March 22

3-21: Today we were in Singapore. We did not have a tour because we had waited until the last minute to sign up. So this morning we headed out on our own - we were going to take the shuttle bus into town from the port. The line to get on the shuttle bus was very long and there were taxis for hire - 2 hour tour and they would drop you anywhere in town. So that is what we did. Our driver took us to Chinatown where we were able to wander some. Then we went to a Chinese Buddhist Temple but we have seen a lot of those lately. It was very pretty and right in the midst of tall modern buildings. Then we went to Little India. Singapore is about 65% Chinese and 20% Indian and 10% Malaysian. Then our driver took us to the place where Singapore was first discovered by the British - by Sir Stamford Raffles. There were a couple of Indians there with their pythons. And for 5 Singapore dollars you could hold the snake over your shoulders! So Ginnie did! Pictures included. I didn’t really see the need to get that up close and personal with a big snake! After that stop our 2 hour tour was over and he dropped us where the shuttle bus would have taken us - the main shopping district. We went into one of the malls and saw a Pizza Hut and went in for a coke. They had some different things on the menu and as an add on they had Spanish tortilla chips with alfredo or Bolognese sauce. Just had to see what that was - just a morning snack. It was just a baked flour tortilla with the dipping sauce. All the fast food restaurants seem to make adjustments for location - see what McDonalds serves in Singapore (picture). After our cokes we went in search of the rest room and we found it BUT you had to pay 20 cents to go in!! Then we headed back to the ship on the shuttle bus. Singapore is an amazingly clean city - but it is called a “fine” city. They have huge fines for littering or smoking or spitting. It is against the law to chew gum - they don’t even sell it anywhere. Somehow, there needs to be a happy medium between the “fine” city and the littered American cities I’m used to. I mean driving the major roads you see no litter - it is amazing. Oh and there is an SMU in Singapore - Singapore Management University - it was a very big University and there were SMU signs all over the place - kind of wild.