Singa-Pores-It-On!

Alas; all good things must come to an end!

After 10 days of hot and humid temperatures, we flew back to Japan on Feburary 1, only to arrive in a pouring rain and plus 5 temperatures! At least the snow has departed and it is sunny today. Above; Sandra, Jay, Jean and myself - lowering the property value of beautiful Siloso Beach on Santosa Island. (Notice; all the seagulls decided to move out when they saw this lot approaching!)

Singapore was all that I had hoped it would be, and more. It is a very cosmopolitan city that is safe, clean and very orderly. It has an incredible blending of cultures, languages, religions, cuisine and attitudes that makes it unique in my experience. Built around the largest port in Asia, Singapore is indeed a crossroads of commerce and culture. Hong Kong is traditionally the second biggest port, but Shanghai is now poised to move into the second spot.

Guess what the top three exports from Asia to North America are? And, guess what the three major imports are. The answers are at the bottom of the article!

In the past 10 years the nature of international trade has shifted dramatically to the point where most of the flow of goods now goes from Asia to North America, (60% of the ships arrive in Asia with empty cargo holds, up from 40% just 10 years ago). There are two awakening economic giants in the area; India and China. Both are scambling to secure the consumer goods that the Western World has enjoyed for 50 years, and their economies are growing at breakneck speeds. That, in turn has created a fierce international competition for energy sources and for others in the area to supply the goods that are being demanded. Korea, in particular, has positioned itself as a major supplier of cars, electronics and consumer goods to India, while China's market is there for the taking.

Elsewhere, Malaysia, Indonensia and a host of other 'Asian Tigers' are surging onto the international market with low-priced goods; they are coming onto the world scene with energy and dedication that is making them tough competitors. So much so that even Mexico, Japan and Tiawan are under considerable pressure to retain jobs that are being exported elsewhere, (sound familiar?). Above; a night scene of the Singapore River with the Old Parliament Building in the background.

We found that Singapore is less expensive than Hong Kong, but more expensive than Shanghai; which is very cheap, indeed. That said, many things in Singapore are less expensive than in Canada, but the books, cars, housing and alcohol are quite expensive. If you can avoid any of these items, you will find Singapore quite reasonable. During our stay we did the ususal tourist things; take a bus tour of the city, visit the neighboring island of Santosa, tour forts and historical sites, take a harbour cruise, tour the day and night zoo, and, of course, try out the local cuisine. And the variety and the quality of the food was truly memorable; we ate some outstanding dishes in scenic settings, which only added to the experience.

We also visited the Worlds Largest Fountain - The Fountain Of Wealth, which occupies the centre of a major intersection in Singapore, and is accessible from the Shopping Mall below. (Hint; it is just past the local Tony Roma Restaurant - turn left at the Kenny Rodger's Roasters. If you get to MacDonalds, you should feel shame - eat something healthy!) Claiming to be a Historical Spot of the Future (I don't get that - you can pre-book these things?), the fountain puts on an impressive display during scheduled hours by shooting water from the story below, out over the centre of the large traffic circle above. At particular times during the day, the main fountain is shut off, and a much smaller one is left on in the very centre of the base of the fountain. It is said that if you put your right hand into the flowing waters there and walk three times around the circle to your left. (while keeping your right hand in the water), you will gain wealth. We were all for that, so out of desperation we joined the line-up. However, when we finally made to the front of the line, the guard decided that it was time to close down for the day, (we couldn't help but notice that he was knocking off 6 minutes early!) So, we had to be content to dip our hands in the runoff from the fountain, and circle the intersection three times during our stay in Singapore; twice on different tour buses, and a final time in a taxi. I guess that means that henceforth we will only be living slightly above the starvation level! Above; me, relegated to sticking my hand in the runoff from the Fountain Of Wealth.

While there we celebrated the Chinese New Year; it is now The Year Of The Dog. (I thought it was about time, but then I put my glasses on and discovered to my disgust that there was no 'u' in the word 'Dog!') And what better way to do that than to spend the day in the heart of The Chinese Quarter, along with 250,000 others crammed into every available plaza, sidewalk, street, back alley, restaurant and park? The fireworks display was huge, and the crowd loved it. Even so, it was a family night; there were lots of little kids, and none of the drunken rowdyism that typifies some of the similar celebrations back home. Unfortunately, we had to leave before the annual parade; it is something along the lines of the Rose Bowl Parade, featuring lavishly-decorated floats, marching bands, and lots of entertainment. Left: A street-scene from Chinatown and above, the skyline from a roof-top bar in the heart of Chinatown.

