flashes

i miss wisma. i get these occassional images of places arnd singapore flashing before me from time to time, along with feelings of comfort, familiarity, nostalgia. 'high - james blunt' is playing on my itunes now and it just reminds me of wisma atria. all the malls. i miss the multistorey-ed malls that go up to 5 or 6 levels, with everything u could ever need inside them. like a venue of concentrated human activity within one building.

singapore's orchard road, cityhall and marina simply have a flavour and character that're in a league of its own. let me attempt to describe this flavour. perhaps it's the pace at which the sights change so rapidly. while a part of me loathes the memories that get eroded with the physical concrete, the changes seem to embody the phases i myself experience. night time orchard road becomes brighter and brighter with the years and the shops stay open longer. the somewhat pretentious nature of the orchard road culture to replicate and accommodate cultures of the various cities in the likes of american black culture, australian surf culture, bond street's high culture and so much more, is more endearing than loathsome and results in this vibrant mad mix of numerous influences!

but perhaps what's most captivating about orchard road/cityhall/marina to me is the warmth and homeliness it exudes. perhaps it's having figuratively grown up in and with these places that makes me feel so comfortable wondering along wheellock, lido, far east, down pass scotts, tangs, wisma, taka, lucky plaza, paragon, heeren, cine, orchard pt, centrepoint, on to plaza sing, raffles city, city link, suntec, marina sq, and finally, esplanade. and it's knowing exactly where to go to fulfill a particular desire or necessity. plaza sing's yamaha for music scores, cine for the best cinema seats (i wasn't there when vivocity opened), taka for the most winding carpark, esplanade for free live music (kudos to local musicians who're stepping forward bravely and helping to define a big part of singapore's art culture!), cityhall area for 100% sheltered shopping for when it pours, and great food, well, just about everywhere (it's hard to find good food in uk..cheap ones at least. 8 pcs of kfc chicken half the size of the ones in singapore cost me 10 quid. that's $30).

and while singapore's nightlife is limited to a few spots arnd the river areas, who's to complain when shops close at 8 in birmingham, 5 in coventry and london? the angmohs don't understand the joys of shopping and hanging arnd OPEN shops and malls at night. like up till 10-11pm! and that's what i'd say is the most endearing aspect of singapore's city centre. it's not so much the club scene that defines singapore's nightlife (not entirely that is), but the fact that nightlife doesn't just reduce to clubs and pubs. it's more activity in general. shopping, chatting at cafes and restaurants, movies etc. so well done singapore. and keep it up!