Last night, I came to meet 2 young foreigners on the streets outside Esplanade, a Dutch and a French. They asked me for some directions to pubs where they can find cheap beer, so I directed them towards Boat Quay and Clark Quay. Since I was on the same route, I brought them along and started chatting. I came to know that they are around 24 years of age. They are exchange students studying International Business in Macau and had taken a week break to visit Singapore and later Malaysia. Their plan was a 2 days stay here and it was their first day when I met them. They asked me for recommendations on places to visit and probably take photographs. I immediately recommended the 2 places that I would always recommend tourists, Little India and Chinatown. Apparently, they are staying in a budget hotel at Little India, and have already explored Little India and Mustafa Centre. They have also taken the train to Chinatown earlier before marching towards city centre where I met them. I then asked them what they know of Singapore and interested to see. All they know was that Singapore was part of Malaysia and since independence, Singapore has placed themselves on the map with a good reputation of thriving financial hub. They would like to see skyscrapers that are very much like that Hong Kong and would like to take some scenic landscapes. Since they are students on a tight budget, they had no interest in malls and shopping.
They were very shocked not to be able to find the skyscrapers they were expecting. They were not interested in Orchard Road, Christmas decorations, heartlands, Chinese culture (since they have experienced much of that in Macau) and Botanic Gardens, which I recommended. They don't seem interested in buildings such as Fullerton Hotel, Supreme Court and City Hall, which I recommended. Our colonial buildings are not as old (with many refurbished losing its aged appearance) and many buildings are replaced with new buildings which are nothing, in terms of architecture, compared to those in France. I was reluctant to recommend them Kallang to see our water sports and dragon boats, since they would probably not be keen and not have time to participate. I realised immediately that I can never be a good tour guide, because I have no other recommendations. It then dawned on me that being a photographer, I should be able to recommend some scenic views, but I realised that there are NONE WORTHY! Sentosa is out since they have no interested in spending more money on things that they can see back home or in Macau.
I then recommended Pulau Ubin with a visit to Chek Jawa, which is cheap and a good experience of the kampong culture of old Singapura. From the watch tower, they can get scenic views of Johor and the straits. I also recommended VivoCity and a visit to Mount Faber. They definitely have wild imagination of these names, thinking that there is another city and a mountain, which was not mentioned in their "Lonely Planet's Southeast Asia guide book". They are definitely very adventurous to visit without doing proper research and definitely not with a general guide. Then again, it is sure hard for someone like them to enjoy Singapore since one would need to spend, shop, eat and drink indoors. That is what most people do in Singapore. Though I was definitely ready to recommend them a long list of places to try local food on a budget, but they would not have the time to do so. I also reassured them that chewing gum is definitely legal in Singapore. I was quite ashamed when I had to be honest and tell them that "Hey, thats all we have in Singapore and I regret to tell you that there is nothing more interesting for you."
We finally reach Boat Quay and I gave a brief account of the history of Boat Quay. I recommended that they explore Boat Quay and then Clark Quay, to find their cheap beer and enjoy the night scene of Singapore. I made a comment, "Now that you have been to Boat Quay and Clark Quay, you can tell others that you have seen and experienced all the night life of Singapore!"
It was really nice to have met them, though we did not exchange any contact info and not even names, I was glad to have recommended them and letting them know Singapore (not from the perspective of a travel guide) within 30 minutes. It is not the name that we are after, but the brief acquaintance worth remembering. I sure hope that they remember that they had once been to Singapore and met two friendly Singaporeans. :)
If you were me, what would you have recommended?
What are your thoughts of our tourism?
Note: These are my personal thoughts and tourists should not be detered from visiting Singapore. This is just a rare account.
Singapore is a lovely island that is rich in its multi-cultural-ethnic asia heritage. Singapore sells authentic Tiger Balm cheaply at S$2.30 per bottle (while Europe sells at $8 euros)!
They were very shocked not to be able to find the skyscrapers they were expecting. They were not interested in Orchard Road, Christmas decorations, heartlands, Chinese culture (since they have experienced much of that in Macau) and Botanic Gardens, which I recommended. They don't seem interested in buildings such as Fullerton Hotel, Supreme Court and City Hall, which I recommended. Our colonial buildings are not as old (with many refurbished losing its aged appearance) and many buildings are replaced with new buildings which are nothing, in terms of architecture, compared to those in France. I was reluctant to recommend them Kallang to see our water sports and dragon boats, since they would probably not be keen and not have time to participate. I realised immediately that I can never be a good tour guide, because I have no other recommendations. It then dawned on me that being a photographer, I should be able to recommend some scenic views, but I realised that there are NONE WORTHY! Sentosa is out since they have no interested in spending more money on things that they can see back home or in Macau.
I then recommended Pulau Ubin with a visit to Chek Jawa, which is cheap and a good experience of the kampong culture of old Singapura. From the watch tower, they can get scenic views of Johor and the straits. I also recommended VivoCity and a visit to Mount Faber. They definitely have wild imagination of these names, thinking that there is another city and a mountain, which was not mentioned in their "Lonely Planet's Southeast Asia guide book". They are definitely very adventurous to visit without doing proper research and definitely not with a general guide. Then again, it is sure hard for someone like them to enjoy Singapore since one would need to spend, shop, eat and drink indoors. That is what most people do in Singapore. Though I was definitely ready to recommend them a long list of places to try local food on a budget, but they would not have the time to do so. I also reassured them that chewing gum is definitely legal in Singapore. I was quite ashamed when I had to be honest and tell them that "Hey, thats all we have in Singapore and I regret to tell you that there is nothing more interesting for you."
We finally reach Boat Quay and I gave a brief account of the history of Boat Quay. I recommended that they explore Boat Quay and then Clark Quay, to find their cheap beer and enjoy the night scene of Singapore. I made a comment, "Now that you have been to Boat Quay and Clark Quay, you can tell others that you have seen and experienced all the night life of Singapore!"
It was really nice to have met them, though we did not exchange any contact info and not even names, I was glad to have recommended them and letting them know Singapore (not from the perspective of a travel guide) within 30 minutes. It is not the name that we are after, but the brief acquaintance worth remembering. I sure hope that they remember that they had once been to Singapore and met two friendly Singaporeans. :)
If you were me, what would you have recommended?
What are your thoughts of our tourism?
Note: These are my personal thoughts and tourists should not be detered from visiting Singapore. This is just a rare account.
Singapore is a lovely island that is rich in its multi-cultural-ethnic asia heritage. Singapore sells authentic Tiger Balm cheaply at S$2.30 per bottle (while Europe sells at $8 euros)!
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