There's something about Singapore

OK, in the previous post I told you guys about all the fascinating regulations of Singapore. Now it's time to explore all the things you can legally do in Singapore.

First of all, you can legally go to Haw Par Villa park. It's a theme park portraying Chinese mythology. You can visit 10 courts of Chinese Hell, where the sinners will meet inhuman, painful and extremely cruel punishments for their bad deeds in the past life. But because there is even hope in Hell, after suffering the punishment, an elderly lady will give the tortured soul a cup of tea that will make them forget their past lives. Their souls are then returned back to the Earth, until they lead a virtuous enough life to be freed from samsara, the circle of death and rebirth. Chinese hell was my favorite place in the park.

Inhuman and cruel punishments 

Here you will have the tea of forgetfulness

In addition to the hell, you will see scenes picturing a story with a moral, like filial piety (a somewhat common topic in many far East countries), loyalty etc. The best part of the park was that in the early morning it was quite empty. I only learned about the place from my friend who's been living in Singapore for some time now. She told me not many tourists know about the park, so it will not be that crowded. "Not crowded" is not a phrase you will often hear in the densely populated cities of the east.

My zodiac animal 

Singapore is a genuinely multicultural nation, many people from different origins have made the city their home. My friend told me that despite the multicultural atmosphere, the ethnic groups don't mingle with each other that much. Thus, the Chinese, the Indian. the Malaysian etc stay within their own group, marry within their own group. "The different ethnic groups have their own occupations. Have you noticed, most of the cleaning jobs are performed by the Indians and Bangladeshi. All the customs officers where Malaysian. And Chinese people work in the offices." So, due to the ethnic mix of Singapore, you can visit Chinatown, little India and the Arab street, all of them located quite close to each other. Chinatown has a Buddhist temple, the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, one of the most popular and important Buddhist temples in Singapore. The building is impressive, especially so during my visit when the area was decorated for Buddha's birthday.

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple

In my opinion, Singapore had better places to shop than Ho Chi Minh or Bangkok. Personally I liked the Singapore souvenirs most and I'm a bit sorry I couldn't buy more of them. Actually, a thing that made me really upset in Singapore was trying to buy a ring and sunglasses. Altogether they costed 3 dollars, and I only had a 50 dollar note which the seller didn't accept. "Too much". I was so angry. 50 Singapore dollars IS NOT actually that much, the Singapore dollar exchanges almost one-to-one with the Australian dollar. I really liked the ring, too. Another tourist offered me 5 dollars but I just snapped at the poor girl "I don't want them anymore". Feel a bit bad about that, usually I at least try to act politely. I don't understand this problem of not wanting to give change. It was the same in Poland. Even if I saw the cashier's cash machine was packed with zlotys, they felt reluctant to part with the notes and give change for bigger notes. Why?

Chinatown decorations

Another thing about shopping in Singapore that I found relaxing was being able to just inspect the items without the seller pressuring me to buy. The more aggressive sales culture of Vietnam and Thailand makes me occasionally crazy. The only exception to this were the little India and Arab street where the sellers were constantly offering their goods "a dress for the madame today", "maybe something beautiful for the lady from my store" etc. Otherwise in Singapore you can do your shopping in relative peace. Actually, shopping seems to be the national hobby of the tiny state, most mrt stations have their own shopping malls.

Entire floor full of stalls selling Indian style clothing

The price level of Singapore is higher than in other South East Asian countries. I was surprised to find out that Singapore is almost as expensive as Australia. Eating out, however, is cheaper. Housing in Singapore is expensive, and the nation suffers a chronic overdemand for housing.

Singapore is full of high-rise buildings that look exactly the same

My friend told me the culture is very competitive. "You can succeed in life if you are very good at school, or if you can go to a good play school, because then you can go to a good elementary school, a good high school etc." Everywhere I go I can see play schools with a catchy, auspicious names, usually including positive noun (or adjective), like "star", "talent", "success", you name it. I can see the Singaporeans aim high from the very beginning. However, the promising names come with an inherent expense. Education in Singapore is ridiculously expensive.

Something I didn't expect to find on the Arab Street. Sweden, you are a part of Arabia now

And back to the sight-seeing, Marina Bay and Gardens by the Bay are on most tourists' bucket list and they certainly are worth a visit. I'd suggest there going there on an overcast day, because the area is really hot on a sunny day. There are not a lot of trees to offer any kind of shadow, plus not many places where you can get drinking water or a snack. My friend told me to take a lunch box with me, plus plenty of water and when I later sat on an uncomfortably hot stone bench munching my lunch I was really thankful for the advise. The gardens are very lovely, you can see the super trees that decorate many post cards. They were beautiful, indeed. Well, there's plenty to write about Singapore, but I guess I will give way to Thailand next. Good bye Singapore, for now!

Magnificent!