singapore sling

singapore botanic gardens 

o'keefe?

making dumplings at our fave restaurant

laurel got henna in little india


laurel says:

singapore is a trip.  we were fortunate to have wonderful hosts during our stay - our dear friends jon and kerry sulski from sf who showed us a slice of the expat life.  it was nice to be in such a clean and modern city.  but singapore gets a bit ocd with the cleanliness.  i mean even in the botanic gardens nary a leaf is out of place and no bugs are buzzing (probably because they fumigate weekly with a huge white cloud of chemical glory).  but for this retail queen, the most fascinating part of singapore was the die hard mall culture.  where else can you find three louis vuitton stores on one block?  and with lines outside!  it is worth a spin thru the malls just to check out the outrageous food courts.  all those hanging dead ducks/chicken feet/unidentifiable animals are enough to make me vegetarian for life.  thank goodness we had our good friends the espinosa family to guide us thru the maze of food options to our favorite dumpling place.  but for a taste of old world culture, beeline straight for little india or the colonial district.  without these unique gems, singapore feels like vegas minus all the debauchery (and jay walking). 

view from 'ku de ta' on top of marina bay sands hotel

'marina bay sands' casino, mall, hotel, with rooftop pool, bar, club

polish brothers

the espinosa family

emil says:
thank you to the sulskis for their fabulous hospitality and to the espinosa clan for showing us a taste of local flavors. great to see friends on this trip. just fantastic. ok singapore is an odd place. shiny and spotless and tres modern and trying really hard to be a beacon of sophistication and consumption. its blazing hot so people head inside. i don't blame them. if you build it, and build it with a/c they will most surely come. people go to the malls. food is there (from mario batali hotspots to local flavors i just cannot explain), entertainment is there (ice skating rinks, casinos, venice-like canals you can row a boat thru, etc), all can be found in the malls. shiny and new and super expensive. but alas flavorless.  my favorite description "singapore is an emerging market country dressed up as a developed one". behind the malls there is genuine culture in the likes of the little india ghetto and several examples of old colonial architecture but sadly these feel like background elements compared to the grandness of the new mega malls. we had a great time hanging out with friends and enjoyed our time here immensely but not sure when if i will return for another singapore sling.

braving a singapore food court

the famous raffles hotel

a less modern side of singapore at raffles 

the original singapore sling- only $26