Singapore is a very urban environment. Skyscrapers, lots of pavement, lots of people. But the city planners have made every effort to make the city modern, functional and beautiful. There is amazing architecture, and impressive public artwork everywhere. Coming from the Pacific Northwest, and finding the gray and chilly (it’s a damp kind of chilly) winters there increasingly unpleasant, the warm (yeah, okay, humid and hot) temperatures of Singapore are very pleasant for me. The parks are green and verdant, with families having picnics and joggers everywhere.
I’ve only been here a few short days, so obviously I’m no expert, but seeing the city through brand new eyes also has advantages. I’ve traveled fairly widely in Europe, but never in Asia before and what I see here is pretty impressive. But it isn’t only in the daytime that Singapore shines.
The Fullerton Hotel
After dinner the other night we took a walk along the river. This was Saturday night, so there were people everywhere out having a good time. It didn’t rain (while we were out…..) and we enjoyed seeing the buildings lighted up, the restaurants full to overflowing, the boats along the river and the incredible cityscape alight like a Christmas tree. Which is funny because there are also Christmas decorations everywhere which seem oddly out of place in the heat.
There is something for everyone; food, drink, art, music, activity.
Boats along the river
Lots of music and nightlife spilling out of every establishment. Vendors, hawkers, walkers, drinkers and revelers.
Once home we sat down to enjoy the skyline from our living room and discovered that we had arrived home just in time. A tremendous storm came through, with torrential rain, bright and frequent blasts of lightening and thunder that truly sounded like cannon fire at close range. The storm was so impressive that we ventured out into the pool courtyard to view it up close for a while, and then retreated again to our living room for the light and sounds of the storm.
As the storm moved in the taller towers began to disappear into the weather
Yeah, I know it’s blurry, the rain was REALLY heavy
I’m too cheap at this point to upgrade my site enough to be able to add video, but if you are a friend of mine on FaceBook I added a couple of videos of the storm there.
Libby Scofield 