Singapore! Orchids, Flyers &

Singapore, Singapore

There are so many highlights of today’s adventures in Singapore, I hardly know where to begin. How about with a few fun facts? It’s a city and a country all in one! Founded in 1819 by Sir Stamford Raffles, the island has been enlarged over the years as spaces between the original 54 islands have been filled in – its current area is 716 square kilometers. Singapore sits about 130km north of the equator and has no seasons – it’s hot and humid all the time. It’s one of only two cities in the world with a rain forest located within city limits – the other is Rio de Janiero.

A British colony until 1959, it became part of Malaysia for a couple years, but things didn’t work out and Singapore became an individual country which has worked out well. This is a very prosperous place – lots of money, lots of foreigners. They have a knowledge and service-based economy – they must import 95% of their food. What services? Think trade and the port. They currently handle 80,000 containers per day and are the second busiest port in the world, just behind Shanghai. Want to own a car here? First, you must purchase
the RIGHT to buy a car before you can even buy the actual car; current cost of a COE for a small Japanese car is about 62,000 Singapore dollars – that’s about $45,900US.

The morning excursion was a brief tour of the city followed by a visit to the National Orchid Gardens. We had to clear customs in the very fancy Cruise Terminal when we left the ship. First, we drove up to Mt. Faber for a view of the city. What a fantastic skyline – skyscrapers everywhere! But we’ll get even better views from the Singapore Flyer later on this afternoon. The bells tied to the balcony railings here were marked with love notes and message for
the New Year! There was also a clever “No Smoking” sign – see photo. We were very fortunate to have a GREAT guide who spoke excellent English and had a deep knowledge of the city and a good sense of humor.

The Singapore Botanical Gardens are world famous and we got to spend time in just a small section – The Orchid Garden! Wow, if you like orchids, this is the place! Most orchids are just out along the beautiful paths – no need for a special greenhouse because the whole place is warm – all the time! But there IS a special hot house for some – and more interesting, a special COOL house for other species that are found in the mountainous areas at higher elevations (not native to Singapore, obviously). I have many, many pictures of these gorgeous flowers, but too many to upload here. Our guide told us that the rest of the gardens are just as spectacular as the orchid section – hard to believe.

Next was a stroll through Chinatown and a stop at the Thian Hock Kheng Temple, the oldest Chinese temple in Singapore. All around the outside was decorated for New Year’s with red lanterns and colorful hangings of all sorts. The figures inside the temple featured multi-armed Hindu gods, coiled serpents, and lots of Buddha statues. People walked around the inside wall dropping coin offerings for good luck into metal bowls. I should mention at this point that our coming to this part of the world during Chinese New Year’s when streets are festooned with banners and lanterns, shrines are especially festive and everyone is on holiday was JUST GREAT! It’s the Year of the Goat, incidentally.

Now, back to the ship for a lunch break – back through customs again, but no problem. The ship handles most of the paperwork and visas at each stop; it’s pretty easy for us pampered travelers. In the afternoon, many people could just explore Singapore on their own, but we opted for the optional tour to the Peranakan Museum and a trip on the Singapore Flyer.

After lunch, it was back through the Cruise Terminal and customs once again and meeting up with a different guide. We set out for the Peranakan Museum first. The term “Peranakan” refers to the marriage of usually a Chinese man with a non-Muslim Malay; these unions produced a unique culture with its own rules, furniture, preferences in dress, food, and family customs. The museum was interesting, but the guide wasn’t as good at English and it was difficult to understand much of what he tried to communicate. Ah, well.

Next up, the Singapore Flyer, which WAS the tallest observation wheel in the world until the new one opened in Las Vegas a couple months ago. Now, it’s second highest and the London Eye is third. At least, that’s what I gather. The views from up here were terrific, although a rain storm was brewing. I’m not sure where I’ve been, but there is some remarkably interesting architecture that’s happened recently – some of these buildings have wonderfully creative shapes. The Flyer overlooks a man made reservoir, dug and closed off, years ago. And then they just wait for the rains to come and come they do and eventually, the sea water is replaced with fresh water – and they have 17 of these reservoirs around the island. The wonderful ship on top of those three towers is the Singapore Marina Sands. That’s a hotel up on top, with an infinity pool the size of THREE Olympic sized pools – and palm trees too! Quite impressive! From up here, you can also see the Formula One track – it’s actually park of the highway system, which they close during races.

Let me leave you with a couple other facts. They REALLY don’t like illegal drug use: For a first offense, it’s a fine and a beating. For a second offense, it’s a mandatory rehab program. For a third offense, it’s the death penalty!

The number one problem for citizens 25 to 35 is credit card debt. To combat this, the government banned credit cards for most people three years ago. Now, the only people who can have a credit card must have a salary that shows they can pay it off.

Mascot: The “Merlion” (combination of a lion and a mermaid) is the made-up symbol of the city and he’s a friendly, although imposing guy. We really liked Singapore!