The Little Big Thinker by Pierre Matter, photo by placescases.com

What haven’t I told you about Singapore yet? Part 2

June 2018

In Part 1 I shared curious facts about Singapore and in Part 1 of the film I showed the best airport in the world – Changi Airport, the famous botanical Gardens by the Bay, the SuperTree Grove park. I mentioned again our favorite restaurant IndoChine, perched with its bar in the crown of one of the SuperTrees and reminisced about our stay at the kids-frienly hotel Shangri-La. Now I continue to share my first-hand impressions of other places of interest in Singapore, which I would recommend to anyone who plans a trip to it.

Singapore Flyer

We are talking about a huge Ferris wheel, high 165 meters. It was finished in 2008. And it was built for 2.5 years. Its diameter is 150 m. It’s higher than the London Eye by 30 meters. Each capsule accommodates up to 28 passengers.

Besides being able to watch from above the cityscape and take great pictures, you can book a capsule for a romantic dinner. In case you accidentally get dizzy or bored, you can watch the big screens inside the gondola and learn interesting facts. There are a bunch of other attractions around too. At the entrance we were welcomed by lighting effects. Another interesting thing was a sculpture made of objects used in daily life, something like waste materials. The creation’s name was Oneiroi’s Orb by David Chan Kien Wai. It was named after a character from the Greek mythology, who was a guardian of dreams. Do you remember a science fiction book with stories from different authors named “Onyrofilm”? The title of the same name story derives from the same character, only that in it the dreams had become a real experience. Here the author has expressed exactly the opposite. The daily reality, expressed by trivial objects from household waste, has been transformed into a dream. 1500 objects were combined in an interesting 3D mosaic, which played with shapes, colors, the light and shadows to enchant like a nice dream the spectator.  You can see it in Part 2 of the movie.

As we waited for our turn to come, we went to a 6D movie theater. I do not like rollercoasters and similar extreme attractions from fun fairs, however I had to go through exactly the same experience here in this small movie theater. The kids were screaming like they were back in LegoLand. If you have a weak heart, or you have eaten too much, you’d better not experiment, because your mind is going to freak out and make you believe you’re flying headlong down, exactly when the tracks under your boxcar come to an end. 😲🤮

Orchard Road- the shopping paradise and ION Orchard

A sharp landing. We’re going shopping. So what? Our souls will not suffer at all, because the malls in Singapore have gone beyond the boundaries of consumerism and ordinary shopping therapy. Orchard Road is full of malls. Gucci, Dolce & Gabanna, Luis Vuiton, Gucci, Prada… it’s a long list, any big brand you can think of has several shops on this boulevard. Don’t miss the Victoria’s Secret store. They got promotions very often. 🧚  ‍ 🧚  👼

What to do?! Conventional advertising does not work for me, but this annual show with Victoria’s Secret Angels is a favorite of young and old, female and male- ingenious idea of advertising!

Ion Orchard is one of the newest shopping malls. It looks really futuristic outside. Inside I expected it to be like another big commercial center on Orchard Road – Takashimaya, but I was mistaken.

Ion Orchard is not just a trade center with expensive brands. There are special art spaces and galleries showing sculptures and paintings by great world renowned artists like Bruno Catalano and Jef Koons. And since we talk about art, I need to mention gourmet art. You can even dine at a Michelin star restaurant there, although the other places are no less attractive.

The kids most liked a store with miniature figurines, and I was impressed by one selling Stainway & Sons. If you’re not aware, I will enlighten you that this year at the 2019 Grammy awards there was a white grand piano, inscriped with this name. And there at Ion shopping mall was her brother in black. You will be able to see it in the movie about Singapore, Part 2.

We’re out of the mall and there’s art again. On the street a man plays a rather strange brass instrument that sounds like a gentle fanfare trumpet (I apologize for this oxymoron because a fanfare trumpet sounds as gentle as a roaring elephant), but it’s the closest way to define it. Extraordinary thing! I did not resist and asked the man of his instrument, after his performance. It turned out to be raditional Chinese, called Sheng and it was made of bamboo and metal. The musician had made it by himself. You will listen to his performance in Part 2 of the movie.

In addition to the sound of the Sheng, you can hear a deafening chirping from the canopy of trees in the street. Singapore is a stop for many migratory birds. In the early evenings, they also walk on Orchard Road and because they are “talkative” you hear that constant screechy sound from above. Tons of water are used to wash the boulevard after their invasions. You will hear their sunset warbels… Guess where. Certainly, in the second part of… Which?…  The movie… About what?….  Singapore. 🤪

Hawkers Centers

Don’t mix it with hookers centers, it’s just street food. 🤪 In Singapore these centers are traditional. They are kind of open markets, only that there are pavilions selling food and drinks. Everything is freshly prepared and very tasty. If you didn’t go to one of those, then you should go back and catch up!!! I am not only a fan of fine dining and Michelin restaurants but also of good street food!

Each pavilion at the hawkers center has a number, and the tables, assigned to it are marked with it. The hygiene, as well as the process organization is very good. If the food you’re buying requires time to prepare, you can wait at the table and they will bring it to you, or you can take it by yourself.

So, this hawkers center we visited was called Zion and was located next to the river. It was the closest to our location at the time and it was open until later. We had no idea where we were going. It was a very pleasant surprise for us to hit a real star in the street food-Mr. Ho, who for years has been preparing the best Char kway teow. This is a traditional Chinese dish, made of fried flat rice noodles, with supplements of Chinese sausage, lard, mussels, shrimp, dark soy sauce, possibly also chili, fish cakes, bean sprouts, egg.

Mr. Ho is a world-renowned master of this local food and there are some diplomas, awards, mentions of it in the gourmet guids. Michelin also took the trouble to recommend it. His pavilion, with number 18 is a small space, piled up with eggs and elongated plates. He cookes every single serving separately. Master Ho wants to achieve best taste of his creation and methodically prepares the individual portion for every patiently awaiting customer in the line.

Yes, there’s always a queue in front of his booth, I’m not joking, and that’s why we chose him, without knowing what we would eat. We waited there in curiousity. Interestingly, all fellows in the line were locals in suits who just left the offices and came to eat quickly before going home.

We filled our waiting time with sips of beer and freshly-squeezed sugar cane. The first was good, the latter was awesome!

To be continued…

Well I can write and talk about Singapore endlessly. No matter how long I write, there will always remain something untold. However, I will push a bit more and make a thrid post, to tell you about the aquarium and the zoo. Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter not to miss it. It is best to subscribe to the blog directly.

For hotel bookings

If you have already decided that you will travel to Singapore, for your convenience I have added a booking.com search box in which you only need to add the dates of your trip and press search. Remember that you retain all your genius discounts and privileges. In addition, booking.com are doing their best to make sure that your expectations as a customer are fulfilled. I’ve described an example about the latter in  my story about our stay in Shangri-La hotel.


Booking.com

How to get there?

Check-up for promotions of Qatar Airways with the QR code below. This is how we booked our tickets at very affordable prices.

To make it easier for you to find the places I’m telling you about, view the map and click the pins if you want to get directions.

70 Airport Boulevard, Сингапур 819661

1 Fullerton Square, Singapore 049178

18 Marina Gardens Drive, #03-01 , Gardens by the Bay, Сингапур 018953

22 Orange Grove Rd, Сингапур 258350

18 Marina Gardens Drive, Сингапур 018953

18 Marina Gardens Dr, Сингапур 018953

For more reviews about restaurants, hotels, and other places in Sofia, Bulgaria and the world, check out all categories of placescases.com

If you are interested in the Experience Economy, read my articles dedicated to it and the places that apply its principles in practice.

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