More on Singapore

I’ve thought of other things we learned about Singapore. I’d like to record them before my ancient brain loses them entirely.

Singapore is, in theory a democracy. Parliamentary elections are held every now and then with opposition parties challenging the ruling Peoples’ Action Party. But the PAP and its controlling family have been in the overwhelming majority since 1959, before independence and while Singapore was still a part of the British Empire. It’s been deemed the least corrupt nation in Asia but is ranked quite low in terms of human rights.

We’re told that Singapore ranks quite low against other nations in terms of free speech. Someone challenging the ruling party must have strong proof to avoid penalty for slander. Su Ling says that Singapore citizens are quite soft spoken, a habit developed to avoid being overheard with views that could be considered contradictory.

On the surface, at least, Singapore seems to be a prosperous, clean, well-maintained country. Certainly, it is up to first-world standards and then some. Employers and workers are required to pay into a social security fund that covers old age pensions, health care, housing and other aspects of economic life. Private insurance to supplement the government program are available. Schools today are completely integrated. Before independence, schools were segregated by ethnic identity – Chinese, Indian, Malay, and so on. There are perhaps 1,000 homeless people out of 5.8 million in Singapore.

Singapore prides it’s religious and ethnic tolerance and integration. We certainly saw no evidence of problems of that sort. Sure, there are neighborhoods of various ethnic groups, but mostly for convenience of language, religion, food preferences and so on.

Eighty percent of housing in Singapore is owned by the government. The government extends 99 year leases. Lease holders must maintain the lease for five years before being able to sell the lease on the open market, often at a profit. Most government housing is in multi family high rises. Single family houses are available but sell at a premium and are often owned for rent to expats living in Singapore.

Singapore maintains a strong military, necessary, it is felt, given the geopolitical environment in which it is situated. Hugues, from Switzerland, says Singapore military trains in Switzerland and in return Switzerland has been granted land in rural Singapore. Switzerland is the largest foreign land holder in the country of Singapore.

Singapore’s weather is hot and humid, thanks to its proximity to the equator and prevailing weather patterns. It is protected from extreme weather such as typhoons, tidal waves, etc. It is not prone to earthquakes.

It’s not a cheap place to live, especially in the city center and tourist locales, such as the Marina Sands Resort Hotel. On the other hand, breakfast for four in the modest coffee shop we patronized yesterday cost about $15 – for four people. Housing seems to be in the $200,000 – $1,000,000 range. Not outlandish.

So, what’s not to like? Why should anyone need complain?

I’ve added a few more pictures from Su Ling but mostly of the three of us so don’t break your neck hurrying to go back and see them.

Eat Like a Local – Singapore – November 16, 2023

So here we sit on the MRT Yellow Line heading for the Green Line where we will transfer to the Brown Line, and one more stop on the Yellow Line, which will take us to our hotel. Confused? Join the club. We thought our original four-stop ride on the Blue Line would do the trick but it left us a mile or more from the Marina Sands Hotel in the middle of a thunderstorm. Finding a taxi won’t work in this downpour. A kiosk salesman at the train terminal, told us to take the Yellow Line, which would take us on a circle, underground, around the entire city. Finally, we looked at a map and figured out a better way all by ourselves. 

But this is a minor inconvenience after a great day Eating Like a Local with our guide Su Ling. We started at 9AM from a 7 Eleven store a 10-minute cab ride from our hotel. We were joined by Hugh, a visitor from Lausanne, Switzerland. The three of us made the minimum for a public tour and of course the small group made for a great experience. 

At the end of the tour, Su Ling asked us to name our favorite food of the day, out of at least a dozen (I’ve lost track of the exact count). Interestingly, we all named the first: a breakfast featuring a curry puff, the Singapore equivalent of an empeñada from South America. It was, in fact, first introduced by the Portuguese in the 15^th century. Then, a dish of Kaya toast with pandan jam dipped in a concoction of soft-boiled egg and soy sauce, plus tea or coffee to drink. The other dishes we experienced today are something of a blur: all good, some spicy, some cold drinks – you name it. I’ll try to reconstruct the day based on my memory, the pictures and Su Ling’s notes. 

