17 February 2010 (Wed):
The fourth day of the lunar new year.
I looked below me from the verandah of my hotel room on the 21st storey. An unusual quiet pervades. There's no doubt that this city has always been on a go; but it is in a 'chilling out' mood, at least temporarily.
Last year, although the world is in a recession, this city emerged out of it. No one is sure if the track it is going on now will be smooth or not, but for the time being, it seems okay. It is unabashedly commercial - and surprisingly orderly. People say that there's no soul; but usually, I think, a dynamic pulse is throbbing.
I've had a voucher for a one-night complimentary stay at the Fairmont. Although I was a bit ill- from having the run that persists, the view of this concrete jungle and the air did not make me sicker.
To my left, I spotted the centenarian convent that has been converted into a hip bar-and-restaurant area. I had tapas there once - at a Spanish bar/restaurant with a Spanish guitarist who strummed some soothing ballads. I was also served by a Japanese-lookalike hailing from the city of Dalian at one of the Japanese restaurants (there used to be only one), but both food and service did not register well. Since then, however, the restaurant has expanded to a few branches in Singapore; and hopefully, that mama-san is long gone.
I admired the weather, the cleanliness and the green of the city and thus, decided that we were going for a stroll. We had no idea what kind of itinerary, but crossed the street to the old Capitol Cinema which has become just a building with small shops and cafes.
As we walked along the corridors of shops towards the Singapore River, we felt like we were part of the crew making NHK's Sekai no machi wo aruku 世界の町を歩く (strolling in cities of the world)' - a documentary series I initially felt uncomfortable watching because they contain no message and no clearcut goal.
"We had to eat"- was the immediate 'goal' that popped up. We crossed the bridge towards Chinatown and entered Circular Road, where we found a beautiful street of small restaurants in conserved Peranakan styled houses. A few were opened, but most spas, boutiques and cafes were closed.
After a light breakfast, we heard cymbols and drums - ah! the lion dance. We sauntered across the road where usual overflowing traffic had not returned, then stopped at a building- No.1 George Street.
Some playful lions frolicked and abruptly sat and focused on noshing their 'golden' fruit, oblivious to everything around them.
They behaved like tangerine-starved lions, 'spouting' the peel one after another from their mouths.
This must have symbolized the unending flow of 'gold' into the building.
A small crowd -mainly office tenants of the building patiently watched. This is followed by a gift-giving ceremony from the management to the lion dance team and vice-versa. There was silence and only smiles. No one applauded and the crowd dispersed. It was, nevertheless, a lively lion performance. Long lives tradition!
We walked on; well-dressed executives streamed past. We walked further and came to a sculpture donated by Lien Ying Chow, a philanthropist. The art piece portrays the old and new of Singapore's development. There is a scene of the Chinese junk and the coolies on one side; and on the other, skyscrapers - a sketch of where I was standing. No one seemed to care nor admire the art, except us. We took a few pictures of it and with it.
A few steps further we sighted Fullerton Hotel, the old General Post Office built during the colonial days, hence its English architecture. It looked a little different today, with the red auspicious latterns.
We made a right turn towards the Collyer Quay, and came to the entrance of an underground link:
"Singapore is well-organized", explains A. who suddenly became my "tour guide".
In the night, these places are safe and they come alive. In a way they are like the underground walkways in the big cities of Japan, but less cramp.
At one end of the tunnel, we emerged on an escalator right into an iconic apartment, overlooking the "three towers of hotels and offices" of the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort now under construction.
Wow! I felt rather excited envisaging the next stage of development for this tiny island. We unknowingly trespassed a showflat (of Marina Bay Suites) in the same building where we were, only to be told politely by a lady property agent that we had to call for a viewing appointment.
We submerged underground into the Raffles Place mass-rapid transit station and were "conveyed" to the next stop at City Hall. Strangely I began to feel hungry.
At the crowded Kuriya eating outlet -now renovated and divided into a noodle and a rice section- we took our seats and I had my first lunar new year lunch- an unagi tama don (鰻卵丼 eel and egg served on rice).
Oishii...what a great start to the Year of the Tiger, I thought. I seemed to have immediately developed a growling appetite, without thinking about the 'aftermath'.
