Yikes. It has taken me nearly 3 times as long as our "Operation Circumnavigation" trip actually lasted as the time it's taken me to chronicle it here. At this point, I realize that the only people likely reading these travel entries are my parents ("my mom thinks I'm cool" - Golemo, you know what I'm talkin' about), but I gotta finish what I started, so thanks for bearing with me. I've realized that the older I get, the more I forget, and this "journal" can't get lost in any flood so here goes...
Day 7
(Singapore, Singapore)
I suspect a linkage here... Mikie booked all of our travel for this trip, and let me just tell you the man is the Galileo of 1-way travel planning. Every leg of the journey was 1-way; no room for error, no room for delays (insert laughter here from the Mumbai International Airport air traffic controllers who tried their best to thwart our schedule at every turn). The folks working for the Singapore FAA, however must be in bed with the folks running the Visitor's Bureau because no matter where you are going in the world, if you go through the island microstate of Singapore, you can COUNT on a 6+ hour layover.
Ours was 8 hours. And, we arrived at like 9am. Yes, I brought playing cards and mini scrabble on the trip in case of sporadic down-time, but for 8 hours? No - we had to figure out an alternative plan!
Coincidentally, the Singapore tourism bureau has a rather large kiosk right outside the customs gate that you have to go through when you deplane. And, surprise - you don't need a visa to visit Singapore, so it's great for a quick weekend getaway. (not really from the USA, though as it's like a 22 hour flight) And - another surprise - the luxury coach that will take you on the scenic 20 minute jaunt into town is offered by the Bureau - FREE! And, they'll lock up your bags for you so you can explore hands-free (which we didn't find out until after we got back to the airport so we hoofed it around the place like pack mules, but that's okay).
I'll admit that they had me at hello from the air, though. This place was beautiful from above - it appeared to be so green and lush, but there were huge skyscrapers dotted around, climbing above the tree line. The harbor was massive and there were hundreds of ships awaiting their turn at the port (which, might I add worked in complete harmony with the very navigable, livable, tourist and resident-friendly 274-sq. mile community - hint, hint to our 208-sq.mile Island of Gtown!)
Plus, it was like mid November and the airport was already decked - and I mean DECKED - out in Christmas decorations - and they were playing Christmas music! I mentioned how awesome I thought that was to one of the flight attendants walking near us and she smiled really big and said "Oh, we started doing that November 7th". Hello, nurse! A Christmas freak myself, I knew I was going to like it here already.
The entire town was decorated for Christmas too - apparently they have a ton of festivals year-round and they decorate big-time for most of them. Above left is the MerLion Harbor Plaza - the sea-lion creature is Singapore's trademark symbol.
This place has a FLOATING soccer field in the middle of the harbor for crying out loud!! One of the - literally - largest tourist attractions at 165 meters (over 540 feet) high is the Singapore Flyer -
it's basically a gigantic ferris wheel on steroids. You get into this clear capsule that lets you see an amazing 360-degree view of the city while a pre-recorded narrative talks about the country's (yes, Singapore is an Island, Republic, Country, and City - and member of the United Nations) history, geography and industry. I also found out here that I'm afraid of heights - and as soon as Michael discovered that fact, he tried to sway our little capsule off its hinges. Ahh, but that's the Culpepper way:
Some interesting facts about Singapore we learned from our tour guide: 84% of Singapore's population lives in public housing - you can only purchase government property, says the government, if you are married and one of you is from Singapore - OR, if you are single and Singapore, you can purchase property, but only if you're over 35 years old. Singapore gave aid to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and they "rent" airspace over Oklahoma to practice military training in dropping bombs.
We are happy to report we did not witness any floggings while in Singapore.
