Singapore: Finding the Perfect Souvenir
Merlion Kitsch
Just as Paris hawks likenesses of the Eiffel Tower, and New York the Statue of Liberty, Singapore's kitschy pride of joy is the Merlion a huge water-spouting statue at the mouth of the Singapore River that writer Edward Peacock once memorably described as "the product of an inauspicious one-night stand by Leo and Pisces." Get your Merlion souvenir (from S$5) from the Chinatown Heritage Centre.
Another quintessential Singaporean keepsake is the national flower, the Vanda Miss Joaquim Orchid. Take home a gilded version (from S$22) from RISIS Gift Gallery.
But the most lasting memories of your trip will probably come courtesy of the Coxford Singlish Dictionary (available from most bookshops for S$11), which deconstructs the local patois, Singlish.
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1. Chinatown Heritage Centre
48 Pagoda Street, Singapore 059207; 65-6325-2878 1.283411103.844332 chinatownheritage.com.sg -
2. RISIS Gift Gallery
3 Temasek Boulevard, Suntec City Mall, #01-084, Singapore 038983; 65-6338-8250 1.295076103.858685 risis.com