Colorful Singapore – An Island, a City, a Republic

Vividly Colored Parrots on Sentosa Island, Singapore

Those who visit Singapore today would find it difficult to imagine that when Singapore gained its independence, it not only had few natural resources, but it was also politically unstable and economically underdeveloped. Despite being the smallest country in Southeast Asia, today Singapore is the 22^nd wealthiest country in the world with a foreign reserve of almost $120 billion USD! 

Its high standard of living is evident, and there are very stringent laws for citizens as well as visitors.  There are strict fines for littering, and gum is not allowed at all (a school teacher’s dream)!  Those caught trafficking drugs receive a death sentence.  Pollution that is so evident in other Asian countries is under control in Singapore.  For example, we heard that to help control pollution, driving is very limited.  It reminds me of the watering regulations during the summer where if you have an even numbered house you can water on even days, and if you have an odd numbered house you can water on odd days.  They do something similar here, but with car license plates.  Odd numbers can drive on odd days, and even numbers can drive on even days.  Since both Chuck and I have odd numbered license plates, we would be in trouble, I guess!  I can’t even begin to imagine the outcry that would bring in the US!  But apparently it works here! 

Located on the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, it was the site of several ancient port cities and has been owned by several empires throughout its history.  Before being colonized by the United Kingdom in the 19^th Century, it was Malay fishing village.  During World War II, it was taken over by Japan, but later became part of a merger that established Malaysia before gaining its independence and taking off as a small but viable nation.     

As we sailed into Singapore the first day, we passed through the Malaccan Strait, one of the busiest waterways in the world.  Just 10 miles wide, bordered on one side by Singapore and on the other side by Indonesia, it is teeming with ships and boats of all sizes.  We were astounded at the sheer numbers of ships as well as very small one-man fishing boats that passed us by going in one direction or the other as we approached our destination.  There were times when we could count more than 20 vessels visible on our side of the ship, some of which passed so close that we could practically have shaken hands. 

Our arrival was scheduled for 2:00 PM, and we had a shore excursion that was scheduled to go out as soon as we docked.  We had had to rethink what we were taking because just as we sailed in, the skies opened up and some thunderstorms moved in.  We wanted to be absolutely sure that we had everything necessary for the afternoon because it takes awhile to clear security in Singapore.  Not only do we have to show passports every time we get off the ship, but we also have to pass through body scanners on our way out.  Coming back in, we have to show our passports at two checkpoints as well as scanners again.  The trek from ship to shore to ship is the longest we’ve ever experienced – more or less like walking to the farthest gate possible at O’Hare!  Ugh!  You do not want to forget something on the ship once you head out for the day in Singapore! 

Last year when we were there we did the Singapore Highlights tour that took us to the most popular visitor attractions (the Botanical Garden, the iconic Singapore Merlion, the Raffles Hotel, as well as various ethnic neighborhoods); we also did the Night Safari, which was a zoo where we could visit nocturnal animals after dark when they are most active. 

We had considered doing the Jurong Bird Park also, but opted to leave that shore excursion for this year since we knew we would be back again.  As the bus headed toward the park, our guide passed out maps that were well marked with the route she would be following on a guided walk.  We were given the option of going with her or doing it on our own.  We decided that we would venture out on our own because if we had to wait for 30 people to take pictures every time we stopped to look at the birds, we would end up missing some of the other things we wanted to see.  This proved to have good points and one bad point, the good far outweighing the bad.  (The only bad was that because we were doing our own thing, we spent the entire 2½ hours walking, and we didn’t sit down at all.  The others enjoyed a tram ride through the park and watched a bird show, both of which we could have done, but timings were wrong.) 

Our first stop was the Penguin Coast.  The first birds we saw sure didn’t look like penguins, and they were flying!  I commented to Chuck that they looked more like puffins than penguins.  When we finally located the plaque that described the birds, we discovered that they were … Atlantic puffins!  All those times I hoped to see puffins on the Atlantic, and I had to come to Singapore to see them!  They are cute little birds though!  We moved on from there to other species such as the King penguins as well as the Humboldt penguins we had seen two months ago in Peru.  (Well, they weren’t the exact same birds, but they were the same species!)

By the time we left the penguin house, the other people from our tour who were doing the park independently had wandered off and we didn’t see anyone from the ship again until we returned to the starting point.   Even though it was a Sunday, the park didn’t appear to be terribly busy so we were able to spend time enjoying the birds and waiting to catch that perfect photo.  They certainly did have some unusual and colorful birds.  It would be impossible to name all the various kinds of birds that we saw, but they definitely were fascinating!  The hornbills in particular were quite unique!  I’d never seen such strange-looking beaks!  Those poor guys don’t know they look weird, but they sure did! 

One of my favorite stops was what they called Lory Loft.  Americans don’t have anything that begins to compare to the vivid colors of the lorikeets that are prevalent in this area of the world!  Our Aussie friends John & Gerda commented that they have lorikeets in their backyard all the time.  Lucky them!  Our robins and goldfinches are colorful, but certainly not the vibrant color of these little birds.  Naturally I opted to pay for a small dish in order to feed them, and all of a sudden I found myself surrounded by lorikeets, up to four or five at a time perching on my hand, wrist, or shoulder waiting to grab some grub.  One was using my baby finger as a branch; it was holding on for dear life with one of its claws dug deep into the skin.  Ouch!  Singapore sits at 1° N Latitude, so needless to say, it is hot!  Combine that with the humidity left from the downpour we’d had earlier, and I looked like I was in a sauna!  Any pictures posted on Picasa of me with the lorikeets will show you just how hot I felt! Maybe I was just trying to match the brightly feathered birds that were perching on my shoulders and wrists?

