Steve and Cathy's Blog

We arrive in Singapore at the Singapore Cruise Center – one of two in the city – around 10:00am. But already we are dazzled by what we see. Singapore and Shanghai share the honors of being the two biggest container ports in the world. Singapore’s is essentially a transshipment terminal where containers are transferred off of one ship and on to another. There are containers, ships and gantry cranes everywhere. We can tell right then, way before seeing the downtown area, that we have arrived somewhere special.

Book after book has been written about the history and economy of this city-state. It would be of no value for Cathy and me to do it here in this post. And I make this excuse not out of laziness but of caution, because there is so much of interest to explore about Singapore. But for anyone who might be interested in gaining a modest understanding of this amazing place, here is the Wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore. It is fascinating.

By the way, the links won’t work from our post but would on the actual Wikipedia entry, so here are just two paragraphs of that Wikipedia article as an introduction to this post: “Stamford Raffles founded colonial Singapore in 1819 as a trading post of the British East India Company; after the latter’s collapse in 1858, the islands were ceded to the British Raj as a crown colony. During the Second World War, Singapore was occupied by Japan. It gained independence from the UK in 1963 by federating with other former British territories to form Malaysia, but separated two years later over ideological differences, becoming a sovereign nation in 1965. After early years of turbulence and despite lacking natural resources and a hinterland, the nation developed rapidly as an Asian Tiger economy, based on external trade and its workforce.

“Singapore is a global commerce, finance and transport hub. Its standings include: the most “technology-ready” nation (WEF), top International-meetings city (UIA), city with “best investment potential” (BERI), third-most competitive country, third-largest foreign exchange market, third-largest financial centre, third-largest oil refining and trading centre and the second-busiest container port. The country has also been identified as a tax haven.”

Superlatives abound whenever Singapore is the topic of conversation. As mentioned in our last post, the Enrichment Lecturer on our ship, Peter Croyle, gave his introductory talk a couple of days before we got here, and he was hard-pressed to contain his enthusiasm. As we are now recounting our short visit, we understand the difficulty. So as we describe what we did and saw here, we will have to often jump from subject to subject, giving just what we heard from our guides on our excursions and our general impressions formed as we traveled about.

We leave the ship at 1:00pm to go on the excursion entitled The Spirit of Singapore, a four-hour introduction to this city. By the way, it is formally known as the Republic of Singapore. We will use shorthand and call it a city, but it is actually a city, a country and, essentially, an island (with 62 other islets). It is only 278 square miles in size, with a population of 5.6 million.

Our first introduction to the city is their Immigration procedure. It is, shall we say, thorough. We have had to fill out a special form (with the help of Oceania, of course), and we are to carry our passports with us at all times. We will present this form and our passport to Immigration as we leave the ship. They will examine our passport, scan our passport and record our thumbprints every time we leave the ship or return to the ship. On our first pass through Immigration, they will also stamp our passport and this form, tearing off a part of it for us to keep with the passport.

The government here means business. While it is universally judged to be among the world’s most efficient and least corrupt, the governmental authorities are also completely no-nonsense. Right as you enter the country, there are signs that say “Conviction For Drug Trafficking Is Punishable By Death,” and they mean every word of it. Murder is also punishable by death, and the only escape from them carrying out that verdict is a pardon from the President or the Supreme Court, which we are told is highly unlikely. Defendant: “But judge, I am just a poor boy that made a mistake because I have no money. I promise I won’t do it again.” Judge: “Tough shit. You die. Bye bye.”   Result: no drug problem in Singapore. Badda Bing. Badda Boom.

Peter Croyle told us of a t-shirt he saw that read on the front: “Singapore is a Fine City.” On the back was a list of some of the things you will be fined for, including chewing gum (when they built their light rail system, they started seeing gum on the floor of the cars, so they banned the damn stuff throughout the city). There are CCTV cameras everywhere and plenty of police watching what those cameras picture. Littering – $500 Fine. Fishing in Marina Bay – $3,000 Fine.

Singapore takes the Broken Window Theory of policing to a whole new level, and we in the U.S.A. would rebel under such scrutiny, but it does get results. There is absolutely no litter –including the ubiquitous cigarette butts littering our sidewalks. Traffic is busy but the drivers are respectful (rarely if ever do you hear a horn). You can walk practically anywhere anytime with little to worry about. Pickpockets and purse snatchers? Not here. The urban mayhem that exists almost everywhere else in the world is largely nonexistent in Singapore. At this point, it’s probably more the culture than law enforcement that keeps it that way, but it sure does feel comfortable when you are here.

