Week 13 Singapore

 I will separate Singapore from our travels in Thailand and Malaysia even though it was in between these two visits. 

Singapore is an island nation that has held economic power for centuries due to its location at the tip of the Malay peninsula. It is a very culturally diverse nation with Indonesians, Chinese, Sri Lankans, Malays and Indians. This also allows for religious diversity in the island nation with Buddhists, Hindu, Taoists, and Malay.  We took the cultural tour which included the 4 major locations of colonial rule, Chinatown, Little India, and Malay. The city is beautiful with a combination of old and new. The people were absolutely welcoming to tourists and talk about a clean city WOW. It is against the law to chew gum here and smoking is very restricted. The nation stresses No Littering and they have heavy fines for those who do. Traffic is terrible and they now have to have expensive permits to even buy a car as they want you to take their public transits.  

On the afternoon we arrived Jeff and I went to the Night Safari Park (zoo). This highlighted the nocturnal  animals found in Singapore and the Malay Peninsula. Pictures were difficult to take but here are the highlights of that excursion.

Flamingos

Fishing Cat

Screech Owl

Common Palm Civet

Malayan Porcupine

Red River Hog

On our second day, we did the cultural tour of the city and our guide was fantastic. We learned so much about the nation and really saw how these diverse groups co-exist. Everyone has English as their first language in school due to British control until after WW II. Generally most residents speak 2 or 3 languages. When we returned from our excursion we visited the large mall located at the port entrance. We ate lunch at a German restaurant and picked up some necessary items at a drug store. 

Colonial Legislative Building 

Elephant given to Singapore from Thailand

Colonial Legislative Building now Art Museum

Thomas Ruffles at his first landing site

Old and New Singapore

Old Post Office (Fullerton Hotel) Cavenagh Suspension Bridge

Victoria Hall 

Bride getting wedding photos taken

Park in Victoria Hall area

Double Arched Bridge

Street in Chinatown

Hindu Temple in Chinatown

Art sculpture near Port and Vivo City Mall

Our Viking Neptune and Singapore skyline

Series of cable cars connecting the city with other islands

Rain Tree with lush growth

On the third day we took the day off. One reason is we had 6 more days of excursions and the second reason that it was horrid to get on and off the ship. You literally had to go through full immigration going off and coming on the ship and the distance to the port building made sure you got your steps for the day.