13 Years

Monday was Steve and I’s 13th wedding anniversary. Hip Hip Hooray! So, how do you spend #13? At a five start hotel of course!! This ain’t no Holiday Inn baby! The Marina Bay Sands is unreal. It has been featured on the Discovery channel’s ‘Build It Bigger’. It’s not only a hotel but also the island’s first casino, luxury shopping mall, theater and Sky Park. Now a casino, mall and theater are pretty self explanatory however how many of us can say we’ve been to a park in the sky? Being 57 stories off the ground does lend to a different kind if “park”, however when it’s Singapore they do not disappoint!



Steve and I went back and forth a bit as to how to spend #13. I gave in to the hotel since the anniversary is not all about me! Who knew? So how exactly does one get to a five star hotel, by public bus transportation of course!! I felt really weird getting off a city bus in front the Marina Bay Sands and walking in with my book bag packed with the incidentals for the night. Which of these things doesn’t belong?

The lobby was immense. I first realize you pay so much for all the employees who are standing around and greeting you. Our room was on the 47th floor so we get to take an elevator that skips the first 22 floors and goes just to the top half of the hotel. I had no idea elevators could go so fast! When the doors close the elevator takes off unbeknownst to me and I realize that we are close to flying because my ears start to pop and the elevator dings to say we arrived in flash!
It is true that it is in the details. There is still a bathroom and a bed and a TV, but the details in everything are wonderful. Looking out our window or standing on the balcony we got to overlook the soon to be water treatment plant (in case you were wondering, not romantic at all!). However we had a planter off the balcony filled with lovely flowering plants. The bathroom is huge and amazing! Separate tub and shower which are marvelous and a double vanity and many other niceties. I believe all the hotels over here have a little room key holder at the door. Now this is really not so you don’t lose your key in the room but because they conserve energy when you leave the room by shutting everything off when you pull your key and leave the room. (Imagine not knowing this and entering your room with no power and calling the front desk for help! I can only imagine the stupid white people comments from the staff!) But I say all that because as we reenter the room and insert the key, the lights come on and the drapes are controlled electronically and they open when we enter! It was like a helper was there making the room presentable as we arrive.

The mall was a mall with all the stores I could not afford to buy anything in, but it did have a few cool details. Many water elements and the main was the ‘channel’ with gondola-like boats giving people rides. They would do a u-turn in a large fountain looking area, however of course in Singapore it’s no ordinary fountain. Above the water feature is the bottom of a giant bowl with the inside of the bowl on the outside of the building and you can see in to the mall from outside the building. So the inside of the bowl fills with water and then the bowl empties through a hole in the very bottom which “floods” the fountain in the mall. It really creates more of a water fall in the mall. The amount of water falling actually creates a good breeze.


I do have to admit that I really wanted to go inside the casino. I had no intention of spending any money. I’d rather throw my money away on a greater enjoyment! But I have never been to a casino and just wanted to walk through and see a slot machine up close or watch a table of blackjack or roulette. However due to my carelessness leaving Indonesia at Thanksgiving I lost my green card and I did not think to take my passport with me, so I did not have ID to get in. (As a side note just to see how Singaporeans live, they must pay $100 a day to enter the casino. That’s just the fee to get in not a minimum chip cash in!) But as we wandered the mall we came upon an upper level where you can look down upon the casino. It was humongous!! I wander if Vegas comes this close? This is just the main floor. We could see the levels immediately under us where the machines were and the roulette tables.


So all of this was lovely, but still simply a room and mall. The real thing that added the 5th star was the Sky Park. From across the city the park looks like a boat sitting on top of the hotel. Any and every one can come to the observation deck. (Non-hotel guests can pay $20 to access the observation deck). They have different areas labeled to help you with the sites you can see. The view is remarkable. At night you can see the lights from Batam, Indonesia.


Then there’s the section of the park that only hotel guests can use; the bar, restaurant and pool. The pool ends at what appears to be the buildings edge. You can swim to the “edge” and see more amazing views. It is simply the coolest thing I have ever seen.




As you can see I have added pictures, all thanks to the internet because our camera died the day we left. We knew it was on its last leg and talked about getting a new one for Christmas, but of course didn’t and are now picture-less.  I may be spending $20 to go back just to get pictures I wanted!

Language

After living in Singapore for over a year I have heard plenty of Singlish. Singlish is a Singaporean’s way of speaking English. At first you would think they were speaking mandarin and then you just might pick out an English word and be a little puzzled. Singlish also includes a mixture of Malaysian language, since Singapore was once part of Malaysia. And the icing on the cake is that English in Singapore is British English, not American. There are random words such as lift, flat, Q (queue) that are everyday English speech here.

So I (Holly) can do by own little Sing impersonation, “Hey, you cut Q, go back!” (of course in a Chinese accent). When standing in line (Q) you don’t leave room for someone else to get in front or it’s sort of an invitation for someone to get in front of you. Normally I have this problem when ordering food at a hawker (from an American point of view, cheap hole in the wall kind of places). You order and they make your food and they only take as many orders as they can handle at once, so you may have to wait (no problem) until someone just says forget the line and walks up and tells the hawker owner what he wants to eat and walks away. “Ah, excuse me?! Can’t you see me standing here patiently waiting to make my order and you’re just gonna cut and place your order?” Of course I think this thought, but not do not say it.  I would get a really weird look and chances are they would have no idea what I said; however if I said “Hey, you cut Q, go back!” (of course in a Chinese accent) I would be listened to. Chances are they would respect me.

However my dilemma is I do not have the guts say this. I have realized it’s partially a courage issue, but also in the states if we mimic someone it is disrespectful. If I were to throw out my Jersey accent and say “Hey, let’s meet up at the shore and listen to some Springsteen,” someone would be offended! It’s the American way. However over here because I speak proper English, I am looked at like a snob. If I were to say “Please” when I order is a dead give away to my “snobiness” They are thinking “Why you so polite?” If I throw MY English out the window and speak singlish it is in no way disrespectful but just the opposite.

I had this epiphany when it comes to talking in Singapore just recently. My realization came when I was talking to our Admissions Director at school who is a Singaporean, however has spent many years in the states. They were in Singapore when her daughter was about high school age and though she knows mandarin, refused to speak singlish. And after many years of fighting and not wanting to speak in an uneducated manner she gave in and was able to enjoy her time in Singapore. So the question is now, can I give in and play the singlish game?