After Immigration and a long trek through the immaculate Cruise Ship Center, we enter a huge shopping mall called Harbor Front to meet our guide Jeremy. More about the mall later. Once our group is all assembled, Jeremy calls the bus and it arrives and we board (Buses are not allowed to just hang out in front of the mall waiting for their passengers). Jeremy explains that we will be going to make three primary stops: National Orchid Garden, Marina Bay to see the Merlion and Chinatown. He is humorous about it but does say: “I will let you know how much time we will spend at each stop. I ask you to be prompt. I have been a tour guide now for sixteen years, and I no longer have a problem leaving someone behind.” Good, think the pathologically prompt Knights.

The National Orchid Garden is within the Singapore Botanical Garden, which is proudly Singapore’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site. We are told that the orchid garden contains 60 million orchids. And while we lost count after just a few hundred, we believe it. Steve doesn’t know an orchid from a dandelion, and even he is in awe of the beauty of the place. Because Singapore is only 85 miles from the Equator, and the humidity is stifling, and the area gets ninety inches a rain per year, the city is virtually one big greenhouse and orchids flourish here. I may do a whole Facebook post on the flowers we saw. It is that impressive. We get to spend an hour here; an hour very well spent.

As we travel along, Jeremy explains the housing situation here. Because of the population density, housing is breathtakingly expensive, so only 20% of the citizens live in condos, and those condos go for a fortune. 80% of the citizens live in public housing, but it isn’t public housing like we think of it. The government builds these enormous high-rise apartment buildings, and people buy these apartments from the government. These 900-1,000 square-foot, 3 BR, 2 bath apartments go for the equivalent of US$500,000, but the government also provides financing if needed.

There are a few restrictions. First of all, you must be married in order to qualify. But … if you are at least 35 years old, that requirement is waived. You “own” the apartment for 99 years, and can pass it down to your next of kin for one generation. After that, ownership reverts back to the government. The ones we saw looked pretty darn nice, and I would bet you that the residents wouldn’t dare to make a mess of them. Below are a couple of examples.

One of the many well-thought-out government programs (Did you ever think you would see the words “well-thought-out” and “government” in the same sentence?) is this public housing. Knowing that the lack of space and the burgeoning population would quickly put private housing out of reach for anyone not making a fortune, the government created a private-sector-like solution so that people of all income levels could afford to live there, and that there would be room for teachers, police and so many others staffing the hundreds of thousands of businesses in the city to live near where they work.

While we’re on the subject, citizenship in Singapore is not easy to get. As a result, there are well over 1.6 million foreign workers in Singapore, mainly from Southeast Asia and Bangladesh. They are categorized as either Skilled or Unskilled. Skilled can stay here indefinitely and become citizens. Unskilled cannot achieve citizenship. They are allowed to stay in the country for up to ten years, but they don’t get to be in on the public housing deal or share in many benefits, including government medical care. The government realizes this problem is going to get worse, and, at the rate they’re going, that by 2050, non-citizens will outnumber citizens, which creates a whole new set of problems.

One of the long-term solutions that the government is trying to implement is to upgrade their manufacturing base. Heavy industry is being deemphasized, and high-tech, high-skill light manufacturing is being lured or protected through incentives. This appears to be working, as Singapore ranks in the top five electronics manufacturing centers in the world.

Another problem that the government is addressing is the birth rate of Singaporians, which is among the lowest in the world. This is largely due to their lofty standard of living, and mirrors the fertility rates in many other first world economies. The government has established a set of incentives for women (women that are citizens, that is) to have more children.

On our way from the Botanical Gardens to Marina Bay, Jeremy explains that the government is described as the “City in a Garden” as there are many, many parks. Further evidence of the validity of that description is the fact that two million trees have been planted along the roads of Singapore, and they are maintained by the same government department that maintains the beautiful Botanical Gardens.

We pass through Orchard Road, the main shopping district of Singapore. Shopping as a recreational activity has achieved new heights in Singapore. Every high-end emporium on earth must have one or more stores here. As we drive down this street lined with multi-story malls and stores, our guide points out a Louis Vuitton store: “Say you have purchased a handbag at Louis Vuitton and have left the store and are walking down Orchard Road. It hits you that perhaps you have to get just one more bag. But here in Singapore, you do not have to turn around and go back to the store, because [as he points out the window of the bus which has gone all of a quarter of a mile since he began this story] here is another Louis Vuitton store right along your way.” He does say that the Orchard Road stores have seen a significant decrease in traffic due to online shopping, and that there is concern for the economic health of the area.

