Our Last Supper on Naoshima Island

We had eaten at both Benesse House restaurants, so we decided to go to dinner this evening  at a local restaurant.  This is no easy feat, because there are not many restaurants close by, and you can't get to the farther ones because the shuttles do not run late and there are no taxis on the island. (We heard there might be one, but this fact was never verified).  I think there might be local buses, but am not sure how late they run.  Anyway, the museum recommended the only place that you could walk to.  We took the hotel shuttle bus to Park (remember Park?) first, and then set off on foot to the next town, in the dark, with a flashlight and a map.  It felt very adventurous but turned out to be easier than expected.  It was about a 20 minute flat walk in a relatively well-lit area into the neighboring small port town called Tsumuura. 

The restaurant, Umikko, was a very small, casual Japanese eatery, clearly family owned.  It had a little porch outside where we preferred to sit since it was steamy hot inside.  This place was perfect!  It served the local specialty, which they called "filled pancakes" but actually was more like an omelette, i.e. an egg scrambled with various "fillings" and then topped with a sauce.  We had one vegetarian and one with squid and they were delicious.  We also had chicken yakitori. The whole meal cost us less than our bottle of wine at last night's French-style dinner, and our hosts were so happy to have us.  And since the weather is so glorious, we enjoyed the stroll each way.  When we got back to Park, the doorman got a driver to take us back to Museum/Oval; they will do that after the shuttle ends for the night.

It's all been wonderful, but we've been thinking about how they could improve the tourist services on Naoshima.  For example, they could get a small speed boat and offer an excursion to 2 or 3 other islands in one day.  They could leave from the private Benesse dock, and go right to the Teshima dock closer to the Teshima Art Museum, and time it with the city bus.  They could then go to two of the smaller islands, and still get back with no problem.  The islands are only about 20 minutes apart by speed boat, but the schedules are so infrequent, and you just can't get to the exact place you want to go.  I expect they would sell out a 10 person boat doing this every day.  See, just can't take the entrepreneur out of us, can you?

While I'm at it, here are some tips for those of you who decide to plan a trip to Naoshima.  No need to read these details if you're not going there!

- Getting here:  definitely recommend doing what we did.  Fly to Kansei, Osaka.  JR Train to Shin-Osaka.  Perhaps stay overnight to break up trip (splurge on Intercontinental if you want a nice place - amazing breakfast buffet, by the way, so don't miss that).  Bullet train from Shin-Osaka to Okayama.  Hire private car service to go to Uno Port.  We did this through our travel agent, who organized it through a Japanese agency.  This was great and saved us a lot of time, although it's quite expensive.  We talked to many people who had great difficulties between Okayama and Uno Port, with multiple confusing train changes.  By the way, keep your train tickets to exit.  Also, if you have a separate fare ticket from a seat ticket, you actually put both in the slot, which is weird, but it works.  Ferry from Uno port - it's enormous - no reservation needed. 

- Other islands:  Don't miss Neshima.  No reservation needed for ferry, although this one is much smaller, so you may want to get there a bit early particularly if you want one of the few outside seats.  We didn't get to Inujima or any of the other islands.  We went in and out of Miyonaura on Naoshima.  On one day a week, you also can go for Honmura, so check that out on all your bits and pieces of paper.

- Benesse house:  quite a splurge but we loved it.  Big splurge to stay at the Oval.  We stayed in a suite, but there also are rooms that are a lot less.  Our suite is 404 which is excellent if you can get that one but 403 is equally good.  Of the rooms, I think 401 and 402 have small balconies whereas I don't think 405 and 406 do, so in nice weather, that might be better.  However, 405 and 406 would be quieter as they are not near the monorail, while 401 and 402 are right next to it (and next to the breakfast area and the bar on weekends).   Disadvantage of Oval is the monorail ride which you need to factor into your timing for everything.  Alternative is to stay at Museum which I think is fun, too, given that you can hang out at the museum late.  Park and Beach are both newer, however, so if you want more updated rooms, these are fine.  I expect pretty much everything has water views so I wouldn't worry too much, and Park/Beach are much more reasonably priced.  I think I would lean towards Beach, which is smaller, and right on the Beach.  To get your best pick of rooms, reserve exactly 6 months in advance.  That's when they open up, and to get Oval 404, I reserved that exact day!   If you want more budget accommodations, there are lots of small guest houses in the towns and even on the other islands. 

