Singapore Part II
On Tuesday, feeling a little lonely, I started chatting with a guy at the hostel named Rodney (who was from San Francisco) and had lunch with him at Din Tae Fung, which was delicious. I spent the afternoon staked out in a cafe and people watched while writing a batch of postcards. Even though I usually intend to take pictures of my food, I rarely do because I'm busy eating it. But I took a pic of my coffee and tiramisu, which was so pretty. I tried a Javanese coffee, which interestingly enough, I can't find while I'm in Java. The specials always seem to be Colombian. Ultimately, it's not like I know enough about coffee to notice the difference.
On Wednesday, I ate myself to the point of pain. In anticipation of my morning trip to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, I got some curry puffs and an assortment of other savory Indian bites. The reserve is a patch how Singapore used to be, rainforesty and lush. Macaques roamed freely, and I was charmed to see them hanging from trees and running up ahead of me on the footpath. Then I remembered that I'm scared of monkeys. I also saw a big lizard anda couple kinds of birds. Such a contrast to the concrete and malls of Orchard Road! (The main shopping road in Singapore.) Cicadas filled the air with a steady buzz, and I noticed a lone macaque who felt comfortable enough to pee in front of me.
Lastly, there were trees, beautiful trees, eeee trees! So many different kinds of leaves, vines, trunks, lichen spots, branching patterns, and roots! I thought about how beautiful it all was ... and I also though about how the shapes would totally make neat prints for fabric. Purses and shoes! Purses and shoes! Bukit Timah was my favorite part of Singapore so far. And it was free.
In the afternoon, I went to Chinatown, ate and and and ate, walked through a street market, and saw lots of mooncake. After stuffing myself, I wanted to find a place where I could digest in peace. I knew just the spot, hyaving stumbled upon it earlier while ... looking for a food market I thought was there. It was a roof/balcony about four floors up, overlooking an intersection below. Chinese acrobats performed, while strings of lanterns gradually turned on, illuminating the diners and shoppers in the street. Above the bustle of the crowd hovered the restaurants, in their charming Peranakan architecture. Behind them rose the austere, geometric highrises of the business district, and the dusk sky and brilliant moon spread behind it all. I had a quiet moment from this unique vantage point...until a man in his underwear joined me on the roof for some stretches and a nap. So I left.
I wandered over to the riverfront area, near the statue of the Merlion, symbol of the city. Maybe it was the lights twinkling on the water, or feeling small and meek in a big city, or the balmy air, but I felt quite reflective and happy.
Thursday morning I spent two hours at an internet place, freaking out about what I needed to do without actually doing any of it. I also only had S$10 in cash on me, so I was worried about running over my time and not having enough cash to pay. So I basically did nothing.
With my remaining S$6, I went to a food market to get lunch. I was accosted by a random Singaporean man who looked old enough to be my dad. We chatted a bit, and he bought us coconuts, which we sipped awkwardly, as he talked at me in cliches ("life is hard," "life is about the journey," "the young people are caught up in the rat race, the paper chase," etc) for twenty minutes. At first I was interested in what he had to say; he said he had worked with Mother Teresa and had a photo on him to prove it (they are totally in opposite sides of the frame) and how he helps orphans. Then he weirded me out with an album of photos of orphanages and volunteer work, which were ten, fifteen years old. As he kept talking, the cliches got more contrived, and I was so confused, trying to figure out where this guy was coming from and what he could possibly want. Plus I'd finished my coconut. Then he began briefly laying on God talk, and I got bored, thanked him, and told him I needed to go.
In the evening, I set out for the Botanical Garden, but I passed by the Bugis Market and got sidetracked by the Muji store. It's one part of my former boss Raj's aesthetic that did slightly rub off on me, and I thought maybe I'd find him a present inside. Except that I then realized he basically had everything in the store. Eventually I made it to the garden but it was almost dark, so I didn't see too much. It was green and misty and romantic though, which is great, because I was by myself. I sat for a while, listened to random songs that shuffled through on Marc's iPod, which he had lent to me. I've said it before, life is fun.
On Wednesday, I ate myself to the point of pain. In anticipation of my morning trip to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, I got some curry puffs and an assortment of other savory Indian bites. The reserve is a patch how Singapore used to be, rainforesty and lush. Macaques roamed freely, and I was charmed to see them hanging from trees and running up ahead of me on the footpath. Then I remembered that I'm scared of monkeys. I also saw a big lizard anda couple kinds of birds. Such a contrast to the concrete and malls of Orchard Road! (The main shopping road in Singapore.) Cicadas filled the air with a steady buzz, and I noticed a lone macaque who felt comfortable enough to pee in front of me.
Lastly, there were trees, beautiful trees, eeee trees! So many different kinds of leaves, vines, trunks, lichen spots, branching patterns, and roots! I thought about how beautiful it all was ... and I also though about how the shapes would totally make neat prints for fabric. Purses and shoes! Purses and shoes! Bukit Timah was my favorite part of Singapore so far. And it was free.
In the afternoon, I went to Chinatown, ate and and and ate, walked through a street market, and saw lots of mooncake. After stuffing myself, I wanted to find a place where I could digest in peace. I knew just the spot, hyaving stumbled upon it earlier while ... looking for a food market I thought was there. It was a roof/balcony about four floors up, overlooking an intersection below. Chinese acrobats performed, while strings of lanterns gradually turned on, illuminating the diners and shoppers in the street. Above the bustle of the crowd hovered the restaurants, in their charming Peranakan architecture. Behind them rose the austere, geometric highrises of the business district, and the dusk sky and brilliant moon spread behind it all. I had a quiet moment from this unique vantage point...until a man in his underwear joined me on the roof for some stretches and a nap. So I left.
I wandered over to the riverfront area, near the statue of the Merlion, symbol of the city. Maybe it was the lights twinkling on the water, or feeling small and meek in a big city, or the balmy air, but I felt quite reflective and happy.
Thursday morning I spent two hours at an internet place, freaking out about what I needed to do without actually doing any of it. I also only had S$10 in cash on me, so I was worried about running over my time and not having enough cash to pay. So I basically did nothing.
With my remaining S$6, I went to a food market to get lunch. I was accosted by a random Singaporean man who looked old enough to be my dad. We chatted a bit, and he bought us coconuts, which we sipped awkwardly, as he talked at me in cliches ("life is hard," "life is about the journey," "the young people are caught up in the rat race, the paper chase," etc) for twenty minutes. At first I was interested in what he had to say; he said he had worked with Mother Teresa and had a photo on him to prove it (they are totally in opposite sides of the frame) and how he helps orphans. Then he weirded me out with an album of photos of orphanages and volunteer work, which were ten, fifteen years old. As he kept talking, the cliches got more contrived, and I was so confused, trying to figure out where this guy was coming from and what he could possibly want. Plus I'd finished my coconut. Then he began briefly laying on God talk, and I got bored, thanked him, and told him I needed to go.
In the evening, I set out for the Botanical Garden, but I passed by the Bugis Market and got sidetracked by the Muji store. It's one part of my former boss Raj's aesthetic that did slightly rub off on me, and I thought maybe I'd find him a present inside. Except that I then realized he basically had everything in the store. Eventually I made it to the garden but it was almost dark, so I didn't see too much. It was green and misty and romantic though, which is great, because I was by myself. I sat for a while, listened to random songs that shuffled through on Marc's iPod, which he had lent to me. I've said it before, life is fun.
posted by Stefanie at 5:55 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home