Photo by Carrie Marshall
I have one word to describe my thoughts when our plane landed in Singapore – awe. John and I are back from our long weekend away from the madness of Taipei. We both really needed this mini-vacation in order to get geared up for the summer.
So, our thoughts on Singapore, you ask?
Cleanliness is a virtue. The people there very obviously take pride in their city. This desire to be clean impacts almost everything you see. The streets are spotless and the city is beautifully laid out. There are meticulous parks and shady green areas everywhere. There are no scooters to pollute the air. Even the people are beautiful and take pride in their appearance. It is obvious that painstaking work has gone into producing the very best of what they have. All in all, a person not only gets a sense of attractiveness, but of serenity as well. Singapore is simply a beautiful city.
Foodie heaven. We ate….A LOT. We love eating out in Taipei, but there’s something about the ultra-clean and efficient briskness (along with the delightful aromas) that had us elbow deep in every kind of food imaginable. Deep fried carrot cake (not the kind of cake you’re thinking of), spicy laksa, Singaporean chilli crab, tofu delights, satay, glorious bowls of piping hot noodles and ice cold beer. Full bellies and empty wallets.
Singapore does swanky really well. We stayed at the Fullerton (see photo above and yes, you can expect a separate post about it sometime in the next month). The entire downtown area is ritz and class. John remarked several times that Singapore is like Chicago. It doesn’t feel like an Asian city, and while we didn’t find it as exotic as some of the other places we’ve been to in Asia, we definitely give it big points on being a terrific romantic city getaway. This was not a budget trip for us in the slightest bit. We did first class all the way, and I don’t think we could have had a better experience anywhere in Asia.
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Singapore has long been on my list of upcoming destinations. Your post inspires me to move Singapore up on the list! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Sonya. I’m glad I could provide some inspiration. In terms of being green, Singapore is probably the most environmentally-friendly city I’ve been to in Asia.
Sounds like you had a cool trip. I didn’t have enough time to go through Singapore–maybe sometime in the future I’ll get there. I’m sure I’d enjoy the food there too, already miss the food from Malaysia.
Hi Matt,
We loved Malaysia, too. I won’t deny that we didn’t think about extending our trip and doing a little border-hopping. The Malaysian border is within 45 minutes of Central Singapore.
where are the photos of first class!!! i want to see singapore air!
Hey Matt,
I didn’t forget. The photos are on their way.
glad you loved it in singapore
hope you see you both again here. there is seriously more to see, eat, eat, eat, feel, meet, touch, experience etc.
browsing the photos on your flickr thread, noticed something.
“satay master” – secrets out! now we all know what an aged and retired superman is doing. even his goatee disguise couldn’t hide him.
Aphextwin,
LOL. I know. Isn’t that the best t-shirt? Yes, we will definitely be back. I owe you a coffee!
I’ve heard and read about the Fullerton. First class all the way, eating good food, awing over Singapore’s beauty…. Sounds like you had a blissful trip!
Hi Erica,
The Fullerton is one of the nicest hotels we’ve stayed at. The service was impeccable, and the surroundings were just breathtaking. Definitely bliss all the way!
ok, my favorite Singapore Story. You might want to delete after reading!
I swear to god this happened exactly as reported.
Tony T. and I are doing a walking tour of downtown Singapore’s best sculptures and such when an Englishman approaches and starts with the small talk. Guy is middle-aged with a mild demeanor. He’s in Singapore with the wife on vacation, we glean, a three day stopover from somewhere in Australia to somewhere else, England presumably, and taking in the sights. We make pleasant forgettable small talk for about five minutes on the Esplanade by the Fullerton hotel. After a bit the man turns to go meet his wife who’s been off admiring some sculpture.
“But before I go,” he says, turning back “I’ll leave you with this:”
Completely deadpan, this English gentleman with the forgettable face proceeds to relay the following story. You have to imagine it being told in a mild mannered upper-middle class London accent to really get the full flavor of the surreality of the moment.
“It seems that a schoolboy comes home from school early one afternoon to find his parents going away at in the living room. The boy’s father has the mother on the couch, legs spread wide, just hammering away as if there’s no tomorrow. The boy is, naturally, quite startled.
“What’s going on here?” he demands.
The father disengages, goes over to his son and attempts to defuse the situation.
“There there, son” the father says, laughing. ” It’s nothing really, the way of nature and all that. Nothing at all to be alarmed about at all.”
The next evening the father comes home from work and hears a tremendous noise, moaning and squeaking bedsprings and such, coming from upstairs. He goes up the stairs and opens the door to the son’s bedroom only to find the son on the bed banging away at his grandmother. The lad has got the old bird bent over, and he’s doing her doggy style, making filthy comments and smacking her on the arse. The father screams, dropping his briefcase on the floor
“What the fuck is going on here?!?”
To which the son replies:
“…not so fucking funny when it’s your mum, is it?”
Tony and I are staring at the guy, jaws hanging open.
“Well,” says the Englishman. “I’d best go find the wife. Be seeing you.”
Tony and I start cracking up, and don’t stop for ten minutes.
Seriously. This really happened.
LOL. Great story, Josh!
Can’t wait to see all the pics.
Hi Craig,
Yes, well, it’s taking a little longer than I expected. I hope to have them up shortly.
great story josh. glad you had a good time, carrie. sounds like you needed it
Thanks Marcus. Josh always has great stories. He’s one cool cat to hang around.
Hi Carrie,
I guess I agree with all your impressions about Singapore, but the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of it is the heat and humidity!
For me Singapore is like the… “no-life-without-air-conditioning” city.
We once thought of moving there, but I think I wouldn’t stand that for too long. And well, I’m Brazilian. hehehe
Cris!
How lovely to see you back. I missed your updates. You know, normally I’d agree with you if I were living in Canada, but I live in Taiwan which is hot and humid most of the year. Singapore didn’t really bother me that much. However, I can imagine it would be quite uncomfortable during the months of July and August.
Such a Singapore is really a great city. Every want to go their after read your blog. Your blog inspire to everyone. If you want to go some more different place you can also go Leh Ladakh Tour Packages
Thanks Jyoti. I’m glad you found my post helpful.