The big news is that we experienced not only the food but also the neighborhoods and cultures of the three main groups of people that make up Singapore: Chinese, Indian, Malay. Singapore’s official languages includes one for each each, plus a common lingua franca of English. English has evolved into Singlish, just as English is sometimes evolves into Spanglish in Spanish-speaking cultures. We heard all five today.

All of the above I wrote while traveling the MRT to reach our hotel. Twenty stations on four of the MRT’s five lines (we somehow missed the Red Line). Upset? Us? No way. It was fun to experience the very fine efficient, clean and well-organized mass transit system of this city. Along with two bus rides and a taxi today we’ve seen a lot of the city.

So now to the Herculean task of describing our day. I’m going to try to give a sense of what we did by referring to the pictures that Su Ling and I took.

Our day started with an 8 AM taxi to our meeting point, a 7-Eleven store up the coast perhaps halfway to the airport. We arrived early so strolled around the neighborhood to see what life is like here. We happened to see a coffee shop with a tempting array of pastries in the window. Turns out, that was our first food stop shortly after meeting Su Ling and Hugh.

Nearby is the Marine Parade district where originally wealthy Peranankan families. Peranankan are people whose parents were Chinese men who intermarried with Malay women. The houses we saw dated from the early 20^th century, if I remember correctly. Today they are rented out, sometimes to expats, who want to live in this upscale neighborhood. The once wealthy Peranankans are, in general, not quite so wealthy these days,

We stoped for food at a “coffee shop” featuring traditional Peranankan food and, equally interesting, the home furnishing and artwork of wealthy Peranankans back in the day. They also sell Peranankan clothing. You guessed it. NaiNai and Babu Rick will be knocking them dead on the Sun Deck of the Viking Orion and at the Sun City Center dance hall. See the pictures.  The featured food here was Kim Choo Kueh Chang’s Nyonya rice dumplings, whose origins date to the 1940s.

Next up, a stop at one of the original Singapore Hawker Centers. In other countries I’d say it was a market – lots of shops selling lots of food and other items. Here, however, the Hawker Center shops sell nothing but prepared food. Here we had Laksa, a fish dish with a broth, noodles and other good stuff (I’m ordering a recipe book so maybe someday I’ll serve you some). We also had a carrot cake, which contains no carrots and wasn’t what I’d call a cake but it tasted great nonetheless.

Then on to another Hawker Center, this one reached by bus. I took some pictures out the window to get an idea of what streets in this China Town area of Singapore are like.

This Old Airport Road Hawker Center is where we had Chendal from Nyoyan Chendal, a hawker stand with an actual Michelin recommendation. It is a shaved ice desert with pandan jelly and coconut milk. Hit the spot on a day getting progressively hot along with some of the spiced food we were having.  From the Fortune Popiah food stand we had, of course, Popiah, a spring roll with lots of good stuff inside (don’t ask me; I close my eyes and bite most of the time). We also had a lemon sugar cane drink. It was noon time and so we got to see lots of locals having lunch.

Another brief bus ride to a restaurant near the Sultan Mosque in little India neighborhood. The Sultan Mosque we see today was constructed in 1932 on the site of the original mosque built in 1824. Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore, donated $3,000 to the original building.

Speaking of Raffles, a brief historical side note: Sir Stamford came to the area to establish a trading center from which Britain could compete with the Dutch East India Company. One thing led to another, and Singapore was handed over to Malaysia in 1963. The marriage was not successful. Singapore’s toleration of its diverse cultural and religious groupings was not to Malaysia’s liking. So, Malaysia gave Singapore its independence in 1965.

Things got a bit more spicy in Little India but not so bad that a swig of water took care of the burn.

Our final food stop was at the Tekka Center, where Hawker shops shared space with some retail establishments. Here we had a pancake-like Indian Sweet accompanied by chai tea.

Then, on to our homeward bound adventure on Singapore’s MRT.

Singapore deserves more than the day and a half that we gave it. But today’s tour with Su Ling was certainly a great way to get a taste of Singapore, both gastronomically and culturally. We dun good in our selection and got really lucky to have such a congenial pair to tour with.

