The first day, we went to see the Gardens by the Bay, Singapore’s pride and joy. I’m still torn on this one. On the one hand, Singapore is committed to bringing plants to the forefront and conducting environmental research and creating more greenspace. So, go go science. But Gardens by the Bay was just freaky. There are giant tree frames with foliage slowly growing up the trunks, so for now they just look like huge pollarded trees. Every evening, there is a light show. They play show tunes on the PA system and the trees light up in rhythm. It’s like fireworks in fake trees. It was just weird. I got eaten alive by mosquitos. The only way I got through it was singing along to the showtunes. That helped.
Singapore is famous for shopping. I’m not a shopper.
It’s also famous for indoor entertainment for kids. Not this trip.
Everything just felt canned, like a planned community in the suburbs. Except the whole city is planned.
Then, I had Chinese food burnout. Sam really, really loves his Chinese food. Usually, that’s fine with me, but I still hadn’t quite recovered from our China trip last month. I just snapped. Couldn’t look any more moo shoo in the face.
I had a local specialty, chili crab. It’s pretty good, but not worth the trouble you have to go to to get those 17 bites of spicy crab.
Then, it happened. I bought a chicken.
Suddenly, Singapore was a little bit fun.
We took a ferry to an island called Pulau Ubin for a day trip, and I hit my stride. While waiting for the ferry (called a bumboat, by the way!) we ate lunch at the hawkers center and my eyes were opened to the wonders of NASI LEMAK. It’s rice cooked in coconut sauce, fried chicken, chili, egg, peanut/anchovy sauce, and a few raw cucumbers. You just mix it all up together and wolf it down. It’s so much more than chicken and rice! I also had some satay sticks and drank a ridiculous amount of coconut juice.
I loved seeing Muslim women covered head-to-toe next to Chinese women in shorts and tank tops, being nice to each other and coexisting.
I loved my first Singapore Sling. We went to the trendy part of town, Clarke Quay, for an evening. We’re really too old for the nightlife scene, but we ate some good steaks.
I loved my massage at Green Apple Spa. A lovely Malaysian woman tore me up for an hour and a half, then put me back together.
I loved how people were truly friendly.
I loved how the taxi driver assured us, with pride, that Singapore is a very safe city for women because if a man touches a woman inappropriately, the police put him in jail and BEAT HIM. I asked what if the police don’t believe the woman, and he said they always give the woman the benefit of a doubt.
I loved how there were sit-down toilets with toilet paper everywhere. (I guess I still haven’t recovered from China.)
By the time we left, I’d learned to enjoy Singapore. It’s true that it’s a planned community with a bewildering set of laws. It’s true that the weather is possibly the worst on earth. It’s true that the Gardens by the Bay light show is an artistic armageddon. But those things are pretty small compared to a city full of delicious food, nice people, natural beauty, and a high level of civilization.
I’ll be back.
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