Singapore ~ The Lion City

 Feb 28

It is against the law to use another person's Wi-Fi without their permission, and doing so can result in fines or even jail time.~ One of Singapore's many ethical behavior laws

Yes we are as happy as we look!

I love Singapore! When we visited in 2018, our day at the National Orchid Garden was magical and the intricate Hindu temple (located in Singapore’s Chinatown instead of their Little India neighborhood) was a bewildering but fascinating time. Now we have two wonderful days to see more of this ultra-modern, well-planned city that since the 1960’s, when they broke with Malaysia, is also a sovereign nation in its own right.

After meeting up with our guide, Teng, our first stop was the Marina Bay Sands casino & hotel. This iconic building consists of three towers upon which rests a long, roof deck shaped like a ship. I kid you not! It stretches across all three towers with an infinity pool hanging over nothing and spectacular views no matter where you look!

The city stretches out in a precise carpet of housing and businesses, interspersed and integrated with lush green spaces (some of them sprouting up the sides of highrises and in myriad roof gardens.) The concept of the place is “A City within a Garden” and it shows.

Our next activity was a leisurely cruise down the Singapore River in an environmentally-friendly electric ferry. The waterway wends through a UNESCO protected heritage site of vintage Chinese shop houses in front of the stone steps that show where the old port of Singapore used to be. Trade has always been the city’s life’s blood. In the 19^th century, an enterprising fellow called Whampoa devised a plan to transport ice from the Great Lakes of the US all the way to Singapore. Unfortunately, as dear as ice might be, the margins simply didn’t work. His ice house is now a popular restaurant. 

The Marina Bay Sands almost doesn't look real, doesn't it?

Then we passed the Mer-Lion statue that is the symbol of Singapore. (It’s based on an apocryphal tale of a prince seeing a lion on this island at the toe of the Malay peninsula, though no one thinks there has ever been an African lion here.)

Singapore is one degree north of the equator, so the seasons are designated as “dry” or “wet” because hot is always part of the climate. So we were beginning to flag a bit by this time. Fortunately, Teng took us to the futuristic domes of Gardens by the Bay to walk its lovely, air- conditioned Cloud Forest.

The DH loves waterfalls, natural or not.

What a shivering sense of elation I felt as we walked around one of the largest man made waterfalls in the world. Singapore has collected plants from all over to showcase in their engineered Eden. The cool, misty air, the fresh breath of green growing things, eye-popping color and unique blooms, a Chihuly blown glas installation interspersed with the living walls of green--the effect is stunning. We walked in wonder. 

As always, I hope to add more pictures as soon as possible. The DH is grappling with the ship's wifi trying to get his 8 minute montage up. He began yesterday and let it run all night. Only 24% was uploaded. (However, given Singapore's stern warnings against piggy-backing on someone else's wifi, we're stuck with the Sky's.)

One last thing to share. As we headed back to the ship, Teng, who though born in Singapore is an ethic Chinese as are about 80% of Singaporeans, emphasized how much he "loves America!" He prays for our success and hopes we will be blessed. 

Otherwise, he added ominously, "China will eat our lunch." 

A stricken look crossed his face and I sensed he hadn't meant to say that. After all, Singapore is dependent on its Asian neighboring countries for their food security because there isn't enough arable land on their island (which is only 3 1/2 times the size of Washington, DC) to grow their own crops to feed their 6 million citizens. They must remain friendly with everyone. 

But Teng prays for America. I'll be praying for him too.