Singapore is a shopper’s paradise. It feels like every other building you pass is a shopping mall, but in reality it’s EVERY building. In a lot of cases, the malls are interconnected and you can walk from one to the next for up to four or five malls, leaving you entirely disoriented when you emerge. Rooms here are very expensive (partially due to the fact that we arrived at the trailing end of Chinese New Year, which is a month long event here), but the food is cheap and excellent.
There were double-decker tour buses with open-air seating on top driving all around Singapore (motto: Be Hip/Go Topless). While we appreciated the sentiment, we decided to walk around with our guide book instead. We’ve had a great time here, going from one end of the city to the other. Our hostel was in Chinatown, near the CBD (Central Business District, seems to be a British term), and from there we’ve walked to Fort Canning Park (where the British surrendered the island to the Japanese), Little India (a little slice of Mumbai), and Orchard Road (the shopping mecca, with the fanciest stores and biggest malls). Singapore is very much a first world country, and we enjoyed having sidewalks again. Mary got some new jeans and now feels civilized!
The Singapore Art Museum had several very good exhibits. There was an impressive collection of seals (for signing papers, not the animals), a collection of Chihuly glasses, and some amazing weavings. The rest of the (British) Colonial District was also a lot of fun. However, after three days in Singapore we were ready to move on, as there’s not much to do after you’re done shopping.
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