Singaboring

Several friends of mine advised me to give Singapore a miss. They told me it was overpriced and not worth the effort. However, I have never been there and it held a sense of mystery. A mix of east and west in a temperate climate. What can be bad about that?

Boy, was I wrong.

I have only two days in Singapore and I think that will be more than enough. The whole city has an air of conservatism. At first I thought it was just my preconceived notions overshadowing my view, but there is a general sense of restraint here. Perhaps my already liberal tendencies were overly stimulated in my previous destinations. Everything is toned down a bit; from clothing, to food, to the hustle and bustle on the street - even the Chinese spoken here seems more controlled.

I did a hop-on / hop-off city tour on day one expecting to discover the various corners of the city to return to later. It was series of non-descript buildings and monuments. Each stop included a rundown of the nearby hotels and shopping malls. Very little historical or cultural information was included.

One of the city's top attractions is the Flyer; a large ferris wheel at the waterfront. Although it was interesting, unfortunately it pales in comparison to the London Eye or the Yokohama wheel. Chinatown and Little India were also a bit on the small scale. It was if someone decreed that these blocks would be ethnic areas and the local shop keepers complied. Toronto's cultural areas outshine Singapore's any day.

Singapore's other famous district is Orchard Road - the shopping mecca of Asia. The road is lined with shopping malls. There are dozens of them. In this regard, Singapore was impressive. And for someone who has been living in the same set of clothes for months, the western brands and sizes were a welcome treat. I managed to pick up a pair of shorts and some capris. Yeah!!

One unexpected pleasure came in the form of a food court. In one of the many malls, there is an area called 'Food Republic'. It is a typical food court, except ALL the food is Asian - I am in heaven. There is Japanese, Chinese - multiple styles, Thai, Korean, Indonesian, and Indian. The only piece missing is Lao. The food is good and cheap - the perfect combo for a tight Singapore budget.

To fill my second day (my flight doesn't leave until 2am Saturday morning), I stopped by the Art Museum of Singapore where there is an interesting exhibit on Christian Lacriox costumes for the theatre, ballet and opera. It was quite fun to see these pieces of unique craftsmanship up close. The museum itself is also a lovely building with interest french architecture.

The weather turned wet. This gave the city a very slight break from the humidity. But in the end, I retreated back inside the air conditioned comfort of the shopping malls ... and caught a movie.

By the way, the Knowing with Nicholas Cage can be missed - wait for it on VOD.

PS: Now at Singapore Changi Airport, and the place is full of perks. Free Internet, free movie network movies, reasonable prices (for an airport), and friendly staff (the restaurant allowed me to be seated even thought they had closed 20 mins earlier). So now I am feeling a bit guilty about my posting. Clearly there are some areas of the city that are well suited for travellers - just stay in the airport and you'll love it!!

Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network