Singapore: The Singapore Flyer

Singapore now has the largest ferris wheel in the world (they call it an observation wheel - whatever). Its like the London Eye only considerably larger. At its top you are about 500 feet in the air, the height of a 42 story building. It takes exactly 30 minutes to do one revolution, so its not exactly spinning out of control. The give you this iPod thing that narrates a history of Singapore while you ride the wheel. Its interesting but the voice acting is pretty subpar. As you go higher and higher, the city reveals itself, then Indonesia, then Malaysia.

Singapore: At Night

Just some pics from walking around at night. The Christmas lights are out and very pretty. I went to the theater on Orchard Blvd. to see New Moon, but unfortunately it doesn't open until Dec 3 in Singapore. So I saw Christmas Carol, and I saw it in 3D. Its a pretty astounding technical achievement in many ways. I truly think they beat the uncanny valley with Scrooge. The lighting and surfacing are gorgeous, the eyes have life, and the mocap is fluid and enjoyable. The lighting for the whole film is very daring - very dark, lots of shots are lit just through fx elements - especially with the ghost of Christmas Present. Jim Carrey's performances are phenomenal, I think the second instance of needing an Academy Award category (or special achievement Oscar) for mocapped performance (first being Andy Serkis for Gollum, of course). The 3D is good, not too many theme park moments (a few hands reaching out, to be sure). But its not incredible. Its used well with the lighting, putting a point light like a candle in forward z space creates an interesting depth. But the cityscape scenes should have been pushed deeper to create a real epic look. There are also some really scary moments. I thought a few times if I would have seen it as a kid I would have been scared shitless.
All in all, for someone that doesn't particularly enjoy the genre of cartoons, and doesn't particularly enjoy the 3D experience, I very much appreciated the film, which is pretty big props. Congrats Image Movers, sorry your box office wasn't stronger.
There was also a very long trailer for Avatar. I'm dying to be proved wrong on this one, but that film looks like a steaming pile of crap.
After the movie I went to an underground live music bar called the No Bar. Its entrance was in an alley, it was all basement level, it was relatively affordable, it had live rock music. Certainly this is the place in Singapore where they let their hair down a bit and drop a napkin on the ground. Hell no, it was spotless. And the drinks sucked, their mojito was made with this plutonium green mint/lime syrup mix and was disgusssting.
It should be mentioned in every post, though - my God there are beautiful women in Singapore. All dressed incredibly well and so well put together.

Singapore: Sentosa Island

Sentosa is an island just south of the main island of Singapore, reachable by monorail or bridge. Its a 100% leisure activity island, with golf courses, amusement parks, beaches, restaurants, and bars. This is where Universal City Singapore is opening next year that DreamWorks is producing an attraction for. I took the monorail over (from a mall, of course) and hung out at one of the three carefully planned and immaculately groomed beaches. The mojitos and Guinness beers were great, the sun was out, and the people watching was awesome.

Singapore: Raffles Hotel and Grill

Ate at the Raffles Grill the first night, the fine dining restaurant at the Raffles hotel, a colonial style hotel in central Singapore. The restaurant, the service, and the meal were tremendous. The prices were tremendous. Dinner for one was so expensive I reeled from the sticker shock for the rest of the trip. I had a bottle of '89 Cos d'Estrounel, and it was one of the more affordable bottles on the list at $540. There were bottles from 1900 on, the prices climbing into 6 digits. Brutal. But, it was a world class fine dining experience, and that is what I wanted. I was dressed in a taupe suit with tie, and felt a bit under-dressed. It was definitely more of a black suit sort of place.

Singapore: The Mandarin Oriental

Not exactly a boutique, but a fantastic hotel. Everything was perfect. The room was huge and attractively decorated, the restaurants were great (including a Morton's), the spa was awesome (has a "signature" massage, which was a mix of swedish deep tissue, shiatsu, and oriental hot oil) , the pool was great, just the right temperature and very deep, the service was impeccable. If I were to return to Singapore there would be no question that I would stay here again.

Singapore: Fun Facts

1) Singapore is littered (an intentional and ironic choice of words) with Starbucks. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I stocked up on Christmas Blend, and a new Black Apron Exclusive, Aged Sumatra, that comes in a cool tin with a Tiger head on it. Before I knew there was a Starbucks nearly literally around every corner, I was getting a tall iced coffee at each I saw. About an hour into exploring Singapore I was so cracked out on caffeine I thought I was going to pass out, so I had to abandon my resolve to give each and every franchise my business.

2) Singapore is terrifyingly clean. Its a huge fine for littering, chewing gum is illegal, and everything and everyone is monitored and controlled. There are cctv cameras everywhere. As soon as you notice them they are omnipresent. Unbelievably, even for someone coming from the chaotic mess that is India, Singapore is actually too orderly and clean for comfort. I actively searched for a single piece of litter to photograph my whole three days there and did not see a single piece.

3) Singapore dollars are plastic. They are flexible like a paper bill, but can't be torn, and are clear in the corners. Pretty cool.

4) Singapore is expensive. This isn't that perfect mix of super modern Asian city and affordability that is Kuala Lumpur, this is a super modern Asian city at super modern Asian city prices.

5) Singapore is a city constructed entirely of shopping malls. This is really not much of an exaggeration. I asked the concierge of the hotel I stayed at (a later post - awesome hotel) how to get to the monorail to go to Sentosa island (a later post) and the directions were: Go out the front door into the adjoining mall, the Marina Square. Walk through the Marina Square mall to the Millennium Walk mall, walk through the Millennium Walk mall to the Citylink mall, walk through the Citylink mall to the Raffles City mall. From the Raffles City mall, you take the tram to the Vivocity mall. The monorail entrance is on the 3rd floor of the Vivocity mall. On day two I tried to get somewhere without going through a shopping mall, and you actually can't do it. The only way to cross many streets is to go through a mall.

6) Singapore is fucking really hot and humid, but you wouldn't know it if the city planners control you as they intend, as you spend the whole time in air conditioned areas. And my God, they air condition like they are storing raw meat. Some places are so cold that it literally takes your breath away. Its like they are in competition to see who can make their mall the coldest.

7) Sushi sucks in Singapore. Alliteration intended. I tried three places, all googled as recommendations. All sucked. The rice is too dry and not properly vinegared. There isn't interesting variety to the fish selections. And two of the three places had those conveyor belts that just rotate around pre cut plates of sushi. Yuck.

Singapore: Changi Airport

Singapore's airport, Changi, is just your typical airport. It has your typical gift shops:








Your typical hard plastic chairs to sit on:




Your typical free internet kiosks all over the place:





And your typical free Xbox 360 kiosks, free Rockband music studio with surrounding audience theater, free LAN party room hosting CoD MW2, and free movie theater:







Well, I guess you can't expect much, it is just an airport. But hopefully the Singaporwegeans put a little bit more effort into their city planning than they do their airport. (Hint: they do)