Singapore Fact of the Day: There are some very strict laws you must follow in Singapore. Gum is illegal completely. You cannot have a gathering of over four people without government consent (this usually just applies for protests and similar scenarios). And weirdly enough, they have a law here which dictates you must not pee in elevators. This is a serious offense which gives you a large fine and even jail time. You would think it was a no-brainer, but evidently it's a law all the same. The more you know!
Today was one of the most anticipated days for me for the whole trip. While we got to go sightseeing and explore various exhibitions for the first part of the trip, we finally got to the "educational" part, which was meeting and learning about different design and animation firms in Singapore! Today we got to visit two - Farm and Crave FX.
Farm was really fascinating - they explored the interconnection between design and architecture in new and interesting ways. My favorite project they had was redesigning a hotel in Little India called The Great Madras. They created an environment that simulated the idea of an older establishment being rewritten and added to over time. They had older artifacts scattered throughout the hotel inside a colorful and modern environment.
The second place we visited was Crave FX - an animation studio! It was really fun to see a small to medium-sized studio and how they conduct their work. They have done work on multiple short-term projects mostly based in Singapore and the surrounding region. It seems like animation here is thriving, and select companies that filled the void a few years ago were able to create successful businesses in their own right.
The stuff in between was mostly city sight-seeing in between traveling and visiting another hawker station. We actually went to the one that was featured in the movie "Crazy Rich Asians". I haven't actually seen the movie, so I'm not sure what is going on, but it's featured in there! I had my first go at the local dish called "carrot cake" there. It's some sort of stir fry dish with cooked radishes (they call them white carrots here, hence the name). I've gotta say, it completely took me by surprise - might be my favorite thing I've had here so far!
Oh, we also met this handsome chap.
One more thing I'd like to add here. I've had friends and family ask me about the weather so far. Singapore is very close to the equator, and it is a tropical island. So it is very hot and very humid. And I really mean it. After 2 minutes of being outside, I am BEADING sweat. It took me a few days, but I'm used to being covered in sweat all the time now. It's not fun, and it's gross, but it's normal now.
Overall, I'd say today was really informative and fun. Definitely learned a lot about the design and animation environment surrounding Singapore. The next few days will be filled with a few more exciting firms and studios we got to visit. I can't wait to talk to you more about them. Tomorrow's will be especially interesting, since one is a video game company, and the other is an art school!