Ang moy visit Singapore

The island of Singapore lies at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula between the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea. The nation of Singapore includes 59 tiny islands that lie off of the country's southern coast. The nation has 259 square miles. Did you know that Singapore is a nation? Well, none of us did prior to this trip. That's the beauty of travel; you learn a lot. Sometimes it's embarrassing what you don't know! Singapore is just one degree north of the equator. One of our jokes.... is there a line in the ocean to designate the equator? We can get pretty silly at times.

The population is around 4.5 million. Singapore enjoys a beautiful multi-racial harmony, and a respect of many religions. Mosques, temples and churches co-exist in a climate of complete tolerance. A fair equity is also preserved among the four official languages -- Malay, Mandarin, Tamil and English. English is the most widely used. Due to their excellent education system, most Singaporeans speak more than one language.

Because the Sapphire Princess is so large, we docked at the commercial port, and took shuttle buses to the center of the city. The port was a sight to behold. It is one of the largest container ports in the world, and it is vast. There was a certain excitement to being in the midst of such an intersection in world trade. The half hour bus ride into the city was very comfortable, and very quickly we started to appreciate the beauty of this special place. Everything is clean and orderly. All of the buildings, including high rise apartments and condos, are extremely well maintained. You see nothing that is shoddy or run-down. That's quite a contrast to Bangkok.

We started our sightseeing on Orchard Road, which is a shopping mecca. I read that the national pasttime is shopping, and that one of the local slang terms is "five Cs", which stands for the Singaporean dream of cash, credit cards, car, condominium and country club. Like so many of the other boulevards we saw, Orchard Road is a wide road, and lined with very large trees, providing cool shade and comfort in the tropical heat. Flowers abound. Tropical plants with their various textures, shapes and colors provide artistry everywhere. Sculptures are common. Pools of water, fountains and water structures add interest. In spite of many lanes of bustling traffic, the pedestrain feels a sense of calm and pleasure strolling here. There is no doubt that Singapore is the cleanest, most litter free city we have ever seen, anywhere! Of course, part of that might have to do with their very strict laws. We aren't sure what the penalty is for littering, but we saw a sign indicating that the fine for bicycling in a particular pedestrain underpass was $1,000! The penalty for drug trafficking is death. Perhaps not a bad idea...

The architecture is stunning. Gleaming skyscrapers, with unique designs blend harmoniously with the historic buildings. The Singapore River is very clean. In fact they have a special boat, for scooping up any litter that is floating in the river. Now, there's a good idea!

After strolling along Ocean Road, we found ourselves at Fort Canning Park. This was the seat of the Malay Kingdom of Temasek in the 14th century. It was also the first Christian cemetary on the island. Although we didn't see it, there is a "Battle Box" which was the underground command center of the British forces during WWII. Of particular interest was the Spice Garden. The spice trade was what put this area on the world map when the Spanish and Portugese were exploring. It was amazing to see the black pepper plant, a cinnamon tree, and plants such as clove, nutmeg and tamarind. The grooming of the park was immaculate. We figured that if the grounds' keepers didn't do a good enough job, they are probably tossed in jail.

For an early afternoon snack we stopped at Tapa Tree (a Spanish bistro) in Clarke Quay (by the river) for some tapas and Tiger Beer. From there we took a river boat tour. You never saw so much paperwork for an $8 fare. It was amusing. The 1/2 hour tour was worth it. We were on a traditional bumboat. We saw the very impressive performing arts center, and the Merlion, which is the city's symbol. The head of a lion, and the body of a mermaid. The statue spews water from its mouth; it was majestically situated at the mouth of the Singapore River, to welcome all who enter.

We then treated ourselves to Japanese ice cream (which resembled Italian gelato), and walked along the other side of the river, through the Boat Quay area. This area has cuisine choices from every imaginable part of the world. Although Ernie was complaining a bit about all the walking, the group decided we could walk back to Orchard Road, heading to the location where the bus had dropped us off. We passed more "top attractions" during this leg of our walk, like the Chijmes. This was once a convent, and has now been converted to a series of shops, restaurants, bars and galleries. We didn't have time to actually go in, but we checked if off the list anyway.

We passed some incredibly maintained gardens, with a gate guarded by armed guards. Curious. Al suggested that Steve should go ask them what was in there, behind the gates. That's because Steve will do anything. Steve and Gary set forth to find out what kind of buildings were concealed. It was interesting to watch because as soon as they set foot in the direction of the forward standing guard, two others immediately came forth as back-ups. Oh-oh!! Well, they were told they were "government buildings", which we thought was a bit vague. A local lady was walking by, and she informed us it was the president's home. That answers that! A few minutes later, we saw a sign, which depicted someone getting SHOT if they came too close to the property. We were glad Steve and Gary didn't get shot.

Upon reaching Orchard Road, Jan & Steve were interested in shopping for a small camera (to add to their camera collection). I found the local wares (silk scarves, fans) more interesting. To make a long story short, I got separated from the group, unintentionally. I had money, my cruise card and passport, so I decided to just head back to the bus area, and loved the walk. I felt as safe and comfortable as one possibly could. By this time, in the late afternoon on a Friday, the sidewalks were packed with people. Well dressed, attractive and happy looking. It was really a delight to be among them.

Once Al realized I was missing (I wasn't "lost" because I knew where I was), he headed towards the bus as well. We connected because I decided it would not be smart to get on the bus by myself, since I had his passport, which he needed to reboard the ship. We returned to the ship, very pleased with the day. Singapore is lovely, in all respects. There was so much more we didn't have time to see -- their world class zoo, the botanic gardens, the old section, Little India, Sentosa Island. Singapore is a place we'd be delighted to return to.

By the way, "ang moy" is slang for caucasian.

Now we are cruising in a northerly direction, in the South China Sea, heading to Vietnam. We have two very busy days coming up, at our two ports in Vietnam.