A green Christmas in Singapore
Christmas is thick in the air and I spent a great weekend recently to imbibe a unique and green version of the season at the City in a Garden, the island-nation we know as Singapore.
I went with a bunch of journalists for a tour of what Filipino travelers can look forward to this festive season.
First of all, we started with Singapore flavor even before leaving Manila. I’ve not flown Singapore Airlines in a while and really savored the trip. I guess budget flying these past few years has made SQ amenities, even in economy class, seem so luxurious. The attendants don’t dance or play guessing games, but they are attentive and the food service is good (and you don’t have to fork out extra for a meal and drinks.)
We began our Green Christmas experience shortly after landing in Singapore with a Violet — Violet Oon’s restaurant at 881 Bukit Timah Road. Violet is a seasoned culinary journalist, celebrity chef and bon vivant, who set up this quaint restaurant in a quiet corner of Singapore to cater to a younger generation of foodies.
With the help of her two children, Violet created both the ambiance and the menu, which straddles traditional comfort food and new Asian fare in an urbane setting. My suggestions: the dry laksa and the beef rendang. Oh, and their English pudding is perfect for dessert. (Many of her staff are Filipinos, so they will be of great help suggesting dishes for you.)
Our home away from home in Singapore was the new super-green Park Royal at Pickering. The hotel won the highest honor at the Skyrise Greenery Awards held concurrently with the recently concluded Green Urbanscape Asia Conference and Exhibit in Singapore.
The hotel had sky gardens seemingly on every floor, nook and cranny. It had green at the entrance, in the lobby, along the corridors, up the walls and on the roof. Seriously! I have not seen a greener building than this. And it sits right next to a large verdant urban park — Hong Lim Green.
The hotel has a 300-meter-long podium with more gardens and an infinity pool, of course. Sunsets can be viewed from roof deck gardens with panoramas of the city skyline and Chinatown next door.
In the evening we set out for Chinatown nearby and ambulatory edutainment by The Original Singapore Walks – Secrets of the Red Lantern. A group of about a dozen tourists, including we Filipino journalists, were treated to the seedier social side of Singapore’s history.
Most of the residents of late 19th- and early 20th-century Chinatown were migrant workers at the quays. They, along with other laborers, journeyed to the island to escape the poverty back home. Diversions available from the numbing grind were cocaine, gambling and prostitution.
We were taken around to glimpse the past and learn about the lives of both the male workers and the women who tragically ended up in the sex trade. Many of the streets in Singapore were brothel streets marked by the red lanterns. Today, a good number of them are boutique hotels, fine dining restaurants or shops.
We also took a quick trip down to the Geylang district where present day (legal) prostitution is centered. Sex workers and modern-day brothels are monitored and registered. Surprisingly, the area is also known for many good restaurants serving local delicacies, including their versions of Soup no. 5 (we were given a taste of the more popular dishes of that ilk).
The next day, we started with the Peranakan Museum. Most Filipino tourists have visited the National Museum or the Asian Civilizations Museum, but this little museum is packed with the history of those Chinese who settled early in the Straits Settlements. They intermarried and developed a unique culture that is mixed and unique. It reminded me of the Tsinoy Museum in our Intramuros and it was very interesting to note the similarities. The Chinese-Filipinos are in fact mentioned and featured in the exhibits.
From the museum we motored to Katong on the East Coast of Singapore to visit Rumah Bebe, a 1928 shophouse that now contains a Peranakan fashion and food shop. We had merienda of savory Peranakan dishes while looking at beaded slippers, accessories and dining ware. A few blocks down we had lunch at 328 Katong Laksa. Their traditional laksa is fabulous (so shiok, must try, lah!).
From Katong we went to a must-see this Christmas season — the Gardens by the Bay, the hundred-hectare waterside side park built at the cost of one billion Singapore dollars. The famous super-trees in the park are now dressed up and lit like Christmas trees, while the Flower Dome features a special garden design by internationally renowned landscape artist Kayusuki Ishihara. His creation is a “Christmas Sugar Mountain†made from 5,000 plants, of which 4,000 are edibles like lettuce, cabbage, eggplant, okra and chili! You can’t get greener, or healthier, than that.
The Gardens by the Bay are, of course, linked to the Marina Sands and its bundle of destinations, from a 150-meter infinity pool at the top to the Broadway show offering of its theater, complemented by a huge shopping mall and high-end restaurant row (including Gerry’s Grill!).
Along the waters’ edge and the ArtScience Museum (now featuring the fascinating furniture exhibit Essential Eames - A Herman Miller Exhibition). Down the ways a bit is the flagship Louis Vuitton shop, not that I could afford anything there. You’ll need a lot of green to enjoy shopping there, but going in and taking a look is free.
That Saturday evening we ventured to Singapore’s premier shopping street — Orchard Road. This two-kilometer stretch of malls, shops and more shops is Mecca for Filipino shopaholics. You need industrial-strength credit cards and comfortable walking shoes. The walking, though, is extremely comfortable, what with Orchard’s clean, wide sidewalks and dazzling Christmas displays.
We were guests at the Orchard Road Christmas “light-up†at the corner of Orchard and Scotts. The short ceremony had Singapore President Tony Tan throw the switch to light up the entire Orchard Road. The theme was “Christmas on A Great Street,†turning the entire stretch into a “winter wonderland†with lights in blue and white representing snowflakes and diamonds.
The ceremony was followed by an open-top bus tour of Orchard Road to bring us close to the lights and action on Orchard Road. Each mall or complex had a Christmas display (think COD times 24) while buskers entertained street-side as shoppers walked home with their presents. Tiny tots, with their eyes all aglow, will find it hard to sleep … oops sorry, I drifted off into a Christmas song, but that’s what all the décor did to me.
The last day in Singapore took us to the entertainment island of Sentosa. If you’ve not been there in a while, you should go. Resorts World and Universal Studios now anchor the offerings. We went to visit the new SEA Aquarium — the world’s largest, according to Guinness World Records. It is home to 800 species, of which 200 are sharks. If you’re angling to get your feet wet after seeing all those fish, next door is the Adventure Cove Water Park (worth a whole day’s visit).
Before our Monday flight back to Manila we took lunch at Dempsey Hill, located close to the 90-hectare Singapore Botanic Gardens (another must-visit green destination). The former British Army barracks buildings on the hill have been conserved and turned into a restaurant and boutique destination unlike anything on the island. Its character harks back to the British-colonial era with tile-roofed bungalows sitting close to the ground.
On Dempsey Hill you can sip your latte or enjoy Ben & Jerry’s ice cream while the missus shops for teak furniture or gourmet finds. Also in among the bungalows is a new contemporary arts museum; all these set in rolling green hills framed by mature rain trees and towering palms.
This trip proved that there’s more color to Singapore than meets the eye. History, nature, culture, arts, entertainment and shopping here make for a unique mix, but green is a pervasive theme for the season and the island paradise. Have yourself a Green Christmas in Singapore.
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Feedback is welcome. Please email the writer at paulo.alcazaren@gmail.com. For more information on Singapore visit Facebook: YourSingapore-Philippines or http://www.yoursingapore.com.
