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The other Singapore
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Save some time to discover the Singapore beyond the tourist pamphlets
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SUNNY SIDE up: The Singapore that everyone sees
WITH airfares to Singapore slashed so dramatically, chances are that more Indians will head out for a quick, and relatively cheap, foreign holiday than ever before.
And chances are also high that during the quick holiday, they will stick firmly to the recommendations of the Singapore Tourism Board brochures. Visitors to Singapore will therefore shop madly on Orchard Road, visit the famed Merlion, walk diligently up and down Boat Quay and Clark Quay and, of course, visit Sentosa Island, Jurong Bird Park, the Asian Civilisations Museum, the zoo, the botanical gardens and ride the Night Safari.
The island city's aggressive and hugely successive Tourism Board isn't putting its collective feet up as the visitors stream in though; instead, it continually looks for new attractions to lure tourists.
The latest of these is the annual Singapore Fashion Festival, currently in its third year. Unlike the snotty upper crust events that most fashion festivals epitomise, this one is democratised — which means that anyone who plans in time can be privy to a Givenchy or Versace show; enough reason, STB officials suspect, to organise a trip to Singapore around the time of the festival. And Singapore is a great city to enjoy a taste of fine living: restaurants have mushroomed everywhere (there's even a DKNY café for those who can't afford the actual clothes), a variety of shopping options includes cheaper options such as Giordano and local brands which retail in shopping centres in the suburbs and the attractions are as well thought-out as in any Western tourist hotspot. But although cabs are reasonably priced modes of transport, take the time to ride an MRT — even if it's just to one of the tourist attractions.
Take a trip
From the city centre in order to get to the Jurong Bird Park for instance you take an MRT to Boon Lay.
The ride is long enough to allow you a peek into another Singapore. Unlike the tai tais (generally middle-aged women of leisure who spend most of their day shopping with the money given to them by rich husbands, seen at the mega malls driving big cars, Chanel bags in hand) of Orchard Road, the commuters on the MRT are local Singaporeans who travel long distances to get to work. They are considerably worse dressed than the bankers in the business district, they are tired, they jostle for space — a striking feature in a city-country where touching someone even by mistake invites a startled reaction. Singaporeans appear, on the whole, to enjoy a relatively high standard of living; they can afford their own homes through well-devised government schemes, and absolute poverty, so evident in other parts of South East Asia, is either entirely absent or very well concealed. But talking to local residents, whether cab drivers, students or expats reflects their very real concerns with flaws in what appears to the tourist to be a faultless system.
Singaporeans, and especially young students, face complex issues of identity. Students say that the emphasis on English as a "language of development" often alienates them from their own mother tongues whether Mandarin or Tamil. Discrimination is certainly not obvious, and almost never apparent to the tourist, but published letters to the Editor at the Straits Times reveal undercurrents of acute awareness of racial differences and hierarchies among Singapore's multicultural population.
So indulge your taste buds by the riverside, shop till you drop and visit all the mainstream attractions, but take some time out to take the local transport, chat with the cab drivers and people-watch in the suburbs. You're likely to be privy to a well-hidden Singapore, which reflects its ethnic diversity, economic struggle and common concerns better than a mall at the city centre would.
FOOD HOLIDAY
A devoted tourist will want to "see the sights" and stick by the Tourism Board guidelines, but you can enjoy a whole five days in Singapore just eating. Begin, just for fun, at the local food courts where you can mingle with regular Singaporeans looking for a cheap meal of just a couple of dollars. Some food courts especially on Orchard are particularly good and even vegetarians get at least three dishes on each counter's menu.
At the Esplanade where all the art and culture activities take place is My Humble House. Anything but humble, this chain of restaurants extends across South East Asia. The one at the Esplanade serves fusion cuisine and since it overlooks the riverside it's already a very appealing option! A boutique restaurant, apart from perfect meals there's also a lot of attention paid to food presentation so don't be surprised if your dessert arrives amidst waves of steam emanating from a vase containing ice and rose petals.
Great, if expensive, food also at Holland Village, an area inhabited mostly by expatriates. Mostly housing Italian restaurants, the long, narrow lane prides itself on great food including an all-vegetarian restaurant called Original Sin at Chip Bee Gardens.
Chinatown has lots of options for Chinese food, but for Oriental cuisine, definitely try the Sundanese Café on Boat Quay. Eating anywhere on Boat and Clark Quay is a relaxed experience, watching lazy boats paddle by and the twinkling night lights, but Indonesian food makes it a perfect choice.
Marche's on Orchard allows you to wander through a makeshift underground bazaar, picking and choosing items from various stalls in a comfortable setting with wooden interiors. Peranakan Place also has some café options and allows you to soak in the old-world charm of these old inhabitants of the Island City.
TOURIST HOTSPOTS
Most people go to Singapore to shop, of course. Orchard Road in the city centre is the best bet, with its large malls like Takashimaya Ngee Ann City, Paragon and departmental stores such as Tangs offering leading designer wear as well as cheaper local brands. Lots of options are also available in the residential areas' shopping centres such as Ang Mo Kio and Bishan; these are affordable though not designer and often a good bargain.
Then there are the `must-do' touristy things: save a day for a visit to the pleasure island Sentosa, and another for a visit to Jurong. If you decide to take the MRT to Jurong then the ride will take you about 45 minutes from the city centre and you should definitely stay to watch the special bird shows at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. and again at 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. It's safer to go in the morning though, since tea time rains often throw the afternoon shows out of gear.
Another must is the Night Safari; with a half-hour show, 45-minute tram ride and smaller trails that you can follow on your own. Singaporeans are proud of their zoo, and their botanical gardens, which you should try and visit at sunset.
Then there's Boat Quay and Clark Quay with excellent food options, though of very different kinds. Boat Quay has a wide range of relaxed and exciting options in Indian, Chinese, Indonesian food and so on, whereas Clark Quay appears less spontaneous with its posh bistros and sheesha bars.
The Asian Civilisations Museum is a must. It's the kind of place that gets overlooked in the mad shopping rush that overcomes people when they come to Singapore, but you can lose yourself in its many halls devoted to South East Asian cultures.
The Merlion, symbolising Singapore is a great photo opportunity, and you can grab some great pastries and coffees nearby.
Chinatown, is worth a visit, but only if you've done the rest. As are Arab Street where organised walks costing approximately Sing $20 will lead you through the locality.
Commuting is relatively cheap: even a cab ride to the Night Safari will only cost you about Sing $15 from Orchard or nearby Newton Road and buses and MRTs are easy to use, costing often less than a dollar for the bus and a couple of dollars for the MRT including changes to different lines.
HEMANGINI GUPTA
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