{"id":631,"date":"2025-02-26T15:52:26","date_gmt":"2025-02-26T14:52:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/?p=631"},"modified":"2025-02-26T15:53:54","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T14:53:54","slug":"day-38-high-lying-nerd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/26\/day-38-high-lying-nerd\/","title":{"rendered":"Day 38: High-Lying, Nerd"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By any rational measure, Singapore should be a near-ideal city\/state for me:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Good, cheap public transport (including driverless underground trains where you can see right down the tunnel ahead).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Spotlessly clean streets and gardens.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Wide interplay of cultures and cuisines.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>English as one of their official languages.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And yet. I\u2019m missing something. Maybe I just had a bad day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I went to a \u201crecommended\u201d cafe for breakfast that turned out to be a Starbucks-like chain, and where my reheated sandwich was still partly chilled. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I took a bus and underground to Chinatown expecting to see <em>some<\/em> evidence of its historic past, but found a tourist market and some (nice) artwork. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"577\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/img_3882-1024x577.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-625\" srcset=\"https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/img_3882-1024x577.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/img_3882-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/img_3882-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/img_3882-1536x865.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/img_3882.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"577\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/img_3884-1024x577.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-626\" srcset=\"https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/img_3884-1024x577.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/img_3884-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/img_3884-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/img_3884-1536x865.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/img_3884.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The abundant gold leaf in the Buddhist temple felt a bit excessive next to the pleas for donations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"577\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/img_3885-1024x577.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-627\" srcset=\"https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/img_3885-1024x577.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/img_3885-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/img_3885-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/img_3885-1536x865.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/img_3885.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"577\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/img_3886-577x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/img_3886-577x1024.jpg 577w, https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/img_3886-169x300.jpg 169w, https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/img_3886-768x1364.jpg 768w, https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/img_3886-865x1536.jpg 865w, https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/img_3886.jpg 1126w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 577px) 100vw, 577px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Everything felt like it was a bit sanitised and tourist-friendly. Except then I decided (against my initial instinct) to do a tourist-favourite attraction, the so-called <em>SkyPark<\/em> perched on top of the Marina Bay Sands hotel towers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Roughly, the deck at the 56th floor looks like this, a slightly curved sweep across the three towers of the hotel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"420\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/cc0a3177-c395-499d-b05b-f7fe475aa18e-52189-00002883b67f00aa_file-1024x420.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-629\" srcset=\"https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/cc0a3177-c395-499d-b05b-f7fe475aa18e-52189-00002883b67f00aa_file-1024x420.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/cc0a3177-c395-499d-b05b-f7fe475aa18e-52189-00002883b67f00aa_file-300x123.jpg 300w, https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/cc0a3177-c395-499d-b05b-f7fe475aa18e-52189-00002883b67f00aa_file-768x315.jpg 768w, https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/cc0a3177-c395-499d-b05b-f7fe475aa18e-52189-00002883b67f00aa_file.jpg 1179w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And for S$35 (25\u20ac, \u00a321) you can visit, well, a tiny part of that deck, on the right-hand-side here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"423\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/25457eb6-e587-4cc5-936f-181ac4921a93-52189-00002884f80c2555_file-1024x423.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-630\" srcset=\"https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/25457eb6-e587-4cc5-936f-181ac4921a93-52189-00002884f80c2555_file-1024x423.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/25457eb6-e587-4cc5-936f-181ac4921a93-52189-00002884f80c2555_file-300x124.jpg 300w, https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/25457eb6-e587-4cc5-936f-181ac4921a93-52189-00002884f80c2555_file-768x317.jpg 768w, https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/25457eb6-e587-4cc5-936f-181ac4921a93-52189-00002884f80c2555_file.jpg 1179w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All the rest of it is either for hotel guests only (like the infinity pool, fair enough) or for other access uses like a restaurant. You get to explore an area about 30&#215;20 metres. It all feels like a bit of a con. I eked out twenty minutes up there, half of which was trying to shelter from the intermittent rain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It left a bad taste in my mouth and a general ambivalence toward any of the other attractions in the area (all costing similar sums).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hawker Redemption <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s not all bad though, by any means. I had a late lunch at a hawker place near my hotel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(<em>\u201cWhat\u2019s a hawker place?<\/em>\u201d I hear you ask. Basically, a food market, like an indoor market in the UK but mostly with small, independent food outlets.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I dutifully ordered my food, waited for it to be prepared and then went to pay with card. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Oops. Only QR or cash. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I don\u2019t have cash (didn\u2019t think it necessary here), and QR only works for locals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s OK,\u201d says the guy. \u201cEat your food, then there\u2019s a cash machine just over there. I can keep tabs on you because you\u2019re so tall and also the only white guy around.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There\u2019s still a place for trust and honesty here \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div><p id=\"pvc_stats_631\" class=\"pvc_stats total_only  \" data-element-id=\"631\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" data-prefix=\"far\" data-icon=\"chart-bar\" role=\"img\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\" class=\"svg-inline--fa fa-chart-bar fa-w-16 fa-2x\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M396.8 352h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V108.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v230.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm-192 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V140.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v198.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm96 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V204.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v134.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zM496 400H48V80c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16H16C7.16 64 0 71.16 0 80v336c0 17.67 14.33 32 32 32h464c8.84 0 16-7.16 16-16v-16c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16zm-387.2-48h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8v-70.4c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v70.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8z\" class=\"\"><\/path><\/svg><\/i> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p><div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By any rational measure, Singapore should be a near-ideal city\/state for me: And yet. I\u2019m missing something. Maybe I just had a bad day. I went to a \u201crecommended\u201d cafe for breakfast that turned out to be a Starbucks-like chain, and where my reheated sandwich was still partly chilled. I took a bus and underground [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_631\" class=\"pvc_stats total_only  \" data-element-id=\"631\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" data-prefix=\"far\" data-icon=\"chart-bar\" role=\"img\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\" class=\"svg-inline--fa fa-chart-bar fa-w-16 fa-2x\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M396.8 352h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V108.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v230.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm-192 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V140.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v198.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm96 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V204.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v134.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zM496 400H48V80c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16H16C7.16 64 0 71.16 0 80v336c0 17.67 14.33 32 32 32h464c8.84 0 16-7.16 16-16v-16c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16zm-387.2-48h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8v-70.4c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v70.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8z\" class=\"\"><\/path><\/svg><\/i> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0","_share_on_mastodon_status":"%title% %permalink%"},"categories":[5,8,1],"tags":[15,16,17],"class_list":["post-631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-asia","category-singapore","category-world","tag-diary","tag-photo-dump","tag-whinge"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":true,"total_views":3,"today_views":0},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/toottoot.eu\/@thatmanmatt\/114070760780552712","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=631"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":634,"href":"https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631\/revisions\/634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travel.thatmanmatt.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}