GlobalConquest: Life In Singapore

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2005年10月14日

Life In Singapore

After losing myself in England for so long, I have finally found myself in Singapore. I fire off emails telling my friends "great food, lots of work, nice people” but I would like a chance to elaborate and I hope you will appreciate the chance to appropriate.

First I must share a couple of interesting and unexpected encounters. While spending some time exploring London, I rounded the corner of Oxford Circus, one of London’s busiest intersections (both pedestrian and vehicular) and passed within a couple feet of an old friend and bboying buddy from University, Jason. Fortunately I spotted him and tapped him on the shoulder since he was ready to walk right past me. We had some time to hang out before I went off to Singapore.

In another even more bizarre encounter, I was taking some time to relax in Hyde Park and found a random tree to lean against while I had a sort of mini picnic consisting of simple items procured from the grocer. Leaning against this tree, another character from my past walked by on the adjacent pathway. Approaching from behind I could not see him until he passed. From him, I was obscured by the tree. With curious suspicion, I called out “Saul?!” And Saul it was. Another university friend with whom I spent some time on exchange in Japan, and he was just as surprised to see me as I was to see him.

Shortly after my two reunions, I was off to Singapore. A week before leaving, my agency in Calgary had sent my pictures to an agency in Singapore. They asked if I would like to go and I replied I would love to. So they asked when I could be there and I replied I could be there in a week. That is the short story.

So far Singapore has been really grand. The city is very modern and well organized. Much of this small island is a Mecca for shopping. It seems you can procure pretty much anything except “Le Coq Sportif” shoes in Men’s sizes. There is one department store, Takashimaya - a famous Japanese franchise, which I visit frequently. The two tower building here, also known as "Ngee Ann City" houses a variety of high end boutiques, quality clothing stores, as well as the Takashimaya department store itself. The highlights, however, for me are the Kinokuniya bookstore, the Mos burger, and Yoshinoya. People familiar with Japan will understand why I appreciate those establishments - rare occurrences outside their country of origin.

I think the transit network here is unparalleled in efficiency, cleanliness, and organization. Waving a wallet containing your RFID pass card ushers you into a temple of beautiful, sterile silence. Polished stone tiling, sharp unembellished design, and warnings prohibiting everything from cigarettes to durians ensures an experience that foreshadows our sanitized dystopian future. The underground stations downtown have glass platform doors, and when the trains go to the suburbs, they glide quietly atop a track supported by giant concrete columns. The newest line even has driverless trains!

When you get off the train, famished after your legally enforced fasting, you can head straight for one of the “hawker markets” to replenish your calories. The antithesis of the MRT stations, these dirty eating establishments feature plenty of food court style seating encircled by cluttered food stalls proffering any type of Asian food imaginable. If “curried fish head” or “pig organ soup” is too much for you to stomach, you might opt for Korean bibimbap, spicy Malaysian food, or the very local, very tame, and very tasty “chicken rice”. At a food court in a mall or at one of the touristy hawker markets, you might pay 5 SGD for a meal, but at somewhere less central you can eat for 3 SGD (1 British pound)!

Just like in Milan, there are lots of private events, product launches, and promotions. In fact, I think there are much more. If I am not involved directly as a model, I am often invited to enjoy the free champagne and h'orderves while basking in the glow of local celebrities I don't recognize.

A couple of shots from England:

Brighton Pier, England