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I always had a mental picture of Singapore being a very sterile city (actually it is a city-state), without much character or atmosphere. In some ways this is quite true because so much of the city is new and very modern. But Singapore is much more than the financial centre of SouthEast Asia; it is also an extraordinary mix of races, languages, and religions. While most of this republic's 3 million people are Chinese, there are also large Malay and Indian contingents, and each group has its own section of the city.

Our first introduction to Singapore was a list of all the things one shouldn't do while there: if you smoke in public places, jaywalk, litter or neglect to flush the toilet, you will be heavily fined. If you use drugs, you will be caned. If you sell drugs, you will be executed. Aside from that, have a nice day!

After riding around the city on the Hop-on Hop-off Bus to get a good overview, we decided to partake of our drug of choice, alcohol, with a Singapore Sling in the Long Bar at the gleaming white Raffles Hotel. I am sure the bar had a lot more atmosphere when Joseph Conrad, Rudyard Kipling and Somerset Maugham visited here, but the hotel is still a grand old dame in the British colonial style. No longer will you find a tiger wandering through the restaurant, but you will find incredible luxury and elegance.

A number of other buildings built in the late 18th century by the British still stand along the waterfront on the Singapore River, but you will also find colorful and exotic architecture in the Little India section, in Chinatown, and on Arab Road. We enjoyed walking through each of these areas, and especially enjoyed the Tiger beer we lingered over in Chinatown. It was an incredibly hot and humid day, and the beer was just what we needed. We also took a boat ride along the waterfront to see the new restaurants, boutiques, pubs, and cafes that now line the river. I particularly liked a sculpture of five children that look as though they are leaping (or being pushed) into the river.

We expected to just have a day in Singapore, but we actually ended up with two days ashore due to an engine failure. We were due to depart around 9:00 pm, but were still in port at 11. When we awoke the next morning, Mike announced that we were still in Singapore instead of Kuala Lumpur. "How can you tell," I asked, "one commercial port looks just like another." The joke on board was that Captain McNaught, who was beginning a two-month leave here in Singapore, left for the airport with the ignition key in his pocket and someone had to chase after him! Actually, we did have a problem with the starboard engine and it was going to take a day to fix. This turned out to be a bonus, because our visit to Kuala Lumpur was simply delayed by a day and then we will put the pedal to the metal to get to Bombay in 2 days instead of three. That's one of the advantages of travelling on the fastest ship afloat. We both enjoyed Singapore more than we expected to. It is a very clean, safe city with a lot of variety and lots to see and do. I would love to sample all the different cuisines, and they have a great Botanical Garden which includes a 10-acre orchid garden! We'll just have to come back and spend more time.


Posted: Friday - March 18, 2005 at 04:08 AM
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