In honor of my dad bod, we're sticking with puns for a while.
When it comes to beer, I suggest you just drink whatever is local, reasonably priced and cold. In Singapore, that's Tiger Beer. I've had it before in the States, but it tastes better here... or at least is appropriate for the pallet. It's crisp, it's light, it's refreshing and it's the perfect beer in a climate that only knows one season: Summer. Singapore is eternally Summer. It is currently the "cool" season, but since the temperature never really changes here, it really just means it rains a bit more.
Intro to Singapore
Singapore's motto translates to "Onward, Singapore." Onward, blog...
Singapore is beautiful. It's clean. The people are polite and helpful if they speak English--most do. Crime is virtually non-existent. It's the perfect place for an ex-pat to land. That's why my friend, Karl is living here. We're staying with him for the few days we are here. I'm lucky to have a familiar face open his home and let us shake our jet lag in his spare bedroom. He also live near a McDonald's, which also kinda feels like home, in the saddest way possible. If you want to avoid the american staple, the street food is unbelievably affordable, however, the booze is not. Alcohol tax is pretty high here. Also, if you're drinking, stick to the local beer. Not that I would recommend it anywhere, but a 6-pack of Budweiser here is $20-very exotic stuff.
The business friendly economy in Singapore has allowed for a pretty impressive urban landscape. The Marina Bay Sands area is a site to behold. It's a modern development anchored by an $8 Billion casino and high-end designer stores. That's not really my thing, but the free attractions surrounding it are worth seeing. The Spectra Light and Water show is a nightly spectacle. It sounds like it wouldn't be too impressive, but it was. It was peaceful, beautiful and the right price of free. The lights get a little unnecessarily intense at the end, but still great. When the light show ended we headed to an ungodly place.
Orchard Towers
There's a place in Singapore called Orchard Towers. It's nicknamed the "The Four Floors of Whores." Someone recommended checking it out. We did. We went far too early and far too sober. It's like an indoor mini-mall with an open center atrium and escalators ascending 4 floors. But instead of shops in this mall, there are small bars. And outside those bars are women in tight dresses trying to get you to spend money at their bar. The women lean over the glass railings in the atrium to holler at you as you ride the escalators. Each floor has a number of bars. Within the bars are more women dancing in tight clothing and mandatory overpriced drinks. It's not a strip club, it's not a brothel, it's just alluding to that vibe... We picked a place called Western Bar. It was larger in capacity than expected. It had a sizable stage. We sat through a cover band playing American Pop covers. There were varying levels of talent in the band. They weren't great, but it was entertaining. They performed for us... and only us. They made eye contact and talked to us a number of times during their set and thanked us for clapping along when we were asked. They were very polite and gracious for our attention. They even waved goodbye to us as we left about 6 or 7 songs in. It was the perfect kind of bizarre to cap to our first night out. You should probably go to the late-night Orchard Towers to see the full effect. It supposedly gets rowdy
The angriest man in Singapore was in arms reach.
A Tale of Two Taxis
As we left Orchard Tower, there stood the man currently in the lead for angriest drunken white guy we've seen. The angriest man in Singapore was in arms reach. With his glossy shaved head and fists clenched tightly, he scowled and yelled slurs to everyone around him as he tried to get a Taxi. With his sharp Scottish tongue, he hurled insults at a professional level of ignorance. I could tell this guy needed some yoga in his life. Go get some yoga, laddie.
Chinatown and Gardens by the Bay
If Chinatown is one of your city's highlights and you are in pretty close to proximity to China, is your city offering enough? Maybe. Maybe not. But in Singapore, Chinatown is culturally important. Singapore is a major international city where English and Chinese are the dominate languages and the city is a fusion of western and eastern world ideals. Chinatown is worth a stroll and finding your way into the basement of the open air mall is highly recommended. It's an underground fish market. It's packed. It's dimly lit. It smells fishy. And it was beautiful. Dozens and dozens of booths with fresh fish on display manned by shirtless butchers cutting heads off. This people are resilient. Fitting that Singapore's motto translates to "Onward, Singapore." Onward, blog...
We closed out our second evening in Singapore at the Gardens by the Bay. I had seen so many pictures of this area before I went that I kind of got my hopes up about it being majestic. I'll admit , there are some impressive designs and it makes for beautiful photographs, but it really feels more like a destination theme park without any rides. It's a little pricey for what it is.
Beer of the Day
Tiger Beer, Asia Pacific Breweries, Singapore