Singapore Conference

For the second time this year, I traveled to Singapore. This time, the experience was quite a bit different than my trip in March. Why? 

Two words: Business Trip.

Upon arrival in Singapore, my hotel transfer was in a chauffeur-driven Mercedes; a far cry from the trains that I navigated back in March! As much as I enjoy trying public transportation systems around the world, there's nothing like sitting alone in the back of a car and peering out the window at the peaceful, tree-lined streets. Compared to the overcrowded streets of Hong Kong, Singapore put me at ease before I even reached the hotel. 

When I arrived, I was greeted at the front entrance and escorted directly to my suite for in-room check-in. This is yet another example of VIP treatment that was missing during my last trip. My suite also included club lounge access and some nice snacks pre-set for my arrival. 

Hotel Suite in Singapore

The next morning, I met my boss in the club lounge to finish preparing for our presentation and was pleasantly surprised when the staff greeted me by name. I still don't know how they knew me, but it is always nice to be treated like more than just an anonymous "sir". 

Dinner was held at the poolside restaurant for a low-key networking event, complete with free-flowing wine and extra amounts of humidity. At first, I felt under-dressed by not wearing a jacket but I was very happy with my decision as the people in suits were sweating like crazy. (Why would anyone think it's necessary to wear a full suit to a poolside cocktail party in Singapore?)

The next two days were filled with meetings, networking, and more wonderful food. I love almost all Asian cuisine, but Singapore really has a unique fusion of flavors. For breakfast, I got to indulge in my favorites: chicken rendang and some steamed dim sum. The next night, a group of people went to a local seafood restaurant, which offered an incredible array of seafood that even I had never seen before.  Some people were commenting that the restaurant was too casual, but I much prefer trying somewhere more authentic.  Plus, the atmosphere made me feel like I was on vacation for the first time all weekend.

One of the many seafood dishes from dinner in Singapore

Without a doubt, my favorite memory from the trip was the gala dinner on the final evening. As the meal was about to begin, an accordion wall at one end of the room started rising, with energetic music playing in the background. All the chefs were lined up behind the wall and illuminated by red up-lights. The stage was even more dramatic with the use of a smoke machine. I had never before seen a show kitchen as part of banquet space, but the environment made me feel as though I was on the set of "Iron Chef". 

Chefs emerge from behind an accordion wall in the ballroom

We were all amazed when the chefs then began banging on their equipment in a well-orchestrated percussion performance. All the guests had their phones out to capture the memory and I sat in awe and amazement. I have been to many banquet events in my life and I have never seen anything even remotely as memorable as the show that was unfolding in front of me. Talk about a "wow" moment. 

The meal was just as impressive as the performance, and the mood was so much more relaxed than the opening night cocktail party by the pool. By this point, many of us had chatted with each other and we were appreciating the rare opportunity for an entire region of finance leaders to come together in one place.  

After the meal, I was introduced to another Asian tradition: peer pressure to drink. A group of people would assemble together and ambush the person of honor with an almost-full glass of wine. There was no choice but to toast each other and drink the entire glass in a gesture of humble appreciation. As the newcomer to ASPAC, I was fortunately (or unfortunately) the target of many such toasts. I literally had no option but to chug the wine that was handed to me. Over and over again. 

I captured one of the ambush toasts!

People gradually retired to their rooms as the night wore on, but I resisted the urge. Eventually, there was just one small group of rugged party animals by the time the event was coming to a close. At the suggestion of the new VP of Hotel Finance, we made our way down to the night club in the basement of the hotel for a final night cap. 

This nightclub is extremely popular among locals and I was happy to finally experience it. (During my last trip to Singapore, I didn't drink much because alcohol is ridiculously expensive...but on the corporate card, price is not much of a concern). Our group assembled a bunch of chairs together to order one final drink, while the rest of the club buzzed with activity and a live band entertained everyone with some good cover music. 

Live band at the nightclub

I stuck around for a little while, but I "ghosted" back up to my room when the mood started to fizzle. Walking back into the hotel, I noticed a host of luxury cars in the driveway. Maybe it was the alcohol, but I stopped for a moment at the sight and thought to myself: "Wow, I am so fortunate to be part of this elite group".  

Parking lot of luxury cars in front of the hotel

Singapore is a city where people can experience a very wide range of lifestyles. My most recent trip earlier this year was more of a budget version, where I rode public transportation, drank very little alcohol, and ate mostly at casual restaurants. However this trip exposed me to the opposite end of the spectrum: Gourmet meals, chauffeured-driven cars, a beautiful hotel suite, banquets that spared no expense, and personalized service at one of the best hotels in the city. 

