Jakarta is a city of over 11 million people. For a population that size, there are
surprisingly few big-name concerts or shows that come here. So when Bruno Mars came to Bangkok for a
couple shows in March, and then the Broadway show Hamilton had a run in Singapore
in May, we ventured forth to take in some song and dance… and see a few other sights
along the way.
Saying “we saw Bruno Mars in Thailand” sounds ridiculous. I know it!
But Bangkok is less than a 4 hour flight from here, so we made a long weekend
of it. In addition to the show, we
played tourist on an evening tuk-tuk tour that took us to some scenic spots in
the city. And we wandered on our own
during the day to take in some new sights.
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| A stop at Wat Arun (the Temple of Dawn)... at dusk. |
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| Part tuk tuk, part disco, the nighttime tuk tuk tour was a fun way to see the sights! |
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| Our tuk tuk tour also took us to - and through - Bangkok's flower market. |
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| No shortage of flowers, in every color, in this massive market. |
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| We passed by some other bustling night markets too - they were sorting long beans at this stall. |
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| One of our favorite things about Bangkok - so much good food... everywhere! We weren't even sure what was being made here, but there was a line, which seemed like a promising sign, so we got in it. |
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| The final result - sort of a coconut pancake-meets-taco. I had to google it later to figure out what it was. It's called khanom krok, and yes, it was delicious. |
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| Not to be outdone by the food, we also found some tasty beverages in Bangkok. I enjoyed this cocktail in the bar at what is now the W Hotel, but had been built as a private residence int he late 1800s and later served as the Russian embassy for 50 years. |
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| The aforementioned W hotel/swanky bar venue. |
The concert itself was at an outdoor arena outside of the downtown core. Being a bit wary of what that could mean for
traffic getting to and from the venue, we booked a room at a hotel just across
the street from the stadium so we could get there on foot. By far the most genius hack of the trip. The hotel even had a rooftop bar where we had
a beverage while listening to the sound check, and then a night cap while
watching the road crew break down the stage.
And in between, the show itself was amazing! It was a full house and great energy – both from
the band on the stage and the crowd in the stands. Being basically a agoraphobic hermit, I was a
bit nervous about being in a stadium with a 65,000-person capacity… but it was
a great show and a great night.
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| View of the stadium from the rooftop at our hotel. Best logistical decision EVER! |
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| A spectacular sunset view while the crowd starts to assemble for the concert. Thank goodness the sun was on its way down by the time we got there because even then it was about 90 degrees - plus humidity. |
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| OH! AH! I'm a sucker for fireworks. Plus a super entertaining, high energy show with great music? Aw, yeah. |
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| I'm pretty sure we brought up the median age of the concert goers. But it was super fun! |
Fast forward to Memorial Day weekend. Another long weekend presented another opportunity to get out of Jakarta and take in some culture. This time, it was to Singapore to see a production of Hamilton.
Saying “we saw Hamilton in Singapore” ALSO sounds ridiculous. I get it!
But Singapore is only a 2 hour flight from here, so even though it
sounds exotic, it’s basically like flying from Seattle to Oakland, which is
definitely NOT exotic.
We had visited Singapore for a long weekend last July. But on that trip, I’d been feverishly
preparing for a Secretary of State visit, so it wasn’t the relaxing, engaging
cultural experience I’d hoped for. This
time, we made up for it. We joined a walking
tour of Chinatown one day, another walking tour of the Little India district
another day, re-visited the botanic gardens to enjoy some time in outdoor green
space, ate a ton of great food… and saw an amazing Broadway show at the theater
at the Marina Bay Sands (the hotel with what looks like a ship balanced across
its three towers). I mean, sure, why
not!
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| We visited some cool old Chinese temples on our Chinatown walking tour. |
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| Thien Hock Keng temple was built in 1820... |
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| ...and is surrounded by Singapore's modern skyscrapers. |
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| A nighttime drive-by of the Buddha Tooth Relic temple - we have yet to make it inside to see what type of tooth they have on display. My money is on a molar. |
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| Very cool murals in Singapore's historic neighborhoods. |
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| "I'd like 10 percent of the air conditioning unit commission." -Scott Rose (if Scott Rose were to visit Singapore). |
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| The Tan Tang Niah house - built in 1900, it's the last Chinese villa in Singapore's Little India. |
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| The impetus for this trip to Singapore! Hamilton! |
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| It was quite the crowd for this sold out show. |
Concerts – check! Show tunes –
got it! Maybe not in Jakarta, but just a
puddle jumper away! (And bonus - the Singapore airport is awesome!)
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| This is Andrew trying out the slide from the second floor to the first floor in the Singapore airport. |
