SINGAPORE

WHEN THE PERFECTION SOMETIMES CAN BE TOO MUCH?

Had I read "Crazy Rich Asians" before visiting Singapore, I am sure that trip would have transformed into a mission: finding the books' places.

Singapore is a City-State.

There are currently only 3 City-States recognized in the world, and I have visited them all: Vaticano, Monaco, Singapore.

Would you be able to point out Singapore's exact location on a world map? It's at the southern part of the Malaysian peninsula! It's an ensemble of a big Island and 60 minor ones.

Over the 70% of the population has Chinese origins, followed by Malays and Indians. Because of this mixed basis, there are 4 official languages: English, Chinese, Malay, Tamil. For the same reason, there's also a variety of religious dedications.

The major businesses Singapore lives on are finance and transportation (its port is still an important "window" of exchange).

Singapore is a "dream-place", when talking about temperatures, at least for me! There's a constantly warm climate, as the city is based in the equatorial monsoon region. Ok, it might rain a sprinkle every day, but I'd be fine in trading a below zero winter time for it!

Nature blooms beautifully. Green's beauty is unquestionable. I have plenty of pictures of big luxuriant leaves in my photos' folders and I am never bored of them. The city is surrounded by gardens, all well maintained.

The city is extremely clean, extremely functional, extremely well decorated. At the point that this perfection, somehow, looks to be almost "too much".

More about Singapore at https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mandarin-language .

FUN OBSERVATIONS

BIKES' RENTAL

You can rent a bike for 30 mns for 1 DOLLAR. Incredibly cheap for our standards.

What, even more, got my attention is that the bikes, after the use, can be left around the city, at any convenient point, not necessarily at a bikes' station. I couldn't avoid thinking about those rental bikes that in Italy have finished and keep finishing at the bottom of rivers or disappear, just for the fun of random people. But, knowing about Singapore, I am sure the city is filled of cameras that would allow to immediately identify the misbehaving people and take (strong) action.

MARINA BAY SANDS

Well, one of the most iconic places of the city. And, obviously, one of the places that appears in "Crazy Rich Asians"!

At the top of the building, that hosts a luxury hotel, there are great entertaining options: bars, restaurants and an amazing infinity pool.

My husband and I had a dinner at Ce La Vi: all you could and should expect from a place like this one... breathtaking seeing the whole city from such an observation point and, thankfully, the experience was complemented by a top cuisine and an excellent service, top class!

https://www.marinabaysands.com/restaurants/rooftop-dining.html

GIANT DECORATIONS

The Gardens by the Bay host a giant floating baby, kinda puzzling... it's a sculpture by Marc Quinn, a portrait of his sleeping kid, entitled "Planet": we should all care of this fragile infant!

http://marcquinn.com/exhibitions/solo-exhibitions/planet-at-the-gardens-by-the-bay-singapore

In the same gardens, you can't miss the SuperTrees!

By paying a ticket, you can walk on their top and also traverse the skyway, that connects them. We decided not to do it: right or wrong, we thought that seeing the city from the Marina Bay Sands was already a good money investment. However a walk thru the gardens is free and worth to do.

https://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/things-to-do/attractions.html

Walking around the city, you can also find gigantic shoes! I think this picture was taken in Chinatown, outside a shoes' store... it was 2018, who knows if it's till there...

SINGAPORE OR... MILAN?!

Funny how some things looked like connecting these 2 important cities.

First of all, Singapore's SuperTrees.

Their designers criticized the ones who projected the Tree of Life (L'albero della Vita) for Milan's 2015 Expo for the obvious resemblance. Look online for pics. I acknowledge it and I leave it there.

Milan's Bosco Sospeso (Hanging Woods).

While walking downtown, I noticed this building, that reminded me of the residential building Bosco Sospeso in Milan. I love this idea of connecting nature and living experiences, as long as nature is not mistreated!

DIRTY WATERS

Shall we say it? In all this perfection, the clashing element is the water's color. However this is a common view in the South East Asia, partially due to mud and clay residues and to dredging failures. Therefore, no major disapproval on my side...

All in all, I don't think that, from a touristic stand point, we would go back, however I would take the city in high consideration, in the case a job opportunity would come up in the area. Does it make sense?