Singapore

August 7th, 2010

All good things must come to an end and today I leave Singapore.  Given the opportunity, I could see myself living there for a few years.  It is hot but great place with many cultures.  The people that I worked with were wonderful and I am glad I got to work with them.  At lunch the introduced me to all sorts of food.  Foo-Leong helped me go down the list of Singapore favorites and I tried hard to try every one of them.  The team including Calvin, Bin and Veron, were very nice and very talented.

Although I am leaving, I am doing so in style.  The world needs to take lessons from Singapore airlines.  Left is a picture of the food section in their business class lounge.  Compare that to the cheese and crackers that United Airlines offers.  Not quite the same experience.

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August  6th, 21010

I went to the Singapore Zoo.  I had doubts if I was going to enjoy it, Zoos can be very iffy.  This was the best Zoo I have been too.  A huge collection of animals that you could get pretty close to.  It was also interactive, you could feed a lot of the animals at certain times.  I think the Orangutan was my favorite.  At the end of the feeding the refused to go away, the zookeepers kept pushing them to go back to their house and they just sat there posing for pictures and waiting for more food.  The last one wasn’t going to leave until it got a carrot.

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August 5th, 2011

I took the Singapore Flyer.  These are the views from the Singapore Flyer.

The old Hill St. Police station

Cathay Movie Theater

Singapore Art Museum

August 5th, 2010

Another day out and about in Singapore.  I took a bus, a boat and went on the Singapore Flyer which is similar to the London Eye but 5 meters higher. I saw the Cathay movie theater and learned it was the first air conditioned movie theater in Singapore.  It is now celebrating its 75th birthday.  The old Hill St. police station was Singapore’s first jail.  During the Japanese occupation, they used to house prisoners.

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August 4th, 2010 – Sentosa Island

Sentosa Island is an island just off the south side of Singapore.  Although it is advertised as Asia’s favorite resort getaway, I wasn’t too impressed.  It isn’t a single park, it is a collection of parks and attractions – each with its own entry fee.  A significant amount of the park was under renovation or still being built.  There is a Universal Studios Park, which of course, I wasn’t interested in so there were only a few things to see and to. I saw the butterfly park and insect kingdom, Fort Siloso and the Sky Tower.   I then headed over to the area where they had pink dolphins and an underwater adventure.

I was going to feed the birds until this one boy who had about five birds on him announced he needed a tissue – he got pooped on.  I was wearing a white shirt and thought I would simply admire the birds without touching them. Continue reading →

August 3rd, 2010

After work, I went walking around the city.  I lucked out, it was sunny.

To the left is a statue of Raffles which marks the landing spot of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles who founded Singapore in 1819 as a British settlement.  He is considered the father of Singapore and his name is everywhere, Raffles hotel, Raffles Place, Raffles Quay, and on and on.

I am not sure how far I walked but it feels like I covered quite a bit of ground.  I walked along the river quay and throughout the business district.

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August 2, 2010

The weather today was sunny and clear – of course, I had to work.

After work, I went to dinner with Foo-Leong who took me to Jumbo Seafood on the East Coast to try more Singaporean favorites.  I have done well with my list of foods to try but there were still more new things to try that sounded delicious.

I was also going to try the Durian fruit – also known as the stinky fruit.  I have heard a lot about this fruit and on the Internet, I found some interesting but funny stories about it.  I wanted to see and try this myself.  It might be an acquired tasted but they really enjoy it in Singapore.

At the Jumbo Seafood restaurant, my co-worker and I ordered a variety of food that was delivered to the table one by one.  It was all very good. I have to say my favorites were the Fried Prawns with Cereal along with the Chili Crab (and the buns to dip in the sauce).  I have never been a large fan of Crab – it is a lot of work and it is messy. Despite the work and mess, I wouldn’t think twice about ordering it again. It was a little spicier than the Chili Crab I had the day before which made it even better. Continue reading →

August 1st, 2010

Finally, a day off!  I was up early and touring Singapore, unfortunately, it rained the entire day.  It didn’t slow me down at all.  I was going to be able to finally take pictures of other things besides building and the Marina Sands Skypark.

Fist stop – the Singapore Botanical Gardens which reminded me of a tropical version of the Huntington Gardens.  I could have spent the entire day there hiking through while enjoying the tropical rainforest.

One of Singapore’s exports is orchids, generating over 13 million US dollars per year.  Or course the Botanical Gardens has a National Orchid Garden.

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