Blogs from Singapore, Asia

Had the Little India walking tour today, well in the morning. Again there is a forecast for rain but again only a few spots eventuated. Consequently it was very humid and very sticky but we saw the sights and had some delights. The meeting place was only 800 m from our hotel so we walked rather than take the MRT for just one station. Fascinating district as we sort of knew and sort of assumed. Absolutely ablaze with colour. The buildings, the saris, the flowers, the fruit and vegetables all pop. Couple of interesting facts and figures but not the greatest presentation we’ve had. Happened to be the Indian ‘god’ Gnash (spelling?) and the Singaporean quasi god Lee Quon Yew (spelling) birthday today. Lee Quon Yew would have been 100 today if he were still alive. ... read more

Singapore was originally 500 square km but now it occupies a land area of 720 square km. Someone is real estate said buy now they are not making any more land, well in Singapore they do! And they have been doing it for years. Chinatown was once a swampy slum and now it’s a kilometre or so from the sea front (Marina Bay Sands stands between Chinatown and the sea) and it’s now longer a slum as you can’t live there. It’s now restaurants and office space only. Some say the ‘spirit’ has also gone but there’s still a lot of atmosphere in the precinct. That’s information gleaned from our walking tour with a little extrapolation from me. I won’t regurgitate facts and figures about pavement width, building frontage, temple gods etc as it’s a bit ... read more

Had a slow start this morning a coffee and a bar for breakfast…. Overcast again today so not quite as hot …. Wandered up the river away from town to riverside point… very quiet but once again would come alive again later in the day …. Got inside another big mall and enjoyed some cool air conditioning …. Had a barista coffee and muffin and felt a little normal again ….spent a good hour in the Daiso Japanese Store ,a bit like a 2 dollar shop interesting seeing different stuff , all prices in all the shops across the board the same prices as ours and the average hourly wage 23.50 first home buyers can get an apartment for around 300,000.00$ … looked around more shops a bag and electronics … chemist and stationers … lots ... read more

Woke early still on NZ time but had a pretty good sleep…..Got out and about at 8.30 and found a breakfast bar and coffee to start with as most malls etc don’t open till 10 am on a Saturday ???? …. Wandered around and across the river into the boat Quay area …. Very historical part of Singapore and lots of bars and eateries … meandered around the riverside and was really pleasant … temperature pretty manageable at 29 with a lot of cloud cover and breezes, every now and then the sun would come out and just be so intense. Got around to the Dragon Fountain Merlion Park and found a few postcards to send to the oldies ….. kept walking right around the Marina Bay and along to Marina Sands Plaza a huge shopping ... read more

I have not intentionally "pulled an all-nighter" since my undergraduate days. But I have stayed up all night, both intentionally and not, while traveling. My last one was in Munich, Germany, in November 2022. I purposely went to an early dinner, since I had to leave my hotel by 4am for a 6am flight. My early dinner ended up as a rousing evening in the bar/restaurant with newfound friends, at the Munchner Stubn just down the street. I ended up staying until last call or closing. By the time I got back to my hotel around 2am, I decided to stay awake, pack up, and get ready for my 4am cab to the airport. I was headed to Lisboa, as I recall. I have not been stuck in an airport in a very long time. My ... read more