How I got crabby (and Christmasy) in Singapore

Singapore is a country that fuses the old with the new. While this is a very broad and sweeping statement, it is right on key. For example: it is common in Singapore to see a Mercedes-Benz taxi; similarly, it is not out of place to observe one-seater pedicabs going around town. There are swanky restaurants and bars on the umpteenth levels of skyscrapers, but there are also many fast food/street food joints and the more than occasional teahouse. The high-rise buildings in the central business district are distinct in projecting the Singaporean image of progress and growth; yet there are certain sections of the country that preserve culture and showcase Singapore’s diverse historical background.

But what do we really know Singapore for? What stands out about the place? Certain things come to mind when Singapore is mentioned. There are the statues of the Merlion — a creature with the body of a fish and the head of a lion — which is the quintessential symbol of Singapore. Sentosa Island is a popular resort in Singapore, too, visited by some five million people a year. Orchard Road and all the shopping possibilities it offers usually comes up when talking of Singapore. And going on a night safari is just so Singapore.

These are all destinations that have been frequented by loads of people, and one begs the question and begins to ponder: “Why do people keep coming back?” Perhaps these attractions are some kind of gateway that open up tourists and other visitors to other, more inconspicuous sides of Singapore. It’s always like that in any modern country— the bright lights and city life make travelers want to dig deeper and look for something else.

The holidays are upon us once again. Christmas is coming up fast. This is the season when shopping, eating, drinking, congregating, sleeping and the occasional family/group/barkada/couples trip takes place. People just come together during this time of the year. And Singapore is getting ready to accommodate a big get-together of people. With its “Christmas in the Tropics” campaign, the Singapore Tourism Board aims to make the holiday season a special one for visitors. This is a month-and-a-half-long celebration that will include numerous activities sure to liven up the holiday season.

Hypothetically speaking, if you were to visit Singapore this month, then you would be there to witness the grandness of “Christmas in the Tropics.” However, just as the country is diverse and full of assorted options, you could find other attractions. “Christmas in the Tropics” could act as an entry point for other, less familiar things. Quoting an old adage, you could “take the road less traveled” and find out something new about Singapore.

Food

Singapore shows its diverse ethnic background whenever the topic of food comes up. With roots from Malaysia, Indonesia, India and China, there are countless food destinations in the country. If you like, you can try McDonald’s and KFC and see if those are any different, but that’s not really the point, is it? To begin with, you should know what you want to try first. Chili crab and black pepper crab are usually high on the must-try list when visiting Singapore and one place you can go is Long Island Seafood Restaurant, on Dempsey (the whole encampment used to be the barracks for military trainees back in the day). The crab is sweet, succulent and cooked to perfection.

If, after trying chili and black pepper crab, choosing what cuisine to sample becomes too difficult, you can always pay a visit to one of the many food courts either inside or outside of the central business district. These establishments are really useful because they collect the many ethnic cuisines of Singapore (among others) and put them under one roof. The good thing about the kiosks within the food courts is that they offer authentic Chinese/Malay/Indonesian/Indian food. These were originally street food stalls that were collected and organized so the city is kept uncluttered. Popular food courts include Food Republic (there is one located in the Wisma Atria Mall along Orchard Road) and Glutton’s Bay (located in the Marina area, and open until about 1 to 1:30 a.m.) These places are usually always full of people, so part of the fun is sitting with strangers (who don’t think it’s that strange, actually) and talking to them about what they ordered and why they like it. You can order what they had next time.

You can also try food in the markets. Yes, there are food courts in the markets as well; like in the Geylang Serai Wet Market, after buying whatever it is you need, you can sit down and have a bowl of authentic laksa, a spicy noodle soup that incorporates Chinese and Malay elements. Or have a real lamb kebab with the spicy, garlic-yoghurt dressing. Even the milk tea in the market tastes good. Prices are cheaper because of the location, but quality doesn’t really slide here.

Shopping

Shopping is one of the biggest things Singapore is known for. It is a businessman’s country, and business men and women, basically, sell stuff. Because of its geographical location, being a port city, Singapore is a key place to have some kind of trade. In the past it was a fishing village where people from neighboring countries would get together and barter. Up to this day, to some extent, that’s still how it works.

