Singapore sparkles in my eyes
Singapore’s collection of glass and monolith skyscrapers never fails to amaze. But the towers of intricate architectural designs are lovelier and happier come night time, especially now that the streets, particularly the shopper’s haven Orchard Road, are adorned with Christmas lights that seemed to dance and accompany locals and tourists on their shopping, eating, and sightseeing expeditions.
The Orchard is embellished in white and blue lights, following this year’s theme of White Christmas. Majority of the Singaporeans are Buddhist so the Yuletide season for them is commercialized, which means more shopping options for Filipinos!
We hopped on the HiPPO (Hop On Hop Off) Sightseeing Bus Tour for thirty minutes and roamed around Orchard Street. It was delightful and dizzying at the same time to see the dancing lights and the people in a Christmas rush, towing their shopping bags and cameras.
The Orchard annual lighting ceremony, managed by the Orchard Road Business Association, aims to share blessings and give back to the community via each shopper’s transaction with the participating malls and boutiques. The stunning Christmas lights display will end in January.
Daytime is another story.
Singapore is a busy corporate district. But the highlight of our day tour was the back alley trip, where stories Singaporeans would rather choose to forget, resurfaced, including one of the oldest occupations in the world: prostitution. Our tour guide towed us to the red-light district of Geylang. Contrary to the sophisticated and fast-paced uptown, Geylang has a different kind of vibrancy—women clad in short shorts arms intertwined with their men, sidewalk vendors offer sex paraphernalia that sell for a song, and brothel after brothel after brothel. Our tour guide said that since the government cannot stop prostitution then, regulating it is the best option. Indeed, Geylang is an interesting and eclectic part of Singapore every tourist must see and experience.
Here are the other unordinary tourist options you can try:
Dig in!
Singapore is never short of restaurants and food hawkers. One of its must-try dishes is the Dried Laksa. The common favorite Laksa is usually spicy noodles in coconut milk and curry soup. However, Violet Oon’s Kitchen serves dried up Laksa, which tastes like creamy pesto pasta and the usual Laksa sans the sharp taste.
Meanwhile, the famous Tim Ho Wan restaurant, which is originally a hole-in-the-wall café in Hong Kong, finds another home in Singapore. The Michelin Star recipient offers all-time favorites like baked buns, dim sums, and steamed egg cake, among others. The Michelin Star award is a stamp of fine dining quality. We had our reservation on a Sunday night and boy, was it jam-packed!
Then of course, there are the traditional cuisines like the Chicken Rice, Wonton, and Bak Kat Teh (Pork Rib Tea) available from hawkers.
Shopping Spree
If Orchard Road is too high-end for you, the Bugis Junction is definitely a shopping haven for inexpensive stuff. What’s good about Bugis is you can haggle lah! Aside from the famous Bugis Street, Singapore has a plethora of shopping depots like the China Town Square, Funan, Vivo City, and Plaza Singapura among others.
One Singaporean dollar is 35 pesos; it won’t hurt your pocket that much so shop, shop, shop!
Fit for Kids
Singapore is also very kid-friendly. Sentosa in particular, has a Universal Studios, S.E.A. Aquarium, which is the largest marine life park, luge and zip line options, and 3D and 4D entertainment shows. Then of course, the famous Gardens by the Bay and its Super Trees are now adorned with Christmas lights, lanterns, reindeers, and Christmas trees.
Instagrammable Lion City
Singapore has proven itself as a tourist hub for shoppers, foodies, and kids. What adds to its allure is that everything about the Lion City is Instagram-ready! So the next time you visit Singapore, do not forget to carry your cash, flat shoes, DSLR camera or smart phone and Instagram your snapshots. Take advantage of the Christmas rush, mall sales, and must-see tourist destinations. Indeed, Singapore is a chic place to see and be seen.
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