Tag Archives: Singapore

Airport Charge Station

Every time I go to the Kuala Lumpur Airport I’m more taken by it. Actually, I feel the same way about the city. It’s no Singapore, but it’s working its’ way there quite steadily. At the airport I found a new friend, the charge station. That’s my netbook on the counter and my daypack on the thoughtfully well-placed ledge below the counter. There were plenty of outlets for me to use and the attendants would come by and clean-up after me if I dropped any trash or spilt my drink. I could also see a clock so I could keep track of time and I had ample warning of my flight’s departure through the public address system. Plus, they have free wi-fi, but only for two hours. Then you have to go to Starbucks to get online.

Melaka Eye

Melaka has an "Eye", somewhat like the ones in Singapore and London. Only smaller. The one in Melaka is in a great location, right on the ocean.

Singapore Chinatown

What do you get on the last day of Chinese New Year? About a billion Chinese people taking to the streets and another few hundred million people going to watch them. One thing I’ve learned from this trip to SE Asia is to appreciate the impact that Chinese New Year can have.

Dining On The River

This is dining on the Singapore River at Clarke Quay. It’s a trendy place to go for $20 hamburgers and $10 beers. I passed on both. Boys from Oklahoma who are used to eating beef that’s feed-lot grown on U.S. grains don’t go to Asia to eat bad beef in $20 hamburgers. Nor do I remember seeing a bottle of Belgian beer, let alone a Trappist Ale, anywhere in Singapore. Clark Quay may be trendy and the place to be in the evening, but I’ll just have to admire it from a distance due to my lack of financial prominence.

National Museum of Singapore

This is the National Museum of Singapore. It was great. When I went in they gave me am electronic device they referred to as a "companion" that would give me an audio presentation of the exhibits on display. The experience became a fascinating depiction of the history of Singapore. A person could easily spend an afternoon there. I only spent twp or three hours there and missed quite a bit. I’ve saving it for next time.

Lunch At Market

This is one of the food markets near Little India in Singapore. If you look closely, you will see that there are a lot of stalls in the market. Each one is an independent restaurant. Each one may serve a different fare. There were hundreds fo people eating lunch at the market from the dozens of different food vendors. I had lunch there. I was the only chubby white boy I saw while I was there. If there’s one thing that I feel says a person has "arrived" as a tourist it’s that the person is the only person of their racial or ethnic persuasion having lunch in an area filled with hundreds of other diners.

Next Train in 5 Minutes

I loved the mass transit system in Singapore. The trains seemed to run a maximum of every five minutes. Often, the train would come in 3 minutes. There were little signs like this one to tell you hen the next train would arrive. Notice how clean and modern the train station looks. I saw a sign on a wall in a station that said there were 1.5 million trips taken on the Singapore mass transit system every day.

Container Movement

This is a picture of the container docks in the harbor that I took from the Tiger Tower. Ths significance of the picture, at least in my mind, is that it shows the large number of unloading platforms (translated as "revenue") that were being used. If there is one thing I saw in Singapore it was economic vibrancy and that vibrancy has to come from somewhere. Singapore was busy port. I read that the city is one of the busiest ports in the world for the movement of goods.

At the Beach

Sentosa Island had some nice beaches. It was something of a resort area with lots of hotels, eateries, and shopping areas. The next time I go to Singapore, I may bring my sleeping bag and camp out on the beach for a few weeks. Just kidding.

Ships In Harbor

This is a picture of the ships in the harbor that I took from the Tiger Tower. The significance of the picture, at least in my mind, is that it shows the large number of ships (translated as "revenue") that were waiting to be loaded or unloaded or reloaded. If there is one thing I saw in Singapore it was economic vibrancy and that vibrancy has to come from somewhere. Singapore was busy port. If you look closely at a high resolution version of the picture you’ll see there is a refinery in the distance. Apparently, Singapore does a lot of refining of the oil produced in the China Sea.

Rolling Okie

Travel, Adventure, and more…