Sanna and Singapore

I’ve always wanted to be elegant. Preferably European and stylish, wearing scarves and outlandishly flowy shirts with pants I found at a small shop in Stockholm. I want to be one of those people that give off an adventurous, bohemian aura, but in a classy bookish sort of way. I wish I decorated my home with plush rugs, and dark, wooden shelves sprinkled filled with interesting artifacts: old books and worn maps, silver timepieces (not watches) on thin chains and a wooden roll-top desk with secret compartments for letters.

Lucky for me, I have a Swedish friend named Sanna who is all of that and more. She lives here in Singapore and has generously loaned her couch to me for the week, despite barely knowing me. We shared a few classes in college and ran in the same writer-y circles, she more than I. As she has said on her own spritely blog, we world traveler types have to stick together, and I’m grateful to be included in her aura. Moreover, in her I have a knowledgeable source of information about Singaporean life. Sanna grew up here attending the same international school she now works for, the Singapore branch of ICS (International Christian School).

Er—I wrote that half a week ago when I was still in Singapore. Arrived back in good old K-town this morning and work is piling up like a mad thing. Consequently, I am of course terribly behind on bloggering. Here’s hoping that will improve in the upcoming days. But until that little miracle occurs, I leave you with a few pictures of Singapore.

Calvinites in Chinatown.

A whole store devoted to Tin Tin. Pretty cool!

Very cool tiled boulevard thingy. Sanna says she and her siblings swam in it when they were little and that the signs now posted there prohibiting such paddling are due to "people like her." 

Chinatown. Buildings like this are a common architectural feature of Singapore. In the olden days (erm, like, British colony days I think?) several families would live above the first-floor shop.

I stumbled upon the Chinese men's checkers and mahjong haven.  Delightful subculture to photograph. More pics to follow.

Borrowed Sanna's dress to go to Ku De Ta, the bar at the top of the poles-with-a-surfboard on top building on the left. Very cool view from the top (open-air, glass railing) and the. most. expensive beer I've ever drank in my life. Worth it because I got to see Sanna's dance moves thereafter and let me tell you: best part of Sinapore.