- Other reservations:  You need to reserve your dinner meals at Benesse about a month in advance.  They will contact you if you haven't reserved, but by the time they contacted me, some of the seatings were booked, so I didn't get first choice, so you may want to contact them.  However, we were flexible so it didn't really matter.  You book your breakfast meals when you arrive.  There was an evening event at ChiChu that we heard about too late to book.  Not sure how I missed that one, but you should ask Benesse about other activities that can be booked.

- Time of year:  this is an excellent time - weather is great and although there definitely are other tourists here, nothing has felt very crowded.  Summer might be very hot and humid and I expect winter is cold, so fall or spring would be best.  DEFINITELY CHECK WHETHER STUFF IS OPEN.  Mondays almost everything is closed.  However, there also are Japanese holidays that are closed, and sometimes Tuesdays if there is a Monday holiday opening.  You must look at the web site to check the exact dates.  You do not want to be in Naoshima with the major stuff closed!

- Food:  In Honmura - we ate at Naka-Oku (the rice omelette) ... very small, sweet place.  In Miyanoura, our Udon place was a bit off the beaten track, called Yamamoto Udon, near the Co-op.  It looks like a long walk, but it's not.  In Tsumuura, walking distance from Park, we highly recommend Umikko - no reservations needed.  We enjoyed both the Japanese and the French restaurant at Benesse.  The Oval breakfast is pretty minimal, but the American breakfast at the Japanese restaurant at Museum as great. 

- Info:  Take every piece of paper somebody gives you.  Print the maps from the Benesse web site before you leave.  You think it's going to be redundant but it's not.  Maybe they will get this stuff into better shape in the future, but you really need to pull it together on your own for the most part.

- Packing:  Pack light.  You will not want a big suitcase on the bullet train (overhead storage only) or the ferry or the Benesse shuttle.  If you are doing other travel, consider leaving a suitcase at left luggage at an airport or hotel where you can retrieve it upon your continuation.  We just took carry-on bags which definitely was the right call.  You don't need anything dressy.  I didn't bring a bathing suit which was a mistake.  Benesse has a hot tub which is actually an art installation, and there is a hot bath in town, both of which require suits.  Bring small binoculars. 

Donna 

Friday on Teshima Island

In spite of my most valiant planning efforts, we decided this morning that we could not manage to do both of the two additional main islands in one day.  The ferry schedule just was too infrequent, and Teshima, our ultimate destination, had some transportation peculiarities - to be explained - that we felt might be limiting.  So we settled on Teshima as our focus, mainly to see the Teshima Art Museum, another Ando structure.  I had read all the reviews on TripAdvisor.  They all say:  "It's one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.  It's a must-see.  Do not miss.  Sorry, but I can't describe it."

Well, now I understand both the accolades as well as the challenges of describing it.  But first let me cover logistics and I'll get back to it.  We took the bus shuttle to the ferry and the ferry to the island of Teshima.  However, the ferry goes to a port that is not close to the Museum.  There are several options to getting there.  The most commonly taken option is to rent an electric bike.  It's about a 30-40 minute ride there.  Although Lenny certainly would have been fine, I'm not all that comfortable on a bike in general, continue to suffer some pretty bad back pain, and was concerned about how to handle the narrow mountain roads ... so all in all, found the bike idea a touch intimidating.  The other option was the local bus, so we decided to give that a go.  

Fortunately, this turned out to be super easy.  They had an English printed schedule available.  The bus driver was friendly.  And, in the end, it took only 15 minutes, so was much faster.  Good choice ... at least for us.  It also meant we got to the Museum with very few other people, which turned out to be fabulous.

First, let me describe the surroundings.  In a word - it's gorgeous.  I must admit that we were helped today by spectacular weather.  It is clear and crisp - my favorite weather.  The rice in the terraces around Teshima has turned yellow - about ripe - and is beautiful.  The sea is magnificent blue. 

Okay, finally I'll tell you about the Teshima Art Museum.  First, it's not a museum.  I don't know why they call it that.  It's basically a giant sculpture ... a building that is a piece of sculpture.  It is tucked low into the ground, is white and oval in shape, with two large oval holes in the ceiling.  You first take a path around a tree grove and then enter the building, having taken off your shoes, through a tunnel.  It is very solemn inside as you are supposed to keep quiet and no photos are allowed.  

