Oh no it's Singapore.
It's been a decade since I spent much time in Singapore.
From 1992 to 2004 I was a regular visitor, interviewing International
students and lecturing for a month at a time. My friends commiserated, as for
them, Singapore was a boring place of transit. I always loved coming here.
Because I lectured in the evenings I had the days to really explore the areas
that tourists didn't go to. Also when work finished at around 10.30pm I would hit
the town with the students and they would show me the Singapore side of life.
Sleazy bars and low life cafes, oh what fun.
I'm looking forward to seeing the changes a decade brings.
The first morning started off really slowly. Preparing for a teleconference.
And then three hours on the phone.Just as we were going out a fabulous Singapore
thunder storm hit with spectacular lightening hitting the tall buildings around us.
Finally we headed off to hunt and gather as we were both starving.
We ended up at the Crossroads Cafe on Orchard Parade.
Singapore was noisy back then. that hasn't changed. Although now
the local mosque was using a very loud sound systems to try and
unsuccessfully drown out the sounds of shopping and cash registers.
The Singapore hobby of shopping till you drop has certainly not abated.
New shopping malls are replacing old ones at a rapid rate.
The unfortunate thing is that they are filled with Prado, Chanel, Dior,
Burberry, Zara, Top Shop and all the likely culprits. Surely there is a limit to
how many branches of Dior there are on two blocks.
Zara could be in Melbourne or New York with absolutely
no nod to the local culture.
Tangs Orchard was showing some creativity using
Rootstein mannequins in oddly domestic settings.
Lucky Plaza hadn't changed a bit and is still the place to go to for
cameras and electronic equipment. I left with an interesting Steinzeiser
wide angle/macro 0.5 x 72mm lens.
Because Singapore is an island, and they can't create much more land, buildings
are continually being replaced with taller ones. The architecture of the city
has become more adventurous and the city is looking different
Dior
Chanel
Chanel
Mui Mui
Ion, a new complex that has been opened although it
is still under construction. And yes it's full of top-end European labels.
In Singapore they are willing to play with design.
This is part of the roof of the interior of the Ion complex.
As you look up shadow sharks are swimming above you.
Maybe it's just an editorial on the state of the retail industry
Regent Hotel Singapore. Still not sure about large hotels.
The we finished the night at Dan Ryan's Chicago Grill. Very Asian.
I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Saturday, no work, and time to explore.
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