mlchad147
- Apr 24
- 6 min read

April 24, 2024–Singapore

I think Singapore is a really cool place, but it’s also really hot. This tiny island nation lies only one degree north of the equator, and their four seasons are hot, hot, hotter, and hottest. The average humidity is somewhere between sauna and rainstorm, so if you come prepare accordingly. Lightweight, breathable clothes that dry quickly are essential, so leave the cotton tees in your suitcase. And if you’re going to be outside for any length of time, bring along a bottle of water or Gatorade, because it’s important to replace all those fluids you’re going to lose through perspiration. Ordinarily I wouldn’t start a blog post with the climate, but here (and in Saigon, for that matter) it’s such an overwhelming presence that it merits a mention right up front.

So, with that behind us, let me tell you about our day in Singapore, and why I think it’s such a cool place. I love odd facts, and this one alone is so odd that Singapore was already on my cool list before we even got here. Most small countries have had to fight for their independence, or at least negotiate a grudging withdrawal by an occupying power. Singapore falls into neither of those categories. No, Singapore was kicked out of Malaysia. Kicked out. Now if that doesn’t endear you to the place, I don’t know what will. Look it up if you don’t believe me.

On with our day. We were off the ship and moving on our tour bus by 9:00 am, and my first observation (other than the heat) was that this would be an unfortunate place to visit if you have a stiff neck. There are a lot of skyscrapers in the city, with more on the way. Most of them look pretty new, and are quite attractive. The architectural design of many of them is quite creative, and the overall look was definitely pleasing. Our first destination, though, gave us an opportunity to look at them from above, as we headed up to the summit of Mount Faber to take in the scenic views. There’s an awesome gondola that leaves from the summit and takes riders across the harbor to the island of Sentosa, and it looks like a great thing to do if you have the time and the courage. I had neither, so I was quite content to admire it from terra firma and take a few photos.

Today’s tour was focused on exploring Singapore’s multicultural heritage, and our next stop brought us to Little India, where we were greeted by the smell of incense as soon as we stepped off the bus. This was our first closeup look at shop houses, an important feature of old Singapore that is today overshadowed by all the newer skyscrapers. Shop houses date all the way back to Sir Stamford Raffles, the British founder of what became Singapore harbor. Due to the heat, blazing sun and torrential rains Raffles believed that citizens needed to be able to move around the town under cover, so shop owners built connected (think row houses) two floor buildings with their shops on the ground floor and living quarters above. The key feature was that the second floor extended out over the first, giving shoppers and pedestrians a covered walkway to traverse. They’re easy to miss now, as your eyes are constantly drawn to the flashy new buildings, but they’re worth looking for. Singapore’s ethnic communities are full of them, and I enjoyed this little snapshot of the island’s history.

Other than the incense, what stood out for me about the shops in Little India was the vibrant colors. The colors alone were enough to draw me in, and hopefully my photos will give you an idea of how much fun it was to just stroll by and peek in. I would have enjoyed a little more time in Little India, but we had a full agenda and tight schedule, so we moved on, driving through another of Singapore’s ethnic neighborhoods, its Arab section. This was another good place to admire the old shop houses, most of which date back to the 1800s.

Our next actual stop was at the Esplanade Mall. A mall, really, with so much else to see? Yes, but it turned out to be a great stop, because it gave us quick access to some of the best and most iconic views in Singapore. Basically, it was in the front door, out the back door, and just like that we were facing the Esplanade Bridge and Merlion Park, the latter being one of the city’s iconic tourist attractions. The Merlion, half lion and half mermaid, is the symbol of Singapore, and its large, water spouting statue stands in a dominant location in the park, overlooking the Singapore River.

If that isn’t enough, the Esplanade Bridge provides a marvelous view of the Marina Bay Sands, a luxury resort that is probably Singapore’s most iconic building. The Sands is actually three separate 55 floor towers that are joined at the top by a spectacular structure that looks like a gigantic boat. I can’t really describe it, so you’ll just have to check out my photo below and imagine how incredible it looks in person.

Back on the bus, we drove past a number of the city’s important buildings, including the Parliament House and Supreme Court, before stopping for a brief photo at an even more important building, the 135 year old Raffles Hotel. A hotel more important than Singapore’s government buildings? Absolutely, for inside the Raffles, at its legendary Long Bar, bartender Ngiam Tong Boon invented the Singapore Sling in 1915. I’ve never tried one, but I might tonight in his honor. It is, after all, considered Singapore’s national drink.

And what would a visit to a major Asian city be without a stop at its Chinatown. I’m becoming quite an aficionado of Chinatowns, and this one is considerably calmer than a few of the others we’ve visited recently. That’s not to say I didn’t like it, because I did, since it gave me another opportunity to admire the city’s iconic shop houses and do a little shopping of my own. It also had a couple other bonuses, the first of which being an information and visitor center right near the bus parking lot, where we were able to buy a postcard and stamp. There was even a mail drop just outside the building, so we were able to keep our string of postcards mailed home from almost every country alive.

The other bonus was that just down the street from Chinatown there was a Buddhist temple, and a block or two beyond that a Hindu temple. The interior of the Buddhist temple was very impressive, with some really large golden statues, while it was the exterior of the Hindu temple that caught my eye. The colorful stacked figures on the pyramid shaped roof were something I hadn’t seen before, and I spent some time trying to get a good photograph from down below. Hopefully I succeeded.

After that it was back to the ship and the end of a very full tour of Singapore City. I should mention that Singapore is more than the city, though most of the nation’s six million residents live in its urban center. Singapore Island, where the city is, measures 31 miles long by 17 miles wide, dwarfing most of the country’s 62 other islands. The majority of those smaller islands aren’t even inhabited, which I was able to attest to as we sailed past them on our way out this evening.

Tomorrow we’ll be in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, by my count our 26th country. Tomorrow will also be the 137th day of this amazing cruise, marking its halfway point. I’m going to need a little time to wrap my head around that. We’ve seen and done so much, yet still ahead are India, Africa, the Mediterranean, the Baltic, Iceland, Greenland, and down the North American coast. In the short term, after two days in Malaysia it’s off to India and the Taj Mahal, so there’s no letup. I’m trying to learn to pace myself, but it’s hard when almost every day brings a new adventure.

One thing I’ve really enjoyed is writing this blog, so I’ll be sure to keep it going as those adventures continue. I’ll see you again after Kuala Lumpur, so stay tuned.