I took a photo in the gift shop which has a vague resemblance to the structure.  The light shines through the two ovals and warms the concrete floor below, while the rest of the floor is in shadow.  Of course, the oval sun spots move over the course of the day.  The room is completely empty.

The funny aspect is that there is water on the floor.  I don't mean giant puddles of water, although there are occasional large puddles.  I mean small droplets.  They somehow keep their form (more from Lenny soon).  You can look at a spot with a dazzling array of tiny, separate droplets.  Or, you can see one larger drop, with several smaller ones next to it.  Sometimes, they are on the move.  The floor must be slightly irregular, and there are emitters around that are dribbling out new water drops that collect and head out in search of others.  Sometimes they form snakes and streak across the room.  Other times they are big drops that break into smaller drops.  Occasionally there were tiny drains where the water disappeared.  I know this sounds goofy but it turns out to be mesmerizing.  It was almost like watching a movie - you wanted to see where certain drops would go and what they would do.  You had to walk carefully so as not to step on the water droplets.

Now, I need to tell you that Lenny and I saw this place from two totally different angles.  I saw it as a meditation on life.  It was almost like sperm meets egg ... cells divide ... cells recombine ... alliances are made and broken ... two drops stand near each other but do not connect .... etc.  Lenny, however, saw it as a science experiment.

[From Lenny: The liquid seems to be water, but clearly has something added to increase the surface tension. The movement that makes it seem alive is caused by the balance between surface tension trying to minimize the area of the water globule and the gravity of very slight inclines trying to break them apart. Heat from sun seems to reduce the surface tension and cause the direction of movement to change. The result: moving amoeba-like globules that range from 1/8" to two feet in diameter, and skinny running "snakes" as long as six feet colliding and merging with globules.. The globules and snakes are continually created and destroyed as the emitters add new liquid and the occasional drains absorb it. This should be an Exploratorium exhibit!]

We stayed quite a while ... sitting on the cool cement, with only a few other people around (the bicycles had not yet arrived!) ... watching the water, watching the light.  It was still and meditative and quite beautiful.  Okay - I probably didn't do it justice, so let me just say, it was worth the trip! Since they don't allow photos, you'll have to use your imagination. We can't even find any illicit videos of the water in motion on YouTube!

After this, our plan was to visit a few of the other art installations on the island.  We walked to the next town (the buses are quite infrequent ... this is when the bicycle would be better) and went on a quest to find the art projects there.  The first one we found was closed - our first disappointment on the trip.  Then, the second one also was closed.  We managed to ask someone local, who said that they all were closed today, at which point we looked at each other, grabbed the bus schedule, and realized that if we hustled, we could catch the bus back to the port.  Otherwise, we would have to wait an hour.  Thankfully, we were able to be spontaneous in spite of my OPD, and we got back to the port. 

We visited the one art project in the port town that was created by a probably hallucinogenic artist who outfitted an old house with his work.  One thing I liked was a silo-like tower that was covered inside with postcards of waterfalls from floor to ceiling, with mirrors above and below the glass floor we walked on that made it seem infinitely tall..  Strange but effective.

We caught the early boat back to Naoshima and then wandered around that port town for a few hours. We visited the second pumpkin, the red one . I like the orange one better .. but the red one is fun because you can go inside it ... many photo opportunities, for once.  

The highlight in town was lunch in a local Udon shop, where we watched the chef stir the noodles in the pot while simultaneously kneading another batch of dough with his feet (under a sheet of plastic).

Then we headed back up to the Oval for a beautiful sunset and a toast with champagne for a final evening on Naoshima.

Donna

Thursday night at Benesse House

We had dinner at the Benesse House French restaurant.  It was excellent food.  We had told the hotel of our dietary preferences in advance (no beef, no pork), and the restaurant knew these, and were prepared to modify the tasting menu for us already.  This impressed me.  Another nice touch was that when my leg started hurting, and I had to stand up for a while, the waiter hurried over with a cushion to see if he could help make the seat more comfortable.  It did, and it was very thoughtful. 

