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Most of our previous knowledge of Singapore was conditioned by the news articles about hanging junkies and busting people for chewing gum. We imagined this nanny+police state meddling in everybody's lives. Wrong again. Singapore is very orderly, but it seems more a reflection of its majority Chinese population than the heavy hand of Big Brother. "S'pore" is a major accomplishment, a first-world city-state nestled in the tropics.
Singapore has shopping malls that transcend most people's idea of what a mall can do or be. This one is typical, 6 stories high and as good, or better than any in the US or Australia. Probably the best comparison would be with Tokyo. Along Orchard Rd, Singapore's mega shopping district, houses such as Chanel ,Gucci and Prada line the busy central district. EVERYONE is well draped, sporting at least one recognizable Label. It is amazing. Personally, this Austinite deplores name brands, But..... it would be fun to find just one little ole Chanel suit at a thrift store! Somehow, something tells me that this rich Asian metropolis has no such address!
Singapore resembles New York in that private cars are discouraged and most travel is by taxi or mass-transit. Unlike New York, the subway system is safe, efficient, clean and graffiti-free. It's also cheap, costing a dollar or less to go almost anywhere on the island. As we see above, there are threats involved, although the purpose of this pic is really just to show the "no-durian" sign. The durian is a tropical fruit that is blessed with a odor resembling rancid tofu or bad cheese. Carrying one on a bus would be tantamount to olfactory terrorism. Really, it stinks in a way you cannot imagine. While one sees lots of postings showing huge fines for littering or vandalism, what one never sees are police. No patrol cars, no beat cops. For the most part, Singaporeans just behave themselves.
After spending a week in S'pore fixing the admiral's eyes, we finally left the sterile glass boxes of the city center for cheaper digs in a residential area known for its Peranakan architecture.
Here's our street, Joo Chiat. It forms the red-light district, but in typical S'pore fashion it's squeaky clean but appears to be real BUSY at night, complete with fashionably dressed hookers in hot pants. Oh, note the 7-Eleven store - they're on almost every block. newtest
A colorful area of Singapore which is on every tourists list is Chinatown. Since this island is dominantly Chinese, it almost seems redundant!
A typical feature of a Chinatown is lots of stalls selling cheap stuff, and S'pore outdoes most. In case anybody wonders, the Chinese favor the color red because they believe it's lucky. The numerous lanes and streets are jammed with vibrant shrines , temples and tons of merchandise.
A Hindu temple may appear odd in the heart of Chinatown, but Indians are a major ethnic group in Singapore. This is the truly amazing Sri Mariamman Temple.
"Its all happenin' at the zoo, I do believe its True"! There is no Zoo in the world that tops the Singapore Zoo for landscaping and topography which is creatively woven into the animals' environment. It is absolutely gorgeous. We could have just spent hours on a park bench taking in the rainforest flora , never mind the exotic creatures. The Asians are genuine masters at garden and environmental architecture and the Zoo's charm lies therein. Blessed with a natural rainforest climate, it hosts most animals in a sublime park-like setting.
Cats are my favorite animals. These blue eyed brutes caught our eye and for a seconds we felt like prey! These powerful felines can leap at least 10 meters and the space between us and Them was looking mighty small. We made a quick exit. Giraffes suddenly seemed more interesting. (Note: These tigers were recently in the news after they mauled a zookeeper to death).
Giraffes just look gentle! The info on these kindly critters revealed how little they slumber. Supposedly, they only get 4 hours of shut eye and of that only 8 minutes per hour. Must have been some grad student who figured that out. If lions were my number one enemy I guess it would hold true.
A Malaysian sunbear. Like Winny The Pooh, they specialize in honey.
This guy looks like he's annoyed at being watched, but this was shot behind a one-way glass, a frequent feature in displays that allows the animals to be less disturbed.
These baboons proved to be a bunch of real nit-pickers.
This zoo creature is using his power of camouflage to hide amidst some orchids. Alas, his sheer bulk renders his adaptation less than successful.
We're not sure who enhances whom.
This body of water not only reinforces the idyllic setting, it's also a reservoir of drinking water for the city. True to form, there's a $500 fine for fishing in any of the city's reservoirs.
An example of the rainforest-setting that hints at how the island looked before the British colonized it.
Attack of the giant Chia Pets! The zoo has the largest topiary exhibit in the world. We hope our faithful reader didn't mind a trip to the zoo. We don't normally get to play regular touristas and sometimes it's a nice change of pace. At first we didn't fully appreciate that Singapore offered much to a sight-seeing tourist, but we keep discovering more interesting places here.
This is sorta interesting. This is the shrine in front of the hotel we stayed in that's in the heart of the red-light district. Note the oranges placed as an offering every day. Most Chinese businesses have these shrines out front or on the sidewalk. You might find used condoms in the street but nobody bothers these shrines.
This is a bigger shrine, the Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery (if you think Wikipedia is a tacky reference then look it up yourself). It is the largest Chinese Buddhist monastery outside China.
This place has incredible images. This is Guanyin, who has 1000 eyes and arms to comfort the afflicted. We see Skanda on her left and Sangharama on her right.
The grounds of the monastery are exquisite.
This is the Hall of Precepts. This is where the monks receive their holiest thoughts.
These are some of the 8 life-sized Vajrakumuras; they are intended to protect the monks from the negative qualities that entrap sentient beings.
Now these are gargoyles.
Ditto. The detail is everywhere exquisite, which symbolizes the old saw that "God lives in the Details". Next we visited the Lian Shan Shuang Lin monastery, which is an island of serenity surrounded by a public housing project. It's about 100 years old and is pretty much totally authentic Chinese, being built and restored using materials & artisans imported from China.
The detail here is exquisite as well.
Most of the figures are larger than life-sized, as this lovely tourist can attest.
This "laughing Buddha" is larger than life-sized. Note the fruit offerings.
We suspect this is another Guanyin image, with her 1000 eyes and arms.
We'd guess this is another Sangharama.
Singapore is nothing if not multicultural. This is a Hindu temple in Little India.
The sidewalks of Little India swarm with commerce. You can barely squeeze through and are often forced to walk in the street. Having finished our tourista sojourn, we return to the languid and steamy docks of Sebana Cove Resort & Marina in Malaysia. After much fooling around, we finally departed on our next adventure to Malaysia West!
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