After talking to the nice ladies on the subway, I met Brother Sampson, a family friend from Thailand who is living with his wife in Singapore, at the Metro stop. They have enjoyed their time in Singapore, although they mentioned that it is simply very small and very expensive—rather like the Asian version of Manhattan. When I learned that the rent for their moderate three bedroom apartment was 8,000 USD a month I understood what they meant.
Armed with a metro card and a labeled map provided by the Sampsons, I was off to the Thai embassy to get the proper visa. After a little searching to find a money exchanger to pay the $100 visa fee (it must be paid in Singapore Dollars which are each worth 70 cents) I went to the visa, filled out an application and entered the Thai embassy compound.
The Thai embassy was surprisingly large and ornate. Located in the center of the shopping district known as Orchard Road, this spacious embassy is located in a roomy gated compound with grassy fields. When I recall that Thailand is likely one of the best allies to the Singapore government, I can see why a country of little international acclaim has such clout in this small city-country. As I waited in line, a curt, strict Singaporean went through the line telling us which documents to get ready for processing. I feel sorry for the poor Sri Lankan guy who got kicked out of the embassy because they don’t process Sri Lankan visas.
Singapore means “sea Lion” in Sandskrit, and comes from a famous pirate several hundred years ago who settled Singapore and supposedly saw a lion here. Since then, the city has created a large half fish-half lion statue—the Merlion—as the symbol of the city. It is located on the shore overlooking the ridiculously tall buildings in the Singapore business district.
After the Merlion, I went to one of the most technologically savvy museums I have ever seen: the Asian Civilizations Museum. The Museum is quite well run with a new exhibit opening up about Vietnam. In each exhibit there are several taking, thin-screened teleprompters. Each teleprompter has a recorded person supposedly pretending to stand their idlely. One you touch the person’s face on the screen, he or she starts talking to you, giving you a virtual tour of that specific exhibit. I was quite impressed. I guess I really do like history: I thought the museum was absolutely fascinating. Who doesn’t want to see thousand year old brass gongs, or blue Vietnamese pottery just unearthed in 1999 from a vessel shipwrecked over five hundred years ago?
At one point I asked the guard where a water fountain was. There isn’t one, I was informed, but I could simply go to the bathroom and use the tap. You can drink the tap water? Except for the US I don’t know many countries that have potable water out of the tap!
My next stop was little India, a nice little part of town where the Indian population is. The Tamil language that I see on all public signs owe its existence to the large south Indian population in Singapore. As opposed to the nice air conditions stores of Orchard street, little India has a number of hole-in-the-wall restaurants right on the street. I went to eat food at one of them as was surprised at the customs!
I ordered prata, which is a kind of curry with naan fried bread. The waitor/owner brought me a tray lined with brown wax paper. On the tray he put fresh fried bread, then sloshed on two ladle-fulls of a yellow and red sauce. Once I got to my table, I noticed that there were another four large metal containers with other sauces for me to try. I noticed that the other Indian guests—for there wasn’t a foreigner in sight—all used their hands to break off pieces of bread, dip it in the sauce and then lick their fingers when they were done. Obviously, this location might not suit those with high sanitary standards, but I ventured to take a try. I found the food quite good. The curry was a little spicy, but went very well with the bread.
The next day I started off at the Singapore Botanical Gardens. A free city park that has been maintained for over a hundred years. Like the rest of Singapore, the park was well labeled: there were brochures at the entrances, maps of the park located every so often and even every tree and flower was labeled with little signs that stuck out of the ground. The most amazing part of the gardens, however was the orchid gardens, which had paid admittance. Thankfully I am a student, so my ticket was only a buck—and the garden was well worth it! I had no idea that there were so many orchids! Purple, white, orange, pink and a zillion combinations. Some orchids were the size of your thumb, while others were almost as big as your outstretched hand. While living in the Western United States, sometimes I forget how much diversity in vegetation there is.
Armed with a metro card and a labeled map provided by the Sampsons, I was off to the Thai embassy to get the proper visa. After a little searching to find a money exchanger to pay the $100 visa fee (it must be paid in Singapore Dollars which are each worth 70 cents) I went to the visa, filled out an application and entered the Thai embassy compound.
The Thai embassy was surprisingly large and ornate. Located in the center of the shopping district known as Orchard Road, this spacious embassy is located in a roomy gated compound with grassy fields. When I recall that Thailand is likely one of the best allies to the Singapore government, I can see why a country of little international acclaim has such clout in this small city-country. As I waited in line, a curt, strict Singaporean went through the line telling us which documents to get ready for processing. I feel sorry for the poor Sri Lankan guy who got kicked out of the embassy because they don’t process Sri Lankan visas.