I wanted to mention another few things about our monorail to the Oval.  When you get on, there is a recorded voice that calls out to you, rather stridently, first in Japanese and then in English.  In English, she basically instructs you to close the door, because the car won't start until you do.  However, she says it somewhat ferociously.  I'm pretty convinced that in Japanese, she is actually saying, "You!  Idiot!!  Close the damn door!!".  I should note that the trip takes just under 4 minutes.  However, you must plan on 15 minutes if you need to get up or down for a specific time, such as catching the shuttle (which is EXTREMELY prompt ... it does not leave a minute early or a minute late).  Why? Well, if the monorail is pulling out just as you arrive (or, as I've started to think of it, that the monorail gods are not with you, then it will take 4 minutes down, 4 minutes back up, and then 4 minutes to take you down, with say another minute on each end to load and unload if someone has luggage.  So, once again, I must point out that Naoshima is best for someone who doesn't mind planning ahead.

-- Donna

Naoshima Island -- Day 2

We had breakfast in the Oval this morning.  I forgot to mention that when we arrived, we had to reserve breakfast, i.e. which restaurant we wanted for each day, and whether we wanted Japanese or American.  Deciding breakfast 3 days in advance would have been hard for most people but, once again, played right to my strengths!  Since they have to bring all the breakfast stuff up the monorail, it wasn't much of a selection, but the view was lovely, so we didn't mind.

Today is cooler than yesterday and a perfect day for touring the island.  We decided to stay on Naoshima and focus on the art here.  We started at the Chi Chu Museum.  Also designed by architect Ando, this museum truly achieves the goal of melding architecture, art and nature.  Indeed, it seemed to hit the themes we've come to take as Naoshima's themes - light, space, geometric shapes ... and cement blocks.  What's quite unusual is that the building is mainly underground.  The view from the top is a bunch of geometric shapes - kind of like kids' building blocks - but you never really see this, you just enter the shapes and move through them on various stairways and passageways.  It's also not a museum in a classical sense in that there are only 3 artists, and they are mainly installation pieces.

First, we saw the art by James Turrell.  He had 3 installations.  He thinks mainly about light.  I would try to describe them, but it's simply too hard.  Second, there was a gallery of Monet water lilies.  The room was huge - all white walls, white tiled floors, natural light, and one Monet per wall.  It was a glorious space in which to see them.  Last was a gallery by Walter De Maria, who also had done a sculpture we put on the blog yesterday - the giant granite ball with our shadows.  This one had a giant granite ball in the center, and a whole bunch of gold painted columns in various geometric shapes around the edge.  We came across a gal on her knees in near tears, kneeling and bowing at the entrance, so we take it that it is transcendent .. for some people!  Lenny and I were convinced that the geometric gold columns (with 3, 4, or 5 sides) were some kind of secret code, but we couldn't work it out.

Taken together, along with the architecture, I thought the whole was quite remarkable.  I liked the idea that they all were about light in the end - even the Monet paintings.  The various geometries of the building and the art worked well together.  The various light sculptures paired well with the natural light.  All in all, a unique experience.

If you're wondering why I've posted so few photos, it's because they are not allowed.  This seems to be true throughout Naoshima.  On the one hand I found myself annoyed by this general rule, and snuck photos in some places.  (Alas, you viewed some of them yesterday, so you are now equally guilty).  On the other hand, I'm perfectly happy that OTHERS cannot take photos so that the experience of the art doesn't become all about selfies, silly photos, group photos, special angles, shutters clicking, etc.  It's actually quite a relief.

Next we went to another Ando-designed museum, the Lee Ufan Museum.  This one was less impressive.  Outside was an iron plate, a large stone and a tall, thin obelisk, making me think immediately that it was about "paper-scissors-stone".  Inside, there were some pretty nondescript drawings, and more plates and rocks in various relationships to each other.  Didn't do much for me.  We're getting to know the Ando architectural style, however, particularly his passion for large, concrete blocks.

From there, we hopped the shuttle down to Park, the other buildings for the Benesse House Museum/Hotel (remember .. I told you about these before ... Park and Beach).  We walked in and saw a life size sculpture by one of my favorite artists, Antony Gormley, so it was like greeting an old friend.