Back home at the Marina Bay Sands we went topside to see the light show and have an order of chicken wings and a drink (Pina Colada for Judy and a Singapore Sling for me).

Tomorrow, on to Bali where we will fall into the welcoming embrace of the Viking Ocean Cruise Line Company. No more guessing; all of our moves will be orchestrated by others. We’ll just have to sit back and enjoy the flight. It remains to be seen how long we can put up with being told what to do. There’s much to be said for independent travel, but like today’s MRT adventure, Judy and I will figure out how to have fun no matter what.

You know what I hate about getting old? Having young people treat me like I’m old. 

Case in point: when we arrived in Doha we had to descend an old fashioned set of roll-up stairs to reach the bus that would transfer us to the terminal. Worrying about Judy, I took her 33-pound carryon bag with mine and my backpack and  started down. The flight attendant, a young gal not much more than twice as big as Judy’s bag, took it from me. We all made It but not without a struggle. 

Check out the pictures of the business class bus. No cattle car accommodations like in coach. 

OK, I’m a sexist, treat other oldsters like they’re old and did indeed need the help but it bugs me to not be able to do what I used to. 

The real question is whether or not a pair of 76 year olds like us should be flying around the world. Many of our like-aged friends call us crazy.  So far we’ve been in the air on three flights for a total of 22 hours: Tampa-Miami (1.5), Miami-Doha (13) and Doha Singapore (7.5). And it will take us another 15 or so hours to get home. 

The secret to old-age long-distance flying is, we’ve learned, business class. Yes, it’s expenses (sorry kids about the inheritance thing). But a lie-flat seat makes all the difference. We’ve done our share of long flights in coach when we were younger (China, Japan, SE Asia, New Zealand to name a few) and while we survived it wasn’t pleasant. This time with six hours of sleep to Doha and three to Singapore were feeling pretty good.

But enough about us. Our seats today not only lie flat but also make up into a double bed with aisle-side panels that slide to make a comfy suite. We’re thinking about buying a pair of lie-flat seats to replace the love seat in the family room. 

Plenty of good eats, too. I had the foresight/made the mistake of preordering low salt meals. The first go was ok but when I was offered the exact same meal the second time I said, “damn the salt! Bring on the beef bourguignon!”  Pass the Lasix, please. 

Our seats are in the middle so no out the window pictures But the TV has three camera views – one mounted on the tail,, one just aft of the nose gear and one looking straight down. There’s also a fascinating map that give a clear view of where we are and where we’re going. We’ve watched that more than movies.  I’ll post some screenshots to give you an idea. 

By the way, the Doha airport is right up there with the best. Amazing what a few barrels of oil can buy.

So now we’re flying down the length of Malaysia (Singapore was for a few years part of Malaysia) and will be landing in a few minutes.

Well, the landing was a success and so was the taxi ride to the hotel, about 20 minutes along the waterfront, the roadway edged road with flowering shrubs and magnificent skyscrapers making for an interesting skyline.

Check in was pleasant but, being only 10 AM, our room wasn’t ready. Not to worry, the nice lady gave us a pass to the 57^th floor and the infinity pool. We went up and hung out waiting for the call. We had a sandwich and finally the call came at 1 PM. Our very nice room faces the city as you can see from the pictures.

The Marina Bay Sands hotel is the iconic skyline feature of Singapore. It’s actually three 55 story towers whose tops are joined together with a ship-shaped structure that holds several restaurants and an infinity swimming pool most of its length.

Amazingly, neither of us was tired so we set off to see the Gardens by the Bay, a route clearly marked by signs in the hotel lobby. The Gardens by the Bay hike didn’t pan out for reasons we still don’t understand. We ended up walking perhaps a half mile on a hot boardwalk in the noonday sun. Yeah we saw some nice views but nothing we can’t see from our hotel room. We met a couple from Seattle who had fallen into the same trap. Eventually we figured out that if we went out the opposite side of the hotel, we’d reach the park we’d seen from the top floor of our hotel. On our errant hike we did discover a fantastic shopping mall that includes every high-end retailer I’ve ever heard of and a bunch that are new to me.

