from New Zealand. We toured the Night Safari together. My favorite part were the bats. We walked into this habitat and they were right there close enough to touch. I was surprised how many familiar animals were either nocturnal or had nocturnal counterparts, such as deer, giraffe, and elephants, as we trammed along the course, but my companion was somewhat disappointed as he had hoped to see the tigers.
It was late by the time the Night Safari ended and the subways were no longer running. I had to take a taxi. Unfortunately, when I boarded the taxi I realized that the driver was mentally ill. It was one of the scarier taxi rides I have taken. I was trying to give him directions, but he did not seem to understand much English and the English he did mumble was nervous and repetitive and I couldn't understand a word. His driving was not erratic (for a taxi driver) but I thought he could have driven me straight to Malaysia if he wanted to and what would I do? A bit freaked, I made sure to tell him that I was not on this trip alone. Eventually, I gave up on trying to give him directions to my hotel and just told him repeatedly to drop me off at the Raffles, which was in walking distance of my hotel. He did and he even gave me correct change, so maybe things were not as weird as they seemed.
I checked out of Mayfair City and walked to the more expensive Southeast Asia Hotel ($75/night) I had arranged the previous day, hoping it was less skeezy. And I was happy. I loved my shiny new room, though in retrospect, I think it was just in comparison to Mayfair City since I had the opportunity to visit Southeast Asia Hotel again 5 years later and it and did not seem nearly so nice. When I checked in, they gave me a key card and said something quickly, asking if I understood something. I just nodded since I was sure I understood anything they could have told me. I noticed that Singaporean English is generally spoken very quickly and not very loudly. I think I heard "okay, okay" a record number of times during my time here. In turn, that is instinctively making me want to speak louder and more clearly which is ironic because I'm usually the quick-talking mumbler. I'm probably being offensive, come to think of it, but I can't help it. Anyway, not long after I walked in my hotel room, the lights went out. Then flickered back on. Then the air conditioning went out. I probably shouldn't have, but I played with the fuse box and managed to get everything to stay on for a little while, but eventually they went off. I finally called the front desk and a man came up. He walked in and asked for my key card, which I thought was strange. Then, to my surprise, he stuck the key card in a slot next to the door and everything worked perfectly. D'oh. THAT'S what they were telling me when I checked in. I get it now. They don't want people to waste lights and air conditioning when not in the room, so you have to be in the room - putting your key card in the slot - for them to work.
Singapore is a good city for wandering around in. Lots of great sight-seeing is walkable and the rest is easily MRT-able. The wandering is better if you remember to carry an umbrella. Or, rather, better if you remember to bring the umbrella you bought the previous day while taking shelter in the mall from the sudden, but quick rainstorm. (By the end of the trip I had collected no less than three umbrellas.) As I walked, my Lonely Planet books full of maps in hand, I purposefully passed the nifty castle-like Malabar Mosque and then headed to the Sultan Mosque.
There were three reasons I could not enter the Sultan Mosque, the largest mosque in Singapore. One: I am a westerner, Two: I am a female, Three: I was wearing shorts. I could have gotten past the first obstacle if I had approached the mosque from the front (where the sign clearly said "foreigner's entrance") instead of coming upon it from the rear and wandering around until I was waved away by some irritated men in turbans. However, being a woman and being dressed for the hot weather instead of the business casual many places seem to prefer made it impossible for me to do any more than just look at the impressive structure from the outside. Sultan Mosque is quite a sight so I took some photos (a little self-consciously), even though I could not enter the building itself.
Behind where I stood to take the above picture was a neat market with tapestries and other such items for sale. The mosque stood out quite a bit in that rather ordinary neighborhood. I grabbed some lunch at a food court (cheap dining in Singapore!) and decided where to go next. As I flipped through my Lonely Planet, I became enthralled by an amazing picture of a colorful temple. I'd never seen anything like it in my life, it looked incredible. So I headed back toward the center of town, past the Raffles Hotel and toward Chinatown, tracking it down very deliberately on the map until I finally came upon it and ...
