As good optimistic I am, my thinking is that the many good things about Australia, one of which is that it is so far from everything, that to go anywhere any elsewhere in the world can visit pass. So, in my trip to Spain this Christmas, I took a stopover in Singapore.
And why Singapore, Bangkok or not Dubai? Perhaps another time will visit these other cities, but this time I decide to Singapore for two reasons. The first, because I found that has a stunning collection of bonsai, and my love Bonsai hope to find inspiration. The second reason is curious to see if it is true that Singapore Airlines, the airline, as well as good as they say.
The Singapore Airlines flight is not the cheapest, but at least it does not pass through Heathrow Airport in London has given me so much pain, standing by the distances I had to walk loaded with baggage and many headaches for his tendency to lose the bags and their counter-terrorism measures as inconvenient.
Thus, on December 15 took the plane to Singapore. The plane itself is amazing but in the opposite direction than I expected. It is old, the windows are dirty and the TV attached to the chair does not serve for anything other than for decoration. The seats are narrow and with little legroom. C'mon, it's not like they paint on the ads. Luckily the flight is a day and had no intention of watching television. I spend eight hours of the flight reading and playing with my NDS, when not enjoying the food, yes that was fine. And in a blink of an eye we reached Singapore.
From the air, the first impression of Singapore is its harbor. It is one of the busiest ports the world, and it shows. Down on the water are hundreds of huge cargo ships and tankers. Each of these ships will measure several hundred meters, and its size, larger than the buildings of the city makes it all seem a bad model where the artists are not successful with the relative scale of objects.
is lunchtime local time but my stomach says no, and anyway as we have been fed on the flight. With what hand luggage left on consignment and I turn to my main destination, the Chinese Garden with its collection of bonsai. Urban transport is a marvel, so cheap, frequent and punctual, and takes me to the other side of the city-state within half an hour.
The garden China is in a part of Singapore where tourists barely. The area is quiet, and I can barely shoot Bonsai anyone I clutter the composition. The collection of bonsai has two sides, China and Japan, supplemented as well. They are like the food in these two countries. While the Japanese bonsai are sober and simple, where each branch has a precise position and even a special symbolism, the Chinese are an explosion of forms and varieties. Some penjing, which is how they call Chinese bonsai are wild looking and try to imitate the trees shaped by nature. Others, however, are completely stylized Chinese characters forming twisted branches, calligraphy mixed with horticulture. Compositions abound where he is striking is not the tree but the rock where they put the tree. On my side I see hundreds of specimens, each a work of art. And best of all, there are few visitors to this collection so fascinating.
There are other parts of the Chinese garden with more tourists, all local, and this garden is full of special places, rich in symbolism that I do not understand, and I decide to leave for another occasion.
My main objective has been met, now what? I take the guidebook and decided to go to Chinatown, Chinatown that should be more authentic that of Sidney, as most of the population is of Chinese descent singaporeana.
Chinatown is an explosion of colors, especially red, and there are plenty of shops. Mine is not just visiting shops, and walk through the place, where almost every shopkeeper catches my eye to see what they have to offer. Avivo the way, I hate all this bustle. At the end I hide in a Buddhist temple at the end of the neighborhood, where many Buddha figures gives me dizzy. Wherever I look I see a figure of Buddha. There are giants and small Buddhas, Buddha everywhere. I miss Japanese Buddhist temples, which, like its bonsai, are so simple and so inspiring tranquility.
dinner I had planned in Chinatown but change my mind and I decide to visit an area that, according to the guide, is very popular among the locals for dinner. The singaporeanos seize every opportunity to go to dinner, and serve good food everywhere. I'm going to visit is characterized by seafood, and promises. Volume
meter but I dare not take the bus because I do not understand the signs at the stop, so I decide to walk to the sea. The walk takes me rather dodgy areas and deserted, and being a tourist was so apparent as it was rather uncomfortable, that you know what area is what was happening. It comforts me to think that Singapore is a country with a very high standard of living and low crime rate, and it would be bad luck to end up in a dangerous place.
More than half an hour later arrived at the coastal area. I'm tired of traveling and walking, but find that it is the restaurant area. With what I have to walk further along the coast. It is pitch dark around me and I see groups of young people enjoying the night, a bike, others on skates, others with a barbecue, or camping on the lawn. I'm exhausted and hungry, not really knowing if there is a restaurant worth. All restaurants that seem to see me or too cheesy or too expensive, and fatigue, along with the heat, that Singapore practice in Ecuador, make me ever more difficult to judge the restaurants.
the end, some forty minutes later, when I start thinking about taking a taxi to take me to the airport area came to a popular seafood. They are great restaurants and a terrace overlooking the sea and crowded. I think I've reached my destination.
I decided on the Jumbo Seafood restaurant where the specialty singaporeana ask: chili crab and beer to relieve thirst. I serve a dish with a huge crab, the father of all crabs, along with a nutcracker to break the shell. And I enjoy as a kid breaking the shell and stain your hands with chili sauce. The sauce is not as spicy as I feared, and the crab is just delicious. The table is huge and I share with a partner, one Scottish, with whom I can finally talk about something other than platitudes with tourists and vendors.
already full stomach and happy, I get to the airport and took the flight to Barcelona. The dinner served in-flight looks great but I ignore that I'm still licking crab. This time the plane is much better, with more seating space and a large inset TV where I can watch movies at my leisure. I order a Singapore Sling, the most famous cocktail Singapore with vodka, Cointreau and some other thing, I see something on TV and I finally sleep, the day has been long.
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