The park features a number of structures including huge towers shaped like trees. There are two other structures that house some sort of botanical gardens. We’ll have to explore more tomorrow afternoon and report back. For now, you can get an idea from the pictures.

We made it back to our room around 4 PM and immediately donned our swimming togs and went out for a margarita in the infinity pool. Very refreshing.

Next back to the room to shower to wash off the trail dust that didn’t get removed in the infinity pool, a quick nap for Judy and some picture work for me. Finally, dinner at the Spago restaurant on the top floor overlooking the pool and city lights. Judy had duck and I had sea bass done in a traditional Singapore preparation. Both very tasty.

Now it’s 8:30 and with all the activity today we should be in good shape for a night’s sleep. But our clocks are 13 hours out of whack (it’s 7:30 AM home) so we’ll see.

It’s always nice to have Day 1 under our tourist belt. It shows that we’ve still got what it takes to tour with the best of ‘em. There’s hope for success on Day 2 and beyond.

Tomorrow it’s Eat Like a Local touring in the morning.

Australia 2023

The older we get, the more often Judy and I say to ourselves, “Someday we’re going to have to quit doing these crazy-long trips. We need to settle down and do normal stuff. You know, tour the U.S., hit the highlights of Europe, watch Rick Steves on TV. That kind of thing.”

So maybe this is going to be our last hurrah before beginning to act our age as senior citizens, dozing off in the back of the motor coach as the guide drones on about yet Another Bloody Cathedral. We’ll see.

This time we’re doing Australia. Singapore and parts of Indonesia come along for the ride, plus a change-of-planes in Doha, Qatar.

This is actually going to be our longest trip in terms of distance – literally around the world, flying eastbound to Australia and continuing on to our starting point in Florida. Adds up to 22,183 miles. It’s equal in time to our previous record-setting trip – one month, for the 2016 trip to New Zealand.

This will be a five-part adventure:

• We’ll fly on November 13 from Tampa to Singapore via Miami and Doha, Qatar, 28 traveling hours in all. We’ll spend a day and a half in Singapore, staying at the iconic Marina Bay Sands hotel, the two-tower skyscraper you see in all the pictures of Singapore. A highlight will be a six-hour “Eat Like a Local” tour, promising six to eight hawker stops for food – think food stalls in a mall or food trucks on the street.
• Next, it’s on to Bali, where we’ll spend a day and a half touring Indonesian temples. This is a pre-trip extension put on by Viking Ocean Cruises.
• We board the Viking Orion on November 19 and set sail for 17 days stopping at 9 ports along the way. Snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef is part of the plan.
• We disembark in Sydney on December 5 and immediately fly to the Australian Outback (no, not the steak house) to visit Ayers Rock and Alice Springs. Then on to Melbourne for a quick visit, returning to Sydney on December 11. This is a Viking post-trip extension, so we’ll be molly-coddled by tour guides who will hopefully keep us out of trouble.
• We’re spending two days in Sydney on our own. The Sydney Opera House is on the agenda. We’ve booked a performance of an Australian choir that is performing “festive” music of some sort. Not grand opera but being at the venue is the big deal; the music is secondary. From there we fly home on December 13, leaving Sydney at 11:30 AM, changing planes in Houston and arriving in Tampa at 3:18 PM the same day, thanks to the International Date Line. It’s in reality a 20-hour trip this time.

I’ve provided two maps to show the lay of the land. One is the world view of the trip and the other is the Australian part in detail.

As usual, I’m going to try to blog each day and post pictures as we go. I’m not sure if I’ll have much to say on the five “at sea” days but we’ll see. How many pictures of Judy drinking Mai Tais, Margaritas and Jagerbombs you can stand to look at (and how many can we drink and keep standing)?

If you’ve received daily emails from me on previous trips, there’s no need to take action for this trip (unless you want me to stop pestering you). Otherwise, shoot me an email and I’ll add you to the list of those who receive announcements each time I make a new post.

Thanks for traveling with us! Your comments as we go are always welcomed and appreciated.