Singapore – Taking on the Lion City

by Annie Scott on


Singapore is not the first addition to most Westerners’ “countries to visit in Asia” list, but I urge you to give it a fair chance. They’re a major airline hub, so it’s easy to get there from almost anywhere — and here are a lot more reasons you should visit this young, developing-at-light-speed country.

The Lion City was named hundreds of years ago when an Indonesian prince passed by the untitled island on a ship and thought he saw a red animal, which he assumed to be a lion, on the beach. He called it Singa (lion) Pura (city). Unfortunately, archaeologists have found that there have never been lions in that part of the world, but Singapore has carried on — just as they’ve carried on through occupation, colonization, and finally achieved their own independence from Britain in 1965. This young country boasts low crime, low unemployment, low homelessness, and frequently their spokespeople declare that “Everything works.” In the midst of the global economic crisis, they are building a casino, major hotels, a Universal Studios, and more. Is that not fascinating? Don’t you want to see this magic kingdom for yourself?

Singapore has a mercantile history. Known as “The Gateway to Asia,” they’ve been a trading post for merchants around the world since before Shakespeare. Their reputation continues today; people all over Asia continue to visit Singapore to purchase their Louis Vuittons and Chanels (and The World’s Most Expensive Tea) at the best prices, as well as electronics — which has led Singapore to become a completely wireless island (a feat yet unachieved by the only slightly larger Manhattan).

Among other things, there is legendary shopping to be had in Singapore. Orchard Road is stocked with everything from the best haute couture lines to department stores like Tang’s, and savvy shoppers know the off-the-beaten-path malls like Far East Plaza, where you can get discounts on “non-discount” designers and locally-made fashions at rock-bottom prices. They even have stores like “Best of Blogshops,” which carry items from independent online distributors, allowing you to see their wares in-person at last.
%Gallery-75377%I had the luck of meeting a 13-year-old insider named Gladys, who also told me about “my little secret, Haji Lane. It’s a small, secluded place, only known to a handful of people. Don’t give up if you only see fabric shops, go all the way in until you see something. It’s like a maze.”

Other tips from Gladys (and these are actual quotes from the .doc she sent me) include:

  • “Eat. Go to this hawker center called Maxwell Hawker Center and they have the longest queues for food at almost every stall.
  • Sentosa. Take the ski lift up to the top of the hill and take the luge down the hill and do not, I repeat do not, wear flip-flops. Also take the megazip, it includes abseiling, rock climbing and the longest flying fox.
  • The night safari is surely not to be missed. It’s the world’s first night safari.
  • You have to check out the Singapore Botanical Gardens. We are known as “The Garden City” for a reason. But please do not go in the afternoon, as it would be as hot as the Sahara Desert.”

I’ve already written about some of this, including the food (10 Things to Eat in Singapore), the fine dining, and the Night Safari. If you want to check out Sentosa (where they’re building a Universal Studios), start here, and for the Singapore Botanical Gardens, which were going through a major expansion during my visit, click here. Thanks, Gladys!

For those of you who are over 13, you’ll also be impressed by Singapore’s nightlife. Clarke Quay, once a bunch of warehouses for the shipping industry and now a community of clubs, has ideas you’ve never heard of: outdoor air conditioning, and a bar which provides “shots” and IV drip bags full of booze, as well as outdoor seating with golden wheelchairs (see gallery — so wrong, but so right).

As for hotels, there are a number of wonderful places to stay. My favorites include The Fullerton (which used to be the post office), The Capella (a new, very fancy resort-style hotel on Sentosa) and The Quincy (which I dubbed The Best Hotel for Traveling Alone in Singapore). I don’t recommend the St. Regis; their customer service lags far behind that of the previous three, and you won’t find anything Singaporean there.

And what is “Singaporean”? Well, it’s many different things. Singapore only became an independent country in 1965, and is still establishing itself, both as a culture and as an international financial force, despite its overwhelming economic success. I would highly recommend a visit to the Peranakan Museum, which I wrote about here. One of my Singapore Tourism Board guides, Danny, told me that Singaporeans have to have “The Five C’s: cash, car, condominium, career and credit card.”

Despite all their by-the-rules behavior, Singaporeans are incredibly open with each other about their customs and holidays, even amongst a diverse assortment of religions. Different religious holidays are celebrated all over the country and, unlike in America and other Western cultures, everyone is invited to everything. No one says “Don’t invite them, they’re not Hindu;” instead, everyone invites their whole office or their whole network over for whatever holiday they’re celebrating, resulting in a lot of celebrating for everyone. And why not, right? It makes so much sense. I really, really loved that about Singapore.

I found Singapore to be one of the most well-behaved and cleanest countries I’ve ever been to, and perhaps that’s because of their famously strict government. According to Danny, things you can be arrested for in Singapore include:

  • Chewing gum in public
  • Not flushing the toilet
  • Being caught naked — even in your own apartment
  • Cutting plants that have grown larger than 8 cm
  • Eating durian fruit in public
  • Littering

With all these strict regulations, Singapore continues to boast practically no crime. Part of me wonders if that’s just “no crime we care to speak of.”

Still, as I said earlier, you should totally put Singapore on your list of Asian countries to visit. If nothing else, it’s really easy to get to — but I think you’ll find there’s a lot there to see, experience, and learn. This young city-country has such a unique history, acquiring forefathers from all over the map (again, see The Peranakan Museum). One thing we should take away from them? Their openness, as I mentioned above.

Even if you don’t get invited to Ramadan, The Hungry Ghost Festival and Deepavali in one afternoon, there’s a lot worth seeing in Singapore. Let us know if you get there, and tell us what you think!

