Singapore

We are here in Singapore and are intrigued by this area. It is an amalgamation of various cultures, the three most prominent being Chinese, Indian, and Malay. It was a British colony in the 1800's only gaining it's independence in the 1960's but still having a strong British influence.  It is stunning and sophisticated and we are enjoying getting to know this area.

It is officially know as the Republic of Singapore and is a southeast Asia state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula and is only 270 square miles. In the early 1800's it hosted the East India Company and that is when its British influence began. It has a massive wealth with the third highest  income per capita in the world. It is a smart and progressive area resembling London or New York  with a tropical rainforest feeling. There are a lot of high rise buildings but most of its life is underground. While the land space is dwindling, they are very intentional about maintaining the aesthetics of the area. They cultivate and maintain the landscape on a daily basis and it is one of the cleanest places we have ever been.

When we arrived and were filling out our customs forms the first four (out of five) questions had to do with what we were bringing into the country.   Were we bringing in any chewing gum,  any alcohol, any tobacco or non-prescribed drugs, and did we have any pornography? Well lets just say I wasn't sure we would get in. I had two packs of gum, a bottle of wine, and a sample of the prescription drug Cipro. I failed the first three admission questions. When I asked about the gum I was told that littering is illegal and that discarding your gum anywhere other than the trash was considered littering. Suffice to say I had to discard my gum upon my arrival!

We find ourselves out and about most of the day taking the open air  bus tours to see the city and stopping to eat and visit at different places along the way. The town has different cultural areas. Little India, the Arab district, and China town for example. We have eaten  something new everyday and are not sure what half of it is. We watch the locals as they order and add various condiments and we do the same. We have not been disappointed yet! We have found a little 'Halker' stand…this is really like a food court…with a variety of different foods. Things like pig gut soup bars to Thai food and a variety of drink stands. I tried a durian fruit smoothie and a barley tea. The durian fruit has an interesting taste and a strong odor (I did not notice it myself) so there are places where it is not allowed because of the smell. The locals drink it all the time and claim great health benefits. Most of the time I let (ask..ok order for) Tom the more exotic things and take a bite or drink  of his. He is good sport about this and we have had the opportunity to try many different things. Each morning we do have have a warm bowl of porridge.  We had seen our friends Khoa, Aylene, and Jamie who are from Viet Nam have this once and so we have it each morning ourselves. It is a bowl of hot chicken broth with warmed rice and an egg in it. They top it with spoonfuls of shredded ginger and it is delicious!

The night life is spectacular! We have taken the river cruises at night to see the beauty that is only the city of Singapore. We dress up in our finest but we definitely look underdressed. We take the various forms of public transportation to see and know the area from many perspectives. We have learned that the people work hard and late into the night, no one talks about religion or politics in public, and respect and politeness is to be shown to all. They are quiet and soft spoken and do not draw attention to themselves in dress or mannerisms. We are delighted to be here.

Soon we will move on to Thailand. We had considered taking the bus to Kuala Lumpur in northern Malaysia and then flying onto to Bangkok from there. We opted to reverse that order…leaving Thailand and going through Malaysia on our way back to Singapore. We plan to return via the same route we arrived on and pray for continued favor with our travels.

We are just now beginning to unwind and relax and look forward to our time in Thailand. We plan four days in Bangkok and then will head north to where the weather is cooler and life moves a little slower.  We are letting go of the 'to do' agendas…well, we are planning a cooking class and massages but after that we will just be.

We know that those of you who read this are near and dear to our hearts and so know that you are missed and loved. Each and every beautiful place reminds us of the beauty that is you in our lives.