Selected Sharings of Singapore Shennanigans

1. Betel Box Backpackers Hostel

Facilities-wise, I must say the best backpackers place I've been so far is in Japan but in concept and execution, Betel Box is a GREAT hostel. The staffs are friendly - Justin and I hit it off the moment we met, we couldn't stop talking about indie bookstores and fancy notebooks! I wasn't sure on how to get to Books Actually and he happened to know the owner so he drew up an itinerary. I was also looking for a good notebook - not a moleskin because I am not ready to walk into the footsteps of Ernest Hemingway and the likes - and apparently he is crazy about them. He even shared his current notebook, a fancy leather-bound Midori.

The simple, free continental breakfast was great as well. Several choices of bread and spread with coffee dripping from the machine all day. Not to mention that the building is of Peranakan architecture, within walking distance from Pasar Geylang Serai.


2. Books Actually

It's located on Club Street, just opposite the Ang Seng Hill - a hip area where expatriates were already sipping on beer by the sidewalk cafes the time I went on a quest to fine this gem of a bookstore. Justin has cautioned that I might miss it because "Books Actually is not so obvious." But hey, I might miss a boutique but there's no way I would miss a bookstore!

However it was right about the store being "not so obvious." It is a small and humble, three-storey establishment that houses extensive collections of serious literary works, antique collectibles (think old Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series), retro trinkets (remember those flags-around-the-world erasers from primary school?) and papers, journals and notebooks sold under Polymath & Crust label. Books Actually also has a publishing wing - Math Paper Press.

I love the decorations and arrangements of things inside the store. The books on cover displays are intricately chosen - reflecting the atmosphere of the space. A line of retro typewriters on the stairs going to the second floor. On top of the same staircase is a proud blue wooden miniature piano, the same kind as the one I, my cousins and surely many of us owned as a kid.

I'm pretty sure they're not making that much money out of the business. In today's Sunday Times - managed to get a copy before boarding the bus to Keppel Road early this morning - it was written that Singaporeans do not read very much. It must have been a pure passion; the huge fabric hanging by the door outside the store, imitating lines out of an exercise book inscribed with quotes about books sums it all up.


3. Page One

Page One is located in VivoCity, Harborfront. From its glass window by the children section, the Sentosa Island is very much visible, with the rail of Sentosa Express coming and going by its side.

It is a good bookstore as well, but unlike Books Actually, Page One is tailored to meet the commercial aspect as well. A great job I must say; the collections are extensive (due to space probably, and I noticed some were actually underutilized). But I wish they would carry books on writing/writing skills or something along that line. It was suggested that I looked in the professional sections. Maybe being a writer is not deemed as a profession?


4. {prologue}

Prologue is housed inside the high-end ION Orchard. I would never venture into this place if not for a bookstore. Prologue does not only sell books, but they have an impressive stationery section as well, not to mention a cafe that was literally, packed with young people.

It was here that I got my new notebook :)


5. Bussorah Street

I was here before the stores were all opened. But the architecture is to die for. Located in front of the main entrance of the Sultan Mosque and next to Kampong Gelam Palace, it is a part of the Malay Heritage area.

6. The Raffles Hotel

It wasn't in my initial itinerary but thanks to a travel article in the NST that I read a few days before leaving, I decided to pay the Raffles Hotel Museum a visit. Upon walking into the courtyard I felt transported into another world and time. The first word that came to mind was "maharajah" then "colonialism." And seeing Eurasian tourists milling around and fancy boutiques of labels from abroad did not help either. It was, is beautiful but it didn't feel right...

However the initial uneasiness melted when I got into the museum on the third floor. It was a comprehensive exhibition of the hotel - from its conception, its glory, the renovations and its restored fame. But what struck me most was how famous writers were a huge part of the hotel during its early days.

Somerset Maugham's famous words that the hotel "stands for all the fables of the exotic East" were used in advertising campaign during those good old days.

And Rudyard Kipling's permission was obtained before the lines from his book "Sea to Sea" were included in promoting Raffles. The lines are "Providence led me to a place called Raffles Hotel, where the food is as excellent as the rooms are goo. Let the traveler take note: Feed at Raffles, Sleep at Raffles."

Oh and don't forget to get the Raffles' postcards! Heeding the travel article from NST, I even mailed one to myself just to get that famous Raffles post stamp!


7. Changi Chapel and War Museum

I had a future trip in mind before I left and the exhibition at this museum sort of reaffirmed that I should take it. Inshaallah.


8. National Library

The open-aired cafe in the foyer area really serves its purposes. It was packed with students revising and in heated arguments (or maybe just gossiping but whatever) while other members of the public occupied the tables as well.


9. MRT Bras Basah

Taking a trip to or from this station is a must,just to check out the cool natural lighting roof provided by the semi transparent water pool on the ground level.


10. Chinatown

Gosh I love this place. The smell and the ambiance are truly Asian. I was here twice, within two hours. The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple opposite of the Chinatown Complex reminded me of shrines in Japan with its glaring vermilion color. I ventured for a look but chickened out when the prayer chants got too loud.


11. Singapore Tourist Pass

For $8/day (+ $10 card deposit), I got unlimited access to land transportation (excluding taxi). It was really convenient as I am the most directionless person who got lost countless times in a day.