The Eyes of a Tourist

We had our first visitor last weekend. J.G., a friend from graduate school in Colorado, was in town for a job interview. Thankfully, after his interview he was able to spend the weekend with us. This gave us our first opportunity to re-visit the city and see familiar places with new eyes.

View of the Singapore River, with the Esplanade in the background.

We went downtown and walked along the Singapore river, stopping at the Fullerton Hotel, an icon of Singapore that used to be the Central Post Office. Now it's a 5-star hotel, with an incredible lobby and rooms far too expensive for us to ever stay. We then walked to the Merlion. There were hundreds of tourists along the river making their way to and from the statue - Vietnamese, Russian, Japanese, and others. Once we reached the Merlion, however, we were surprised to find it covered for renovation. Then we crossed the river and walked to the Esplanade, then went back up the river to Brewerkz for lunch and some good beer.

The next day we went to Little India, walked around a fresh food market, and ate a terrific vegetarian lunch. H. and I have eaten there twice in the past, so you could say we are regulars. We even seem to order the same dishes every time. It's always better with more people because we can try more dishes.

Fresh fruit stand on a Sunday morning in Little India.

Nan + jasmine rice + three kinds of curry = heaven.

After lunch, J.G. and I walked from Dhoby Ghaut to the U.S. Embassy. It's a long walk, about 2 miles, with a great deal of people watching along the way. We strolled through Emerald Hill, a wealthy neighborhood of renovated old homes.

Emerald Hill

Then we were back on Orchard Road, past all of the old shopping centers and the newest malls. Since it was Sunday, it was the day off for the tens of thousands of migrant workers who spend the other six days of the week cleaning homes, tending children, and working construction to build Singapore. The sidewalks are crowded with these workers. For the female domestic workers who live with their employers, the alternative to hanging out on Orchard Road would be to stay in their workplaces on their day off. The alternative for the construction workers would be to stay in the overcrowded sheds that serve as their accommodations on work sites.

The government and area businesses do not approve of loitering by all of these workers. So signs like the one here are posted all along the road: "No waiting. No crowding." This is nearly impossible to police, given that there are thousands of people in the streets. J.G. and I took photos of the signs, and he took some shots of the workers, too. I was aware of this situation, but since I seldom visit Orchard Road on a Sunday, I didn't have much experience with the sea of humanity there, nor had I noticed the signs before.

The real problem is a near absence of public space throughout the country. A friend recently sent me this link to Reclaim Land, a site dedicated to the issue of public space in Singapore. There is wonderful video and personal stories about space issues.

We recently encountered our own problems with this lack of public space. Last week we were awakened at 1am by a group of four young people chatting at a table on the ground floor of our building. Even when speaking in a conversational tone, their voices echoed throughout the building and woke us up. A cool breeze was blowing through the window, making their voices even louder. If it had been hot, I would have simply closed the window and turned on the A/C.

I felt so guilty when I went downstairs to ask them when they would finish talking. I didn't ask them to stop. I explained that I knew there was a severe lack of public space here, where they might otherwise be able to sit and chat. I asked how long they would stay, saying that if they wanted to stay, I would close my windows. But they said they would go elsewhere. I probably should have given them some money to go to the 24-hour cafe next door, but I didn't think about it at the time.

Istana

A few weeks ago we visited the President of Singapore's official residence, called Istana. Unlike the White House in Washington, D.C., Istana is only open for public viewing a few days of the year. Istana is located in the center of a major commercial zone, next to the Plaza Singapura shopping center.

Google Earth coordinates of entrance:
  1°17'59.13"N, 103°50'38.07"E

There was a long line of visitors waiting outside the gates waiting to go through a quick security check before entering. Walking along the road up to the house, the first thing one notices is the fairway of the President's golf course. It appears to be a 9-hole course, and its extravagance is obvious in such a compact city-state.

The grounds were covered with visitors enjoying the open spaces. There is a distinct lack of open space in Singapore in general, and large grassy areas are almost non-existent. Children were running around. People were taking photographs of each other with the spaces or the house in the background. The fountain in front of the house was a popular gathering place, although no amount of shade and splashing water can bring relief in 90-degree heat.

After exploring the grounds, we stepped inside the house itself. This cost a few more dollars.

There is actually not much to see inside. Visitors are only allowed into three rooms on the first floor. We dutifully filed past gifts from the world's governments with the requisite respect. There were paintings, silver tea sets, gold figurines, vases, and dozens of other decorative items of the sort that haunt anyone who has ever moved. Some of the gifts were one-of-a-kind pieces from some of the world's poorest countries; Bangladesh should use its money to ensure safe drinking water for its people before spending it on a priceless trinket for the President of Singapore. However, I suppose it's polite to give a gift to someone when you visit their home. And to present something unfit to be viewed in a glass case would be an embarrassment to one's country. So, all of these gifts make sense, but they also feel like curios for a king that will one day be stored in a closet, replaced by a new knickknack from Bahrain or Chile.

After 20 minutes of walking amid the glittering gifts, we left the comfort of the air-conditioned house to take photos of the flowers and go home.

