Singapore
March 3rd, 2000
Reached Singapore late in the evening; surprised at how I am not used to the high humidity. Went to the magnificent St. Andrews Cathedral that sits right in the heart of the city; was built by the British two hundred years back; nothing seems to have changed in this cathedral. Orchard Road is probably the busiest in Singapore with all kinds of Malls and hotels. If I was surprised to see the shops in Hongkong that was probably an over-statement. Singapore has aped this western concept to the hilt. And boy o boy, these Singaporeans are crazy after shopping!!
Had great Indonesian food at Kartikeya's; Never had any before. Very eclectic. And then the very delicious South Indian food; after ages. Amazed to find so much South Indian influence. Found Singapore to be a cultural melting pot of Chinese, Malay's, Indian's and Europeans. Surprised not to find many Americans out here in spite of the blatant imitation of their culture.
March 4th, 2000
The next day was spent at the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, probably the only place away from the shopping hungry crowd. This is a National Park. It is claimed to be the only rainforest apart from the Amazon. Do not believe it. Think that the Pacific Northwest in the Americas have one. This is perhaps the best place I have been in Singapore. Un-fortunately it is amidst the sprawling city. Went on a very nice hike through the rainforest; saw all sorts insects and butterflies. The birds were busy chirping; but oh my eyes, couldn't spot one! The best part was a climb down catching the roots of a banyan tree. Pity that I did not find a single Singaporean and hardly any foreign tourist; just a guy from Great Britain.
Singapore Museum is very interesting. Spent a lot of time learning about old and modern Singapore. Didn't know that Singapore was part of Malaysia for two years in the 60's. The biggest disappointment came after spending three hours when I came to the "Beyond the Golden Arches" exhibit. To my Great disbelief, here was a big section dedicated to the story behind the Big Mac and McDonalds!!! That was it. I went straight to the exit. Should write to the Singapore Government about this great mockery. I is indeed very sad that a government can go to such a great length in commercializing everything and anything in a city.
March 5th, 2000
China Town is in the old part of town right across from Downtown. Some of the old buildings have still been preserved. But many more are coming down. Little India is very interesting. Any South Indian town should get a run for its money. Went to a store called Al Mustafa just for the heck of it.
Wal-Mart, watch out! This one's 1/3 the size of a Wal-Mart but stocks at least 20 times more items!!!
Visited the Mariamman Temple built by the Indian migrants in the 1800's. Was crowded as a marriage was in progress. Felt like I was in South India.
A big eye-sore in Singapore are the Government constructed housing apartments. All of them look the same and they are ubiquitous. But, all said and done, Lee Kuan Yew has done a great job in building a city into a great country. However I wish it could retain its original character; but I know it hasn't and it won't.
Comments
Post a Comment