Singapore

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Yesterday we spent the day in Singapore and it is nothing like India where we just came from. In fact, it is the complete opposite. Everything is so clean and orderly. In India I think laws are just a thought with no follow through. Here you would be in deep trouble just by tossing trash on the ground or worse yet, gum. English is the main language spoken even though 75% of the population is Chinese. There are also quite a few Muslims and Indians living here and they live together peacefully. Singapore has excellent health care and it is very safe and has virtually no crime. You have to have a lot of money to get a credit card. No deadbeats here. The city is very green and lush and beautiful. They have no natural resources but our guide said they have brains and location. She claimed they are the busiest shipping port in the world. Singapore keeps reclaiming land and Malaysia has told them they are getting too close. But there isn’t anything Malaysia can do about it because Singapore is only expanding into their own international waters.

We started the day on a city orientation tour. Our first stop was at Mount Faber to get a view of the city where 5 million people live in this island country. There was a huge cement merlion at the top of this hill. Singa means lion and that is how they got the name Singapore. The government has built building after building of high rise apartments where people live in small flats of 900 square meters. These flats consist of two bedrooms and a living room. There is no need for heat in these buildings as it is always warm and humid. A lot of units had wash hanging out the windows on poles or balconies. I saw a few air conditioners but not many. Real estate is very expensive and most people can’t afford to own their own home.

Singapore has a huge and beautiful botanical garden. The orchid is their national flower and our guide took us to see the most beautiful orchids I have ever seen at the National Orchid Garden.

We drove down Orchard Street which is the famous shopping street of Singapore if you like expensive clothes, jewelry, etc. Amongst Hermes, Ralph Lauren, Armani, Esprii, etc. we saw DQ, Subway, McDonalds, Wendys, Chilis, Starbucks, Cold Stone, CA Pizza Kitchen, TGIF’s, and many others.

Next we were brought to a handicraft center where they were making pictures and jewelry out of gems. Beautiful and interesting to see but way too expensive to buy.

Next we went to Chinatown and we decided to leave the tour here. We walked through the most beautiful Buddhist Temple I ever remember seeing. I’m hoping my pictures turned out so I can include a few in this blog. There was also an Indian Temple and a Mosque very near but I didn’t go into those.

By this time it was lunchtime. Dave and I and Carol and John decided to go into a Japanese restaurant for sushi. A conveyor belt passed by our table displaying all sorts of sushi you could remove if you wanted. You could also order off the menu which is what I did. I had some fried noodles with vegetables and Carol had fried rice and we split tempura calamari which was wonderful. John and Dave both had tuna sashimi plus a roll of some kind. Singapore is known for its good food and this place sure lived up to that reputation.

Next we were off on foot to find a camera store for John. He had looked one up on the internet to see where he might find what he was looking for. It began to rain and we had left our umbrellas on the ship. After waiting under cover and running across streets when the light turned green, we finally broke down and bought new ones. We came to a mall that was filled with camera stores and electronics. But of course it didn’t have what he was looking for so we were on our way again running through the pouring rain looking for the right store. After a few more blocks we found the right place. Dave and John headed to cameras and Carol and I headed to a shoe store as Carol’s feet were killing her. She didn’t find any shoes but I found a cute summer sandal that I couldn’t live without.

Next we decided to head to Orchard Street to find a Starbucks to update our ipads. It was going to be a long walk so we decided to try out the subway. I was surprised at how steep the escalator was to take us down and the many shops that were along the passageways. It is another whole city underground. It was an experience just figuring out where we wanted to go and how to buy a ticket. Once at our destination off the subway we had to figure out how to cross the busy street to get to Starbucks. We felt like gophers or moles peeking up and down tunnels passing under the roads and never quite sure where we would come up. Finally we made our way to Starbucks but our ipads wouldn’t connect to their internet so we had coffee until Dave decided to head into Borders. John probably headed to another camera store so Carol and I went off to find shoes for her. We finally found some for her that will help with her foot problem.

Next I wanted to go to Raffles Hotel to the Long Bar where the Singapore Sling cocktail was invented. So we were back to finding our way to the subway again. At least we were pros by this time and we got to Raffles quite easily. Once we got to the hotel I was going to inquire in the lobby as to where the bar was located. I was told where it was and that the lobby is for guests only. The lobby was beautiful and I took a picture through the doorway even though they were so uppity. Once reaching the bar all four of us ordered a Singapore Sling and our bill was $100 Singapore dollars with a tip of $17 added onto that. Dave didn’t even like the sweet drink and had something to say about this. However, the rest of us liked the drink and said the experience was worth it especially if Dave was paying. We did get free peanuts to crack and throw on the floor along with our drinks. I’m sure that will be my only experience at Raffles Hotel and that is just fine. Once was enough.

We had to be back on the ship at 8:30 PM and it was time to head back so we took a taxi and arrived at the cruise terminal just in time to have an ice cream cone and do some shopping for snacks. Now we are on our way to Vietnam and will arrive there on Saturday morning so this is it for now.

Just heard our replacement port is going to be Taiwan. Should be interesting.