Having visited the White House last year, it was still fresh in our minds. Istana feels so distant in more ways than one. Both residences are in the center of their cities, but Istana feels removed from the surroundings, given the long walk required to reach the house from the entrance. And the house lacks any of the personal photos and memorabilia that make a tour of the White House so memorable. Of course, the White House feels cold and distant because of the excessive security required to enter. But that is another matter. Visiting Istana was a rare opportunity to see the official residence of the President of Singapore, but not something I would do again.

Chinese New Year

We are now in the middle of the 15 days that mark the Chinese New Year in Singapore. There was a countdown celebration on the night of February 2, ushering in the year of the rabbit. Then, from the 3rd to the 18th, various events take place around the country, including fireworks, parades, and shows.

I had heard from my students that most people spent the first two days of the new year (Feb 3 and 4) either at home or traveling to various relatives' homes, sharing meals and auspicious wishes for the new year, and exchanging oranges and other gifts. Children and unmarried adults receive small envelopes containing money. In a generational twist, some elderly also receive these monetary gifts. Especially for students with large families (many aunts and uncles), this New Year's exchange can equal mean hundreds of dollars. The joy of receiving dozens of packets of money is something that will not be experienced by the next generation of children, who have far fewer extended family members. This is due to a continued low birthrate among Singaporeans. While several of my students mentioned that their parents had 7 or 8 siblings, families with more than two children are incredibly rare these days.

On February 3, based on my students' reports, we assumed that most people would be visiting relatives and not at tourist sites. So we traveled to Sentosa, to walk the new promenade that links Vivo City to Sentosa island and view the Sentosa Flowers Festival.

Throngs of people walking along the Sentosa Flowers Festival.

Given that this is the year of the rabbit (people who will turn 12, 24, 36 and so on in 2011), the Flowers Festival features a number of rabbits, like these with the marigolds. There were also a number of immense carrots, 15-foot tall electric poles covered with orange aluminum, shaped like carrots.

We also walked along the crowded beach at Siloso. There were many more people than the last time we visited in December, although not many were swimming. The temperatures have cooled recently (high 70s instead of high 80s), which may have kept people out of the water.

We stopped at the Wave House again (as in December), to watch the waveboarders. We shared a salad and a pizza, along with a frozen daiquiri. It was pricey, but no more than eating out at Clarke Quay or Holland Village. Plus, eating while looking out over the water is always worth paying a bit more.

While walking back to the mainland we caught the animatronic bird show/fireworks in front of the Resorts World casino. I always love watching fireworks. They capped a relaxing day.

Melaka

Last weekend we took a short trip to Melaka (also spelled Malacca) in Malaysia. The city is located at the narrowest point of the Strait of Malacca, which is one of the most important shipping lanes in the world. Melaka is a four- to five-hour ride NW of Singapore.

Melaka is the first major point NW of Singapore, which is in the bottom right hand corner.

The Hasry Express to Melaka

With no need for a car in Singapore (buses and subway), we took the bus. Before crossing the bridge to leave Singapore, we had to step off the bus and pass through a very quick immigration process. Then it was back on the bus for a five-minute ride across the bridge into Malaysia and through immigration and customs.

The remaining three hours was a comfortable ride past seemingly endless rows of palm trees. These are palm oil plantations, which have replaced tropical forests throughout Malaysia. The oil is used for cooking oil, food products (chocolate, margarine), soap, cosmetics, and a number of industrial processes.

There is no shortage of controversy surrounding palm oil production. Organizations like Greenpeace complain that palm oil plantations have replaced forests, thereby reducing biodiversity. Compare thousands of acres containing only one species of plant versus the same land containing thousands of species of trees and other plants - which would insects, birds, mammals, etc., prefer?.

In response, the Malaysian Palm Oil Council claims that palm oil plantations are the only viable future for this land. In fact, the council claims that the only way to save jungles and protect wildlife is to plant palm oil.

Melaka was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008. Melaka has historic significance as a port for the Malay Sultanate, the Portuguese, the Dutch, the British, then the Malaysians, over the course of hundreds of years. Now the city celebrates its past by welcoming tourists who walk the streets, photograph old buildings, and purchase souvenirs that will remind them of the trip. We were no different, spending two days exploring the narrow streets and trying to stay dry despite the rain.

The Melaka River. Some people compare Melaka to Venice.

The Christ Church and Stadhuys (town hall), built by the Dutch in the 1700s.

One highlight of the trip was the Baba Nyonya Heritage Museum. The high ceilings, intricately carved wooden furniture, large servants' kitchen, and interior courtyards were really something to behold. Three row houses had been fused into one, creating a massive interior space from what looks from the outside like three separate narrow facades. Not only is the house three times wider than it appears from the front, but the interior extends room upon room into the very center of the city block. The internal courtyards make a front yard unnecessary, since they allow in sunlight, rain and wind, thus providing an exterior-feeling space that is incredibly private. We joined 15 other people on a tour of the house, given by a woman. The other guests were speakers of Chinese, Japanese, and Portuguese. In this part of the world, it is too risky to guess people's nationality based on the language they speak. This is especially true in Melaka, which has always had a number of residents claiming Chinese heritage and speaking Chinese, but who would now technically be considered Malaysian. In fact, the Baba Nyonya Heritage Museum celebrates this Chinese/Melaka blended heritage.

I'll write more about the food in a later post.