(Singapore Flag)
(Singapore Map)
MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2009:
All of the images below are thumbnails and can be clicked on for a larger image.
On a very warm sunny Monday morning at 7:00 we docked in Singapore.
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island city-state located at the southern tip
of the Malay Peninsula. Singapore is a microstate and the smallest nation in Southeast Asia.
Singapore's population is approximately 5 million people.
Singapore is probably the cleanest city in the world with virtually zero crime.
They also have some of the strictest laws any where in the world
with very harsh punishments for breaking said laws.
We got a nice view of the city from Mount Faber Park, although the morning sun and haze limited the view.
Our second stop in the city was Chinatown where we visited the Sri Mariamman Temple.
Our last stop was at the beautiful National Orchid Garden.
The garden is located on the highest hill in the Singapore Botanic Gardens.
Providing a place for 60,000 orchid plants consisting of 400 species and more than 2,000 hybrids.
Mount Faber, Chinatown, Sri Mariamman Temple, National Orchid Garden and Orchard Road. |
At 4:00 we sailed away from Singapore through its very busy harbour.
Singapore was the world's second busiest port in 2005 in terms of shipping tonnage handled.
|
Howdy all, We were docked here in Singapore before sunrise this morning. It was a nice sunny day but VERY, VERY HOT! Singapore is quite a contrast from Vietnam which was about 99% slum. There are no slums here. A very clean, modern city. Be careful not to break the law here. Their penalties are very strict. You can be sentenced to death for drug violations. Public caning is also still used as punishment here. Chewing gum is not allowed. I managed to stay on the right side of the law while I was here. The selection of tours they offered for Singapore were very poor. None of them took in all the things I want to see. On the one I took our first stop was a Mount Faber where we got a nice view of the city and the bay. Although there was a lot of haze through the early morning sun in most directions. Our next stop was at Sri Mariamman, the city's oldest Hindu Temple. In the picture below you can see one of the Goddesses they worship. She is the protector of children. She is protecting the child on the right from the evil woman that is across her lap. The thing you see her holding are the intestines that she has removed from the evil woman. It is beyond my comprehension why you would want to worship something that gruesome. It must be her stunning looks. This temple was located in China Town so we walked through there as well before returning to the bus. The last stop was at the National Orchid Garden. This was a very beautiful place. We about melted from the heat and humidity during our walk through the garden. One of the reasons I took this tour was because of the option to stay in town after the tour was over. Which I did. But where they dropped us was on Orchard Road, one of the best shopping areas in all of Southeast Asia. Which was fine but shopping isn't exactly what I wanted to do. And with the time we had I didn't feel safe taking a cab to where I wanted to go for fear I wouldn't get back on time for the last shuttle back to the ship. So I just walked around Orchard Road for a while and got my daily walk in and then went back to the ship. Below is a picture of the sail away. Tomorrow is a sea day and the last day of this cruise. We will arrive in Laem Chabang, Thailand early Wednesday morning. From Laem Chabang it is about a two and half hour drive to Bangkok. I have an all day tour of Bangkok scheduled ending at a local hotel. I won't get much use out of the hotel as my flight departs at 12:35am. But you couldn't do a tour without the hotel and I wanted to see Bangkok. But it wasn't very expensive and it included meals and the airport transfer so it wasn't a bad deal. For those of you who don't know where I am going next, I'll keep that a secret until I get there. Tim |
You can click HERE for the details of that trip. Or watch the 2 hour 19 minute complete video of my 2016 3-day visit to Singapore. |
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2009:
On Tuesday we sailed north in the Gulf of Thailand.
Captain Bob Oliver makes his farewell speech from the ship's atrium. |
Click on the arrow above to continue to my next adventure, THAILAND.
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