NY Times edits Singapore

Marina Bay Sands "Integrated Resort" under construction in July 2010.

The New York Times gave Singapore the 36-hours treatment last week. The popular Travel-section feature summarizes tourism opportunities in locations near and far. I have especially liked the paper's write-ups of St Louis, Hong Kong, and Cork. I concur with the choices of the Singapore Botanic Gardens, the Wild Rocket/Wild Oats restaurant and bar atop Mt Emily, and the shopping experience along Haji Lane. Of course, any travel guide would be remiss not to mention the newly opened "integrated resort" (read: casino) Marina Bay Sands overlooking the Central Business District.

However, many of the other choices in the article seem poorly advised. High tea at the Raffles Hotel is an overpriced endeavor, and walking along Robertson Quay on a Sunday morning followed by a cycle tour sounds like a recipe for heat stroke. Also the Maxwell Road Food Centre has little to recommend it over other hawker centers besides it's proximity to Chinatown. Similarly the Ritz-Carlton Millenia doesn't seem like a terribly interesting hotel choice. Also "Orchard Street" needs to be corrected to read "Orchard Road."

The Big Day in the UK

We can only hope the event will be this festive.

There's a wedding happening today at Westminster Abbey. The Passengers will watch a bit of the ceremony from Changi Airport because we are flying to Thailand for a long weekend. Here in Singapore the royal occasion will be less of a morning event and more of a prime-time affair. The service starts at 6pm for us. Rest assured, Channel 5 will start coverage three hours early.

The video above is sponsored by T-Mobile. I was amused. Then, I had to confirm to myself that the setting was St Bartholomew's in Smithfield, a Romanesque Augustinian Abbey.

Of Men and Muppets

The new production of "Upstairs Downstairs" has arrived in the USA. Americans watched the previous version on PBS's "Masterpiece Theater," and it reminds me of a great cross-cultural moment shared in 2004 after Alistair Cooke passed away. Each of us tried to explain to the other what made him an endearing public figure.

Passenger H: Have you heard of him? Alistair Cooke used to always read the "Letter from America" on the BBC.
Passenger J: Alistair Cooke? You mean the "Masterpiece Theater" host?
H: Masterpiece wha--?
J: (in Cookie Monster voice) "Hello and welcome to 'Monsterpiece Theater.' I'm Alistair Cookie."
H: Is THAT why they called him Alistair Cookie?

I was reminded of the "Sesame Street" parody above by this week's New Yorker podcast.

Penang Architecture

Art deco hotel along the market.

Part of the charm of Penang is its architecture. The urban core of Georgetown preserves many more traditional Straits shophouses than can be seen in Singapore. Penang escaped World War II with much less destruction. Today the city is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Courtyard of a Chinese temple in Penang, looking towards the street.

The urban fabric also includes a number of Chinese and Buddhist  temples. We made sure to wander by a few of those on our long Saturday afternoon walk in the broiling sun. Here is a selection of some of the city's architectural gems. There are plenty of pictures after the jump break.

Penang Hotel

The facade of the Eastern and Oriental Hotel on Farquhar Street, Georgetown.

While visiting Penang the Passengers stayed at the Eastern & Oriental Hotel, a plush colonial pile dating back to 1885. In its heyday the E&O hosted luminaries like Somerset Maugham, Noel Coward, Charlie Chaplin, and Rita Hayworth. Eventually the place fell on hard times, but it has been restored to former splendor in recent years.

Overlooking a tropical paradise at the Eastern & Oriental Hotel.

We found our digs thoroughly enjoyable with a suite that had a balcony overlooking the pool and the sea.We had our own sitting room plus a deluxe bathroom entered through French doors with stained glass. Did I mention the outstanding breakfast, too? The hotel has an additional 17-story tower planned to augment the original historic building.

The view from our balcony at the Eastern & Oriental Hotel.

This hotel was one of the main reasons we chose to spend a weekend in Penang. The E&O in Malaysia peddles the colonial experience that is meticulously marketed by Raffles Hotel in Singapore, and was established by the same enterprising Sarkies brothers, but at less than half the price. High tea at Raffles: S$55 per person plus tax and tip. High tea at E&O's restaurant 1885: S$20 per person plus tax and tip. How do you know you've entered a colonial time warp? High tea.

Penang Market

The shophouses along the market streets of Georgetown, Pulau Pinang.

The Passengers have just returned from a weekend in Penang. We spent two days exploring with friends the multicultural Malaysian trading island in the Andaman Sea. The place has been a stopover point for traders from Southeast Asia, India, and China for many years, and it all combines into a potent mix.

Local coffeeshops sell food during the Saturday morning market.

For a bit of local flavor we spent Friday night sampling the hawker stalls along Gurney Drive. On Saturday morning we joined a batch of our traveling companions on a wander through the morning market in Georgetown, the island's main city. Here's a few photos from the day. We started at 8:00 AM, before the sun became nearly unbearable in the afternoon.

 Credit Passenger H with many of these photos. I was too busy looking at the Straits architecture. I'll try to do a separate post on that later in the week. There are more photos after the jump break. Click the link below left to see more of market life.

Nonstop Time Lapse

SF to Paris in Two Minutes from Beep Show on Vimeo.

Somebody, please put me on one of these time-lapse planes next time I have to cross the Pacific. Either that or get me a stasis pod.