In the shuttle bus on the way there, I happened to glance out the window and notice on a pocket beach below that there were two small boats, one black and one yellow.  They were the same boats from the painting yesterday!  I was thoroughly amused by this realization.  It was as if the artist was winking at me.  It wasn't mentioned anywhere that part of that piece of art existed so far from the museum - it's not on any of the maps.  If you hadn't seen the piece in the museum, these boats would look like nothing.  But I immediately recognized them as yet another dimension, perhaps the 4th dimension, of the 3D piece that I had loved yesterday.  We went back later to get a photo.

At Park - sorry, but we're back there - we popped over to see the art piece that has become the symbol of Benesse and Naoshima: a giant orange pumpkin with black polka dots.  It sits on the edge of a dock, with a backdrop of the sea.  There's something quite whimsical and satisfying about it, so I can see what it has become so popular.  Of course, here we were able to take our photo.

There's a bunch more outdoor sculpture in the Park/Beach area, which we perused, before taking another shuttle into the town, Honmura.

We went to Honmura to see the Art House Project, which is a collective that took over a bunch of dilapidated houses or empty lots and turned them over to artists to create art projects.  We purchased a kind of a passport at the beginning, and then went from house to house, where the passport was stamped.  We managed to see all 6 regular houses (there was 1 that had required reservations, which we didn't know), and in the process pretty much saw the whole town, including a few lovely shrines.

This idea is really cool.  We liked some of the houses more than others, of course, but the experience is super fun (I won't try to describe them ... TMI).  I decided that this would be a great idea to try in Detroit, where there are plenty of available abandoned houses!

We also visited the small museum about architect Tadao Ando, which itself was built of the now-familiar concrete blocks, but didn't show much of his other work.

We stopped for lunch in a small local cafe.  There were only a few items on the menu, so I ordered a rice omelette, not being entirely sure what I'd get.  Well, it was a huge mound of rice, with some egg on the outside, surrounded by tomato sauce.  Lenny's theory was that the rice was hot and they put the egg over the top, which cooked the egg.

One of the things that I love about this place is that you keep finding art in unexpected places.  We stopped at a "resting stop" in town (to rest!) and noticed string attached to the wall as a charming sculpture, with a string signature by the artist. 

One of the things that surprises me is that there are no galleries or workshops or craftspeople.  You would think that the locals would have taken advantage of all the visitors to create some opportunities to make art for sale.  While there certainly are other tourists here, generally it's not very crowded, and we've enjoyed having many of the art installations mainly to ourselves.  But clearly the whole area has benefited from becoming an art tourist destination, but you can see that capitalism is not yet fully in gear.

We head back down to Park soon for dinner at the French restaurant (reserved in advance, of course).  Between now and then, I have a good hour to plan tomorrow.  Given the complications of the ferries, I'll need it!

-- Donna

Travel logistics

I forgot to mention that it is a bit complicated to figure out how to see things here.  Although these are islands, they still are pretty big and a bit hilly, so it is not practical to walk everywhere.  There is a shuttle from the hotel, but it's not all that frequent.  There also are town buses, but it's hard to read those schedules as I can't figure out where all the place names are. There are ferries between the islands, but they also are not frequent, and different companies run different lines.  On the other islands, each has a different situation as to number of ports, which ferries go to which ports, how you get from one port to another, where the art objects are, etc.  I have a million bits of paper, each one with a different bit of info ... a timetable, a map, a museum opening schedule, etc.  It seems one must plan meticulously rather than play it by ear .... you might end up on a some small island with no way to get back that evening, or spend hours making your way to an art site, only to find it closed.  Well, let's just say this is a good place for someone with OPD (Obsessive Planning Disorder).

Donna 

The entry courtyard to our room

Waiting for our ride down the hill

Reflected artwork

Participatory artwork

PS: You can click on the small photos to see larger versions.

Naoshima Island -- Day 1

We had a very complicated set of transportation connections this morning to get to our destination, Benesse Art Site on Naoshima Island.  Amazingly, everything worked perfectly for a very smooth trip, getting us there much more easily than I had expected.  First, we took a taxi to the train station, then the bullet train to Okayama, then a car service to Uno Port, then a ferry to Miyanoura Port, then a hotel shuttle ... about 4 hours door-to-door.