Orchard Road equals shopping in Singapore. Choosing Orchard Road, to put it quite bluntly, is a monster. There is a lot to see and, potentially, a lot to buy. The entire strip of road is one mall after the other, so to make things easier it would be easier to map out where it is you want to check first. Popular ones include Wisma Atria and Takashimaya. So decide first what it is you want to get; it’s all there. Clothes, shoes, jewelry, electronics, whatever. If you are like me and can spend an entire afternoon in a bookstore or a music store, then you can check out Kinokuniya for books and HMV for music, movies and vinyl. Just make sure you don’t get overwhelmed; these stores are really big. Make a list; they have everything, and I am glad about that.

Shopping also happens in the more cultural districts of Singapore, like in Chinatown and Little India. Chinatown is like visiting a condensed section of Hong Kong, complete with electronics, lots of camera equipment, and technological doodads. Little India has more of a tiangge feel, where lots of stores are open until late at night, selling all sorts of things. Also located here is Mustafa, which kind of has the feel of the old Virra Mall, but bigger, and with more things to find. Prices in both places are not as high as they are on Orchard Road, so real bargains can be found.

Bugis Street is also set up a little like Chinatown and Little India. It’s a length of road that has plazas and different vendors selling different things. Think an outdoor market but with tourist friendly goods and attractions. In one place you can even have your aura photographed and read. They take an instant shot of you and all these lines and colors show up around your head: your aura. The location of the lines and colors are read by one of the people there and they even give you the picture and a printout explaining what your aura is all about.

Lodging

Although not as vocal about its hotels and accommodations, Singapore really has some quality establishments to boast of.

The many hotels along Orchard Road are viable lodging options, seeing as they are right smack dab in the middle of everything. You can wake up, have your breakfast, and hit the town with your credit card. The Meritus Mandarin, for example, is one of these hotels along Orchard Road. It is stylish and is being reconstructed to have a mall within the hotel. A connecting walkway from the lobby to the new annex will allow people to sleep and shop in the same place.

There are also other hotels outside of the CBD, and these are more affordable places since they aren’t located in the high-density areas. Hotels along they Quay areas, like Clarks Quay and Robertson Quay, are also feasible options when it comes to selecting a hotel to stay in. The Gallery Hotel, in Robertson Quay, is an interesting hotel because it is full of local and foreign artwork and, as its name implies, is a gallery of sorts. Even some of the rooms have been redesigned by artists with certain themes in their heads. The rooms are named, like pieces of art, by the artists, so imagine rooms with names like “Singaporean Dreaming,” “Simple Nature” and “Defining Definitions.”

For the backpacking traveler, there are also hostels that can accommodate single bed spacers to small groups of people.

Attractions

Let’s just tick some off, shall we? Sentosa Island, Vivo City, The Esplanade, Raffles Hotel, The Singapore Zoo, the Chinatown Heritage Center, Fort Silosa Sentosa, Johore Battery, and so on; there’s a lot to see and do in Singapore. You just need to This month, Zouk!, the most happening club in Singapore, located on Sentosa Island, is having the annual ZoukOut, a party for all club-goers who enjoy live sounds spun by international deejays. This is something the young and partying crowd will definitely enjoy. Also this month, the Night Safari is putting a Yuletide twist on their tour, with elves, dwarves, and fairies parading around the park on stilts. The Esplanade (or The Durian), Singapore’s own version of an opera house, is holding numerous concerts over the holiday season. Check out the 102-foot-tall Christmas tree, it’s huge. Or why not take a ride on the Singapore Flyer, the tallest observation wheel in the world (until China finishes constructing its own, bigger observation wheel, that is)?

A tourist is, usually, someone who goes out with a group, on tours, with set plans for each day. A traveler just wings it wherever he or she goes. In both instances, for both traveler and tourist, there is a real value that is set in place. Value for money, in terms of selections and goods available, is definitely a strength that Singapore possesses because of all it has to offer. However, each different country wants you to take that extra step, to see what a country truly is like underneath all the hoopla.

Traveling to another country is a combination of knowing where to go and taking chances; the line between being a real tourist and being an honest-to-goodness traveler are very clearly defined. I encourage you to be a little bit of both when visiting Singapore, or any other country for that matter. In doing so, you spend not only for the goods that you take home as gifts or pasalubong; you also make yourself that much richer, knowing you have experienced something new.

For more information about “Christmas in the Tropics,” visit the Singapore Tourism Board’s website at www.stb.com.sg or www.visitsingapore.com.

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E-mail me at enricomiguelsubido@yahoo.com.