You need to know one thing before visiting Singapore for the first time: You won’t want to leave.
For a colorist, this place is heaven. No one shies away from color here. Taxis are painted a loud citron yellow. Buddhist temples show bright Chinese reds and colorful silk flags. The colors of the Hindi shrines are white-washed pastels in blue, white and pink. Architecture in the old British colonial neighborhoods boast bright yellows, greens, blue and lavendar–it puts the Miami Art Deco district to shame.
People had told me I would like Singapore. I envisioned a streamlined place, lots of cold, hard rules and structure everywhere. And to a certain extent, this wealthy port city has a clean efficiency like any modern city in the 21st century. A well-developed highway system and good public transportation. Lots of tall skyscrapers. The names of huge multinational corporations and banking institutions around every turn.
However, Singapore has a heart. Good-natured people and soaring temperatures keep it from getting too serious. The sun can be oppressive here at the equator, the sky is white with heat. Cool shading trees and plants maintain a green, garden-like surrounding. Water features are everywhere. The largest free-standing fountain in the world is in Singapore.
This is Tan Soo Ling’s home town, and he did it justice by showing me the highlights in just two days. The first morning we had a traditional Singaporean breakfast at a little diner in the heart of the city. This place was famous for its runny eggs and thinly sliced toast. I took a pass on the raw eggs flavored with soy sauce, but ate a whole pile of toast slathered with butter and a local sweet marmalade made from egg, sugar, butter and some kind of local fruit.
The culture is vibrant–Indian, Chinese, Malay and Euro-Asian influences mean that diversity is widely accepted here. Hindi and Buddhist shrines rub elbows with Christian cathedrals. At the Mid-Autumn festival Sept. 25, dragon parades, colorful lights, and the smell of wonderful street-fare energized the area around the Victorian open market. We sampled chicken and shrimp satay in spicy dipping sauce, roasted sting-ray filets, savory noodle dishes and iced rose-milk drinks that will drive me to diet when I return home.
Much to my disappointment, I did not get to sample durian, the famous King of Fruits that grows here in Malaysia. There are two landmark buildings in Singapore that are meant to represent this very prickly, pungent-smelling fruit. Apparently, it is so smelly that Soo Ling will not allow it in his car because the odor can linger for weeks. Hotels will not allow you to bring it to your room because the odor permeates everything. I am immediately intrigued, and no definition in Wikipedia is going to give you the experience of this fruit first-hand. Everyone loves to eat it even though it smells so bad. Hopefully I’ll have another chance!
The hotel and hospitality business are doing well here: lobbies boast soaring heights, mesmerizing chandeliers, and blends of texture-color-pattern-artwork energize the most world-weary business traveler or the most jet-lagged tourist.
The Malay Village and Little India were hotbeds of activity, even at 10:00 at night when people filled the sidewalk markets; shopping, dining and visiting friends. We strolled past the stalls where hundreds of colorful silks were on display. We entered a Bhuddist shrine and took pictures of the rooftop garden overflowing with orchids. Orchard Road is the famous shopping street in Singapore, and at night it was lit up with all the famous brands.
