Getting to Singapore is brutal to those of us who live in Atlanta . It is literally the other side of the world (exactly 12 time zones offset from Atlanta ). If you started digging in Atlanta and could tunnel through the earth, you would end up close to Singapore when you finally reached the other side (we are offset by a few degrees above the equator). As an example, when I flew to Singapore , I connected through Chicago , to Hong Kong , then Singapore . We flew north, within a few miles of the North Pole (my first flight over the pole). Coming back, I flew from Singapore to Tokyo , then to San Francisco , and on to Atlanta , so we traveled primarily east. When you need to get from one side of a sphere to the other, you can pretty much go in any direction.
I slept some on the flight there, so I wasn't too beat when I arrived. I got there (after 25 hours and 22 minutes of flying) at 11:30 PM , so the airport wasn't too crowded (except for a boisterous crowd of French tourists who arrived the same time my flight did). I got through customs and immigration pretty quickly. Even this early in the country, you can tell that you are in a different place. The ubiquitous immigration forms to fill out explaining why you have come here, what you are doing, and when you are leaving feature the phrase "Drug traffickers are put to death in Singapore" and "Welcome to Singapore" on opposite sides. Welcome, indeed!
I stayed in the Pan Pacific hotel, all arranged by the SDA.NET conference, which is a very nice hotel in the Suntec office complex right off the bay. That also means it is easy to get to from the airport, taking about 20 minutes. I checked in, and actually stayed up for a couple of hours decompressing from all the travel. I knew that I would be able to sleep, and I was correct.
I got up after a good night's sleep, and got breakfast downstairs. You can discern the British influence in Singapore from the breakfast. It's not quite a Full English Breakfast (no blood pudding or haggis), but it does feature baked beans.
Monday was a work day, preparing for the conference, so I explored the hotel a bit, then upstairs to work. The hotel is massive, with a huge open-air interior (Terry says that it is a typical Portman architecture), and it connects with a massive shopping mall right next door. You can wander for quite a long time just on the several lobby floors. I was the first of the trio of myself, Terry (from Atlanta ), and Michael (from Vancouver ) to arrive. Michael arrived Monday evening from a diving side-trip and Terry arrived late on Monday night/Tuesday morning. I worked most of the day, with a short break for a lunch sandwich. Masoud, the conference organizer, called to say he had dinner reservations that night and to meet them at 8 PM in the lobby bar. I met with Masoud and Frank, both friends from Germany and the organizers of the conference. We went to a little restaurant attached to a large pedestrian area close to the hotel. This area included a concert hall, shopping mall, lots of restaurants, and an outdoor amphitheater with an on-going concert (Monday was a holiday in Singapore whose name or purpose I ever heard).
We ate at one of Masoud's favorite places (he lives in Singapore now) called No Signboards. It was a Chinese-influenced seafood restaurant. We ordered a variety of seafood and I noticed that they also featured several bull frog recipes. Well, I can never resist trying new and different things, so I ordered Ginger Bull Frog. I have had frog legs before, but this was more than just legs (but not the whole cooked frog -- it was cut up into little pieces). It was quite good (Frank had some as well), but the ginger was a little strong for the subtle taste of the frog meat (and, no, it did not taste like chicken).
After dinner, we went back to the hotel and sat in the bar for a while. Michael arrived, along with some of the other speakers ( Chad , from Cypress , and Hadi, from Spain ). Tom, who works for Masoud and lives in Bali , also arrived, so we had a raucous good time in the bar. Masoud and company had to set up the conference on Tuesday, so they retired early. Michael and I decided to ambush Terry, who was to arrive from his 24+ hour flying ordeal, with drinking right off the plane. So, when he walked into the lobby, before he could check in, we had a drink in his hand. Michael and I had both brought old bottles of Scotch from our respective homes (his was 21 yr, mine 18). We ended up staying up until nearly 6 AM , drinking and catching up on current events. We only see each other as a group at conferences once or twice a year, so we had a blast. And, of course, planted the seeds for a powerful hang-over the next day...
...which came to fruition. Tuesday was another prep day (I didn't have any talks on the first day of the conference), so I eased into the day with a late brunch with Terry downstairs in one of 4 restaurants.
It was the hodge-podge restaurant, featuring many of the cuisines that you encounter in Singapore : sushi/sashimi, Indian, Chinese, Thai, and French (!). The food was excellent, served from a massive buffet that reminded both of us of Las Vegas . There were so many good options that I didn't get to try everything that was there.
After lunch, more conference prep and gentle recovery. That evening was the "official" speakers' dinner, also at No Signboards. Generally, it is against my rule to eat at the same restaurant twice in the same trip (too many options to go to the same places), but this was an official function. There were 12 of us altogether, mostly from either the US or Europe . We had another great meal, with lots of seafood (but, alas, no bull frog) and plenty but not copious quantities of beer. I'm not resilient enough to brave 2 massive hangovers in 2 days, plus tomorrow I had to talk, so we were all good boys on Tuesday night. In fact, we were all in bed pretty early.
