Singapore, my former home...
We got into Singapore on an express bus from KL. A bus that dropped us off at Boon Lay... For those of you unfamiliar with Singapore, that is the final stop on the Green line, all the way in the west coast of the country. After a Singaporian meal, a bus ride and a subway ride, Rae and I scoured Chinatown for a cheap hotel. One hour later, we settled on the first place we checked (after checking about ten others).
The hotel was called the "Hotel Dragon". A smallish hotel made out of some renovated shop houses. Our room was complete with its own set of original shuttered windows looking out onto the street. Aside from the TV and other mod cons in the room, I could almost imagine that I was a British colonialist living in Singapore for adventure and Rae was my Chinese concubine.
The first day in Singapore, we got up late, bandaged up our wounds and went out for a walk. We followed the same route that I had pioneered with my parents and the debate kids when they came to visit. First we walked through Chinatown, then ate breakfast at a food centre, then went to the urban planning building to look at the scale models they have of the whole country and of the central districts. From there we took a walk through the central business district up to Raffles Place where we layed down on the grass and looked up at the skyscrapers looming above us. Here, however, we both remarked that Singapore has many fewer "office guys" and "office ladies" than Hong Kong. Actually, despite being a very modern downtown, Singapore's does not give the impression that it is overly busy. Even in the heart of it all, there is still the relaxed feeling of being in South East Asia. Continuing the tour, we walked through boat quay and up to the Swiss hotel where I was denied entry due to my being under the age of 23 (which seemed to me like an arbitrary rule... one that did not exist one year ago). Deeply dissapointed, we walked on through Bugis and eventually ending up in Little India where I went to an internet cafe and may have written everything that I have just written above.
That night, we met up with my school mate Sam from Honours Econ at UBC. He is Singaporian and after graduation he went back home and found an investment banking job with one of the big banks there. We had a nice dinner of satay and seafood at Lao Pa Sat, a cool hawker centre downtown after which he had to go home. After he left, Rae and I continued our walking journey and walked to clark quay, then down to the esplanade where we sat by the water and enjoyed the view of Singapore's tall buildings. These buildings, although not as tall as Hong Kongs, are still a sight to be seen and are very impressive from the distance of the Esplanade.
Gar, the internet cafe is closing... more later...
Marc
We got into Singapore on an express bus from KL. A bus that dropped us off at Boon Lay... For those of you unfamiliar with Singapore, that is the final stop on the Green line, all the way in the west coast of the country. After a Singaporian meal, a bus ride and a subway ride, Rae and I scoured Chinatown for a cheap hotel. One hour later, we settled on the first place we checked (after checking about ten others).
The hotel was called the "Hotel Dragon". A smallish hotel made out of some renovated shop houses. Our room was complete with its own set of original shuttered windows looking out onto the street. Aside from the TV and other mod cons in the room, I could almost imagine that I was a British colonialist living in Singapore for adventure and Rae was my Chinese concubine.
The first day in Singapore, we got up late, bandaged up our wounds and went out for a walk. We followed the same route that I had pioneered with my parents and the debate kids when they came to visit. First we walked through Chinatown, then ate breakfast at a food centre, then went to the urban planning building to look at the scale models they have of the whole country and of the central districts. From there we took a walk through the central business district up to Raffles Place where we layed down on the grass and looked up at the skyscrapers looming above us. Here, however, we both remarked that Singapore has many fewer "office guys" and "office ladies" than Hong Kong. Actually, despite being a very modern downtown, Singapore's does not give the impression that it is overly busy. Even in the heart of it all, there is still the relaxed feeling of being in South East Asia. Continuing the tour, we walked through boat quay and up to the Swiss hotel where I was denied entry due to my being under the age of 23 (which seemed to me like an arbitrary rule... one that did not exist one year ago). Deeply dissapointed, we walked on through Bugis and eventually ending up in Little India where I went to an internet cafe and may have written everything that I have just written above.
That night, we met up with my school mate Sam from Honours Econ at UBC. He is Singaporian and after graduation he went back home and found an investment banking job with one of the big banks there. We had a nice dinner of satay and seafood at Lao Pa Sat, a cool hawker centre downtown after which he had to go home. After he left, Rae and I continued our walking journey and walked to clark quay, then down to the esplanade where we sat by the water and enjoyed the view of Singapore's tall buildings. These buildings, although not as tall as Hong Kongs, are still a sight to be seen and are very impressive from the distance of the Esplanade.
Gar, the internet cafe is closing... more later...
Marc
1 Comments:
hey little buddy, so good to stumble upon your blog (yes, i do have way too much time on my hands at work...) your adventures sound fabulous. i am sorry to hear that china is not living up to all your expectations. transition times are never easy. hopefully things will smooth out when you are in school. did caitlyn and alex arrive safely? when do you return to beijing? tell rae that she can call me when she gets back, if she likes. i miss you!
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