Thirty-five years ago, this was a third world country according to those who visited then. Under the strict direction of Lee Kuan Yew, the city rivals Hong Kong and Shanghai for new construction and shopping malls.
Pan Pacific, our hotel, is a beautiful four-star high rise where we were greeted by a personal concierge who helped us plan our stay. Our ride on another hop on, hop off bus showed us more places to visit than our time allows. Hungry after the ride we headed for a spot along the Singapore River and Marina, a major tourist destination. Lee cleaned the Singapore River where boys used to dive into a sludge of rubbish (see photo)
and made it a destination for walking, tourist boats, sculptures and wonderful dining.
At Forum Seafood , we enjoyed a slightly spicy chili crab and roasted vegetable lunch. Using sweetened rolls, we sopped up the spicy sauce. This is a signature dish of Singapore that we would love to find at home. Jerry, a real crab lover, got up to his wrists in his food while Anna Lee, who doesn’t like to touch her food, opted for help from a server.
Our docent led tour of the Asian Civilizations Museum taught us that no evidence of an indigenous population has been found. This area has always been a trade route with shards from other Asian countries and from Europe left behind. The trading port established by the Portugese was transformed by Brit Sanford Raffels into a free port that still booms. Inhabited mostly by men, expats, Chinese laborer and Indian money lenders, it was successful and seedy. Lee got rid of the seedy part and the success is evident in business buildings, mansions, golf courses, parks, retail malls and the port.
As we left the museum, the skies opened giving us a chance to converse with our young docent and a somewhat older woman. They explained that education and health care are expensive. Any subsidies for the poor provide very minimal medical treatment. There is no unemployment insurance or social security. The younger generation are getting lax in supporting their parents and a recent law is requiring them to do so. Newspaper accounts talked of the need for military defense against Malaysia and Indonesia who covet Singapore’s success.
We had booked a night safari at the zoo before we left. This is a popular activity for all ages. Our fast food dinner there included another spicy soup for Jerry and a succulent chicken and rice for Anna Lee. We expected nocturnal animals, instead our tram ride took us past dimly lit habitats of lions, water buffalo, and other animals of Asia and Africa. The narrative emphasized conserving and reestablishing the rain forest. The animal show after our ride was quite good with the trainer alternating amusing banter with the audience with lessons in animal behavior and endangerment.
In the morning, eager to get out and about, we grabbed dim sum at Pic a Bit, a fast food restaurant. Then we took the spotless, efficient subway to Little India to find the Pongal Festival. This three day holiday includes housecleaning, cow and goat painting, and giving thanks to those animals for all they provide.
A chance encounter at a shopping mall provided a performance of dancing lions for the Chinese New Year. Two agile men were in the costume. Using some sort of pulls, they made the dragon’s face express fear, amusement and surprise. We were surprised as the “dragon” pounced up on posts and began to dance.
Needing to refuel, we found a lovely mochi (Asian dessert) place in the mall. Then we headed to the Bird Park stopping to pay respect to the penguins. We particularly enjoyed seeing the range of hornbills, toucans and lories.
We floated on the river enjoying the skyline on our last night of this amazing trip.
After more wandering on our last day, we enjoyed another Singapore specialty, a luscious noodle soup with wonderfully blended spices.
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