I've been to Singapore 8 times. Each time the place is more so. A benevolent dictatorship city/state with millions of hard working and well behaved citizens has to be taken on its own terms. Otherwise they cane you I believe. The Silver Whisper started the sail in before dawn yesterday morning. The Southern Cross was quite beautiful and the harbo(u)r was as usual full of container ships full of Chinese doodads waiting to be transloaded to other container ships for places that needed more Chinese doodads. The Staff Captain came out on the bridge wing, looked up at me and said, "The radar looks like star wars." I hope that was good as I'm not up on all the nautical terms beyond "sail away party" and "bar's open." Fortunately, as the sun rose a couple of tug boats drew an "X" where the Captain needed to drive the ship. See I know all this stuff after almost two years of doing this.
As soon as the ship was cleared we left the ship and went through a number of passport checks and backpack x-rays in the 20 minute journey from the ship through the huge shopping center that is required to transit through the Cruise Passenger Terminal. It's like a very large version of the gift shop at the cashier of tourist restaurants in Colorado. We bought Tourist Cards at the MRT rail station for two days of unlimited bus and train use in the extensive Singapore public transit system and used them practically out. Since it was 107 degrees F (42 C - the actual conversion this time), the entirely air conditioned subway stations and trains were very nice, the stifling walk through Little India was fun and very authentic (except for the lack of open sewers and mutilated beggar babies), and the visits to what used to be Raffles Hotel, now a big shopping center, Gaylang (the Malay district), and Chinatown much fun. Went back through the x-rays and passport checks to go to the Night Safari (zoo), my third visit in 20 years, and returned to the ship at 9:30 pm or so after extensive passport checks and backpack x-rays.
We continued our exploration of Singapore this morning. After leaving the ship we underwent extensive passport checks and x-rays of our backpacks. Then we did a circum-MRT transit of the entire city/state after another visit to Chinatown to purchase some silk scarves and a solar powered arm waving lucky cat. It is now on the windowsill of our suite. You can't have too many lucky cats. We have now done our final passport check and backpack x-ray and are getting ready to sail for Saigon where we will arrive the day after tomorrow for the new 9 day cruise. Those 50 or so of us who are continuing from the Sydney to Singapore segment are invited to a special reception and dinner in the Italian restaurant onboard. I was told this morning from a couple who was leaving the ship after only one segment that this dinner is called the "leftover dinner" since we are left over on the ship. I wished them a nice trip home to wintery Canada.
As for Singapore, what can be said in addition to that in the first paragraph of this entry? This place is bursting at the seams with people, all young, ambitious, and highly educated. Virtually all the trees have been removed to build more high rise government subsidized apartments, and besides the a/c subways trains there are automatic toilet seat cover dispensers, English language (kind of) is spoken universally, and the Chinese, Muslim, and Malay cultures seem to get along well, at least on the surface. For example, with Chinese New Year in a week, everyone is celebrating with strange signs saying things like, "Showers of Blessing Pouncing..." and no doubt entertaining each other at the Fish Head Steamboat Restaurant. Other than that, the old harbo(u)r front has lost all appeal and the crowds are awful day and night. The city/state works but with little real culture and no charm. Oh well, you can drink the tap water and eat the fantastic food. It's a good place to overcome jet (or boat) lag.
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