Singapore is a cauldron of activity with throngs of people crammed into a small area, but it manages somehow to maintain a sense of order and calmness. Downtown, modern high-rises alongside aging colonial architecture frame broad leafy streets and lush parks, making this a wonderful city for walking. Ethnic neighborhoods offer fascinating glimpses, and tastes, of different cultures, and a series of quays along the river provide plenty of opportunity for al fresco dining. During the frequent torrential downpours and the heat of the day, you don’t have to miss a beat, descending into a sprawling series of underground malls connected by pedestrian tunnels and an easy-to-use subway system.
One such subway line carried me out to my job site the next day in the suburbs, emerging above ground into a residential area studded with lots of technology company campuses. The work I did there over the next few days was interesting, but what I really remember is lunch. Lunch was at an open air food court and market, Mosquewhere technology workers sat in long tables enjoying fresh made soups, stews, meat skewers and fried things, a mix of Malaysian, Indian and Chinese.