The sea day between Java and Singapore was memorable because we crossed the equator just before sunset. I have included a picture of me pointing to where it should be in the water. One of the guests was so naive as to ask, "Is it marked?"
Singapore was hectic. We saw as much as anyone could in the two days we were there. Singapore is a city/state dictatorship where those who follow the rules are allowed to accumulate riches and influence while infractions of the rules are harshly punished. Its multi racial population is incredibly well behaved. We rode subways and buses that were often incredibly crowded. All the faces were young. Everything was unbelievably clean. No one pushed or shoved, lines moved very quickly and surveillance cameras were everywhere. Signs announced that there was a $500 fine for smoking, $1000 for chewing gum and $5000 for eating or drinking in the subway or its stations. Chewing gum can only be purchased in pharmacies by prescription. There are people everywhere, morning and night; on foot, in cars and on motorbikes. I have read science fiction stories set in futures where there are so many people that everyone lives in multistory high rises and there is very little open land. Singapore is getting there fast.
Michael has been to Singapore numerous times. He has noticed that the charming old neighborhoods are being rapidly torn down and replaced with modern concrete and glass buildings or Disneyland like replicas of the old neighborhoods in concrete with modern interiors behind traditional looking walls. We visited one neighborhood, the Gaylang District, where a walk down a side street of colorful old Malay style buildings revealed, when we looked through open doors, interiors gutted and being re purposed as shops with apartments above. When the remodeling is done, only cleaned up exteriors will remain from the original.
Little India was a fascinating mix of color and exotic odors from unfamiliar spices. We walked through neighborhood markets, past shops selling unusual goods and services (i.e. fortunetelling, massage for new mothers and many kinds of icons.) We came across a Hindu temple with rows and rows of shoes by the door. We passed a brightly colored building that was, of all things, a medical clinic. There were restaurants on every street. Michael said that it really looked like India except for the cleanliness, pleasant odors, lack of cows in the street and no beggars.
A few streets away from Little India we visited what Michael remembered as a huge open air food court. The food court had moved inside; it occupied the ground floor of a large new office building. Outside was an open air market filled with lots of trinkets for the upcoming Chinese New Year. The food court featured a hundred or so little food stands, each featuring one type of food item. Noodles were big sellers as was rice. There were shops for roast chicken and duck. Stands sold soft drinks, at least one sold tea from huge brass urns. Numerous varieties of oriental delicacies were for sale. Fish head stew seemed popular. People purchased the various parts of a meal from several stalls and took them to one of the hundreds of tables scattered throughout the area. Signs at each stall read "self service." We interpreted that to mean that a patron needed to make his purchases at each shop and carry them to a table him or herself. There was no wait staff.
Michael craved a bowl of Vietnamese Pho but I was not yet hungry so we pressed on. After an underground/above ground metro trip to Gaylang where the food, undoubtedly authentic, didn't look quite as appetizing, we headed back to the central business district for lunch at the harbor area. There were lots and lots of tents set up along the inner harbor. We walked among them until we found a place that sold authentic Vietnamese food. We each had a bowl of noodles. Mine was a rich soup with wonderful pork dumplings, while Michael's was much more dry, more like a pasta dish with unique oriental spices. They both went well with a cold Tiger beer, the local variety.
After lunch, we walked across a scenic bridge and visited the world famous Raffles Hotel. It appeared to have been entirely turned into an up scale shopping mall. That's in addition to the modern, three story enclosed shopping mall by the name of Raffles Center on the next block. We made the long trek upstairs to the rebuilt "Long Bar," neither long nor original, and headed back to the metro. We made a short stop in Chinatown before returning to our ship to rest before our evening trip to the Night Safari, a zoo seen by night. We later learned that there is still a Raffles Hotel located behind the original. We met a couple who had stayed there and said that their rooms were wonderful.
We headed out again as dusk approached. This was no simple undertaking. A difficulty with Singapore is that we had to present our passports, ship identification cards and transit visas every time we exited or returned to the ship. Plus we had to go through airport type security with backpack, hand bag etc x-rays and walk through metal detectors. At least they did not make us take off our shoes!
The Night Safari at the Singapore zoo is something special. The zoo is dimly lit. Spectators can see and the animals still think it is night. We took a tram through various habitats stocked with animals, many of whom are supposed to be active at night. Animals like the tigers were mostly sleeping, not surprising as cats sleep about 20 hours per day. We did see some hippos and elephants that were awake as well as many kinds of deer. The most active was an anteater mother walking with her baby on her back. There were a few shows at the entrance area and we could have walked around various paths by ourselves. It was getting late so we decided to take a taxi back to the port.
Friday, February 5th, we returned to Chinatown. I purchased some scarves and Michael purchased a solar powered lucky cat. This is a yellow cat statue with Chinese writing on it and an arm that waves back and forth. It is supposed to bring good luck to your home. Chinatown was impressive. It was a little over a week until the Chinese new year celebration. The market was filled with decorations and specialty foods for the occasion. We saw hundreds of preschoolers walking in neat lines through the stalls while their teachers explained the cultural significance of the food and objects displayed. Michael wanted to show me a Hindu temple that he remembered as spectacular. After searching several areas, I suggested that a temple building shrouded in canvas might be the place. We inspected it closely and, sure enough it was the place we had been looking for. One of the worshipers there told us that it was being refurbished in time for a big celebration in April. I will have to look at Michael's pictures when we get home to see what it really looks like.
I got the feeling that I had really seen Singapore after we took a subway/above ground ride around the island. The metro is above ground outside the central business district. We were able to see miles and miles of residential districts, commercial/industrial areas and even got a glimpse into Malaysia as the tram passed close to the border at the northern end of Singapore.
Our visit to Singapore concluded with a visit to the old harbor area. It was a disappointment even though it has been spectacularly redeveloped. The modern glass and steel highrises have entirely replaced what Michael remembered as a beautiful park like area.
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