Singapore? & Win $200
ONLY IN TELL US A TALE Here’s your chance to get published – and make some money at the same time. We’re looking for 500-word written contributions on any funny, poignant, practical or even controversial topic that touches on expat life in Singapore. Simp
Following the sound of music, I chanced upon the square where the two energetic getai performers were belting out tunes on a makeshift stage. Their colourful clothes glittered in the garish spotlights and their boisterous routine had many enthralled. Those who could understand local dialect laughed at the witticisms in the lyrics; for me and the others who could not, it was a new, fun and Instagram-filled experience. The crowd was good-natured and didn’t seem to mind the endless flashes from ubiquitous smartphones.
It was the Mid-autumn Festival in Chinatown. There were shops selling things I never knew I needed or wanted. “Just try only!” said the old uncle, deftly cutting up slivers of mooncake of every colour and flavour. The traditional lotus seed paste mooncakes I loved were clearly passé; instead, “snow skins” filled with durian, salted egg, sweet potato and peanut butter and banana were the in thing. And the pretty boxes they were packed in added a whole new dimension of choice.
Next to the mooncake uncle, a young man in thick glasses asked, “You got travel a lot?” He had travel adaptors for virtually every country in the world. Two stores down, shelves of balms and creams promised instant relief from annoying ailments – anything from aching muscles and upset tummies, to chasing away the dreaded Zika-bearing mosquito. As I opened a jar, an elderly Indian lady sniffed in the nose-numbing scent too, and nodded approvingly. “Buy two: one for home, one for your handbag. You never know when you will get backache,” she said.
On the next street, three young American girls were engrossed in choosing bracelets, and taking selfies of each colour combination on their arms. Nearby, in the feng shui shop, rows of gold-plated dragons waited to bring wealth and luck to their new owners. I bargained hard for two rabbit lanterns made of wire and cellophane. The storeowner theatrically rejected my offer, saying to anyone who would listen that he was barely surviving; but he quickly called me back, grumbling under his breath that his rental costs were killing him. I couldn’t help thinking to myself, from Koh Samui to Marrakesh, some things were the same the world over!
In Food Street, people were tucking into steaming plates of chilli crab, grilled stingray, oyster omelettes and pig entrails. It was easy to tell the residents from the visitors: residents wore the Singapore uniform of shorts, T-shirts and comfortable flipflops; visitors had shoes and socks on.
As I ambled through Chinatown that evening, soaking in the sights, smells and sounds, I wondered how many places there were in the world where you could wander around engrossed in taking pictures with your iphone and not have to worry about your bag (or phone!) being stolen, or being leered at because you were in shorts; where you could eat street food knowing that you wouldn’t become violently ill; where you could get lost, safe in the knowledge that people would helpfully walk you to your destination.
So many things we take for granted in Singapore …