I got up and ran on the treadmill at the hotel. Even though it's inside, the humidity is pervasive. In just 10K (6 miles), I drank over a quart of water, and it looked like I had been running outside during the day in the middle of summer in Atlanta .
Conference day. Talked at the conference. If you've seen one, you've seen them all. If you've never seen one, no amount of description really does it. So: talked at the conference.
Wednesday night was the 2nd "official" speaker's dinner, this time at a local German (!) restaurant. The organizers and several of the speakers are German, so I guess this makes sense on some level. Terry and I were skeptical, but since Thursday was also a conference day, decided to be good, do the speaker's dinner, and make it another early night.
You can never predict or force these situations, but, against all odds, we had a marvelous time. The food was excellent. We sat and talked to several of the conference organizers and helpers: Frank, Tom, Wei, Lucy, and Algena and her husband whose name escapes me. We talked about cultural differences (NOT about conference stuff), which is where I always try to take these conversations. You hear all sorts of things about a culture that you can't read about, and find out the perceptions of other people about American culture. The primary image of America comes from all our entertainment and media, so there are some deep misconceptions about our country. For example, all the Singaporeans believed that America is much more liberal than most other countries in our laws. They could not believe that Australia had more nude beaches than America . Or that there were strongly religious areas of America . Their perception is that the whole country is like Hollywood . George Bush is universally disliked overseas.
Conference day. See above. Talking at the conference.
Thursday evening Masoud took a small group of us to a unique local eating place (notice that I did not use the term "restaurant"). It is called Newton Circus, and that just about describes the atmosphere. He didn't give us any warning, which made the impact even more profound. It is a large open area of small kiosk-style food preparers with lots of tables arrayed around in all directions. As we walked up, I noticed for the first time the profound effect of sticking out like a sore thumb because of my ethnicity. Most of the other places I've traveled ( Europe , Australia , the US ), I could more or less blend in with the locals if I dressed right. Not here. I'm Caucasian with a capital "C", and obviously American when I talk. When the wranglers from the food places saw a group of us coming, they were practically fighting with one another to procure a table near their place of business, to the point of evicting the locals who happened to be inconveniently sitting at the tables already. I was a little taken aback because I was unfamiliar with the setup and also by the incredible ruckus that was occurring. Fortunately, Masoud was an old pro at this, so he got us a table and went and procured food for us. He knew to insist on the "locals" price, not the Foreigners-From-America-and-Europe price (which is anywhere from 2x to 5x the locals price -- now you can see why they were so anxious for our business). Masoud and Frank left us at the table and went all around gathering food. And it was delicious. We had a variety of vegetable and seafood dishes, some Indian influenced (a little spicy with a curry flavor) and the best prawns I had the whole time we were in Singapore (simple split open and boiled, but they looked like a small lobster). We also drank a bit of Tiger beer. This was outside, so even though it was night, the temperature was warm and the humidity was, well, Singaporean. And then there was the Durian...
We had heard the night before about Durian, which is a local fruit. I always ask about local foods from the natives to see what I can try that I haven't had before. The night before, they had told me about "Stinky fruit". It is against the law in Singapore to take a durian on public transport. And it is forbidden to take the fruit inside most buildings. However, several locals at the table said they really liked it. My new mission: try some Durian. Newton food court had fresh durian, so we got one. Tom, who lives in Bali , is a big fan, so he would eat it if we didn't care for it. Well, they cut it open and Tom insisted that we eat it essentially holding our nose -- the flavor and the smell are only loosely related. So I tried it. Frank said it best -- it's like a mixture of vanilla pudding and onion, with a kind of fruit-flesh/fishy texture. I tried it. It was durian-like. OK, I've tried it. The problem is that, even though I only had a bite, I kept trying it -- the taste would not go away. I ate some other stuff. Still there. Drink water, beer, whatever -- durian. After a while you can sort of get rid of the taste until you have the misfortune of burping. Durian. Stronger than ever. It keeps growing. It was well into the next day until I could taste something else. It took Terry even longer. In fact, he developed a semi-permanent association between Tiger beer and durian taste. He may never appreciate Tiger beer again. The other interesting aspect of this fruit: it smells. And it gets stronger and stronger. It was still at our table because Tom (for whom I have new respect mingled with pity) was gradually eating the leftover durian (all the durian except for one bite each from the other victims). Ingo (one of the speakers) kept asking Tom to move it further away, because the smell, while not exactly the same as the taste, is the olfactory equivalent of the taste. After you have smelled it, you smell it everywhere. For the rest of the trip, we could tell anytime we got close to durian. Terry and I would look at each other at the same time: durian. Every open air market you come to sells that stinky stuff. And you always notice it if it's near.
After Newton Circus, some of the speakers had to head to the airport. The rest of us went to a local pub and had a few drinks before heading back to the hotel. Terry and I stayed up a little later, drinking some Scotch (Michael had gone to Kuala Lumpur for a day trip right after the conference, so he missed the durian).
