Singapore

2 days ago

3 min read

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Greetings, family and friends,

We visited Singapore for a week to meet with collaborators and give presentations on our research. We squeezed in some sightseeing and are now eager to watch Crazy Rich Asians through more experienced eyes. A few highlights below.

Buildings

Singapore is ultra modern, with few of the old temples or ruins that we've seen in most other southeastern countries. Here, the skyscrappers and manicured gardens rule.

For example, the famous Marina Bay Sands hotel and lightshows on the bay.

The view from atop the Marina Bay Sands — the bay view from atop the hotel

The Marina Bay Sand's famous rooftop pool

the august Fullerton Hotel (and long ago post office)

The flagship Louis Vuitton and Apple stores for all to admire on the baywalk

Singapore's Changi Airport has been considered the world's best for many years. Now we see why. Aside from its efficiency and sensible planning, it offers audacious art and architecture (the world's largest indoor waterfall!), excellent food options, and good entertainment (butterfly and cactus gardens, anyone? how about a free movie at the theater while waiting for your transfer?). It's so pleasurable that locals visit it for weekend leisure, though maybe that also says something else about Singapore...

Here's that waterfall:

Davina posing at the bottom of Chiangi Airport's famous indoor waterfall — Davina caught by paparazzi at Chiang Airport's indoor waterfall

Or the Kinetic Rain display, with over 1200 copper droplets, each connected by thin wires to a motor, programmed to join together to take different shapes (ex, dragons!). We marveled at it for a solid 30 minutes. (We are easily mesmerized. It will be our downfall one day.)

The Kinetic Rain art display at Chiangi Airport

Garden CIty

Singapore, known regionally as the Garden City, tops many lists of the world's "greenest cities" due to its extensive public gardens, tree-lined roads, and ahead-of-the-curve sustainability policies.

The Gardens by the Bay and the Botanic Gardens are not to be missed.

A few specimens from the world's largest orchid garden, a highlight of the Botanical Gardens.

Multiculturalism

Singapore is home to four main cultural groups - Chinese, Malays, Indians, and Peranakan - plus several smaller groups. And the country seems to embrace multiculturalism more than most others. The different groups get on pretty well and enjoy each other's traditions and foods. Each group also has a unique neigborhood celebrated by all.

The government values multiculturalism too. For example, public housing, which is quite nice and highly coveted, requires proprtionate representation of each group among tenants, all for the sake of equal access and fostering relationships.

The government also celebrates its diveristy in various ways, including the annual Chingay Festival, a weekend smorgasbord of activities, food, and a hyper-stimulating parade. It was a highlight of the trip, especially for Davina, who was fondly reminded of the International Student Association events that her parents organized at their university in Minnesota.

Some of the pre-parade excitement at Chinggay:

And the wild parade (via slideshow):

For a close-up of the weirdness, here's a short review from the pros:

Societal Rules

Singapore is famously rules-oriented. It goes to great lengths to teach people appropriate behaviors. Here are a few signs at the subway teaching people, in a cute Singaporean way, how to be kind to others. We wouldn't be opposed to having these signs in New York...

Finally, many thanks to Corwin's colleague Arief for giving such a warm welcome! He invited us into his home, showed us around town, humored Davina's insatiable need to see Chinese lion dances, and even took us out to a fancy dinner at the famous Marina Bay Sands hotel. What a sweet fella!