The hotel was in the historic Ann Siang Hill area. This really was the most interesting part of Singapore that I saw.
Admittedly, it was a quick trip and I certainly didn’t see all of Singapore, but I can’t say that I was particularly wowed by it. It is clean and pretty and efficient, but it also seems very plastic and manufactured. On the way in from the airport, I was talking to the cab driver and commenting on how green and lush it seemed, especially in comparison to gritty Bangkok, and he said, “everything you see is artificial.” That was a theme that I heard often over the next few days. People would mention how “convenient” and “easy” it is to live in Singapore, “lulling” even, but no one ever said it was “interesting” or “exciting.” As one person put it, “it’s like living in Disneyland.” And it’s certainly expensive – especially compared to the much cheaper Bangkok. So, I’m definitely glad to be living in Bangkok rather than Singapore.
I think one of the big differences between the two cities is that in Singapore, I never once had to speak another language. English is the national language and I think that added to the lack of “exoticness” about Singapore. It was oddly “fun” to get back to Bangkok on Friday evening and to say, “Dtao rai?” when I was buying a train ticket.
So, back to the Ann Siang Hill area. There are lots of old, two-storey row houses that have been preserved and turned into restaurants and bars. It was a very stylish area, with rooftop bars and precious shops selling home décor. Liberty’s office – in a building called Liberty House – is in the Ann Siang Hill too, though our office is certainly not stylish. In fact, they are getting ready to renovate it. We own the building so the office is moving to a temporary location for a year starting at the end of October and then moving back in once the renovation is complete.
So, back to the Ann Siang Hill area. There are lots of old, two-storey row houses that have been preserved and turned into restaurants and bars. It was a very stylish area, with rooftop bars and precious shops selling home décor. Liberty’s office – in a building called Liberty House – is in the Ann Siang Hill too, though our office is certainly not stylish. In fact, they are getting ready to renovate it. We own the building so the office is moving to a temporary location for a year starting at the end of October and then moving back in once the renovation is complete.
The office is on the edge of Chinatown, so I spent some time there on Wednesday evening when I arrived. But even Chinatown was oddly “sanitized” and “pretty.” Very nice and easy to get around, but not very interesting and certainly no sense of being someplace different. (I realize I’m repeating this theme so time to move on.)
There is a “Buddha Tooth Relic Museum,” which I have to admit was certainly not something I had ever seen before. And it was a striking building.
Nearby, there was a Mariamman temple, covered in colored statues of deities and animals.
Singapore is dedicated to business and walking around in the evenings I got the sense of being in a “downtown” area – lots of office buildings and skyscrapers. Fortunately, Singapore has a lot of greenery to break up the concrete and glass.
One of the foods that Singapore is known for is “chili crabs.” But the concierge recommended that, instead, I try “chili stingray.” He directed me to Lau Pa Sat – a market with lots of food stalls where, he said, the “locals” eat. Before I went there, I stopped and had a drink at a rooftop bar and watched the sun set and the lights of Singapore come on.
Lau Pa Sat was a short walk there and the chili stingray was very tasty.
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