We quickly saw that this is a very special place.  I had originally worried that we planned too much time here (3 days), but now I'm already concerned that we planned too little.  First, I should say that the weather is glorious, so we're lucky on that one.  After the horrible smog and heat and humidity of Singapore, we arrived to crisp but sunny and clear weather in Japan.

So what is this place?  It seems to have started with our hotel, which is an integrated hotel and museum complex designed by celebrated architect Tadao Ando around an existing art collection and then expanded by a bunch of site specific installations - some indoors and some outdoors.  The idea is the melding of art, architecture and nature.  Then it expanded into other museums and other site specific installations on this island, then others on other islands, and now it is a whole bunch of art in the region.  Some of it is hidden and almost like a treasure hunt ... you get a map of an area and just see how many of the art objects you can find (David/Fran ... reminds us of the Bienalle already).

The hotel is separated into 4 separate parts.  Two are down the road for us - Beach and Park.  Two are are at the museum - Museum and Oval.  The Museum rooms are literally in the Museum.  We're in Oval, which is on top of the hill.  This is amusing because you have to take a monorail to get there.  It is self operated, so you just push a button and it comes to get you and hauls you up or down the mountain.  The view from our room is absolutely spectacular.  You get a most amazing view of sea and mountains.  There are only 6 rooms in Oval, so it's pretty special.  In the middle of the Oval is a large decorative infinity pool (I was surprised that there was not an amazing sculpture in the middle of it).  The rooms are a bit dated, having been built in 1992, but the view makes up for a lot.  In fact, one of the coolest things about the rooms is that one whole pane of the window wall can descend into the space below to make it entirely open to the outside.  Sweet!

We spent the afternoon at the Benesse House Museum and then outside looking at some of the sculptures on the grounds.  While there are many interesting ones I will just mention a few. 

-       Sculpture of three men saying "chatter chatter chatter" ... Lenny said "that's what I feel like at a cocktail party".

-       A sculpture about the value of objects showing bits and pieces of local objects - kimonos, tea cups, paper, driftwood - wrapped in lead

-       A painting of a yellow and black boat with a yellow and black boat in front of it that made it feel eerily 3D

-       Giant outdoor teacup to welcome people to the island

We had a terrific dinner at the Japanese restaurant at the hotel.  One of those multi-course meals with lots of tiny plates with many strange looking items ... mainly delicious.

We're back in the room now.  I should note one other strange feature of the room which is the haunted toilet.  It seems to have a mind of its own.  You can just be sitting in the other room, and it will start making some noise on its own.  Of course, it has all those fancy bells and whistles that the Japanese like, but this one also has quite a light show going on.  We met a lady at the welcome cocktail and were discussing the remarkable toilets and she said that she already was thinking of hers as a pet ... it greets her when she arrives in her room.

Donna

Leaving Singapore

In the morning we had time to do one thing before we left, so we stopped by a small museum about Asian Civilization.  The museum contained many nice collections of visually interesting artifacts across a broad range of stuff, from tapestry to sculpture to jewelry.  It's mind boggling how many different cultures have combined over the years in Asia ... it seemed like an alphabet soup of tribes and civilizations. 

We then headed to the airport.  Singapore definitely is a one-of-a-kind place.  It is so orderly and neat and manicured, it almost feels like that old TV show, the Prisoner.  The highway to the airport is lined with beautiful plants and trees that are trimmed twice daily.  Amazingly, they all are in pots and can be moved such that the highway can be converted to a runway if needed!  We had several people tell us this, but I never figured out whether this was in case of a natural disaster or a man made one.

We had a very long flight to Osaka.  We just barely made the last train from the airport into Osaka to get to our hotel, the Intercontinental.  The hotel is gorgeous - modern yet with a Japanese traditional flair.  I fell in love with the kimono pajamas in the room, and promptly jumped in the soaking tub before getting into bed (not while in the kimono pajamas - I put these on after).

-- Donna

Yale-NUS campus inauguration

This was the big day of the official inauguration of Yale-NUS.  The events today were presented to us as more formal than the events so far ... specifically, the other days were "business casual", but today was "business".  In terms of men's dress, we had decided that this meant the other days would be no jackets, but today jackets and ties.   I had a new suit myself, so happily wore that for the big occasion.  The prime minister was the guest of honor, so everything was planned to the nth degree.

