Singapore!

I really didn't know what to expect from Singapore beyond it being a very large city (which it is...). I've found it to be quite extraordinary and endlessly interesting. I went to the Asian Civilization museum yesterday and took a short tour that included a quick overview of the history of the area. Singapore has long been a trade hub and a melting pot for the whole region. Monsoonal winds coming south from China to the east and India to the west cross and thus terminate at Singapore. Trade ships would follow the wind down, leave their cargo and then wait for 6 months until they could get back home. Their crews established second homes here often with second families as well. It split from Malaysia in 1965 after a period under English rule from the mid 1800s. I was just a few days too late for their 50th anniversary celebration.  They have been a busy 50 years. Singapore is a well designed, modern city on par with what I imagine Dubai to be like. They have the best public transportation system I've ever seen.

I spent one of my first days here at the Gardens by the Bay area. It's perhaps the most iconic area in Singapore. The architecture is incredible. I came away thinking that some really brilliant and brave people planned and executed the development there.

There are several of these large "trees" covered with plants and lights. They have 2 free light shows every night where the tree lights are timed with a musical program. There's also a laser light show a short walk away at the harbor where images are projected onto a fountain of water accompanied by music. The hotel in the background is unbelievably impressive. You can kind of make out the palm trees on the roof and get some idea of how massive the building is.  

Evidence of the wealth of the city is everywhere. At the base of this hotel is a huge shopping mall full of large stores with just a few hand bags or a couple of racks of clothing in them. With this being a small island country, real estate is very expensive as you can imagine. The contrast is that it's a just a short train ride to Chinatown where an entire walmart's worth of goods is packed into a space the size of an American bathroom. Great food in Chinatown as well for 3-5 Singaporean dollars ($2-3 USD).

Other stuff I've done here:

A day at the botanic gardens - it's big enough that my feet gave out before the places to see did. They have a beautiful orchid garden area with many rare species.

Haw Par Villa - an elaborate sculpture garden built by the founders of Tiger Balm. There are many intricate scenes depicting Chinese legend and tales as well as other larger sculptures - all quite colorful and interesting.

Little India - a much touted shopping/eating area that I found less compelling than Chinatown

Buddha Tooth Relic temple - a relatively new temple in Chinatown - very elaborate and ornate. They have a pretty nice museum of Buddhist artifacts upstairs and a floor detailing the life of the Buddha.

Pulau Ubin - an island off the coast to the north east that has been set aside as a nature reserve. Much of the stone that was used in the early days of the city came from quarries on this island - the quarries are now lakes. A few people live on the island and support the tourist trade with food, drinks and bicycle rentals.

I think it was a mistake not passing through Bali on my way here - I might try get a round trip plane ticket and head there for a couple of weeks but will need to do a bit of research into re-entry visas and figure out the best way to go about it. I had a bit of trouble at the airport in Darwin - the airlines required proof of onward travel before they would let me on the plane. An explanation of my travel as a lifestyle and a desire to travel over land by train (tickets only obtainable at the train station) through Malaysia did nothing to dissuade her. She informed me I had an hour before check in for my flight closed to figure it out. So, cursing and grumbling, I moved off and found a website that books bus tickets out of Singapore. I took a stab at how long I might want to stay here and just booked the cheapest bus I could find ($15 US) to Kuala Lumpur. That ticket is good tomorrow but I've had some time to research the bus company and have decided it's not worth $15 to subject myself to the types of horror tales that are being told online. Long story short, I'm paid up at this hostel through Sunday night and will likely move onto Malaysia on Monday but I will take some time tomorrow or Sunday to do a little research into Bali options before locking in the plan.