Candice's Title "Clearly, you've never been to Singapore!"

Prior to getting into Singapore, we were given our passports and strict instructions on what not to do in order not to get arrested.  Jaywalkers to be fined on the spot.  No littering, smokers beware.  Drug peddling serves you up a death sentence.  Back in 1994 Michael Fay grabbed headline news when he received a judicial canning for violating the law but it seems that Singaporean law enforcement has eased somewhat since then.  A guy on the elevator told us that he had lived there for quite a while and most of the warnings were overblown but we made sure we didn't jaywalk even though we didn't really see any police presence. 

Nothing like a few tough laws to get a city looking clean and spiffy.  Singapore was VERY clean and orderly, and a far cry from the days of the pirate's rule.  I guess when you are your own island state you can pretty much control your borders and illegal immigration.  Sir Stamford Raffles arrived in 1819 and claimed it for the British.  He laid out a plan for the city giving the Chinese their Chinatown, the Arabs their own area and the Indians their Little India center.  The average yearly salary is equivalent to $35,000 USD.  Unlike other large cities you can walk fearlessly down the streets any time of the day.

Our 10 minute shuttle bus from the container terminal dropped us off at the Harbour Center and from there we caught the subway into the center of town for a look at the Fullerton Hotel which use to be the old post office.  It was a very fancy hotel with open air cafes and restaurants in the center on the bottom floor with all the rooms looking down the atrium.  I didn't get to check out the bathroom but I'm sure it would have been 'orange-eating' worthy by the looks of the Rolls Royce out front.  This hotel sat on the Singapore River with wonderful views of old time white bridges that still had the signs up saying no oxen or cattle can cross.  It looked very Disney-esque.  

Stepping into the Empress Palace Museum before moving on helped to relieve a little morning heat.  We walked over to the Old Supreme Court and on the backside of this building was the futuristic looking, flying saucer New Supreme Court Building.  We then strolled past St. Andrew's church but didn't go inside since it was closed.  Next was the old building of City Hall.  Very elegant and commanding over looking the Padang which is an open grassy area used for sports and special events.  

Making our way from the War Memorial and under the street tunnel, a young guy passing by us read my forehead.  He shouted over the tops of our dinner mates heads, Lee and Joe, pointed to me and told me that I was very lucky.  I asked him how he knew and he told me he was reading the lines on my forehead.  He told me that April was going to be very lucky for me and asked were I was from.  I just wish I was as confident as he was about my luck.  We'll see what happens!

Out to the waterfront we saw the Merlion, the city/state's recently adopted symbol.  There was water shooting out of his mouth and into Marina Bay.  Whenever we saw this on t-shirts or elsewhere in the city I pronounced it in a deep ZooLander movie fashion - Muuur Lion.   Across Marina Bay they were building a three tower building that was connected all the way across the top with a deck that over hung the buildings by about 100 feet.  On one side the buildings base swooped up with the back side of the building going straight up.  An architectural feat in and of itself.  Not quite done but almost there.  

From there we walked passed the Victoria Theatre which is used for concerts and special events over to the Singapore Flyer which is a large glass enclosed ferris wheel.  It just so happened that the flyer shut down for maintenance ten minutes before we got there and they said it would be down for at least one hour.  We took a break from the heat and Candice got a biscuit and a Coke at Popeye's.  I pulled out my some chocolate chip cookies from the ship for everyone to share and drank some water.  After that the flyer was still down and we decided we wouldn't want to get stuck on it and waste our time just looking down on the city.  

Once on the move again we walked up the road past some construction (ah, the sound of progress) and even the construction areas were well maintained and peculiarly clean.  Underneath their major intersections you will find new shopping centers and access to the subway.  What a great and COOL (literally) way to get from one side of the street to another.  It is really a whole city underground and we spotted a Godiva Chocolate store down there.  We marveled at the thought of being able to go shopping in the rain and not getting wet at all; right off the subway into the stores and back out again!

       

We then made our way over to Raffles Hotel, which was built in 1887 and is one of the last great 19th century hotels in the world, to experience the Singapore Sling at the Long Bar.  Funny, small peanuts to eat and throw the shells on the floor made for a perfect compliment and we took some pictures to remember the event.  It was a beautiful hotel that covered nearly an entire block.  The lobby was only open to the guests but the bar and the courtyard bars were open to anyone willing to pay $25 for the drink.  Candice and I split one and it was roughly $18 USD which Joe and Lee treated us to since we were giving them the royal tour of the city.  They were just shocked to see how much ground we covered that day and they still talk about it today.  They bought a tour off the ship in Ko Samui for a five star hotel and beach resort for $79 a person that included lunch but I think the hotel was built back in the 1950's and their beach had murky water.  Not too fancy and I know Lee was very disappointed but she did say they had a good pool.  We told them we just caught a mini bus over to a different beach and they DID drop us off at a 5-star luxury hotel with gorgeous water.  After that experience Lee didn't want to buy another trip so I offered to let them run with us in Singapore.  I think they feel like they got their money's worth with us.  We do seem to be cheap dates! (Candice: Candice and Sandy tour company to be starting soon. Book now for the best excursions!)

After Raffles we jumped back on the subway and went over to Little India for some shopping and to see Sri Veeramakalimman Temple but it was closed from noon to four, so only pictures of the outside.  From there another subway ride to Orchard Rd. which is the high-falutent area for shopping.  From there we walked out to the Botanical Gardens which were mostly tropical and very relaxing.  Made me want to make my yard into a tropical paradise with tropical plants, waterfalls and goldfish.

We split with Lee and Joe since they wanted to stay longer at the gardens and we headed back to the subway for the trip back to the Harbour Center via shopping at a mall on Orchard Rd.  We ran across an Apple Store and checked out email, Candice's Facebook and looked up a few websites all in about ten minutes.  This would have taken us at least 30 minutes on the ship. 

Back over to Harbour Center for more shopping and spending the last of our Singapore dollars before catching the bus.  We ended up buying a 28" suitcase for $21 USD.  It was an I-Polo brand - no knockoffs in this country, just made up names.  We tried this back in Vietnam since we saw some luggage for sale at the pier but by the time we made it back from the city it was all snatched up.  With this bag we can put both our garment bags inside this suitcase and have less bags to handle while traveling though London.  Right next to this store was a store selling t-shirts showing all the things you can not do in Singapore in a grid style with graphics and the words "Singapore, A City of NO."  I didn't buy one but I did snap a picture which I hope to post later.  At least the locals have a good sense of humor about the laws. 

Lying just 90 miles north of the equator Singapore was a delight to tour even in the heat.  There is plenty we did not get to see so we would definitely put this place down as a return visit.  It was my kind of city; clean, modern and well laid out.  Only drawback on their subway system was always having to get our $1 deposit refund from our last subway ride before buying a new fare.  We should have been able to recharge the card but something wasn't working and the machines did not give more than $4 in change which was another small hassle.  Even though the laws are rigid and the media is scanned at the state level with inappropriate websites blocked it was by far the most 'western friendly' city we have experienced.  Meaning you could identify food, stores, and tastes from home in a far, far away place all the while speaking English!  Singapore again for SURE!

Sandy