Singapore means “sea Lion” in Sandskrit, and comes from a famous pirate several hundred years ago who settled Singapore and supposedly saw a lion here. Since then, the city has created a large half fish-half lion statue—the Merlion—as the symbol of the city. It is located on the shore overlooking the ridiculously tall buildings in the Singapore business district.After the Merlion, I went to one of the most technologically savvy museums I have ever seen: the Asian Civilizations Museum. The Museum is quite well run with a new exhibit opening up about Vietnam. In each exhibit there are several taking, thin-screened teleprompters. Each teleprompter has a recorded person supposedly pretending to stand their idlely. One you touch the person’s face on the screen, he or she starts talking to you, giving you a virtual tour of that specific exhibit. I was quite impressed. I guess I really do like history: I thought the museum was absolutely fascinating. Who doesn’t want to see thousand year old brass gongs, or blue Vietnamese pottery just unearthed in 1999 from a vessel shipwrecked over five hundred years ago?
At one point I asked the guard where a water fountain was. There isn’t one, I was informed, but I could simply go to the bathroom and use the tap. You can drink the tap water? Except for the US I don’t know many countries that have potable water out of the tap!
My next stop was little India, a nice little part of town where the Indian population is. The Tamil language that I see on all public signs owe its existence to the large south Indian population in Singapore. As opposed to the nice air conditions stores of Orchard street, little India has a number of hole-in-the-wall restaurants right on the street. I went to eat food at one of them as was surprised at the customs!
I ordered prata, which is a kind of curry with naan fried bread. The waitor/owner brought me a tray lined with brown wax paper. On the tray he put fresh fried bread, then sloshed on two ladle-fulls of a yellow and red sauce. Once I got to my table, I noticed that there were another four large metal containers with other sauces for me to try. I noticed that the other Indian guests—for there wasn’t a foreigner in sight—all used their hands to break off pieces of bread, dip it in the sauce and then lick their fingers when they were done. Obviously, this location might not suit those with high sanitary standards, but I ventured to take a try. I found the food quite good. The curry was a little spicy, but went very well with the bread.
The next day I started off at the Singapore Botanical Gardens. A free city park that has been maintained for over a hundred years. Like the rest of Singapore, the park was well labeled: there were brochures at the entrances, maps of the park located every so often and even every tree and flower was labeled with little signs that stuck out of the ground. The most amazing part of the gardens, however was the orchid gardens, which had paid admittance. Thankfully I am a student, so my ticket was only a buck—and the garden was well worth it! I had no idea that there were so many orchids! Purple, white, orange, pink and a zillion combinations. Some orchids were the size of your thumb, while others were almost as big as your outstretched hand. While living in the Western United States, sometimes I forget how much diversity in vegetation there is.
Check out the slide show:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lovingukraine/SingaporeOrchidGarden/photo#s5207612199952696114
While talking to other tourists in Singapore I got tow opposing views: some thought Singapore was clean, orderly and wonderful; others felt the city was so clean that it seemed artificial and fake. China town in Singapore was certainly that way. The Singapore government has gone to great lengths to make Singapore more touristy. Brochures are given everywhere and places are clearly labeled. While other parts of the city were very enjoyable, I felt China town was a tad more articifical than most. As I rode on the double decker bus (there are only double decker buses in Hong Kong and Singapore as far as I can tell) I clearly noticed the gaudy red and yellow poles that covered the streets of China town. If this were Chinese new years and the Chinese themselves were celebrating that would be one thing. However, the fact that the decorative red poles were in much better condition than many of the Chinese restaurants I visited indicate the poles are government funded and artificial. Still, I did enjoy speaking Chinese with the owners of the restaurant while I was there.
Overall, my experience in Singapore was amazing. The country is very clean, easy to travel around in and possible the most tourist friendly city/country you will ever visit. However, the cleanliness is offset by high prices and an artificial feel. The entire country is quite new (mostly built since 1960s) and really doesn’t have a sense of history. It was colonized by the British and has a mix of various groups that all melt together. It is a great place to travel to, but I wouldn’t want to live there unless my living stipend were high enough!
While talking to other tourists in Singapore I got tow opposing views: some thought Singapore was clean, orderly and wonderful; others felt the city was so clean that it seemed artificial and fake. China town in Singapore was certainly that way. The Singapore government has gone to great lengths to make Singapore more touristy. Brochures are given everywhere and places are clearly labeled. While other parts of the city were very enjoyable, I felt China town was a tad more articifical than most. As I rode on the double decker bus (there are only double decker buses in Hong Kong and Singapore as far as I can tell) I clearly noticed the gaudy red and yellow poles that covered the streets of China town. If this were Chinese new years and the Chinese themselves were celebrating that would be one thing. However, the fact that the decorative red poles were in much better condition than many of the Chinese restaurants I visited indicate the poles are government funded and artificial. Still, I did enjoy speaking Chinese with the owners of the restaurant while I was there.
Overall, my experience in Singapore was amazing. The country is very clean, easy to travel around in and possible the most tourist friendly city/country you will ever visit. However, the cleanliness is offset by high prices and an artificial feel. The entire country is quite new (mostly built since 1960s) and really doesn’t have a sense of history. It was colonized by the British and has a mix of various groups that all melt together. It is a great place to travel to, but I wouldn’t want to live there unless my living stipend were high enough!
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