Singapore: A Day of Art

Most of our days throughout this trip were filled with many

 activities that allowed us to learn more and more about 

Singapore. We first started off the day with the complimentary 

breakfast from the hotel. I am more adventurous than others 

and love to try new things so I load my plate of foods I usually 

wouldn't be getting back home in New York. I have spicy

curry, vegetable lo mein, and even these cute little bunny

paos. They did have American breakfast options that we would get back home such as bacon, eggs, hash browns and different fruits. All of this with two juices to choose from that are rotated everyday.

After breakfast, we were all loaded into our bus and we were

After breakfast, we were all loaded onto our bus and were on our way to another business visit. It is our fourth visit so far our of the seven called BYND Artisan. When we walk in, we are met by the workers of this company who were extremely polite and excited to start the visit with us. We began creating our own notebooks. They gave us a sheet to write down our very own creations. Fist, you were to choose which color and style you wanted for the cover of your book. I went with a dark green while others picked hot pink, dark blue, snakeskin, or a sparkly gold. Following that, you wold choose what type of paper you wanted whether it was parchment, rainbow, lined or sketch. I decided to go with parchment paper. Next, you were to choose the color and type of closing style you want. You had the choices of an elastic band, clasp or closing flap (the one I chose).

 

After you chose if you wanted a black, bronze silver, blue, green or red twin wire for your bins. I thought that silver looked the best for mine. Finally, we got to write down for what we wanted for our very own personalization title for our cover to be. As well as the font style and color of the writing. Mine ended up saying "That Girl" in silver in the top left hand corner in Copperplate 4MM in the color silver. Now, the process of designing our own notebook was now complete and we were able to hand over our papers to the workers who were able to create each and every single one of our designs. While we were having our business presentation from both of the creators and owners of BYND Artisans, Winnie and James. We were all excited to see the backstory behind their business and the inner workings of it are. 

Winnie and James gave us a wonderful and detailed presentation about how their business revolves around family. It all started with Winnie's grandfather who started his own small bindery business in Singapore in 1942. Winnie then joined the company 50 years later and then another 20 years later Winnie and her husband, James, started their own retail concept and opened their very own first store. They also explained how the continued to employ their older artisans because it is all they have been doing and it will be harder for them to find other jobs. Those artisans will be working more behind the scenes creating the items rather than be at the front of the store and working with the customers. We were all touched when Winnie and James explained that to us and we knew this business was good-natured. 

Furthermore, they told us about all the stores they had opened in various mall, as well as combining one of their stores with the cafe business, Sunday Folks, that resides beside them. I thought that it was such an amazing business idea that they did. Especially with a local neighbor business. After they wrapped up their presentation, we all applauded and each got our notebooks that the artisans were making during that time. They were given in a beautiful bag and there were smiles all around when we each opened them to see our creativity come to life. We then thanked Winnie, James and their fellow artisans and made our way over to Sunday Folks to have a midday sweet treat. 

Furthermore, they told us about all the stores they had opened in various mall, as well as combining one of their stores with the cafe business, Sunday Folks, that resides beside them. I thought that it was such an amazing business idea that they did. Especially with a local neighbor business. After they wrapped up their presentation, we all applauded and each got our notebooks that the artisans were making during that time. They were given in a beautiful bag and there were smiles all around when we each opened them to see our creativity come to life. We then thanked Winnie, James and their fellow artisans and made our way over to Sunday Folks to have a midday sweet treat. 

After another amazing business visit, we loaded back onto the bus and made our way to another part of Singapore that we were ready to discover. We had arrived in Little India. Our tour guide, Jerome, told us we were free to explore and find a place for lunch so most of the girls then went to explore. It was a Sunday so all the workers had off and to add to that, it was pouring rain. It became a bit overwhelming to be there but I personally enjoyed the experience to see a place that most people wouldn't think about discovering. First stop was at a Hawker Centre to find some food. When we arrived, it was extremely crowded and we couldn't find the food stands. We exited there and asked our fellow classmates where they have decided to eat. By no surprise, it was the famous golden arches, McDonalds. Then, we were on our way to the mall that they were earning at. When we got there, my friend, Cara, and I decided to eat something else while the rest entered the McDonalds. I searched around for a meal which I landed on a Turkish cuisine and Cara chose a local burger chain. 