In the section the described as Dinosaur Descendants, we enjoyed watching large birds such as ostriches, rheas, and cassowaries. We were particularly interested in seeing the cassowary up close.  Last year we saw one in Australia, but he didn’t cooperate; instead he hid in the bushes.  Here one of the cassowaries came right up by the fence, and we could see every detail! A large and distinct flightless bird related to the emu, a cassowary is adorned with a colorful head and a horny crest.  Apparently cassowaries can be rather mean, but these didn’t show that side!  They also have interesting feathers – it looks more like they’re covered in fur!

As we continued on our way through the park, we saw three species of flamingoes wading in nearby pools.  I couldn’t help but think of our cousin Jenny, who absolutely loves flamingoes!  When we visited her family a few years ago, I got a kick out of sleeping in her room:  it was a veritable flamingo explosion!  She would really have enjoyed seeing all these colorful birds.  There were flocks of very pale-colored greater and lesser flamingoes from Africa as well as bright coral-colored Caribbean flamingoes! 

By the time we had finished walking the park, I felt like I had spent 2½ hours fully-clothed in a steam bath!  I was soaked to the skin.  However, we had thoroughly enjoyed seeing all these unique and beautiful birds!

The second day in Singapore was wide open.  Last year we had considered going over to the island of Sentosa, a resort area and theme park which we could see from the ship, but we just didn’t have a chance to get there.  We decided we would see if we could walk around the island without having to purchase theme park tickets. We set out early in the day and found our way to the tram station, located in a shopping mall connected to the cruise port.  And yes, we could go over on the tram and stroll around without doing the theme parks.  The tram ride was very short fortunately because the tram car we were in had exactly two seats! 

We got off at the first stop and started wandering around.  The first thing I saw was a Chili’s.  Oh, that looked tempting – a nice flavor of home, especially having seen that night’s dinner menu, with absolutely nothing that appealed to me!  But we bypassed it (for the time being) and headed toward Hard Rock Café so I could pick up my shot glass. I had started collecting Hard Rock shot glasses back in 2000 because they are small and relatively inexpensive souvenirs of Hard Rocks in the cities I’ve visited.  So far this year, this is the first I’ve managed to purchase!  And Singapore has such a good deal!  You get two shot glasses for one!  (However, one shot glass costs twice as much as in other Hard Rocks!  Hmm…  Not such a great deal after all!  Talk about a marketing gimmick!  Same thing happened last year when I picked up a shot glass in Singapore – only place in the world that I had to buy two to get one.  So now I have four Singapore shot glasses – two that say Singapore and two that say Singapore Sentosa.) 

Since we had arrived on the island at about 10:00 and the Hard Rock (and other things) didn’t open till 11:00, we did a lot of walking around just enjoying looking at what they had to offer.  We saw the Universal Theme Park entrance, but we weren’t even tempted a little to go there.  (However, Chili’s was still calling me!) 

We did go to Chili’s – I think Chuck would have preferred to go back to the ship, but the thought of those chips was just too tempting for me.  So that’s exactly what we did.  Expensive, but that taste of home was just what I needed!   From there we headed up to the Merlion statue.  Last year we saw the “real” Merlion – the symbol of Singapore that sits in the harbor.  This merlion is larger than the original and sits atop a hill on the island of Sentosa.  We were surprised to see that this one didn’t shoot water until we saw people appear in the open mouth of the statue.  That was when we realized that people can actually enter it and climb to the top, presumably for an overlook point where they can see the park. 

After seeing the merlion, we decided it was time to head back.  Although it wasn’t quite as hot and humid as the first day, it was still pretty uncomfortable.  So we hopped on the tram, this time getting into a car with about a dozen seats.  I guess it was early enough in the day that people weren’t heading back to Singapore yet because we did get to sit for the ten minute ride back.  Since we had had to hunt for the tram, it was a challenge to wend our way back through the maze of two connected malls to the cruise port.  Fortunately everything was in English so we managed without too much difficulty. 

It felt good to relax for awhile before heading out into the mall one last time to get rid of those last Singapore dollars. I was glad to be back on the ship for good after having had to navigate the security so often as we came and went.  Had we had the difficulties in Singapore that we did in Nha Trang getting everything needed in the right place (requiring several trips to and from the ship within about a half hour), we would have spent the entire port time going through security!  However, I guess it’s a small price to pay for such strict laws in a country that is thriving in an area where many other countries struggle to raise their standard of living.  Singapore is a beautiful country! 

BT

P.S. After three days in a row of trips to the Medical Center, it looks like I’m starting to get things under control.  Two were minor issues (small rash and very bloodshot eye), and the third was trying to get relief from the constant coughing, which was irritating my throat, which caused me to cough more.  The vicious cycle needed to be broken, and with some stronger cough syrup, it seems to have done the trick.  Not totally over the cough, but it is much, much better.  And yes, I’m still having foot problems, but the doctor insists that it will take weeks for it to heal. So I have to be patient… Thanks to those of you who have asked.