In a span of 10 months, there has been quite a number of changes in Singapore. Sometimes, it is just amazing that Singapore is truly, truly a very efficient country. If the local government are half as efficient, we probably won't be facing the current water crisis, the daily deadlock (traffic jam) into the Brisbane city, the collapsing health systems, etc etc....
Number 1: Singapore Flyer
London has its London Eye, Malaysia has its Mata Malaysia, what does Singapore have? The Singapore "Bak Chew"?? haha.. Its called the Singapore Flyer....
Currently, only the frame is up. The capsules have not been sealed onto the circular frame yet. And this thing is gigantic. Apparently it takes about half an hour to complete a full circle. Mind you the fare doesn't come cheap. Being business minded and all, they have already thought of other business opportunities for the Singapore Flyer. It has marketed itself to be THE special place for proposal, ROM, wedding, anniversary dinners, valentines day, etc etc.... How much would this set you back? A whopping $2000 bucks for a couple of hours. The only advantage is that it is completely private, i.e. there are no other persons around you in the event that the answer is a big "NO!". Saves you from digging a hole and burying yourself to hide from embarassment.... all you have to do is just open the latch, and jump... haha...
Number 2: Vivo City, the currently largest shopping mall in town.
It was also touted as an architectural feat (but according to our architect friends, it looks more like an architectural nightmare...Apparently going to Vivo City during the weekend is also another nightmare).
What used to be the World Trade Centre's exhibition halls, is now rows and rows and levels and levels of shopping haven and al fresco dining.
They also have a "water park" right at the top level of Vivo City. This probably sparked off from the successful fountain in Bugis Junction where most weekends, there are some parents who bring their bored kids to the fountain for some "water activities".
Number 3: St. James Powerhouse
Technically, this building is not new. It's old. As with every city, there will be a "powerhouse" i.e. an electric generator for the whole city, built along the main river which eventually turned obsolete with time and most of them converted into a museum of some sort.
For Singapore, it was convert to a museum alright. But it's a brewery museum and that's only a part of it. It charges something like SGD$16 per entry too! The only consolation is that you get a free glass of beer at the end of the tour. This is not something we even consider to be a prize...The other part (a much bigger portion) is one big collection of pubs, providing alternative night life other than shopping.
You can even have some drinks outside the pub too! They have quite cute sitting places surrounding the latest "night spot"....
Number 4: IR - Integrated Resort: Marina South
The much anticipated IR is currently under furious constructions. What used to be a beautiful view of Singapore's financial district is now marred by dozens and dozens of cranes, cement mixers, tractors and all other heavy vehicles imaginable... Schedule for completion in 2009, this new attraction is expected to rake in billions of dollars from gamblers around the world....
In order to mitigate and minimise unwanted social behaviours / effects resulting from the casino, the Singapore government had gone on a "don't say I never warn you" campaign for its own people. There have been programs, telling real life stories of people who gambled away their life savings at the expense of their family, friends and sometimes their own life. They've even set up a committee to ensure that there are venues for people who had fallen into this vice. The other deterrent is that for every Singaporean and Singapore PR, you automatically "lost" SGD$100 when you enter the casino as that's what they charge the locals for "entrance fee". Unlike in Malaysia, the casino charges Malaysia's local RM$200 as a deposit, which is fully refundable. This deposit is to make sure that the gamblers have enough money to return home and "face the music", be it from their family or worse - loan sharks...
Number 5 - Buddha Tooth Relic Temple
The latest, biggest and most expensive Buddhist temple to date. (see The Longest Break - 4 for more details)
Number 6 - Sentosa
Sentosa's not new. What's new is what's not there in Sentosa.
For one, the once famous musical fountain is no longer at the lake in the middle of the island. It has now moved down to the beach with a totally whole new show called "Song of the Sea". For SGD$6, you will be treated with actual humans dancing and singing in the musical, on top of the usual laser characters. There's also water (obvious), fire, lights and fireworks.... very well worth the SGD$6 ....
A big portion of Sentosa had been cordoned off for what we speculate to be the site for the other IR - the much more family oriented Integrated Resort (complete with casino facilities of course). And to our shock, the iconic Sentosa ferry pier will not be there when the IR is finished.
Our first visit to the Vivo City was on the 9th of May. The pier was still there.
On our next visit on the 21st of May, they were in the process of demolishing it!
Guessed the IR wanted to have their own "grand entrance".
The other new thing is the mode of transport going into Sentosa. Now that we cannot go via ferry, we can take a "train" from Vivo City! It cost $SGD3 which includes entrance into Sentosa. The train is more like a bigger monorail and is similar to the Skytrain in Changi Airport.
Number 7 - 'Anything' and 'Whatever'
This is the latest and most interesting drink ever. How many of us have had the problem of not know what to drink when asked? How many times do we answer "Anything" or "Whatever"? Well, now we can actually order "Anything" or "Whatever" for drinks. They are 6 flavours of fizzy and non-fizzy drinks each, where each can have no indication of what's inside. It's like a "lucky draw" and you can get any flavour that's packed in within - no choice.... haha!
For years, we've been saying "why don't anybody come up with drinks / dishes that's called 'anything', 'whatever', 'sui bian', 'chin chai' etc".... Now, somebody has finally did it....
And the advertisements are also very interesting. They were shot in Bangkok.
1) There's a very rich old man on his death bed. All his children are with him. All of them are successful professionals except 1 "Ah Beng". When he asked, "Dad, what do I get?", the old man answered "Whatever", which pleases the Ah Beng very much, but much to the shock of all his other children. Then the old man fished out a can of "Whatever" drink, sniggered and kicked the bucket.
2) Two Ah Bengs who looked all fierce and aggressive, sporting tattoos all over their bodies, went to a grocery shop. The cashier, seeing these two fellas, turned to jelly. One of the Ah Bengs said "Can you give me Anything?". The cashier, promptly dug out a wad of cash and trust it to the Ah Beng. The Ah Beng was a little amused and refused the money and politely said he only wanted "Anything', so the cashier dug out different objects like sweets and even toilet rolls until the Ah Beng had to shout at the cashier that he only wants "Anything". Seeing that the situation had gotten out of control, the other Ah Beng stepped in and took over saying asked if he could have "Whatever". The Ah Beng was given a toilet roll which made the two Ah Bengs fuming mad.
So next time you have no idea what to drink in Singapore, go ahead and order "Anything" or "Whatever".
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