Terry and I did a bit of walking around the Suntec area, checking out the stores and restaurants. We had eaten Asian food of one kind or another just about every meal since arriving, so we went looking for some variety. We found a restaurant named Restaurant 6 and 7, which had European cuisine. I had tomato soup and spaghetti with prosciutto and Terry had Chicken Schwarma pizza. It was OK, but not spectacular. The rest of the day was spent alternatively relaxing and walking around the Suntec area.
Michael got back to town at about 5, so we all piled in a cab to go eat in China town before Michael had to fly to Europe for another conference. We walked around China town a bit, looking at some of the street vendor's wares, and then ended up at a large shopping complex named China Point. It contained a restaurant whose name I don't know. We had a wonderful meal there, presided over my Michael, who ordered in Chinese. Mostly seafood, it was all great. The best things there (in my opinion) were the prawns (they know who to do them there) and the ostrich dish, which was out of this world. It was prepared with kind of a sweet sauce with just a little spicy kick. Terrific.
Michael had to leave for the airport, so Terry and I went to a shopping complex we had heard about that included a bunch of clubs. We found a club that had a live band and went in and stayed for a few hours. The band was good, and the place was hopping -- very crowded.
Souvenir day. Terry was on a mission for a particular thing that we thought might be best acquired in Chinatown . So, we left the hotel and went to the pedestrian area from a couple of nights ago and found an Indian restaurant, one of the few "local" cuisines we hadn't eaten yet. We had a good lunch, but a little heavier than we would have wanted. The curried lamb was good, and the chicken dish (chicken stuffed with lamb and nuts) was very good.
After lunch, we walked in the direction of Chinatown . We knew basically where it was, but had taken taxis to get there before. The only real way to walk around Singapore during the day is to find shade, and make it across sunny spots to the next shady spot as quickly as possible. "Shade" sounds cool and refreshing, but that's not true. In Singapore , you can sit outside in the shade and not move a muscle and still sweat profusely. You look always for oases of air conditioning, which are plentiful. So, using this shade-to-shade strategy, we made our way to Chinatown . The goal was to look in the open air markets for stuff. The problems: not much shade, no air conditioning, and the permanent miasma of durian. We looked in a couple of places, and then found ourselves at China Point again. We started looking at the stores and realized where we were: tourist shopping nirvana. It featured air conditioning, bathrooms, access to gourmet iced coffee, and 4 floors of haggling merchants who sell more or less the same stuff. We spent several hours here, honing our bargaining skills and collecting a vast treasure trove of souvenirs.
Terry and I both had early-thirty flights on Sunday, of the 24+ hour variety, so we decided that it was prudent to stay up all night (but not drink too much) so that we would be sleepy on the planes and thus jump-start the re-acclimatization chore. We went back to the hotel to shower (if you spend any time outdoors in Singapore , you end up showering multiple times a day). We looked on-line for a place to eat and became intrigued by a place called Messa9. We made reservations, packed, and made our way there.
Mezza9 turned out to be the best restaurant in which we dined (and the most expensive by far). It features 9 different types of cuisine, each with its own kitchen area, spread out across the restaurant. We ended up ordering several appetizer platters from different cuisines. We started with Cesar salads (the real kind, with anchovies), followed by a mind-blowing sushi/sashimi platter. Probably the second best sushi I've ever had, right after Sushi Sasabune in Honolulu . The last platter was eclectic, with foie gras, prawns, lobster, and several other goodies. By that time, we were full of wonderful sushi and sashimi, so the last plate wasn't as good. We finished off the meal with espresso (because we both had to stay up all night).
We made our way over to the night club complex again and watched the band until time to leave and go pack.
Singapore to Tokyo . Tokyo to San Francisco (where I cleared customs). San Francisco to Atlanta . A mere 24 hours of flying. I did get exit rows all the way back, which is a huge difference because I could spread my legs out in front of me. I managed to sleep a good bit on the way back, and didn't feel so bad when I got home - like I had only been flying 17 hours or so.
The level of service is exceptional in Singapore . Everyone in a service-related job is very, very diligent in their work. Here are a couple of examples: when you are eating in a sit-down restaurant and get up for more food, a trip to the restroom, or something similar, the waiter will come and re-fold you napkin and replace it next to your plate. We saw this numerous times in different establishments. Another example: many of the restrooms have attendants (in fact, more had attendants than not). When you start to wash your hands, he turns the water on for you, squeezes the soap dispenser to get you some soap, and hands you a towel. While you are drying your hands, he is cleaning up the water both in the sink and around it so that it is pristine for the next person.
Every cold drink starts sweating instantly. The air always feels close. It is soooo hot and humid in Singapore . I ran 10K on a treadmill inside, in the air conditioning, and looked like I had run a marathon in heat. It is so hot there that a few times outside during the day, I actually got claustrophobic because the air is so close and hot. Imagine a steam room, where the heat is turned up really high, then forget it – Singapore is much, much worse.
Singapore is a wonderful place, with exceptionally friendly people everywhere you turn, beautiful urban areas, great restaurants, and tropical weather. I didn't get to see nearly as much as I wanted, so I want to go back as soon as I can.
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