Singapore

Sometimes we are the luckiest people in the world.  A week ago, our school sent us on a "most expenses" paid trip to Singapore to receive (admittedly overdue) training on Theory of Knowledge, a course we inherited at the start of the semester.

The training was slow in parts - our instructor was a big fan of stories about his "beautiful" ethnic students that alternated with stories about how he saved the day with teaching prowess.  BUT, we learned a lot and it was invigorating to leave everyday teaching (which in our world tends to be last minute and inchoate) to focus on theory, ideals and long term goals.

We arrived on Thursday and left Sunday and, unfortunately, were in training for the vast majority of our time.  The bus would pick us up from our hotel at 7:30 and the training (held at a school about thirty minutes from downtown) ended at 5:00.  As a result, our exploration time in Singapore was really limited.  However the sun didn't set until about 7:30, and we were drinking coffee like fish drink water, so we got to see a bit of the city.

The food in Singapore is supposed to be phenomenal but we didn't get a chance to really try it.  Friday night, the organizers messed up transportation so there were about twenty teachers stranded at the school.  Someone (Leah) always comes prepared so we took our frustration out in some competitive card playing with new, equally irate friends.  The delay ruined our dinner plans, but still left time for us to explore Gardens by the Bay - a wacky science fiction landscape of giant structures that were supposed to be palm trees.

We arrived after dark and they were lit with slowly pulsing colors.  The Gardens were pretty emblematic of Singapore: insane, beautiful, and explanation-defying.  While we were wandering around, the gardens suddenly exploded in music and flashing lights, and we found ourselves in the middle of a Broadway-themed laser light show.  Who doesn't love a surprise musical?  Again, sometimes we are the luckiest.

The second night, not willing to trust the transportation situation, we booked a taxi and high-tailed it to the Botanic Gardens, which are one of only three gardens that have World Heritage status - or so our taxi driver told us.

The gardens were phenomenal, and though we were there for about three hours we only saw a fraction of what they had to offer.

The true highlight was the Orchid and Bromeliad section.  The diversity and sheer bizarreness of the plants was incredible.  I don't think we closed our mouths for an hour as we slowly made our way through the paths.  Maybe it was because we had been inside for two days straight, but we're pretty sure this little section of the garden is worth a trip to Singapore.  Seriously.

The long stay in the gardens, coupled with sticker shock at some neighborhood restaurant prices, resulted in 7-11 sandwiches for dinner.  While not quite as depressing as it sounds, we wouldn't mind if the school would be willing to pay for another training so that we can go back and actually try the good food we've been hearing everyone rave about.  (Side note about prices: ya'll, Singapore does not mess around.  Pints of beer [apparently, our barometer for measuring prices around the world] were between 10 and 20 bucks)

This picture accurately captures our reaction to both the gardens and the beer.  Same faces, very different emotions.

Our last night in Singapore was spent at the mall/amusement park that they call an airport.  We visited their butterfly garden, took advantage of duty free for the first time in our lives, bought a billion dollars worth of beer (2), watched some soccer, reflected on the strangeness that is Singapore and debated if we'd ever be back.

We also almost bought this painting.

Verdict: Probs not unless someone paid our hotel (anyone?).