Singapore - Raffles, a parade and a disappointment

Singapore President Tony Tan Keng Yam

So I've talked about a few things that we did like in Singapore, and those few things would probably be enough to do in a short stopover, but sadly our overall opinion of Singapore was not that good.

We did a few other touristy things; we visited Fort Canning. That was OK, but really nothing exciting, and could have made so much more of the history of the place.

Raffles Hotel, Singapore

We went to Raffles. After all, it is probably one of the most famous hotels in the world, and whilst I'm not keen on the Singapore sling itself, which by the way was invented here by bartender Ngiam Tong Boon, having a cocktail in the Long Bar seemed a necessity. The hotel was developed into its heyday by the Sarkies brothers; if that name sounds familiar for regular readers, it was the same people as were behind the Strand Hotel in Yangon.

Raffles, and its Long Bar, were favourite haunts of the likes of Ernest Hemingway and Somerset Maugham. So we were looking forward to drinking in a little bit of history.

Singapore Slings at Raffles

What we hadn't realised was that as part of the refurbishment that was completed in 1991, the Long Bar was moved. And though it has been rebuilt to resemble the old one, it clearly isn't the same. Whereas if you go to the equally famous and well visited American Bar at the Savoy, you feel like you are in a top bar of a top hotel, and whilst you do pay for the privilege, the experience, service and cocktails are all excellent, this was nothing more than a bad tourist attraction.

Chingay 2015, Singapore

The new location is up where the shops are, and the only people in the bar are tourists, still dressed in their shorts and loud shirts, most of whom seem quite oblivious to the fact that they have been banished to a lousy pretence that is obviously intended to simultaneously keep the tourist riff raff away from proper guests whilst still taking their money. We didn't stay, although as we'd made the effort to put on our best clothes - having expected that we would need to look presentable to get in to a good hotel - we did make our way to one of the actual hotel bars, and had a drink there instead.



Chingay 2015, Singapore

We also went to the Chingay Parade. We had bought tickets in the Grand Prix stands well in advance to get into this annual event that celebrates Singapore and its people. With this being the 50th year of the country's existence, we were anticipating a good show and an excited crowd. We weren't disappointed by the parade. There were some great floats and some very good performers to keep us entertained. We were seated almost opposite the president and his VIP guests, so we got a good display in front of us and got to watch them too.


Chingay 2015, Singapore

The downside was the feeling of being stage managed. On arrival, we all received a goody bag, which had water (sensible), some snacks (always welcome), and some things to wave and make noise with (a bit of fun). This seemed pretty good, until we discovered that we would be expected to use this collection of glow sticks, tinsel pompoms and rattles in a very prescribed way.



Chingay 2015, Singapore

The parade was being televised live, but before it started, we were taught  various songs and chants that we were expected to do at various stages of the parade, while 'spontaneously' waving the correct item. We had to practice. And just to make sure that we were all seen to be having fun, there were lots of people around to encourage us to wave the right things at the right times.



Chingay 2015, Singapore

Don't get me wrong, we did enjoy the parade, and I am quite happy to join in with the waving of pompoms etc, but it did all feel a bit like we were being told to enjoy ourselves and putting on a display for the cameras.

Which brings me nicely to why we didn't much like Singapore. I know it is a relatively new country, and that it has amassed a lot of wealth in a very short time, and that this is a considerable achievement. However all of that seems to have come at quite a cost.



Chingay 2015, Singapore

Like us at the parade, Singapore is stage managed. People are controlled, and cautious of being caught doing something that is not ' the Singapore way'. The media are largely controlled by the government, and people are aware that their social media can be watched 'big brother' style, so they effectively constrain their own behaviour.



Chingay 2015, Singapore

Singapore doesn't feel real. We concluded it felt a bit like something out of The Truman Show, the film where the main character's whole life is in fact a television show, and he is the only person who thinks it is real, while everyone else is an actor. And to us, that pervading feeling of things and people being controlled, all the while under a facade of freedom and sociality, felt stifling, soulless, and not especially inviting.



Chingay 2015, Singapore

A walking tour of Yangon

We had a lot of sightseeing to fit into our day in Yangon, and the heat makes it best to avoid being too busy around midday, so it was an early start for our morning walking tour.

It isn't the most exciting or picturesque of cities, but it is interesting for being a busy and diverse place, with a lot of hustle and bustle. We hadn't expected to see a cow standing - or rather leaning - outside one of the Indian temples though.

We walked through the food market, with its vast array of fresh vegetables and brightly coloured spices, as well as a few things that we had no idea what they were.

One of the little things that I rather like about Myanmar, is their use of small garlands of fresh flowers as offerings both to Buddha and at cemeteries in remembrance.


They also hang them in their vehicles, presumably to make them smell better. They use simple, fragrant flowers like jasmine and honeysuckle, and they look and smell beautiful.

After a quick refreshment in the form of a very sweet cup of tea in a little cafe, we were back out into the heat.

We have got used to seeing temples in all sorts of nooks and crannies in Myanmar, but still, we were quite surprised to see the Sule Pagoda sitting in the middle of a busy roundabout. I guess the traffic wasn't so heavy back in the early days of the British occupation, when Lt Fraser made it the centre of his newly designed city layout.

It is an important temple, with the main pagoda apparently dating back around 2500 years. According to legend, a very old Nat, or spirit, lived in this temple and told them where to build the Shwedagon Pagoda. I read that Sule also means to meet, so it is appropriate that it was also the focal point for demonstrators in the 1988 and 2007 uprisings.

Nearby, the beautifully manicured Mahabandoola Gardens provide a great backdrop for the impressive old buildings, including City Hall, which combines British colonial and Asian styles.


The gardens house the independence memorial, but also have a reminder that all is not yet well with Myanmar, as there is a long-term protest by people who had their lands taken and have been camped out for a year demanding its return to them.


 Our final stop as a group was at The Strand Hotel, the grand colonial hotel built in 1901 by the Sarkies Brothers, who were also behind the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. It is a simple but grand style on the outside, and the inside matches up. Some of us stopped for a drink in the bar, which wasn't quite as overpriced as you might expect. We also had a game of pool, and I am pleased to report that Nic and I beat Helen and Duncan.  In fairness, it was really Nic that beat them, as I only managed to pot one ball. But hey, at least it was one of ours!

After our moment of refinement in the bar, we succumbed to the heat and took a cab back up to the Bogyoke (General) Aung San Market - which, based on the dates on the plaque, 1926-2001, appears to be a little confused about how long constitutes a diamond jubilee.

It is however, a good market, albeit a bit touristy, especially around the numerous jewellery stalls. We found a great fabric shop that had some lovely woven materials from the different tribal areas, and I bought a piece that I am hoping to turn into a nice handbag at some point.


For lunch, we stopped in a nearby, well air conditioned, Dutch cafe, so I guess it was to be expected that one of our fellow passengers from the Netherlands also turned up there. That was a good way to spend the time we had before setting off on our afternoon sightseeing.