Eats, Photo-shoots and Leaves

I haven’t yet been south of the equator but came really close to that
dotted line on the globe during my travel to Singapore.

I wasn’t sure what to expect there. I had heard from several sources
that Singapore is an extremely clean city outrivaling most cities in the
developed Western world. But besides the obvious spotlessness, the city indeed
had a distinct vibe, one that had inklings of a much colonized past and now bore
interracial dynamics of the enter South East Asia.

Mee Soto: A heavenly noodle soup that is intensified in delicious aromas and eaten very hot

As the taxi sped away from the airport, more than the surrounding
infrastructure, I was impressed by the professionalism of the cab driver and
his sincere effort in not accepting a tip almost as if he were Japanese.

Ba Ku Teh: This five hour pork rib sould present clarity of flavours on the most muddied of nights

Recently, most of my travels within Europe and Germany have involved in
expecting English to be mostly useless. I had subconsciously expected that in
Singapore as well I would have to resort to broken down English. Yet, I found
all instructions and people speaking communicating in clear English; from an
aged cab driver to a janitor at the airport. I was completely blown away when I
overheard two middle aged Chinese-decent men speaking to each other in English!
I hadn’t seen such an occurrence even in the United States unless they were at
work in the company of non Mandarin speakers.  Much like India without the head nodding and
the old age English expressions! In fact the radio jockeys had a very
pronounced studied American accent.

White Pepper Crab: A Singaporean speciality that includes a large crab steam cooked with onion and pepper over tones

Black Pepper Crab: This one is literally muddied in black pepper paste to counter the white goodness within

Singapore exemplified a mixture and western infrastructure south East Asian
cultures. The interracial fluidity reminded me strongly of the United States.
The Malay, the Chinese, The Tamil Indians and others constituted the united
colors of Benetton. And within the realms of this mixing, Singapore offered
food options like no other. On most days, the highlight was the food. As if Sightseeing
was only an afterthought.

Laksa: The fish noodle soup comes with an unique fish cake and red hot Sambal!

Unlike the Old world, I saw her people motivated, energetic and
determined. Singapore had worked its way from a strategic port to a self
standing trade based successful economy. Here too, were impressive buildings. But
the buildings were run by industrious and furious Singaporeans and people they
had invited around the world. I saw easily how this was a hot spot for expatriates.
Nestled amongst the concrete sky scrapers were also well secluded Pagodas and
Buddhist temples that added to the charm.

Hainanese Chicken Rice: The clean chicken broth plays with the round rice ball and glazed roasted chicken

If anything, I found the city to be far too controlled. I was unable to
spot the madness or the chaos within self installed protectionist measures. I wasn’t
intrigued enough. There wasn’t a mystery. All those stories of the city being
run on ‘fines’ were sadly true; including the inability of finding chewing gum
in departmental stores. In a strange way, Singapore reminded me of the
futuristic perfect cities that Asimov used to describe in his science fiction
ways. Cities that were so clean, sober and regulated that it made you grab a
spray can and graffiti away before you leave for an imperfect world in a space ship.

Dumplings: These delicious dumplings melted in my mouth leaking delicious fatty fluid with the meat

The weather too was worrying. There was no getting away from the fact
that I was close to the equator. The air was constantly humid and hot. It
rained almost every day and I oscillated between air conditioned climates
indoors to a sauna outside. I suppose weather could be gotten used to but I didn’t
harbor such ambition. Such a shame considering everywhere I saw many possibilities
to go running or wandering.

Beautiful Singaporean lights

I had a nice time with family in Singapore. As my first foray into South
East Asia, it laid down a comfortable welcome. While Japan fascinated me endlessly,
Singapore managed to wet my appetite and incite me enough to fly further south
and east. Where perhaps, I could find a lesser set of rules and have unscripted, riskier
adventures.