Indonesian Adventures

Over the weekend I went on a brief trip to the island of Batam in Indonesia, just a quick half hour or so speed ferry ride from Singapore.

That is, quick if we had gone directly to Batam. Y'see, we booked our accommodations on Batam, but we booked our ferry to Bintan, the more popular island next door. Long story short, we had another half hour ferry ride and about an hour and a half of taxis ahead of us before arriving at our final destination. It was the long way around, but... "Making memories!" and all that.

Batam was not emblematic of the Indonesia we expected. It is known for shipbuilding and welding. Not beaches, not resorts, not tourism. We were there entirely by accident. But we made the best of it. Although we could see the Marina Bay Sands Resort Casino in Singapore from our window, a few of us stayed in Batam and resisted heading home early.

So just what did we get up to, then?

The first day comprised of massages (I will not go into details, suffice to say), exploring the nearly abandoned mall close to us, and eating copious amounts of baked goods. And vodka from the duty free. Day two saw a bit more adventure, a we went to a much busier mall (read: four storey bazaar) and dinner on Food Street. This was followed by $1 crepes with ice cream and bananas, a bit of shopping, and then more duty free vodka, cassava chips, and finally karaoke. Now I'm home and ready to celebrate National Day before heading to class on Thursday. Majulah Singapura!

all photos by me, more on Flickr

Music Monday: 'til the Sun Goes Down

Sia has been a favourite of mine for a while now. She and her music are amazingly eclectic, and there is so much variation within her albums. There are dance hall anthems, power ballads, stripped down piano chords, and so much more.

This particular song off her most recent album, We are Born, was instantly one of those tracks I played time and time again. It's upbeat, catchy, and the lyrics are spot on. To me it feels like a summer song.

And here I am, living in the middle of a tropical summer. I've got a Summer Soundtrack 2011 playlist on my iPod and HTC, and it features quite a few songs from Sia. It got a lot of play time on all the ferries and taxis I took over the weekend in Indonesia.

Here's a link to Bring Night, via HypeMachine. If you haven't noticed, I've got a HypeM widget off to the left that updates with my latest "loved" tracks. Take a look through, my tastes are all over the board and you might find something you like.

the Mall City

I have been told that Singapore is not a country, but a hotel. You are very welcome to come and stay for a while, and so long as you abide by the rules you will have a good time. Currently, I'm thinking that Singapore is actually a mall. At least most of it is.

Malls are everywhere in Singapore, and they always seems to be busy. I spent part of my day at two three different malls: Clementi Mall, Harbour Front Centre, and VivoCity. That two is scratched out because I never actually left VivoCity, I was just suddenly in another mall. That's common here, wandering down a hallway only to be greeted by a welcome sign for the mall next door. I guess Singaporeans don't like walking around outside too much.

Anyway, VivoCity and Clementi. The later is the most convenient MRT stop from uTown (though technically not the closest), so I'm there quite a bit. The former is pictured in this post, rather the rooftop park is. Yes, a park on top of the mall. Singapore takes urban green space seriously (hence I'm here doing urban geography).

It's not just a collection of planters and a few benches around a playground made from recycled tires, either. It's a full on trees and shrubs on manicured islands in a wading pool that spans the whole rooftop. Trees. On the roof. I didn't even know that was a viable option, but apparently they do that here.

The mall itself is huge, something like 6 storeys including both basements. What's strange about the malls in Singapore, though, is that there is no one food court. There are companies that run "food courts," where every single stall is owned and operated by said company, but nothing like what we have in Canada or the States. Instead, restaurants and food vendors are scattered throughout, tucked between your usual assortment of retail stores. I'm not sure which I like better, our system or Singapore's.

I'll have plenty of time to test the Singaporean way of shopping, though. I'm living in this mall for four months!

Oh, and yes, that is a snowman statue. A little thinner than what I'm accustomed to seeing, but I guess they're compensating for heat a little. Besides shaved ice (with corn!?), that's the closest Singapore gets to snow.

photos by me, more on Flickr

Zouk

Last night I went out clubbing again, and it has been proved yet again that Singapore really knows how to put on a party! I hit a local icon called Zouk, which celebrated 19 years of Mambo Jambo last night with no cover. What's Mambo Jambo, you ask? I'm not sure either, but the Zouk website describes it like this: "the embodiment of uninhibited flamboyance on the dance floor." Sure, what they said.

The club scene there was rad, as they had a few different dance halls within the one venue. I spent time at both the main Zouk hall and another called Velvet Underground. At Zouk, Mambo Jambo included hits from the 80s and 90s with a few more recent tracks included. My favourite, though, was Velvet, as the music they played closely resembled my playlist on the Hype Machine. Mash-ups, remixes, all with thundering base and more than one dubstep interlude.

Aside from the difference in music, Zouk had an, erm, strange phenomenon: choreographed hand movements. Yes. Not only did every Singaporean there know intricate hand motions to each and every song played - from Like a Prayer to Chumbawumba - but there were official hand dancers on raised platforms wearing white gloves and glowing rings to lead us uninformed people in the chaos. This country just becomes more interesting daily.

Mambo Jambo logo by Zouk, club photo from Time Out, dance photo from @llie's @ttic

Music Monday: Blue Skys

Technically it's still Monday back home in British Columbia, so this post is right on time.

Being in Singapore feels like a vacation. I feel like I live in a hotel sometimes, and every day I'm out exploring and every night I'm up to something in town. This ain't real life.

So it would make sense that I need a bit of a summer soundtrack, right? Besides all the mash-ups, remixes, and generally "dance hall" music that I've been listening to lately, there are a few true summer songs. One of these is an old favourite, Mr Blue Sky.

You may remember it as an ELO tune, but it has been covered multiple times since the original release (some more likeable than others). My particular favourite, above even the ELO version, is sung by the Delgados. You can take a listen to it here.