On my final morning in Singapore, I had the entire club lounge to myself for breakfast. I love these rare solitary moments because they give me a chance to fully appreciate my environment without any distractions. I am so happy that I got the opportunity to see both sides of Singapore because I now have a much more balanced view of the city. I rarely spend lavishly on myself, but I do appreciate the opportunities to enjoy the finest things that a city has to offer. Perhaps I should take more opportunities to indulge but I think the moderation helps to make trips like this so much more memorable.

My final morning in Singapore. Such a wonderful trip!

Singapore

Singapore has a reputation for being sterile, boring, and expensive (not the best adjectives for boosting tourism).  But, it also has modern infrastructure, lots of expatriates, and warm weather year-round.  Overall, the city piqued my interest enough to spend a couple days there on my vacation.  Here's what I thought of it...

First impressions: Arrival at the airport was a breeze.  Passport control took about 15 seconds and the baggage claim monitor noted exactly when the first and last bags were placed on the belt.  Even the restroom encouraged people to rate its cleanliness (it was spotless, by the way).  Is this place an Asian version of Zurich?

FU sure knows how to clean a toilet!

Public Transport: I decided to take the subway to my hotel because I think it’s fun to experience public transportation around the world. Singapore over-delivers in this area as well. The map is easy to follow, trains are clean, and the other riders are quiet.  

City Life: My hotel was on Orchard Road, which has the biggest concentration of shopping malls I have ever seen in my life.  Basically every building has a mall in the first two floors and there are luxury brands everywhere.  If you combined all the Orchard Road malls into one, it would be by far the biggest mall in the world.

Two random things I noticed while exploring the city: 1) the escalators all move VERY fast, and, 2) the “up” escalator is not always on the same side.  This may not sound like a big deal, but if I see two escalators next to each other, the “up” should always be the one same side that traffic moves (right side in places like North America and central Europe; left side in UK, Australia, Japan, etc).  It’s a small point, but I hold Singapore to a higher standard of efficiency!

My first afternoon in Singapore, I had lunch in Chinatown.  It actually didn't feel very "Chinatown-ish" to me because everything was so pristine.  You can still buy plenty of cheap souvenirs and tasty restaurants, but you won't find any knock-offs.   

"Painted Ladies" of Chinatown

Downtown Singapore is really just a concentration of skyscrapers, although the adjacent bay area is much more worthwhile for tourists to see.  The amazing Marina Bay Sands is even more impressive in person (and, of course, it has a giant mall in the basement).  

Singapore waterfront

Marina Bay Sands 

Very cool double-helix bridge

Also in Marina Bay are some other tourist attractions (an art museum and an impressive urban garden). Across a double-helix bridge, there is even a cricket field that literally sits in the water.  Singapore has made great strides to reclaim land and it boasts some pretty impressive statistics about the land mass, which has grown dramatically as a result of these projects. 

By the way, there is also an "Olympic Walk", which makes me pose the logical question: Why would a city that has never hosted the games have an Olympic Walk?  Actually, I did some research and Singaporean athletes have only won a total of 4 medals in all Olympics combined!  Regardless of their Olympic success (or lack thereof), it was a good place to view the skyline.  

Singapore: Future olympic host city?

Unlike most cities across Europe, cathedrals are not among the top tourist attractions.  I actually passed a very cute looking church one afternoon and walked inside, just to find that it is now a leasing office for luxury residential units.  I took a picture of it anyhow.

Faux church in Singapore

Nightlife: I got the impression from my friends that locals and expats do not integrate very much.  We went to dinner in a mall, so I can only imagine where locals go. (Food stalls?)  All joking aside, mall restaurants don’t have the same stigma like they do in the US, since the whole city is just a giant mall.  One word of caution is that alcohol is heavily taxed, so it ends up being disproportionately expensive.

Most expensive city in the world?  I was surprised to see that Singapore has the world’s highest percentage of millionaires (1 out of every 6 households, according to Wall Street Journal).  With that information in mind, it is not surprising that Singapore was also rated the most expensive city in the world.  To be perfectly honest, I did not get that impression in my short time there.  Nothing was cheap, per se, but far from the prices I paid in places like Zurich and Tokyo. 

My friend living in Singapore said that the real expenses are in expat-quality housing and purchasing permits to own a car.  With so many multinational companies taking advantage of the country’s infrastructure and low corruption, the costs of living have definitely increased quickly and low-skilled employees are finding it harder than ever to maintain any quality of life. 

Does Singapore live up to its reputation? Overall, I did find Singapore to be sterile – especially compared to all other Asian cities.  It is also extremely efficient, which I appreciate a lot.  However, I would never say that it’s boring.  Anyone who loves shopping will be in paradise, and there are plenty of opportunities to eat and drink all types of foods.  The airport has amazing connections, including some low-cost airlines that are much better than their European counterparts.  I could have stayed busy for at least a couple extra days if only I had more time.  Basically, Singapore offers almost everything that people could want, as long as they are willing to pay for it.