Back in January, my sister Kay placed a successful bid on Sky Auction for 3 tickets to Singapore. After months of anticipation and planning, the "shopping sisters", my mom, my aunt Pat, and Kay arrived for their 11 day adventure in the wee hours of September 30. They handled the 3-leg, 25 hour trip from Atlanta remarkably well.
Mom is legally blind, wear hearing aids, and has difficulty walking for long distances. So to help make the exploring a bit easier on her, Kay scored a titanium folding wheelchair from where she works. And as a result, we all got to experience and appreciate just how mobility-accessible Singapore really is. It's quite good, particularly in the tourist and shopping areas; less so out in the neighborhoods and some of the ethnic enclaves.
The mass transit system is particularly good, with elevators at every stop we used and with raised markings in the floors to help you navigate. People were also kinder than perhaps I'd expected from earlier "kiasu" experiences. They made space for the chair and gave us room to get over the well-advertised "gap" between station and train. ("Please mind the gap.") The only friendly competition we had was with the baby buggies for the lifts. Many buses are also accessible, although we stayed with the trains, walking, and the car.
Singapore can seem like one great big shopping mall, so the "shopping sisters" felt right at home. Chinatown with it's charm, hidden treasures, and bargains was a regular destination during the visit. And not just for shopping: we enjoyed the hand-made noodles at Lan Zhou La Mian and the snow ice at Mei Heong Yuen.
It was my sister's opportunity to dare the durian, and she did quite well. However, since durian can "be the taste that keeps on tasting", it will not likely be a repeat experience. Aunt Pat liked the green tea, but Mango remains the undisputed champion snow ice flavor. We toured one of the wet markets, smelling and seeing the endless variety of animals, minerals and vegetables available, with black skinned chickens, eels, and live frogs being among the more unusual items.
We enjoyed a boat tour on the Singapore river, a relaxing way to see the city, the many restaurants along Clarke and Boat Quays ("keys"). My aunt had been to Singapore a few years back and recognized that the Merlion, the statue of the city-state's mascot, had been relocated from where she thought it should be. According to feng-shui, the Chinese beliefs about the correct relative placements of things, the additional reclaimed land had made the old location no longer auspicious. We've heard that the Merlion is going to be moved again, sometime after the "Integrated Resorts" (casinos) have been completed at the new mouth of the Singapore river in 2010.
The Night Safari, the zoo that opens as the sun is setting, is a must-see activity. Mom opted out (dark plus a lot of walking didn't seem like much fun). To our surprise, there was a major Halloween fest going on. In additional to roving costumed characters, several of the trails were specially marked and set up like haunted houses with people jumping out of the jungle to scare you. And this being Asia, Dracula was nowhere to be found. Instead, we encountered a "Jiang Shi", the hopping Chinese undead that is a blend between a vampire and a zombie. We also enjoyed the surprise dish served up at the "little dim sum cart of horrors."
We packed a lot in during the visit. There was high tea at the stately Raffles Hotel, tours of multiple Hindu and Buddhist temples, a visit to the "Fountain of Wealth" (listed in the Guinness 1998 Book of Records as the largest fountain in the world), shopping on Arab Street, and the requisite meal in Little India. Little India, with it's narrow streets and frenetic activity spilling out onto the sidewalks, was a particular challenge to navigate with a wheelchair. In contrast, Citylink Mall, an underground shopping complex that spreads out from the City Hall MRT stop, was particularly accommodating. (Mom drew quite the crowd as she demonstrated the wheelchair lift in order to navigate a set of stairs.)
Both Kay and Raye went to Ohio State, and the scenes of Singapore provided a spectacular setting in which to pose for some "O H I O" human letter photos. Apparently the alumni magazine has a running contest for the most original / interesting entries. Perhaps one of their entries will win, and if not they had a lot of fun (and drew a few curious stares) making them.
Everyone had a great adventure. And it wouldn't surprise us if the Shopping Sisters decide that they ended up buying something they don't need or doesn't fit. That's all the excuse they'd need for a "return" trip.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
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1 comment:
Good to know that your family enjoyed the Singapore trip.
I've never seen the temple with the tiger, may I know where it is ?
Thanks.
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