As we travel through the city, we see many of the government buildings, of course. Our guide Jeremy points to one and says that this is the old Supreme Court building and then points to the circular structure and says that this is the new Supreme Court building. He adds: “The new building has been the inspiration for many Alien movies.” We thought you’d get a kick out of this, so here’s what he is talking about:

When we arrive at Marina Bay, we spend a few minutes listening to our guide as he describes what we are seeing. Marina Bay is a completely new area that started building in the 1980s. It is entirely reclaimed land (except for the bay itself, of course). There is a huge two-building Esplanade-Theatres on the Bay center where live musical performances are given, another mall called Esplanade Mall, a children’s amusement center with all kinds of blow-up bouncy things, and a magnificent view of the financial center.

And there is the Merlion, which is an iconic statue referring to the origins of the city. As stated in the Wikipedia article I referenced earlier: “The Merlion is the national personification of Singapore. Its name combines “mer”, meaning the sea, and “lion“. The fish body represents Singapore’s origin as a fishing village when it was called Temasek, which means “sea town” in Javanese. The lion head represents Singapore’s original name—Singapura—meaning “lion city” or “kota singa”. The symbol was designed by Alec Fraser-Brunner, a member of the Souvenir Committee and curator of the Van Kleef Aquarium, for the logo of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) in use from 26 March 1964 to 1997 and has been its trademarked symbol since 20 July 1966.” It’s actually quite whimsical, and is a huge tourist magnet. Photos are below.

The most photographed building in Singapore has to be the Marina Bay Sands Hotel seen across the bay. This three-tower gigantic hotel has 2,561 rooms in its 57-stories. On the rooftop than spans the three towers is a viewing walk surrounding the building, a restaurant and bar and an enormous “infinity” pool. There is an enormous casino connected to the building, and is a city unto itself. It cost $8 billion to build, much of it the land acquisition costs. It is an extravaganza which we will visit tonight and tomorrow on another tour as well. Photo below.

Our last stop of the day is Chinatown. 70% of the city’s population is Chinese, but, like so many cities around the world, Singapore has a quaint and interesting Chinatown district loaded with shops and restaurants. There are also two temples that we could visit. Having been to the Shwedagon in Yangon, Myanmar just a few days ago, we decline and go souvenir shopping. It’s a nice area and we are glad that we went, but the heat is starting to get to us wimpy Americans.

Our tour brings us back to the bus around 5:00pm, which is good, because we are going out that evening. Our friends Larry and Kari Noomen have decided to stay at the Marina Bay Sands that night in celebration of Kari’s birthday and the arrival of their son Nick and his wife Alex, who will be accompanying them on the next two cruise segments. We have been invited to celebrate Kari’s birthday with them (as have a bunch of people), so at 7:00pm, we team up with Tim and Karen Newton from Vancouver BC and another couple and take a cab to the immense Marina Bay Sands Hotel mentioned above.

Larry meets us in the lobby, which is a good thing. The place is crazy busy, and the security is pretty heavy as many, many people want to go up to the restaurant and bar on the 57^th floor. Larry leads us to the elevator, but since we are a few minutes early, instead of going to the restaurant where the party is to be held, we get to see their room on the 40^th floor. It overlooks Marina Bay, and the view is, to say the least, spectacular. The sun has set, and the skyline of the Singapore financial district is amazing to see. The windows in the room go from floor to ceiling, giving us close to a feeling of vertigo as we stand looking out. We are thrilled for them to have this opportunity, and secretly wonder how much they paid for this one-night stay.

Then we go up to the 57^th floor. It is now 7:30pm, and we are going to be in the restaurant and bar area. The place is huge, with many tables inside but also many outside wrapped around half of the building. The place is packed, because, at 8pm, there is going to be a light show on the bay put on each evening. There is also a light show at 7:45 on the other side at Supertree Grove, a “grove” of five 100-foot tall artificial “trees” made up of strings of lights. We watch this show for a few minutes, when Larry summons us back to their side of the building as people are starting to jockey for position for the bay-side light show.

The show goes on right at 8:00pm and is it quite lovely. Having said that, it is no doubt much more spectacular at ground level rather than at the 600-foot level where we are, especially because it is accompanied by music, which we can’t hear because the bar music drowns out most of the sound.  But here are a few of the scenes we see:

Out comes the Prosecco, white wine, red wine and wooden trays of pizza. We all wish Kari a Happy Birthday. There are probably twenty of us at least, all at tables that seat four. It is a typical cocktail party, with lots of conversation with shipmates, and we have a good time and feel honored to have been included in this event.  In the photo below, Kari and Larry are on the left:

We only stay until 9:30 however. For two reasons: 1) we are lightweights, and 2) Steve will be tortured by personal trainer Sho tomorrow at 6:30. We grab a cab back to the ship. The driver is a very friendly guy who has moved here from Shanghai, and we have an enjoyable conversation on the way.

This has been a very hectic introduction to one of the world’s great cities. Tomorrow, we have another tour of this city of superlatives. We need to sleep fast.