Singapore is a city I never thought I'd get to visit last year... twice! The first travel was for my birthday weekend, the second was for an academic endeavor--the Skyrise Conference. For November, Singapore's temperature was just right, very different from that of March 2013 when Singapore was excruciatingly humid and hot. I still find it unbelievable to have too much heat in that city albeit the existence of tree-lined streets and a bombardment of vegetation EVERYWHERE. What more if there were none of this green wonderland? For my Singapore-lah November, I explored the city lakad-style! (lakad is the Tagalog version of "walking"). We stayed near the Bugis Area so can you just imagine the happiness of seeing a lot of stores and knowing that we are near the Marina Bay area?(yes, I find it very walkable). Knowing that everything was indeed walkable, we started our afternoon stroll to experience the cityscape. Most of the photos I took captured in snapshots the images of the built environment and the socio-cultural layer of Singapore. You see a lot of green spaces, but taking photos of people and the landscape made it a more intriguing walk. I seldom see photos of people TALKING unless they were inside the restaurant or are seated comfortably with no gadgets at hand. I did saw people talking, realizing they were also Filipinos. Are we really happy, talking walkers? We had our lunch hawker-style. Albert Centre is one of my favorite hawker food center in Singapore. We were there last March and we tried almost everything we could take in on our last night. The food we randomly ordered were yummy. Walking near the Bugis Area gave me a diverse cityscape and a crowd that shops and eats gastronomic street food. I wasn't able to try the ice-cream but I would love to if given a chance. We were in a hurry so I had to skip that. The walking and limitless shopping crowd. I love how the landscape encourages people to walk and walk and walk. I dream of having that same walking experience in Manila (beyond Makati and BGC). Next stop: Raffles Hotel--the hotel that has it's seasoned touch and stands out from the modern-architecture neighborhood. Next walking pitshop was the Suntec City. Noticeable are the big boards with vines creeping on it. I find it fun to see even the "green" concept on ads. The "O" outdoor art work is an optical illusion. Literally flat, but appears otherwise at several angles. Intriguing... That Fountain of Wealth that marks the center of the mall complex at Suntec City. Not noticeable but underneath that fountain is a food court, and the fountain acts as a perfect outdoor view for the eating public. I am happy for the idea of providing them a view regardless of the location. And we finally arrived: The Youth Olympic Park. ... And I thought our walk ended with this pit stop. I loved the crowd though. Seldom do I see open spaces used extensively in the Philippines. For a country like Singapore where open spaces are difficult to find, small spaces like these are indeed, premium lots where people find solace from the heavy work day. I love the field lawn, too!
I'm saving my food fest, aka MAKANSUTRA food binge for another post! For now, let's end this "tour" with a scenic view of that athletic field in SG.:) "Let's Dine and Unwind!" I had that in mind the minute I saw probably a hundred (or more) people gathered to eat by the bay. Makansutra was our dining mecca, to others it was a place to meet up and talk with good friends. Finally, something spectacular in a city setting is a place where people just stop from their usual walkathon to enjoy life and talk. SG has Makansutra for that. During our first evening at Singapore, we were given a chance to end our walkathon with good food from food stalls at that place. Of course, nothing beats the good lovely chitchat with friends but the food just made it even worth the visit. Spotted: Chicken that was to-die-for, spicy noodles that was probably one of the most sinful and addicting noodles I tasted, and fish that went to waste just because we were full (but was also one of the best tasting curry fish in town). We also had crispy garlic shrimps, fried rice and one of the best lemon iced tea. Everything tasted heavenly and everyone had a good talking-while-dining vibe. Also, I was told that Makansutra is a Filipino-bakasyunista favorite so you get to imagine the crowd of happy talkers and happy diners in one.
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Lifeisatravelogue by CDSNadal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. |