1. Flying Singapore Air on the big Airbus 320 is the way to go.
On our way out we flew this huge airplane. It's a full double-decker airplane that seats over 500 people. The flight wasn't full so Phil and I got our own row of 4 seats just for us. The seats were roomier...even in Economy, we had big individual tv screens to watch movies, tv, and even play games on (lots of Who Wants to be A Millionaire) whenever we wanted to, meals that were actually good with real silverware (ok, still plastic knives) and real glasses, hot cloths to wash your face, etc. Nice. Refer to my above paragraph regarding our trip home on a smaller plane...not so nice.
2. There is a lot of humidity in Singapore.
Ever see that Friends episode where they all go to (I think) Bermuda and Monica's hair gets frizzier and curlier the longer they stay? Yep....I believe at one point Phil says to me, "Wow...your hair is frizzy." After my morning showers I would blow dry it straight but by the end of each day it would not be so. I think our last day there, the tour guide on our bus that we were driving around on said that it was nice today...not so humid...only about 80% humidity. Enough said.
3. The picture of Singapore in my mind was not what Singpore really looked like.
I'd never been to Singapore before so I really didn't know what to expect. Actually, I'd never really thought much about Singapore...I guess chalk that up to my American view of the world- not really thinking too much about the rest of the world outside of the US. I pictured men with funny straw hats pulling people in rickshaws down the street. A bit off...Singapore is full of busy streets (of cars), lots of lights, huge skyscrapers. It looked like any huge downtown US city. Of course all the Asians speaking other languages would tip you off that its not quite the US. It was a very weird feeling to look like a minority. Singapore is a small island country. I also didn't know it is an island off of the coast of Malaysia. You could drive from one end to the other end of the country in 40 min. to 1 hour. And then imagine over 4 million people living there. It's a bit crowded.
4. The country of Singapore smells like a giant Chinese restaurant.
Not bad necessarily, just different.
5. There's no messing around in Singapore when it comes to drugs.
Before we got off of the plane we had to fill out an immigration form. The one side of it read," Warning: Death for Drug Traffickers According to Singapore Law."
6. Shopping is the national past-time of Singapore.
Singapore is one big shopping mall. As you walk around downtown, it's just mall after mall after mall. And big ones...500 stores each.
7. One could get a complex about your size when shopping in Singapore.
When surrounded by tiny Asian women whose legs are the size of my wrist, it can be a challenge to find anything that might fit. A medium in Singapore is a US size 4 or 6. Yeah....whatever.
8. Foodcourts can be different in a Singapore mall.
It's not too appetizing to see headless ducks skewered on polls hanging in the window of the restaurants in the foodcourt. And the smells.... All I can say is I felt like breaking into a rousing rendition of "God Bless America" when I came upon McDonald's. And yes, the next day for lunch I did eat at Long John Silvers. Note to self...Diet Coke here is called Coke Light. When we were walking through a mall one night, we came across an Auntie Annes! Here in Singapore...victory! Alas...the agony of defeat...pretzel flavors included nutty, almond, green tea, and that local favorite- seaweed.
9. The local Singapore paper is an interesting read.
Our hotel gave us a paper each morning which I enjoyed reading (by the pool)...I know, I lead a rough life as a professional tourist. Singaporeans are also interested in the presidential race in the states. It was noted that candidates were always referred to with their titles...Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Obama. There was another article about Condoleeza Rice on a 3 country Asian tour and always referred to her as Dr. Rice. Interesting. You know...there's a lot more going on in the world besides what's happening in the US. Again, my American view of the world is getting stretched. I also read an article about the world's Muslims. They had polled Muslims world-wide to see what shaped their views...religion or politics. The one statistic that stuck out to me was that only 7% of the world's 1.4 billion muslims felt that the 9/11 attack on the US was completely justified and the right thing to do. ONLY 7% ????...That's still a frightening large number! Yikes!
10. There's a variety of wealth living in Singapore.
On our last day there, we took a couple of bus tours through different parts of the city. Very interesting. We went through the kind of slummy areas of little India, Arabia, and Chinatown to the area where homes are sold for millions.
85% of the population lives in government housing. In order to qualify you either have to be starting a family (getting married) or be over the age of 35. Hence our tour guide said that Singapore has the largest annulment rate in the world...over 300%. As you can see in the picture below, most women hang their wash out to dry on poles that hang out of their windows.
11. Sentosa is fun! Sentosa is a resort island off the coast of Singapore. It has resort hotels and beaches as well as a "theme park" to walk around. We went there on Tues. night for a laser light show and then again on Wed. night to walk around and go on some rides. The street luge ride was most fun! You climb into individual tobaggons and steer your way down a curvy road to the bottom of the hill. You then take a ski lift back up to the top of the mountain. Definitely the best part of the day. I'll post some pictures of Sentosa tomorrow since Phil is on the Skype (internet) phone with his dad and whenever I download pictures it messes up their connection. More tomorrow.
4 comments:
I am still chuckling about your pretzel experience!! Seaweed heh? Are they green too? UUGHH...Sounds like you had an amazing trip!!! How neat to see so many things! I love the pics as usual...I'm telling you should just publish this journal of yours...you are a talented writer and I just love reading how you let us see your world! Can't wait to see you here in a few weeks...have lots of fun with Dave and Amy and tell them I said hi!..You know I'm the shopper...did you get me anything in those fab malls you were in?:)LOL! Love you and miss you!
Fun travelogue! You'll have to write your own guide to Asian travel when you get back! : ) The pictures are great. We had some good friends from Singapore when I was in high school. He was in the military over here for his PhD. My parents have visited them in Singapore, and I remember them talking about the food courts as well. There are U.S. military over there as well. Some friends of ours spent I think 4 or 5 years stationed over there--they loved it!
I've learned so much about Singapore! And you make it much more interesting than some travel book would be... This post was so much fun!
Wow! It looks like you are having so much fun! I cant wait to hear more about your adventures when you come here next week:)
-val
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