At the close of our meal, our meeting time as cutting close and we were still a 15 minute walk away. Cara and I wrapped up our meal and let the others know we were going to begin our walk. It was one of the longest feeling walks I had that whole trip. We were switching in-between walking in the road and the sidewalk and constantly avoiding puddles while trying not to accidentally hit anyone with our umbrellas. Finally, we had made it and found Jerome and surprisingly were the first ones to make it back. As more of us began to come back, Jerome called for the bus to come and then we were off to our next location. 

Our next location was one of the most beautiful and interactive museums I have been to called the ArtScience Museum. It is right on the Marina Bay. We began on the lowest level with the Future World: Where Art Meets Science exhibit that entailed immersing yourself in a world of art, science, magic and metaphor through a collection of digital interactive installations. It seemed to be more directed towards a children audience but personally, I was having an amazing time with every piece I interacted with. There was a slide, interactive paintings and climbing pieces. The last piece was a beautiful piece that contained various crystals that created the illusion of stars moving in space. The group was split up by those who moved faster and those who wanted to take their time to look and interact with every piece. My friend Cara and I were the ones who wanted to interact with everything. Get our money's worth, you know. But, once we were all out of that exhibit. We then moved up three floors to the next exhibit that was a different feel. It revolves around envisioning alternate futures and imaginary realms. 

This exhibit is named New Eden: Science Fiction Mythologies Transformed. It took more time to get through that the previous one; more because there was more to watch and read rather than interact. It is organized into either different "chapters" that feature contemporary artworks, historical artifacts, and films from both Asia and the West. Every single doorway we walked through, I was absolutely amazed. The artwork was beautiful and I repeatedly stopped to admire. As well as, watched the videos that were featured in almost every room. One room had headphones that connected to the television that displayed a 5 mixture music video and we were able to sit on bean bags while watching. Another room was in complete darkness and silence that had a video playing with no sound coming out. This exhibit was very interesting and I overloaded my phone with the amount of pictures I took. 

Once we all regrouped after finishing the museum, we walked through the mall that is adjacent to the museum in order to get to our next activity. This one is one of Singapore's main attractions called the SkyPark Observation Deck. It is mainly described as "the durian shaped domes" by the people in Singapore. Even though it was raining, it was still an amazing view. We took an elevator all the way to the 56th floor where we were able to see all of Marina Bay. As well as the attractions around it such as the Formula 1 Racing Track and Gardens by the Bay which we were going to in the next days. We then went back into the mall and were able to choose what to eat for dinner. 

The girls of the group decided to all eat dinner together for the first time. We landed on the Canton Paradise @ Marina Bay Sands, a Cantonese restaurant. You are usually supposed to order a whole bunch of food and share it amongst the entire table. But, we decided to order food for just ourselves. I ordered Steamed Xiao Long Bao and the Crackling Pork Belly Soup. While the rest of the table ordered things such as Stewed Beef Brisket Noodle Soup, Handmade Meatball Congee, Sweet and Sour Pork, Pan-Fried Radish Cake and various other dishes. Every single dish was absolutely delicious. A lot of the girls were already getting full so I was trying what was left over of theirs. It was my first time having Cantonese food and will definitely look for some back home. After we were all full, we paid in the front at the cashier and were in a rush to get to the other side of the mall outside for the next fun. 

We were walking as fast as possible to arrive in time for the Spectra: A Light and Water Show that occurs on the bay at 8 or 9 or 10 (on the weekends). It is a wonderful spectacle to see. There were so many lasers, water fountains, projections and lights. A lot of the lasers came from on top of the observation desk and even the building was dancing in lights. We couldn't believe that we were able to see this show for free, outside on the beautiful bay. It lasted about 15 minutes but it was a perfect amount of time to take it all in. 

Finally, we made it to the front of the mall and got in the taxi line to get back to the hotel. Some of us went to the Bugis+ Mall that was directly in-front of our hotel (very dangerous for our wallets). We got some desert and then spent quite a bit of time in the arcade that they have. It was a very thrill filled day with lots of new things we have learned and I am ready to see what was ahead for us the next day.