... it was covered in a tarp! But hey, cool cow.
I went inside anyway, took off my shoes as required, paid $3 for the privilege of taking photos, and came upon some lovely sights in this, the oldest Hindu temple in Singapore and my first ever visit to one.
The rear courtyard of the temple offered a taste of the colorful Hindu temples' spectacular entrances. Amazing and so colorful. This was the beginning of my unexpected love affair with Hindu temples. I was determined to visit every one I could find after this because WOW.
In the evening, I wandered to Orchard Road, the famous shopping mecca of Singapore and walked the length of the long, wide straight avenue packed with bright lights, young shoppers, and glass-fronted department stores. Since it was December, there were Christmas decorations in evidence, amusingly consisting of fake ice over the road, ice-chiseled advertisements and more ornaments than you could count. (The most amusing holiday decoration I saw during my trip was an Xmas tree fully inside the water of an aquarium.) Along the way I went up over and through some elaborate entrances and underground passages, walked by something I described as "Hindu worship meets Las Vegas," and at the end of the street, I got a Hard Rock Cafe - Singapore shirt.
Near my hotel was a mini indoor shopping center and it was here I had the Freshest Apple Juice Ever. Seriously. I watched the woman take an apple, run it through some kind of slicer/juicer and the contents ended in a large plastic cup she handed to me. It had chunky apple bits in it, but it was delicious! And did I mention fresh?
I decided, under advisement from my guide books, to check out Kusu Island today. The ferry over had every kid in the world on it, clapping, yelling, playing the guitar. It felt even more hot and humid inside the boat and I was dying for someone to open a window. Despite the discomfort though, I appreciated just how amazingly blue the water was (even when it splashed on me later.)
Kusu (which means Tortoise in Chinese) is not very large, as you can likely surmise from the map in the above photo. You can see everything the island has to offer in a short time. One of these is the Keramat Kusu Datok Kong, a Holy Shrine of Malay Saints. Climb 152 steps to a yellow complex (with a rather cheap corrugated tin roof) and you can pray for wealth and happiness. Apparently, this is popular with childless couples who want to pray for children. I had the place to myself. Back down the steps is the Chinese temple-on-water "Da Bo Gong".
Kusu Island is the closest I got to the equator this whole trip. Less than a degree away...
It was not long before I was ready to hop on the ferry back to Singapore. As I approached the dock, I noticed the above colorful dragon boat and was like "Wow, how do I get on THAT ferry?" Seeing some tourists wandering around near the entrance, I had the sudden urge to just walk onto the dragon boat, pretending like I belonged. I'd blend right in with all the tourists, right? No one would notice an extra white person getting on the cool-looking boat. You think? Well, I wimped out (or resisted the urge) and just got back on the cheap ferry where having a straight flush in your hand was just out of the question. I looked it up later and found out the fancy boat was a two hour cruise around the harbor including a meal. Yeah, they might have noticed that extra person during tea time...
After I got back to the mainland, I hopped on a gondola and went right back out over the water, heading for the famous Sentosa Island. This time, though, it was a much shorter ride and the island is not actually an island. You can drive to it and, in fact, on Sentosa Island is a place that boasts being The Southernmost Point of Continental Asia. I found out too late that the gondola I was riding had a glass-bottomed view I could have checked out - oh, well - but it was a nice ride.
Finally. About time. I had passed the very famous Raffles Hotel several times during my walks as it is right in the center of town, but today, I finally got around to visiting the over-100-year-old hotel. I BARELY made the strict dress code. In fact, I probably would have been turned away by the dress code police (not that I saw any) if I hadn't been an obvious tourist. The front was decorated for Christmas as well, as you can see. I found the Christmas decorations all over the city interesting as less than 20% of Singapore is Christian. (Then again, Japan has extremely elaborate Christmas decorations and the percentage less than 1% there.) The interior was quite fancy as well. Luxury, oh yes.
