Singapore 2002

Singapore is a city of neighborhoods. One of these is Chinatown. During my stay, I had lunch here one day in the Yam Cha restaurant. Before lunch, however, I had a chance to walk around. There are many shops selling Chinese groceries ... stuff like Sea Cucumbers, Bird's Nests, and such. Many had these neat tea urns out in front. Very ornate and attractive.

Also in Chinatown were open air vegetable markets. All were colorful and in this one I was intrigued by what appeared to be carnivorous vegetables.

Many of the Chinatown shops had small statues like this one out in front. This was about 3 feet tall.

Sydney has its Opera House, and on the day I visited, Singapore opened its Esplanade. Dubbed the Theaters on the Bay, it is a unique spiky dome 6 years in construction. I guess it looks no more out of place than Seattle's Experience Music Project.

The picture above was taken from Merlion Park. If a mermaid is a combination of a woman and a fish, the merlion is a combination of a lion and a fish and symbolizes Singapore. There's a huge statue here with the skyline of Singapore in the background. The word Singapore is a combination of two old Malay words: Singa (lion) and Pore (city) ... Lion City.

There were many sculptures scattered around Merlion Park. This is representative of the more modern of them. Singapore is generally a very clean city, but the park was uncharacteristically littered.

In the park, there are actually two Merlion fountains. In the foreground, one about 12 feet tall. In the background one about 50 feet tall.

It's a congenital weakness ... I am not really a flower and garden fan. So it is surprising that one of the hits of my visit was the Orchid Garden. Here on a little over an acre of hillside were thousands of Orchids growing out in this open garden. Singapore has a warm humid climate but the temperatures tend to cool somewhat in the evenings. Perfect for Orchids. I probably took 150 pictures here.

These are the best five.

Many of the Orchids were named by their creators ... which is to say the people who developed the particular hybrid. Many were named ceremonially for famous people who had visited Singapore. Margaret Thatcher has an Orchid named for her here.

All the flowers were delicately colored.

Really, of the sites I saw this trip, this was one of the best and most memorable. Surprised me.

At Raffles Landing, there is a statue of a Englishman named Raffles who discovered Singapore. I suppose the Singaporeans knew where they'd left the place but the Brits couldn't remember ... hence the need for discovery. Lots of things here are named Raffles including the Raffles hotel which is notable for inventing the Singapore Sling and as a hangout for the rich and famous of the last century.

The Singapore River flows through the heart of the city on its way to the bay. Around the river are homes, office buildings, parks and such. It was pleasant to be in the shade for awhile. The weather was hot and humid and shade felt cool by comparison.

Homes in Singapore are often of the vertical kind. Here are two apartment towers perched on the banks of the river.

In this picture, there is a sculpture of young children leaping into the river. It is of a style you may be familiar with. Hyper-realistic, and full of action. Behind the sculpture is the Fullerton Hotel.

One of the neighborhoods in Singapore is known as Arab Street. In times past this was a focal point for Singapore's Malay community. Today it is a Muslim area centered around the Sultan Mosque.

This is a beautiful mosque at a manageable scale. Elsewhere on this website there are pictures of grand mosques in Casa Blanca and Kuala Lumpur. This mosque would fit inside either of the other two.

It is impressive not because of its size, but rather because of its simple elegance. Very pretty. Don't miss it if you come to Singapore.

The inside of the mosque, which was open to the public, is richly decorated. Here is an example, a chandelier-styled lamp hanging near the entrance.

One of the newest areas of Singapore is Suntec City. It is a high tech office park where many of the technology companies are headquartered. At the center of Suntec City is a fountain reported to be the largest in the world. The ring in the photo is part of it. It operates only at night.

During the day, at the center of the ring, is a smaller fountain. Feng Shui masters believe that proximity to the fountain brings you energy and luck. Ardent believers walk clockwise around the fountain for 2 hours between 4 AM and 6 AM to absorb its energies. For novices, it is said walking three times around while touching the water will bring luck, blessings, and fortune. Touching the water brings physical benefits and revitalization. I gave it a try. Certainly a novice. Can't hurt!

If the Orchid Garden was the high point of my touring, Haw Par Villa (Tiger Balm Gardens) was the low point.

Here's what the guide book had to say, "Enter into an ancient Chinese mythical world, dragons and demons included. Built in 1937, this unique theme park holds 25 clusters of original statues and figurines which memorialize Chinese customs, values, folklore and legends." Every word is technically true ... by itself.

More interesting to me is that the inventor of Tiger Balm, a moisturizing cream, made a fortune making and selling the stuff which you can still buy today. And this is what he did with part of the resulting fortune. This would be a hot ticket for the under 10 set but Disney hasn't a thing to worry about here.