HDB visit and Art tour...

On Wednesday, June 6 we visited the HDB (Housing Development Board) main office. I have to admit it was quite different than I expected. It was like a page out of 1984. First of all, there were armed guards at the doors and cameras everywhere. Pictured below are the guards that I was afraid to photograph so I made Jameil pretend to pose.

At a question and answer session we were given food and drinks to attempt to win us over.

The PR lady attempted to answer our questions, but resulting in stating that Singapore is a conservative Asian society that values "traditional Asian values," but later describing Singapore as a liberal society. We found out that Singapore does not sell flats to single people because they want to encourage people to get married. They also won't sell to homosexuals. This baffled us coming from a country that is not allowed to discriminate. Also, in each flat community they have quotas for the races allowed to purchase flats. Their quotas must reflect Singapore's general population break-down. Therefore there must be 75% Chinese, 10% Malay, 7% Indian and 8% "other" category in each community. Basically to buy a flat you must purchase it from someone of your own race. We all left a bit in awe.

On Thursday, June 7th we were treated to an elegant luncheon and art tour by UNC alumnus Mary Leadbetter (of the Friday family, Friday Center). We ate at one of the prestigious country clubs in Singapore. We were joined by several other UNC alumni.

Mary giving us the opening remarks...

We then proceeded to enjoy a lovely buffet...

My table very much enjoyed themselves...

Following the luncheon we were taken to the Tyler print studio and the Gaja Gallery. At the Tyler studio we even saw an exhibit of Picasso prints. (sorry we weren't allowed to take pictures) At the Gaja gallery we viewed many pieces of artwork from Indonesia, Thailand, and other Southeast Asian countries. Here are some of my favorites...

In the afternoon we were given free time. We explored the area we were in which is Clark Quay. There are lots of stores and restaurants. But since it was late afternoon there wasn't much going on so Angelo and I decided to go back to Chinatown and do some shopping. While there we passed a Hindu temple where evening prayer was beginning. We were able to catch a glimpse...

Lots of Love,

Sarah