I was determined to find a Hindu Temple entrance tower that was NOT covered in scaffolding and a tarp and I did! I tracked down Sri Thandayuthapani, which is apparently even older than the Raffles Hotel. I think I was too late to go inside, but I took some great photos of the outside. Wow. Giant colorful towers like nothing I've ever seen. I loved it!
The night was falling. I passed an amusing sign that said "Please 'Q' up!" I ate at a nifty food court that played 80s music ("Ain't nothin' gonna breaka my stride...") and loved the guy next to me who was nursing his pile of pastel-colored shaved ice.
This morning, I took a Cruise along the Singapore River. It started at the Raffles landing site. (Again, nothing is hard to get to here.) Highlights included the "Boat Quay" and the "Clarke Quay". The work "quay" is pronounced "key" and I think has an equivalent meaning to wharf or dock. The areas looked like nice old-style waterfront walkways with the modern high-rises beyond. It was a good juxtaposition of old/new culture (though I heard the restauranteers on Boat Quay are aggressive.)
Downstream, we got a look at the original Merlion (much smaller than the Sentosa version). That Merlion is located on a corner of land jutting out into the Marina. Downstream from the Marina channel is the ocean itself, but the little tour boat did not get that far.
After my boat tour, I headed to Chinatown. I'd seen a couple Mosques and a couple Hindu Temples already, so thought I'd check out some Chinese Temples. The first one I went to was Wak Hai Cheng Bio Temple, which is apparently the oldest Taoist temple in Singapore. I met a very nice old man inside the temple. He was very welcoming and told me all about the temple and how it was built in 1822. (Wiki says 1850, but I'll go with the nice old man.) The other temple I went to (Leong San See) was closed up. Not sure why as it was a weekday. What made these Temples different that the similar temples I have seen in Japan (besides that they are Buddhist in Japan, not Taoist) was the elaborate roofwork.
After Chinatown, I headed to Little India to check out some more Hindu Temples. Once I was in the neighborhood, though, I felt a little self-conscious. It seemed like more people were watching me; like I was more of an outsider. A little nervous, I was glad that regular Singapore was just a few blocks away. However, Little India had some of my favorite sites and experiences. I passed Sri Srinivasa. The colorful detail and lack of repeating elements is absolutely amazing. (I want to give that statue a hand.)
I approached a large and busy-looking temple which I knew from my guidebook was Sri Veeramakaliamman. Some folks in front of the entrance gave me a handout (with some amusing English on it) and asked if I would make a donation. I really wanted to go in the temple so figured people would mind the gawking tourist less if I gave a donation, so I did. I took off my shoes (and upon reflection, should have taken off my socks too) and wandered around. The interior had some very neat statues, which I tried to surreptitiously take photos of, and then, in the center, some drums started beating and many shoeless Indians in colorful clothing started gathering en masse in the center. A guy played a horn as well and a fire was lit somewhere in front of the crowd. It was beautiful and intense. I was trying very hard to both watch and stay out of the way. I did not take any photos of the event as I did not want to interrupt, but it was the best thing I saw in Singapore.
Look, the temple now has a website (www.sriveeramakaliamman.com) and it will chant at you!
I wandered around Singapore some more. I had very tired feet by the end of the trip. At one point, I passed a large, grassy park with a wooden sign that said "Speaker's Corner" which is a place to speak your mind without getting fined! (At least, historically, it had a purpose something like that.) I also passed a very cool old-style new-style building. I have no idea of its use or purpose, but it made an amusing photo (see left).
That night in my hotel, I set up a 4am wake-up call and taxi - fun fun - and I settled in to watch a Chinese movie subtitled in Chinese and English and then an American movie subtitled in Malay. It had Michael Keaton and Geena Davis in it, but wasn't Beetlejuice. I fell asleep but woke up every hour panicking that I was late and not trusting either the alarm clock or the wake-up call. They both went off as scheduled and I managed to get in my taxi and make it to the airport no problem. I even saw a beautiful sunrise from the plane.
So that was my short, sweet trip to Singapore. I spend about $470 on airfare (from Japan) and $550 on hotels, food, and touring, so in the end the trip cost a little over USD$1000.