Tuesday, September 27 – Singapore

Singapore.  We met our guide, Lawrence Ho, at 9:30 and set off on a city tour. We passed many landmarks such as Raffles Hotel, the “chopsticks” ware memorial, the one remaining hill in Singapore (the others have all been used for fill to extend the island but this one still has a war-time bunker in the middle), many temples, mosques and churches. There is not state religion, and everyone is judged on merit. There are no homeless and government policies ensure that everyone saves for retirement (20% by each + 20% by employer). Living is expensive and earnings are high.
[The overall impression of Singapore is rich, rich, rich. Skyscrapers are everywhere, streets are immaculate, cars are modern and never dirty while the people all look young and prosperous. The guide pointed out that the cost of car ownership is really high as the high taxes the cheapest car would be over $80,000 US and apartments are $5,000-$15,000 per month. High-end name brand stores are everywhere.]
We spent a while at the fascinating National Museum of Singapore, then a brief stop at the Asian Civilization Museum to get a feel for the Singapore River. Last on the tour was a “bum boat” ride around the harbour. Most of us decided not to go back to the hotel and ate in the harbour area. Then we walked back to the hotel getting a closer look at some landmarks. It was a long, hot walk, necessitating a stop at Coldstone Creamery for ice cream.
A refreshing swim revived us for the evening’s outing. That started with the Night Safari and the animal show and ended with dinner at Newton Circus. That’s quite the place! Hawkers competing for your dinner business, many people pushing and competing for table space. The food and beer were pretty good. Finally back to the hotel and rest.

Photos 27 Sep