Chinatown -- Singapore

We got in in the middle of the night so first glimpse of Singapore was lights on buildings, buildings, buildings. It is indeed a concrete jungle. Kids traveled well and we started out Dec. 30 easy, hopping the Singapore Airlines tourist bus to Chinatown. En route we saw tons of Christmas decorations, making the city seem fun and lively.

Chinatown was bustling with lots of shopping areas. Many of the more traditional shops sold dried fish, snake skins, seahorse and all kinds of other fishy smelling objects. We saw plenty of trinkets and trash, too – touristy stuff.

Everywhere were food stalls. We wandered through a big bustling hawker center with tons of small stalls and people enticing us to order whatever they were selling: small or big intestine (sounds appealing, doesn’t it), ducks and geese, roasted with heads on, fish soup, incredible smelling noodle dishes, chili and pepper crab, a wide array of fish dishes. Many Chinese shops but also Thai, Indian (veg/non-veg), Korean, Japanese, Indonesian…on and on and on. Joe had a pineapple/banana shake (just the two fruits, ground fresh, with ice).

Since we’d eaten breakfast late we passed on food for the time being and meandered into the heart of Chinatown, with its big sign (for lack of better word) dictating where it started.
There all kinds of shops were packed into streets big and small. Little street stalls often led into deeper shops packed with all kinds of stuff. Lots of bright colors, fabrics, decorations, jewelry in every nook and cranny. All interspersed between larger, busy roads and more construction.

Eventually we stopped, succumbing to fabulous smells. Joe and I shared a brothy prawn/fishcake noodle soup – it came out still boiling and was fabulous. I later saw similar pots actually served with a flame under them. Nothing like not having to send your food back because it’s cold. I’d spied people drinking out of coconuts at the restaurant so ordered one myself – very tasty coconut milk (seemed more like juice to me). It was served with the lid partly off and a straw popped in. Quite refreshing in the heat/humidity.

Kids had subway for lunch; it’s become a staple as it’s easy to find here and in India (also saw a plethora of 7-11’s in Singapore, as well as Starbucks, Borders, McDonalds…). RE: the city – it’s very orderly and clean, with laws posted here there and everywhere, along w/ corresponding fines (i.e. 1,000 Sing – roughly $650 -- for riding a bike on a pedestrian ramp, for example). Fines for littering, jaywalking, spitting…quite the opposite of life in India.

As for infrastructure, Singapore certainly has it going on – MRT (subway) is easy and efficient, roads/traffic lights seem to be in good condition, parks have nice amenities, lovely bridges, pedestrian friendly areas, etc. Must be a function of all those fines.

In Chinatown we stumbled across a Hindu temple so I doffed my shoes and checked it out, kids passed. They’re templed out. This one is a lovely colorful structure that stands out gracefully along a busy street.

We also stumbled on the wet market, where meat and fish are sold (called wet because the floor is always wet) – saw a wide array of food: fruits and vegetables, big fish, small fish, all kinds of crustaceans, duck eggs, regular eggs, live birds, dead birds… A little overpowering in the smell department, as you can imagine.

I took a glimpse into a nearby Buddhist temple before we headed back to our SQ bus. Lovely and ornate (the temple, not the bus). We then grabbed a bottle of wine and went to friends’ for burgers and hot dogs. They’re Americans living in Singapore; we knew them from Dell days in Texas. Great fun to catch up and have a break from the hotel/restaurant scene.