As a Birthday Present, Jenny wanted to take a trip... a big trip for a big birthday. Italy was rejected because too many people had been attracted by the television coverage surrounding the change of pope (just as we had). Bangkok was ruled out as potentially dangerous. Singapore was selected as a safe place where they respect the elderly.
Sorry, but this is just a teaser. Someday we will sort and post more pictures
We departed from Austin at 6 am on Tuesday August 20th. Which means you are supposed to arrive at the airport at 4 am for an international flight (how about 5 am?). Which means getting up about 3 am. First leg is to Chicago, then after a few hours layover, 11 am departure non-stop to Tokyo. We arrived at Narita about 2 pm local time Wednesday, but by now it was nearly midnight in Austin. It couldn't be much farther, could it? Only a 4 hour layover before we took the quick flight to Singapore. But the flight to Singapore left a couple hours late, meaning it was close to 8pm rather than 6 pm Tokyo time (Wednesday morning in Austin) before we left Tokyo. At which point it hit us... it was a 7 hour flight from Tokyo to Singapore. With a two hour time change, we might land by 2 am local time, and Taxi to the hotel in a half hour.
Our Hotel was near the prime shopping area - like Chicago's Miracle Mile of Michigan Avenue, or New York's Fifth Avenue. Nice, except at 230 am, no room in the inn. "Sorry, facilities problem. But we arranged a room for you at our affiliate (20 minutes away by taxi in the Arab district)". It was 3am Thursday (only 2 pm Wednesday in Austin) when we got to our room, 34 hours after we left home.This was the first view... from the hotel window... after arriving in the middle of the night. The colors were shocking, but the whole city was not like this. |
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Look slightly the other direction for a more typical view. The low buildings are schools - Christian and Muslim in this case, if I remember right. The tall buildings are government subsidized housing - nobody can afford to live in a slum. |
When we flew through this section of town in the middle of the night, we were put off by the old buildings with metal shutters. By day the stores are open...literally. In the tropical climate, no doors, few windows, and no sign of the metal shutters. The pink store sold nothing but baskets. The blue store nothing but silk cloth. And there were dozens of fabric stores in this section. "May I show you - French silk lace fabric - 6 feet wide - US$3 per yard." |
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If the traffic became too intense, you could turn down a street for pedestrians only. Yes that is a minaret for the mosque in the background. |
Just around the corner... yes... the Central Mosque. |
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The Merlion is the symbol of Singapore. It is a large, modern city. The harbor is one of the busiest in the world. |
Within the city there is culture wherever you look - little parks with statues telling a historical story in this case. |
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Very interesting temples of every faith were everywhere... Hindu, Buddhist, Anglican, Muslim, and a few Catholics. Christians of every sort were only 20% of the population, so a Vatican exhibit at a museum was interesting, needing to explain the significance of Christ and Disciples while describing the treasures. |
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