Need to think about it? Allow yourself to be hypnotized by these swinging chandeliers at the National Museum of Singapore:

This trip was paid for by the Singapore Board of Tourism, but the views expressed within the post are 100% my own.

Climb aboard one of Christopher Columbus’s ships

by Jamie Rhein on

Whether or not one thinks that Christopher Columbus’s voyage across the Atlantic to the Americas is a day to celebrate, the 1492 journey of the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa Maria was an amazing feat.

Although Columbus and his men made it to the Bahamas on October 12– more then 500 years ago, it’s still possible to see what it would have been like to travel on one of these ships during the 15th century.

These days, life-size replicas of the Santa Maria, the Niña and the Pinta serve as floating museums. Although the Santa Maria is permanently located on the Scioto River in downtown Columbus, Ohio, the Niña–and most recently the Pinta, travel to various ports.

The Niña, built to commemorate 500 years of Columbus’s voyage, has been to 425 ports since its beginning. The Pinta, larger than the original version, was built in 2006 and also serves as a dockside charter that can be rented out for parties whenever it is docked.

Both of those ships are owned by the Columbus Foundation in the British Virgin Islands.

Tomorrow is the last day that the Pinta and the Niña will be in Huntington, West Virginia. On the 16th to the 20th, they’ll be in Marietta, Ohio and will finish off October in Steubenville, another Ohio river town.

For the schedule that includes the rest of the year, click here. The two ships will finish off the 2009 season in Pensacola, Florida.

As a note: The Santa Maria will be open until October 25th when it will close until April 2010.

Gadlinks for Monday 10.12.09

by Brenda Yun on

Is it just me or do you too wonder why we still celebrate Columbus Day? I think it’s fair to say Columbus did not in fact discover the Americas, so why does he get a day in the limelight? To honor today’s holiday, I thought I’d offer up some interesting holiday-related reads to get your mind thinking about the next strange day off just around the corner: Thanksgiving.

‘Til tomorrow, have a great evening!

More Gadlinks HERE.

Historic St. Petersburg skyline threatened by giant skyscraper

by Sean McLachlan on

Residents of St. Petersburg are protesting plans to build a giant skyscraper that they say will ruin the city’s historic skyline.

Russia’s powerful gas company Gazprom plans to build a 400 meter (1,312 ft.) office building in the shape of a twisting glass needle. It would dwarf the historic buildings and churches that have made Russia’s former imperial capital famous.

While Gazprom usually gets its way, some powerful forces are aligning against the building. St. Petersburg is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Russia and a lot of money could be lost if the city’s skyline is blighted. The Cultural Ministry is calling for a legal investigation to see if the building is legal. UNESCO has warned that the building could make St. Petersburg lose its status as a World Heritage Site.

It’s unclear who will win this battle, so if you’re planning a trip to St. Petersburg, it might be a good idea to do it sooner rather than later.

Attend Edgar Allan Poe’s funeral. He’s finally getting a good one!

by Jamie Rhein on

Two hundred years after his death at age 40, Edgar Allan Poe is being properly honored with the funeral he should have been given years ago. When the author died October 7, 1849, his cousin, Neilson Poe, neglected to tell anyone. As a result, just a handful of people showed up at Poe’s funeral in Baltimore, Maryland to pay tribute. That’s cold.

Tomorrow at two different times, amends are being made in Baltimore. It’s expected that 300 people will attend each of the TWO funerals being held Westminster Hall. The hall, which used to be church back in Poe’s day, is next to the cemetery where he is buried. From the description of the building’s Gothic architecture, it sounds like it would be a perfect setting for Poe’s funeral– even if Poe and his wife weren’t already buried next to it.

The two funerals, part of Baltimore’s Edgar Allan Poe Celebrating 200 Years offerings, are theatrical events where a mix of actors playing famous people who are dead– and people who are themselves–meaning they are still living, thus they can simply be themselves, will pay tribute to Poe’s life and work. Musical performances and readings are part of the mix.

To go to one of the funerals–either the one at 12:30 or at 4:30 p.m., you have to have a ticket. However, even without a ticket, there’s a way to be involved.

The public can attend the processional for the first service for free. For this part of the tribute to Poe, a police escort will help take Poe’s body (not the real one, it’s buried after all) from his house, now museum, at 23 Amity Street to Westminster Hall.

And in a style fitting to the occasion, the casket will be transported in an antique horse drawn hearse with the Loch Raven Pipes and Drums in accompaniment. According to the event’s description, this alone is certainly an interesting way to spend a bit of the morning.

The funeral, of course, is the plum. I’m sure that Poe will be able to rest in peace after tomorrow. Hopefully, he’ll get a chuckle or two as well. How could he not? Consider the following detail that is written on the Web site about the funeral’s speakers list.

” Please keep in mind that while these people have confirmed their attendance many of them are deceased and every effort will be made to ensure that they will attend the event.”

Sir Alfred Hitchcock, for example, is on the list, as is Sarah Helen Whitman, Poe’s former fiancée.

Of all the events I’ve read about lately, this is the one I’d love to be able to go the most. There’s something wonderfully weird about it which is right up Poe’s alley–and mine.

For information about getting tickets, click here. You can also buy a ticket at the door, but instead of $35, a sold at the door ticket costs $40.

As a note, children under 10 are not admitted.

The photo by jjandames is of Poe’s memorial at the graveyard at Westminster Hall. The memorial was placed in order to honor Poe’s grave before the original grave’s location was known.

To honor Poe after tomorrow, you can always visit his grave. After careful searching, the location where he was buried has been determined. Originally, the grave was unmarked due to a freight train mishap that damaged the original stone.