SINGING SINGAPORE'S PRAISES - Singapore Jun 2016

SINGING SINGAPORE'S PRAISES

Singapore  June 2016

The pandas liked Singapore

Hanging with Zach

One of the highlights of the Women's Symposium at Sias University in China in May 2016 was getting to meet Zach Walker, one of the keynote speakers and an all-round great guy from the U.S., who was working in Singapore for the National Institute of Education. 

Singapore was our first stop after completing our facilitation for the World Academy for the Future of Women in China. It was only four days (but very full ones) and the country had been on Mike's list for years.

The trees...truly super

The Marina Bay Sands...surreal

We settled into a cozy Airbnb studio and explored the city for a couple days. Zach was kind enough to treat us to a personal tour of the top sites. The harbor is dominated by the iconic Marina Bay Sands Hotel which is stunning to see in person. That evening we also witnessed the amazing Supertree Grove and Dancing Water music and light show performances.

Mike joins his friend Vinson

It was also a chance to connect with the past. Back in AMD days, Mike had a great working relationship with Singapore based Vinson Chua. He was the primary contact for tracking down overseas business that was designed in the USA. 

 Louis Vitton's grandeur

Still in touch via LinkedIn (yeah, social media comes through again), Mike was able to schedule lunch with him. It was fun reconnecting and sharing stories of our time at AMD. 

Beauty among the flowers

One of the most interesting sites was the world class Singapore Botanic Garden. It is enormous, filled with color and the most amazing collection of orchids we've ever seen.

A true melting pot

Singapore is now incredibly multicultural due to being a global hub of commerce and finance with a large expat community. Places like India Town and China Town are both culturally rich with great food choices.

We did notice, however, that there seemed to be two separate economies in Singapore, existing in parallel. There were the places where the locals go and live, with inexpensive food and housing, and then the fancy places for those lucky enough to afford it.