We arrived early so that the part of our group who were participating could get their robes on for the academic procession.  The rest of us went through security and then entered the large auditorium .... I immediately recognized a beautiful Sol LeWitt painting in the lobby (which I subsequently learned was sponsored by Roland, Linda and Rick).  Then we had to hang around the auditorium for about an hour waiting for the ceremony to begin.

After the academic procession, there were short speeches by Pericles (president of Yale-NUS), Peter (president of Yale) and Chorh Chuan (president of NUS).

 Much to my surprise, Pericles walked up to the podium in shirt and tie, no jacket!  What?  After all the discussion about the difference between "business casual" and "business", and here he is with no jacket?  Then, Peter the same?  And Chorh Chuan?  Well, when the prime minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong walked up with no jacket, we realized that clearly he was the one setting the dress standard that everyone would follow.  But I looked at all the rest of the audience, suffering in their jackets and academic robes, thinking it was quite ironic.  I learned later that shirt and tie with no jacket is standard business dress in Singapore given the intense heat and humidity.

The prime minister was quite impressive.  Sure, he was reading a speech that someone had written, but he really seemed to know a lot about the school and have an appreciation for it.

 

After the speeches, each of these 4 guys, plus the education minister, were given long blocks of wood painted orange (NUS color) to represent the towers of the campus.  We all were a little baffled as to what the heck they were doing, but they one at a time inserted these towers into a table which represented the campus, and when the prime minister put in the 5th tower, they all lit up, declaring the campus open.  Very nice little touch of drama and whimsy!  After the honchos left, there was a lovely dance performance by one of the students, and then a celebratory lunch in the Cendana College dining hall.

Although the organization of all of these events has been exquisite, there was one little lapse at this point, which there was no bus to take a few of us back to our hotel, as others were staying to do some other business.  We finally hijacked a bus going to another hotel and pretty much demanded that they do a second stop to our hotel afterwards.  I got the sense that generally people are not very flexible as to changed plans in Singapore, but one of the students helped us convince the driver to take us back.

Lenny and I then decided to visit the Gardens by the Bay which the group had seen yesterday.  We had not joined up for a variety of reasons, but they all had raved about it, so we decided to check it out given that we had some time.  However, it was pretty tough to try to visit in the heat of the afternoon, and we didn't make it very long before we abandoned the effort.  I did think it was pretty amazing to see the super huge dome that they created with a bunch of plants and flowers from all over the world inside. (Dad/Ann/Michael: memories of the Chicago World Flower and Garden Show!).

We then went over to the Raffles Hotel to sample an original Singapore Sling, a very sweet, syrupy liquor drink.  The hotel is gorgeous - a beautiful, white colonial masterpiece that really makes you think British East Indies.  Having a Singapore Sling was plenty of fun, although pretty outrageously priced.  You are basically paying for it as a tourist attraction.  

I decided to rename it as the Most Expensive Drink Ever (MEDE).  I had the champagne version of the MEDE while Lenny had the normal version (I liked mine better!).  We then returned to the hotel to shower (again ... and again and again) before dinner.

Dinner was at the Shangri-La Hotel.  The lobby area is quite dramatic with large chandeliers and dramatic flower arrangements.  The dinner was hosted by the owner of the hotel who is the board chair of Yale-NUS, a woman by the name of Kay.  She was a gracious and fun host.  There were multiple stations of different types of food to sample.  At the end, she brought around some bird's nest soup - apparently a real delicacy - for some of us to try.  I thought it was delicious.  I was surprised that it was cold - and it was a lemony flavor.

All in all, this has been a wonderful trip.  I'm very proud and happy to see the launch of Yale-NUS.  It is amazing that in only a few years, how much has been accomplished, and I think the impact will be far reaching.

We now will get ready for Part II of our trip - leaving for Japan tomorrow.

-- Donna 

Yale-NUS conference on liberal arts

Yesterday afternoon we were in a symposium about liberal arts education.  There are an amazing number of college presidents here from all over the world.  The notion of liberal arts is a bit misunderstood .... it's not necessarily liberal and it's not just about the arts.

 In the evening we had a marvelous dinner with other Yale and NUS colleagues at a restaurant high atop one of the buildings.  The cocktail hour was outside - the smog definitely detracts from the otherwise amazing view.

