I started my journey on Sunday. And what an epic one it was. I flew from Toronto to Atlanta, Georgia where I have about 3 hours to wait. Normally I wouldn’t mind that, however when I was dropped off at the airport in Toronto I left my laptop, that was snuggly packed into a wonderful waterproof bag. I did however have my iPod touch which I could use to Skype Young-tech and the fam. Planning to spend the vast majority of my travelling days relaxing, writing, and soaking up the local food, drink, and people, a laptop was quite the essential travel companion for me, so I decided to dedicate some of my day in Singapore shopping for a laptop.
So of course just one day in Singapore sounds silly, but it wasn’t in my plan it is simply a stop-over on my way to Bali…a 17 hour one. From Atlanta I arrived in Tokyo, waited two hours for my next flight to Singapore and then arrived in Singapore around midnight. Arriving at that time meant that I couldn’t get into the city via public transit, only expensive taxis, and also meant that nothing would be open. I sat in a cafe in the airport with Wei Leng, a wonderful woman from Malaysia whom I met at the Tokyo airport waiting for the same flight, talking about everything and anything until 8am. We parted ways, Wei Leng to her flight to Malaysia, me to the public transit system for Singapore’s centre.
First thing to note is that everyone in Singapore speaks English, at varied levels and coherent accents, but nonetheless they all speak English. The second thing to note is that everyone is so helpful. If they can see that you’re a tourist, for example a skinny white girl with a sixty litre backpack on her back and a travel book in her hand, then they are more than happy to help and often approached said skinny white girl to offer their guidance. The third and most lovely (to me) is that they have food from every country in the world, including Korean food…and GOOD Korean food.
Once I arrived in the city centre I just started walking in the direction of a “digital mall” that was listed in my travel guide. I literally went to at least 20 different computer shops in this one building (I know you’re jealous dad), and I didn’t even get to the third or fourth floors! Finally about an hour and a half later I left the iDigital Mall with laptop in hand. Now I could do one of my favourite things to do when travelling…eat.
I headed for the Esplanade, which I figured would be a beautiful location for walking, taking pictures, and of course eating. On the way I passed some of the most interesting architecture I have seen, lush vegetation filling any space possible, and a wonderful mixture of old and new of both buildings and vegetation. The river leading to the ocean was in fact beautiful. It was bordered on one side by restaurants and the other side, both modern and historical architecture.
Walking down the Esplanade on the restaurant side is a test in both patience and graciousness. People stopping you, interrupting conversations, making puppy dog eyes, and saying whatever they can to get you to eat at their restaurant. I have no problem with this in terms of comfort, I understand why they are doing it and it’s ok with me, but it is a challenge for me to maintain a cheery and polite attitude, and ultimately exhausts me. I did however successfully walk to the end of the restaurants without being guilted into one, thereby being able to make a fabulous decision after having seen all the options. I think I already blew the surprise of where I chose to eat, even if I hadn’t I think most people could guess quite accurately…so yes, I chose the Korean restaurant with the Korean chef, Mrs. Kim, a sweet little Ajumma who taught all of the waiters how to say the basics in Korean.
IT WAS DELICIOUS. I felt like I was eating in Korea in terms of the deliciousness factor. The scenery factor though, not so much! I sat at a table facing the water with a fabulous view of the Asian Museum across the river and the interesting casino (still deciding if I like the architecture or if it’s just too much).
After a very relaxed lunch, reading my book by the river, and eating as much kimchi as i could fit into my tummy, I walked back to the subway and head for the airport.
My word for Singapore: nourishment…of the food variety.
