Week 8: A weekend in Singapore
My Work
This was another week of finalizing research, organizing thoughts, getting through citations, drafting sections, and all the lovely aspects of creating a research report for ODC. In only two months, it is exciting to see how far my work has come and how much I have learned. I came into a country knowing very little (nothing) about the legal system or the laws in the country. After a steep learning curve of a couple of weeks, I have been able to have conversations with relevant stakeholders about these laws, host conferences, give presentations, and talk to my coworkers about an area of the law in a country I had not even dreamed of visiting.
As a break from the regular research grind, I was able to conduct my last interview with a program director of a local consulting group that helps small businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs. His focus with the company was on digital laws involving data protection, e-commerce laws, cryptocurrency, etc. Talking about the future for Cambodia businesses was a great opportunity, and I was able to pick his brain about the importance of cryptocurrency and data in a place like Cambodia. Conversations like these teach me much more than a research article ever could. He presented his own knowledge through his research but also can shed light on the culture and informal norms that need to be considered.
My Travels
This weekend I headed even farther towards the equator to Singapore! Once again, I was able to meet up with Courtney to enjoy the city together. With only 48 hours in the city, we packed it full of things to do. I ended up walking 70,000 steps with in these two days, and after living 2 months in a pretty unwalkable city, this was a shock to my legs that I paid for the day after my trip.
When visiting the southeast Asia region, people say that the best way to acclimate yourself to the rich culture is to first start in Singapore for a few days, then visit Thailand, and then make your way into Cambodia. Even though I took the opposite of that advice, I immediately understood the sentiment on landing. The subway stations, the subways themselves, and the streets were modern and clean. Even the cars were always incredibly shiny as if there was not a speck of dirt that existed in the entire city. Although in Asia, Singapore still reminded me a lot of American cities. Courtney and I commented that it was “a cleaner and smaller New York City,” “a classier Vegas,” “a quieter Miami”, “a greener Seattle” and the list goes on. With all these comparisons and collaborations of culture, it means that Singapore is simply a unique city.
Arriving earlier than Courtney, I was first able to explore Chinatown, the neighborhood we were staying. Although it rained most of the afternoon, Singapore’s sidewalks offer great coverage from the rain, making walking around very easy. I made my way over to Marina Bay area where I wandered around the huge mall and surrounding areas. After the rain stopped, I wandered to the south of the Gardens by the Bay, somewhere I would be returning to in the morning with Courtney to explore further. I was able to catch a cable car ride over to Sentosa Island where amusement parks, beaches, and Universal Studios is located. Of course, I was really only interested in the cloudy views from the cable car, but Sentosa was a great way to kill time before the evening. That evening we were able to have a quick dinner and explore the area of Clarke Quay, a livelier neighborhood on the river with plenty of restaurants and bars. It was great to catch up with Courtney in person again!
The next day we got an early start to head to the Gardens by the Bay which has an expansive outdoor garden with many walking paths and indoor greenery spaces such as the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest. Cambodia does have plenty of trees for being a city, but visiting an air conditioned space with tons of plants was something that I had been missing the last two months.
After walking around, our next stop was to visit Chinatown’s Maxwell Hawker Center. Essentially a large Singaporean food court, it has many cheap options for local food and drinks. I was able to try a couple different foods, including a couple of Anthony Bourdain’s favorite stalls when he would visit Singapore. The break after lunch rejuvenated us to walk around the neighborhood of Little India where we saw Sri Veeramakaliamman temple, the Sultan Mosque, and quickly walked down the more hipster area of Haji Lane.
When I travel to a new place, I make it a point to dive into the local foods that I would not get anywhere back at home; however, after seeing a Shake Shack that morning, we could not resist the temptation. Shakes in hand, we were able to explore the Marina Bay at sunset and night. The Gardens by the Bay have these giant fake trees (with real plants on them) that offered a fantastic view of the sunset. Once it got dark, there is a light show within the trees set to music, and in this case, various Broadway hit songs that made me feel like I was at home again.
As I researched what to do in Singapore before arriving, many sites and travel blogs would mention the airport. Apparently, people spend a whole day there exploring the shops and restaurants. I arrived about an hour earlier than I normally would for a flight just to see what the hype was about. The fact that the Jewel of Changi (pictured below) is at the airport was mind blowing.
Ultimately, I can see why Singapore is called a stopover city. After two days, we had pretty much exhausted everything we had planned and more. Truly a great place for a weekend trip, and after living in Phnom Penh for about 2 months, it was refreshing seeing a very modern city.