Singapore

“Ladies and Gentlemen, we have begun our final approach to Changi International Airport, and we wish to remind you that it is not permitted to bring in tobacco products, alcoholic beverages [exceeding the duty free allowance], and chewing gum.”

 Oops!  Welcome to Singapore!

 Guiltily I wondered if my seatmate—a Singapore native—had noted me opening a brand new package of gum and/or my vigorous chawing of said substance as we descended, and I briefly considered leaving my one and only package in the seat pocket.  On second thought, though, I decided to leave that package hidden in the jumbled depths of my travel purse and risk the hypothetical existence of gum-sniffing dogs at Singapore Customs and the possible necessity of pleading stupidity.

Never did I look upon gum—that concealed in my purse or otherwise—throughout my three-day stint in Singapore; I lacked any motivation whatsoever to relocate my own, and there is no gum for sale in the city or environs.

 Nonetheless, I love Singapore!  Of Asia’s largest cities, Singapore ranks number two with me—only slightly behind Hong Kong—and I would return in a heartbeat!

 “Singapore is certainly the handiest and most marvelous city I ever saw, as well planned and carefully executed as though built entirely by one man.  It like a big desk, full of drawers and pigeonholes, . . . .”  (William Hornaday, 1883)

 And the design of each “pigeonhole” is unique thanks to a multicultural population—Chinese, Malay, and Indian—shaped by a colonial past and infused with a Westernized modernity.  The cultural mix fosters an impressive lineup of mouthwatering cuisines, too, and I partook of some memorable meals. 

 One always hears that the street food markets cook up some of the best Asia has to offer.  On  the other hand, those same street food markets also carry the reputation for inducing those traveler/toilet twenty-four relationships, so I have remained leery.  Singapore, I decided, offered the best odds for a positive experience with street food markets, and there were two within a block of my hotel!  I opted for chicken rice—a traditional Singapore dish—my first night, hawked by a pretty young woman with a very prominent baby bump who stood in front of a stall with two men cooking behind the “counter.”  The chicken rice was excellent, so amazing, in fact, that I ordered it for lunch the next day at a food court in a very swanky mall.  Though definitely tasty, it was such a distant second to the street food rendition!

 So, here is Singapore . . .

And here is Singapore, Little India this time . . .

And here is Singapore--Pulau Ubin, an outer island reached by "bumboat," the place where one can still glimpse what Singapore looked like fifty years ago . . .