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Singapore
Click on the pictures to enlarge
When I first arrived in Singapore, I was ready to kiss the ground because I was back in civilization. I had left India at 3AM and arrived in Hong Kong at 11AM. I watched a typhoon begin to come ashore, which knocked out power to Hong Kong airport. Nonetheless, my connecting flight to Singapore left on time (it would have been 2 days late if Hong Kong's airport were run by the chronically incompetent U.S. FAA). I got into Singapore by 8PM, having not slept or showered since 5AM the day before.
After taking a piece of candy from the bowl provided by the immigration authority, I boarded a Mercedes shuttle bus for SGD7 (USD3.50). Located almost atop the Equator, Singapore is every bit as clean and green as its boosters purport. But I quickly found the city boring and sterile, lacking the character of Paris or the pragmatic nonchalance of Hong Kong. About the only thing to do in Singapore is to shop. The city is completely un-walkable, as jaywalking is strictly prohibited, pedestrian crosswalks are inadequate, and traffic signals are long. Even worse is that Singapore's cleanliness comes at a big price: signs are everywhere pointing out proper behavior, as if the people were all raised in barns. By Day 2 in Singapore, I decided to leave Singapore and venture up to Malaysia.
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This is the Denny's Restaurant on Raffles Blvd. I had come 20,000 miles from home, and next to my hotel is a Denny's. I suppose that Denny's is considered good food in Singapore, because this Denny's is a block from the Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons. I sent this pic to Lauer for his Denny's Appreciation Page. |
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Container shipping is the way almost everything from overseas gets to the US, but the industry is invisible to almost everyone. Singapore's container port is among the world's busiest. A ship arrives or departs every 3 minutes, which means that at any one time hundreds of container carriers are sitting in Singapore harbor (there are 5 in the top picture alone). However, since the world economy sucks right now, you'll notice that most are riding well above the waterline (meaning they're empty). |
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Turtle Island has some cool peacock palms, palm trees that resemble the plumes of peacocks. It's now a park, but in the 1920s, the island was the site of a cult's clubhouse. |
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The most turtle-filled pond I ever sat by. |
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The view of the city from Turtle Island. |
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Container ships come in ... skyscrapers go up... the economist in me says that it's not a coincidence. |
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The high clouds near the equator dance above the city. |
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Like every city, Singapore has a St. Andrew's Cathedral. This particular square has been the site of a church since the original town plan was drawn up by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1823. The present building, consecrated in 1862, is smaller than the Gothic cathedrals and whitewashed. [External link: more on St. Andrew's] |
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The Night Safari is the coolest thing I saw in Singapore. As you see, even with my camera's night mode, I couldn't get a good picture. The Night Safari features 110 species of nocturnal animals like bats, leopards, and jackals, all of which are displayed in an "open environment" almost entirely without fences. Lighting is subtle enough that animals are not disturbed but humans can still see. While walking through the bat house, I nearly bumped into two fruit bats! [External link: Night Safari homepage] |
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This is the most annoying thing about Singapore. This sign was in the subway. It reads: Wait in Line. Smoother Alighting, Faster Boarding. ("Alighting" seems to be the Asian-English term for "exiting"). It continues: See these lines? Stand behind the lines, and passengers can exit more quickly. That means you can get on board faster. The funny thing is that in every other city in which I've ever taken the subway, people know to stand to the side to let off passengers. Why Singaporeans need to be told something so obvious is beyond me. |
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