-- Donna

Singapore

We're in Singapore for the opening of the Yale-NUS College, a joint venture of Yale and the National University of Singapore.

Travel

We flew on Thursday to arrive on Friday around midnight. But due to a delayed departure from SFO, we missed our connection at Hong Kong and ended up staying overnight there.  It worked out for the best because it broke up the trip, and we continued on to Singapore from Hong Kong at 8am on Saturday. 

We're staying at the lovely Fullerton Hotel, the former Post Office - a grand colonial building with a bit of a deco feeling.  Apparently because we are with the Yale VIP group, we've been upgraded to a fabulous suite.  I sure do like that! 

Saturday

After arrival, we joined our group to head over to the Yale-NUS campus.  I've been a big fan of this project since it was proposed in 2009.  Basically, the government of Singapore wanted to create a liberal arts college on the American model and asked Yale's help to do so.  Yale has provided the curriculum development, some start-up faculty, guidance on the physical site development, etc., while Singapore has provided the funding.  Since I've followed the project since the very beginning, including when it was just drawings on paper, it was very exciting to see real buildings with real students and real faculty!

You enter through the "oculus", a large circular area with a giant open square above over a pool of water.  When it rains here - which is a lot - it will pour through this opening into the pool.  It's a dramatic entry.  We first went to a small theatre where a panel, including Pericles Lewis, the Yale-NUS President (and former Yale faculty member) gave us an introduction, and we heard about aspects of the college's curriculum, student life and professional development.  It's really an incredible program, which was developed with a clean sheet of a paper.  I walked away feeling that the kids attending are very lucky to be there.

We then toured the buildings, which had just opened weeks earlier, and were custom built for this purpose.  On the model of the Yale residential college system, there are 3 colleges with courtyards integrated with everything else - the library, common rooms, performance rooms, classrooms, faculty offices, etc.  Because of the Singapore heat/humidity, the buildings were created very much with this specific environment in mind.  On the towers, for example, there are outside "sky gardens" every few floors with outdoor stairs where students are able to congregate in the evening.  I was interested to learn that students have individually controlled AC and must pay for it.  This effectively is a carbon tax that puts control of the amount of power used directly in the hands of the individual.

We then saw some student performances over cocktails and appetizers (very fancy cocktails and some wild appetizers served with dry ice).  After this, we went to the new National Gallery in Singapore.  It isn't yet open to the public, so this was a preview.  This project was architecturally quite amazing.  They took two old buildings - the Supreme Court and City Hall - and tied them together to create the gallery.  The entrance is stunning with a web-like tent integrating the two into an enclosed courtyard, held up by an enormous tree.  It was visually breathtaking.  There isn't much art hung yet on the walls, but the museum opens in about 6 weeks, so I expect they'll be getting to that soon!

We had dinner there, with an amazing view of the city.  I started to really crash around 9pm, given the jet lag, so we headed back to the hotel.

Sunday

Today Lenny and I walked over to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.  Along the way we passed a floating soccer field in the middle of the bay.  Who thought of that?  Let's just stick a soccer field in the middle of the bay?  There's a beautiful esplanade, concert stages, art venues, and a fascinating double helix bridge.  It's kind of empty giving the whole place a bit of a cartoonish feel.  It's almost as if it is built like Disneyland.  Everything is so super clean and new looking.

The Marina Bay Sands is an enormous relatively new structure consisting of 3 towers with a large boat-like structure across the top.  It dominates the skyline from just about every direction.  There is a forest on top with an infinity pool (isn't that a kind of heavy thing to put on top of a building?).  The interior is dramatic where you look up into the wedge of the towers.  It seems to me quite audacious to build something quite this huge, but it was bustling and busy.  There's also a casino and a mall attached.

  

We paid to go to the observation deck on the top with a grand view of Singapore.  We could see the gardens below, the entrance to the harbor, the financial district, our hotel, the container ship port, etc.  It's a bit hazy - which everybody is complaining about - because of neighboring countries burning their palm leaves and causing quite the international crisis.

 

I should also mention that it is hot and humid.  I don't think I could live in this climate.  It seems like you walk outside and are drenched in minutes.  Then you walk into very cold air conditioning.

Donna