Singapore

A more than lifesized billboard

What a city, although we are attracted to more wide open spaces, Singapore is something else.  It is very clean and it's inhabitants are very busy people, hustling and bustling around the city. We are on the western edge of the city and the marina provides a bus into the closest large mall.  Malls and shopping seem to be what Singapore is all about, besides architecturally stunning buildings of course.  We have been doing the tourist bit, we have visited Little India, Chinatown, wandered around the much sanitized inner harbour and we took a city tour. 

Their is a styalized boat on the top of this structure

The population is a mixture, it seems mainly Chinese but on the MRT, the rapid transit line, we have seen the broad faces of Koreans, the dark handsome good looks of East Indian people, the Malaysians, and the white folks, left over from the British rule, no doubt.  While on the MRT if you want a seat you have to rush to get one, there are reserved seats for the elderly and pregant women but the young  S'poreans seem to be oblivious to the fact that they shouldn't be sitting there.  On the other hand once the middle aged folks noticed the tensor bandage on Barror  ankle they would leap out of their seats and offer it to him.  The young folks were too absorbed in thier IPhones to notice, I think they were watching TV on their devices.  

Gold Necklace at $65 SD a gram!

I am sure we didn't belong in here

It was packed in Little India both the times we headed there.  Deepavali, the Hindu festival of lights started today and it is a public holiday.  We had a delcious Indian meal there, eating off a banana leaf.  We browsed through many stores and managed to resist buying any gold, but when we were in a tailors shop, the owner tried valiantly to sell Barry and Ken from Cop Out a tailor made shirt, no luck.

Deepvali decorations

We sampled some delicious Indian food here, eating off a banana leaf.  The Western Union office was packed with  East Indian men sending money home to their families back in India.  The women were garbed in an array of colours and patterns that made up their saris.  Western women would not have dreamed to put  this combination of colours together, but they were often stunning.  It seemed like they were decked out to celebrate the holiday, but often they would have shopping bags over their arms.  We stayed until nightfall to see the light festival but left before the craziness that would have been the countdown at midnight.

The "boat," the flowers in the foreground are on every overpass.

                                                               

                                                                  A Buddist temple in Chinatown.

I am going to leave you with these visual images of Singapore.  We leave for Malaysia tomorrow, that rally starts in a few days and it will take us north up the Malaka Straits to Langkawi.  We have booked tickets to go to Australia for Christmas so we can spoil our grandchildren and visit with our daughter and son-in-law, if we continue west we may not see them again for a very long time.

                  

                             A typical Singapore scene, a high rise with construction work going on  beside it. 

A very sanitized Chinatown as compared with San Francisco.

Singapore River looking towards the down town. 

My favourite statue in a city full of them.

A typical apt. building, they are everywhere. A taxi driver told us a 3 brm apt. cost $290.000 CND.

The Singapore Flyer, at least 20 stories high. 

The Central Business District

Not sure what it is, but it sure is unusual.