Eshin Direct

My transition between my old job and new job¹ has been far from sitting around twiddling my thumbs waiting for novel levels of stress to roll in. El Revez and Azumi decided to make the most of my downtime and fly in on Tuesday night which followed with my folks arriving on Thursday. I must say that I am happy with the company although it has been quite tiring ensuring that all the different groups in my life for the last week are entertained².

Both groups had been before to Singapore³, so I was trying to figure out something more than just shopping, eating and drinking. So I came up with a nice iron-clad agenda for the last five days.

Of course, the best laid plans of men and mice often go astray, so my iron-clad agenda became a little more flexible in practice. Wednesday saw us hit the Asian Civilizations Museum⁴. This was interesting although we arrived late so we only had a couple of hours there. Most of that saw us trying to figure out how to get into the exhibitions⁵. We had to skip straight to the China section because of time but I am sorry to have missed out on the other civilizations. Most amusing are these interactive video units dotted around the museum to help explain more about what you are looking at. Helpful and unique but also somewhat comical when first you interact with one of these drones.

On Thursday, we took a visit to the National Museum of Singapore⁶. This place explains the history of Singapore until the island nation was granted independence in 1971⁷. It is a fascinating journey and you do have a choice to take the tour along a “personal” or an “events” path which tells the story of Singapore from the perspective of its ordinary citizens or the events that helped to shape the country respectively. Handy multimedia units are handed out to help explain the exhibits through text or audio although you are in danger of suffering information overload⁸. The exhibition proper is the best part of it and although the Living Galleries cover the more recent Singapore story, they are less engaging.

On Friday, I took the group on a trip down Arab Street although in the heat of one of Singapore’s hottest days, it probably wasn’t the best idea. Still, it was a photographic opportunity and I think the girls enjoyed themselves more doing retail therapy in the fabric and clothing stores that dominate the area.

Rather than spend the Friday night clubbing, we decided to visit the Night Safari⁹. which was quite amusing. The Creatures of the Night Show is a usual showcase of animal tricks although the presenter helped to keep things amusing for 30 minutes. This was backed up by the obligatory night tram ride which would have been great but for two things – the most annoying tour guide¹⁰ and another group who just couldn’t learn to shut up.

We ended the visit on this tram ride so I suspect that our own irritability had increased that it did put a down on an otherwise interesting evening. If you are planning to go, I suggest make time for the night walks since these are probably the most fascinating and you really do get to see the nocturnal creatures in their element¹¹.

All in all, the last five days has worn me out although it has been a mini holiday for me. I did manage to get two wakeboarding sessions in and I had the chance to really test out my new Nikon D90¹². It is always good to see friends and family and hopefully this trip has shown them a little more to Singapore than just Orchard Road.

1. See my Transitions post. [↩]
2. Thanks to that one person who helped out a lot of with helping me to manage it all and here’s a public apology for the snippiness. [↩]
3. My folks lived in Singapore over 30 years ago and El Revez and Azumi have been visiting me regularly over the last couple of years [↩]
4. Asian Civilizations Museum [↩]
5. We, of course, were to blame for that choosing to buck the trend of not starting at Go. [↩]
6. National Museum of Singapore [↩]
7. I do wonder at this omission though. Be still my cynical mind. [↩]
8. Also, if you go in a group, the multimedia units steer you to being anti-social. Which may or may not be a good thing. [↩]
9. Night Safari Singapore. [↩]
10. I personally think that she sounded like an animated giraffe. El Revez felt it was a grating mix between a Malay and Swedish accent. [↩]
11. I am not really sure that it is all that humane as my friend pointed out to me that they starve the creatures during the day so that they come out at night. [↩]
12. With over 20 GB and over 1,500 photos shot, it begs its own post. [↩]

Tags: culture, singapore, tourist, visitors