I’m in Singapore now..it’s an interesting city/country. I’m about one degree north of the equator, which means hot and humid. Surprisingly it isn’t as bad as I thought. Houston and even Darwin were much worse. Singapore is a city of contrasts. It’s huge glass and steel skyscrapers right next to traditional Indian and Chinese neighborhoods. I toured the shopping districts, and found out how rampant piracy is here. I could buy copies of Microsoft Office XP for 10 bucks! One thing I don’t like about the city is how expensive everything is. A bottle of Tiger beer along the quayside costs about five bucks US! A couple of days here will be plenty for my budget, and besides there isn’t all that much to do.
I did go check out the Night Safari…it’s an extension of the Singapore zoo (which is impressive in its own right) where you are taken along paths in trams for a while, and then when your eyes adjust to the darkness you get to walk around checking out the nocturnal animals that are normally asleep in most zoos. It was very well executed and presented. I’d love to see a copy of this concept somewhere in the states!
The last thing I did in Singapore before heading down to Malaysia was to go to the resort island of Sentosa. I suppose you could call it a resort, only if you like supertankers and cargo ships as the view from your beach. I get the feeling that most people here go elsewhere for their holidays. The only thing this island really has going for it is its closeness to the city. A quick cable-car ride, and you’re there.
The next day we were invited for Christmas dinner with some friends of friends, and spent a great afternoon drinking beer and talking about just about everything.