We found the local language of Singapore to be a special flavour of English, which the locals call Sing-Lish. This is based on the language imported from the British founders of the port city, and is a little odd to North Americans. Here are some more examples:

• if you have a 'flat' in Singapore, it is likely an apartment, not a punctured tire;
• there are lots of job opportunities for 'confinement nannies'; we are unsure if it is the nanny, or the childern who are being confined;
• local establishments take 'used and spoiled TVs'; we were unaware that a TV could 'spoil', but you never know in this heat! (Could that really be a broken TV?)
• if something is 'not cricket', it is incorrect or as my kids would say, 'bogus';
• a 'push-bike' is what we call a bicycle; as opposed to a 'motor-bike'

Above; the ever-popular Waving Kitty has now been joined by the Waving Dog in view of the advent of the Year Of The Dog.

Things We Saw In Singapore That We Need In Canada:

• a Countdown Clock on the Walk signal so that pedistrians crossing busy streets know how much time they have to get out of the way. Japan has this, but it is only 4 illuminated bars and not an exact timer;
• Auto-Flushing toilets in every public bathroom;
• Taxis that are cheap, clean, new and driven by knowledgeable and friendly drivers. Our cab to the airport was a brand-new Mercedes with leather seats and air conditioning!;

At Right, figurines from Chinese mythology we purchased representing Wealth, Health and Power.

• No tipping and a low, 15% Income Tax. Service employees are paid a good wage and do not expect a tip simply to do their job. Best of all, they do a good job as a matter of course;
• An automated taxi-booking service that ties the dispatch of the cab to the customer with its registration number; no snatching someone else's cab here!
• orderly queue lines for everything; taxis, bank machines, restaurants,
• No Pan-handlers: neither Japan nor Singapore suffer from such a blight on society. There are homeless Japanese who live in tent cities in parks and down by the rivers, but in neither place did someone ever try to tap us with that blood-curdling cry 'Spare Change?' People in this part of the world have respect for each other, pride in themselves, and feel that nobody should get a free ride; Above; me, chatting up one of the locals at Fort Siloso;
• cheap movies; In Singapore we went to a first-run movie in an air-conditioned, modern cinema with stadium seating. Admission, a large Coke and a big tub of popcorn was less than $10 CDN; it would easily be double that at home, and in Japan that would set you back $40!;
• An airport that works: the Singapore Airport has been consistently voted the Best In The World for more than three decades. We can see why as it is efficient, clean, comfortable and offers shopping, restaurants that are cheap and comfortable, and even offers free Internet while you wait!

At right; Just Me and my Lamborghini; in front of the Raffles Town Club, Singapore.

Air Traveller Tip

• to combat 'jet-lag' try to take in plenty of fluids while on a flight; but that should not include alcohol or coffee or tea. A great deal of the wearing effect of flight is due to the dryness of the atmosphere. And, never drink water offered by cabin crew unless it is bottled water. Non-bottled water comes from the aircraft's holding tank - a good source of bacteria. All you have to know is that the flight-crew themselves would never drink from that source!

Meanwhile, it is back to life in Japan. Just to make sure that we realized that we were back on this ancient island, there has been a series of earthquakes over the past few days, all of them over 4.0 on the Richter Scale. Yesterday we were jolted by a quake measuring 5.1, which shut down the subways and stranded 275,000 people! Another tremor this afternoon; shake, rattle and roll!

By the way;

• the top three Asian Exports to North America, (in order); 1- Toys, 2- Footware, 3- electronic goods;
• the top three North American Goods shipped to Asia; 1- Extracted Raw Materials, (such as coal, nickle, potash and boxite), 2.- Scrap Paper, 3.- Scrap Metal.

Above; While Singapore is jammed with excellent restaurants, this is one we were reluctant to try!

Doug-San (Back In Japan) Saying:

Sayonara For Now!