Well I now have another favorite city. Singapore is modern, beautiful and spotless. Chewing gum is prohibited and can earn you a $800 fine, in US dollars. The airport is also one of the best in the world.
I arrived at 7:00am from Sri Lanka and took a taxi to my hotel. My room wasn't ready so I wearily wandered the streets until I found Popeye's and Starbucks. $5 for a coffee was a little steep, but I discovered most things are expensive here.
After a short nap I wandered up and down Orchard Road, the shopping mecca of Singapore. I don't know which city has more high end stores - Singapore or Hong Kong. But neither comes close to the number I saw in Shanghai a few years ago. Today I just looked, no shopped. As usual I use my first day to get acquainted with my surroundings. The condom store was kind of fun.
On the next day I bought a two day hop on hop off bus and boat card. The skyscrapers are awesome and the three tower with a boat on top was amazing. I may stay there in September. I won't have time to visit it or the Singapore Flyer (5 meters higher then the London Eye) but I will be back in six months.
This is the famous Raffles Hotel. I guess I'll have to research it on the Internet to see why it is so famous. Unless Lisa checks it out for me. Hint, hint.
After getting an overview I got off at the Singapore Botanical Gardens were I saw millions of perfect orchids. Singapore accounts for 15% of the world market. I have never seen so many colors and varieties. I must have taken over 100 pictures. The rest of the gardens were just as impressive. (See pictures in Singapore Part 1)
I boarded the bus for Chinatown, where I feasted on 1/2 a Peking Duck. That turned out to be lunch and dinner. I wandered the streets but really didn't see anything to buy. But again, what do I need?
I think about 75% of the population is Chinese, followed by Malaysian and Indian. The only thing missing were the rickshaws.
I was hot and tired so I returned to my hotel for the evening.
On my third day my first stop was Little India. The streets were packed with little shops and restaurants with overpowering aromas - mostly good. The people were friendly and didn't try to pressure you into buying anything.
There was a 24 hour Mustafa Department Store which covered two city blocks. This is where I finally found some much needed sunscreen. They carried most major brands. It was like a Target, Macys, CVS and Publix all in one. Much nicer then a Walmart. As a security measure they actually zip tie each bag before you leave.
I had a nice Indian lunch before heading to the river cruise. We sailed for an hour viewing the river and harbour. This is where most of the nightlife happens. There were many common US chain restaurants.
This is the most beautiful government building I saw in Singapore. The windows are painted the colors of the rainbow.
What happened to Superman?
On my way back to the hotel the sky opened up and I got drenched. I am now recovering and drying as I write of today's adventure. By the way - Popeye's Chicken is in Singapore too.
Info about electrical outlet. My Singapore hotel is the first hotel to have a universal outlet built in the wall. They accept plugs from the US, Europe and the UK. Someone was smart.
Owning a car in Singapore is an expensive proposition. First the import duty is about 100%. So a $20,000 is now $40,000. Then you need to buy a ten year permit to own the car - up another $10,000. Now we're up to $50,000. These permits are bid on every two weeks. After ten years it doesn't pay to get another permit on a ten year old car, so most cars on the road are new. Then you add the cost of the toll roads, including busy city streets. This can run another $500 a month. That's why the buses and subways are so popular. Singapore export is the second largest exporter of cars behind Japan.
Housing is also expensive, but 85% of the population lives in government subsidized apartments. Condos start at half a million and skyrocket from there. Not many US or Brits retiring here.
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