This post is about Singapore and the time I spent there. Yes. But it is also concerned with crime. How to to live criminally. Moving through the city at will, like a ghost.
On the 23rd of December, I flew from Bangkok to Singapore. I was feeling a bit penny-pinchy, because Scoot Airlines in the true holiday spirit had charged me an extra $80 for my checked bag. However, I caught a bus to Chinatown, where Atlantis Pods put me in a better mood.
My capsule was clean. There was a workspace. But most importantly, there were a bunch of glowy lights, so I could pretend I was in an episode of Star Trek.
Once I was settled, my mind turned to more serious channels. Food. I needed to celebrate my first book going live. It was time to get wild! Preferably for ten dollars or less.
If you visit Singapore, I recommend staying in Chinatown. It’s centrally located, has a MRT (metro) Station right in the middle, and there’s food everywhere. Tonight, I visited Chinatown Food Street, a roofed walking street lined with restaurants on the sidewalk and food stalls in the middle.
City Outline
From a 3rd century reference in ancient Chinese, to the wars between Siam and the Majapahit Empire, till the British colonization in 1819. There always seems to have been a trading port on the “Island at the End”.
Today, Singapore is a thriving, independent, modern metropolis. Her people seem to be a mix, primarily, of Indian and Chinese. And the food, culture, and language reflect this clear as mud.
The language, like everything else in Singapore, is unique. Oddly enough the base, or first, tongue is English. From there it gets confusing. See, everyone has a second language they speak just as well as their first. And both of these end up being shaken up into a linguistic margarita. This is why, in the streets of Singapore, one hears sentences beginning in English, changing to Hindi, and back again all the time. You see a group of teenagers walking down the street speaking Chinese, then suddenly their throwing verbal jabs at one another in California English.
It’s confusing, but really quite fun to listen to.
Getting Around
Only spending a couple days in Singapore was unfortunate, but necessarily frugal (it’s a great place to have money)! There are, however, a few places that I can definitely recommend. Here is how you get there. And here we abandon the law.
The best way I could find to move about Singapore is via the MRT (i.e. Underground Rail). It is fast, simple, and cheap. Cheaper still if you get up to a bit of hooliganism!
On Christmas Eve morning, after a brisk shower, I ventured out into Chinatown in search of this “MRT”. I began by walking along the main street. No cars are allowed here, but crowds of people streamed beneath the colored building fronts.
Well it wasn’t hard to find. Pretty darned obvious actually. An escalator descending into a big hole in the middle of the road. Above it, a large blue sign blaring Chinatown MRT.
Once below, I directed my attention first to a map of Singapore, showing the city’s ___ color-coded rail lines and their many stops around town.
At the automated ticketing machines, I simply punched in my desired destination and was issued an MRT card. This card is used to enter and exit the active train station where you find your platform and board. The price of the card varies with the destination.
Today, I began by visiting Marina Bay Sands. Lovely place to see, especially if you have a lot of money. There are a lot of high end shops and the Museum of Art Science. For those of us who are swimming out to meet our ships (because they’re not coming in), allow me to recommend ice cream at the shop near said museum and throwing small coins into the top of Marina Bay Sands Rain Oculus.
Afterwards, I tried to reenter the station, but found that my card no longer worked. See to pass through the gate, you must lay your card on a scanner and it will let you in if your card has enough money.
If it does not, then… well I’m not going to recommend that you do this. I’m actually not going to admit to whether or not I did it. But, something that does work is waiting for a group of people to come through, follow one of them closely, and pretend to swipe your card as you pas through with them. Not saying I did that.
On a related note, penalties for breaking the law in Singapore are a bit harsh and include a possible caning.
In any case, I next visited the Botanical Gardens, which have their very own MRT station. One should allow several hours for this. Entrance is free, but you do have to pay to get into the Orchid Gardens (the best part). I particularly enjoyed the VIP section of the Orchids. The name refers to the fact that the hybrids located therein are all named after visiting dignitaries.
On my way back to Chinatown, I stopped in Little India. Coming out of the station, I found that it is best to turn left. This will lead you to the many, many, many food stalls available. My reason for coming.
I Gotta Go!
Alright! Here’s the scoop. As I write this, I’m sitting in Melbourne Airport, waiting on my flight to Queenstown, New Zealand. And I need to go pretty quick here. So, apologies, but I’m gonna make this quick.
On Christmas Day, taught two English lessons online. My students, being Russian, don’t celebrate Christmas anyway. I revisited Chinatown Food Street and ate a lot of fried oysters with eggs.
In the evening, I visited Gardens By The Bay. It’s pretty cool and many people will say it’s a great place to spend Christmas evening. Well, like I said, it’s a really cool place. But there are entirely to many people! I mean, there isn’t enough room to change your mind!
The crowds notwithstanding, I really enjoyed the light show and snow (soap foam blown from snow machines) at the Super Tree park. But there were 90 minute waiting lines to get into the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest.
This morning, I got up early and rode the MRT to Changi International Airport. A law abiding person would pay $3.20 for ride. See you in New Zealand!
