Trip report: Singapore
Apr. 14th, 2012 01:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
izardPreviously when we flown via Singapore we only managed to get to the city center for few hours. This time we've spent there 2+ days. Still not enough to really see most of the city, but OK for experiencing most of touristy stuff.
Marina bay had doubtlessly became a new Singapore landmark.
When flying A380 to Singapore, we've watched a National Geographic film about construction of Marina Bay. It was especially interesting to see it after watching how civil engineers were struggling to make this structure stable.
We were staying in a very nice modern hotel in Muslim part of the city, about 20 minutes walking distance from city center.
It was St. Valentine's day so some streets in the center were decorated.
Also every 100 meter there were ppl coming to all couples including us and offering to buy flowers. After we were approached couple of dozen times it became a bit annoying. Perhaps if I bought a flower or two they would stop coming after us.
Everyone are indeed obsessed with Angry Birds.
I wonder if they actually pay something to Rovio?? This is a clear example of where I do support copyright and trademark law. (Though I changing the timing may be a good idea after a careful consideration)
This cat was guarding a lobby of a traditional Chinese medicine store.
Inside the store, there was .... eh.. some sort of Chinese medicine.
I an not an expert at all, but my wife claims Orchard road and center are really a heaven for clothes and shoes shopping. She bought some, and claimed that combination of choice, quality and price is much better than in London, Paris, Milan or Berlin. Only Barcelona is somewhat compatible. I tend to believe it because local women were dressed extraordinarily. Here in Germany women normally do not look this way, unless they are from eastern Europe or in some particular sectors of business.
Unfortunately when I tried to take pictures in a shopping mall local security always stopped me.
This is the only one I managed to take while Julia was shopping in a nearby store, and only because I lied to security guard telling that I could not make it.
However it was not only Julia who was delighted by shopping in Singapore. I've allocated some time to go to a prominent Sim Lim square mall.
That is 6 stories full or gadgets and latest computer hardware, all for cheap. If I would not deal with latest and upcoming hardware at work I would be even more delighted. Cebit and CES are only marginally more entertaining.
Julia was very hungry after our stroll through Sim Lim, so the only option for lunch for us was a local food court. And it was for good. Food court under Sim Lim is not from a most fashionable and expensive ones like one under Tokoshimaya, but there was a very nice place serving turtle soup and black chicken soup. We've ordered both, though it was a bit more expensive, around 10$ each. Normally in not-upscale food court a lunch would not cost more than 5$.
Black chicken tasted like a normal one, in spite of looking very odd. After eating the soup, Julia picked something from a plate and started chewing. A cook rushed to our table, telling: stop eating it, this is a spice! She were right: After few hours Julia started complaining she has sores all across a mouth and tongue. It took few days to clear, and she was lucky she did not swallow it. So beware!
Expats and well-off Singapore citizens live in a nice apartment complexes or houses with balconies, a swimming pool, green gardens. Poorer working class folks (which is 85% of population) live in HDB housing.
The clear sign of such house is more common folks around, a lot of stuff drying out in sun outside windows, and cheap shops and food courts at a ground floor. A later is very good implementation of a Lenin's vision of communal kitchens.
Close to Sim Lim square there is a Indian district.
I wish in India, Sri-Lanka and Bali there were so clean Indian districts...
The most surprising for us was how calm and not crowded was this City State, considering it's population density.
It was always easy to find a nice secluded place in walkways and parks that are numerous all across.
Best source of info for planning a trip for us was wikitravel and livejournal of![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lenka_kalinka.
Marina bay had doubtlessly became a new Singapore landmark.
When flying A380 to Singapore, we've watched a National Geographic film about construction of Marina Bay. It was especially interesting to see it after watching how civil engineers were struggling to make this structure stable.
We were staying in a very nice modern hotel in Muslim part of the city, about 20 minutes walking distance from city center.
It was St. Valentine's day so some streets in the center were decorated.
Also every 100 meter there were ppl coming to all couples including us and offering to buy flowers. After we were approached couple of dozen times it became a bit annoying. Perhaps if I bought a flower or two they would stop coming after us.
Everyone are indeed obsessed with Angry Birds.
I wonder if they actually pay something to Rovio?? This is a clear example of where I do support copyright and trademark law. (Though I changing the timing may be a good idea after a careful consideration)
This cat was guarding a lobby of a traditional Chinese medicine store.
Inside the store, there was .... eh.. some sort of Chinese medicine.
I an not an expert at all, but my wife claims Orchard road and center are really a heaven for clothes and shoes shopping. She bought some, and claimed that combination of choice, quality and price is much better than in London, Paris, Milan or Berlin. Only Barcelona is somewhat compatible. I tend to believe it because local women were dressed extraordinarily. Here in Germany women normally do not look this way, unless they are from eastern Europe or in some particular sectors of business.
Unfortunately when I tried to take pictures in a shopping mall local security always stopped me.
This is the only one I managed to take while Julia was shopping in a nearby store, and only because I lied to security guard telling that I could not make it.
However it was not only Julia who was delighted by shopping in Singapore. I've allocated some time to go to a prominent Sim Lim square mall.
That is 6 stories full or gadgets and latest computer hardware, all for cheap. If I would not deal with latest and upcoming hardware at work I would be even more delighted. Cebit and CES are only marginally more entertaining.
Julia was very hungry after our stroll through Sim Lim, so the only option for lunch for us was a local food court. And it was for good. Food court under Sim Lim is not from a most fashionable and expensive ones like one under Tokoshimaya, but there was a very nice place serving turtle soup and black chicken soup. We've ordered both, though it was a bit more expensive, around 10$ each. Normally in not-upscale food court a lunch would not cost more than 5$.
Black chicken tasted like a normal one, in spite of looking very odd. After eating the soup, Julia picked something from a plate and started chewing. A cook rushed to our table, telling: stop eating it, this is a spice! She were right: After few hours Julia started complaining she has sores all across a mouth and tongue. It took few days to clear, and she was lucky she did not swallow it. So beware!
Expats and well-off Singapore citizens live in a nice apartment complexes or houses with balconies, a swimming pool, green gardens. Poorer working class folks (which is 85% of population) live in HDB housing.
The clear sign of such house is more common folks around, a lot of stuff drying out in sun outside windows, and cheap shops and food courts at a ground floor. A later is very good implementation of a Lenin's vision of communal kitchens.
Close to Sim Lim square there is a Indian district.
I wish in India, Sri-Lanka and Bali there were so clean Indian districts...
The most surprising for us was how calm and not crowded was this City State, considering it's population density.
It was always easy to find a nice secluded place in walkways and parks that are numerous all across.
Best source of info for planning a trip for us was wikitravel and livejournal of
lenka_kalinka.
