Singapore February 24, 2007

We are in Singapore on the seventh day of the Chinese New Year, which date is everybody’s birthday, so Happy Birthday y’all. This city is the most spectacular result of an authoritarian rule. The city streets are spotlessly clean as the buildings of old colonial days are brilliantly colored and preserved to be used in administration or in upscale shops. A newly completed I M Pei designed cultural center is on the bay surrounded by sharply chiseled high-rise hotels, business and shopping centers. There is little crime, as police mingle among the populous dressed in plain clothes. A single marijuana use will get you whipped and sent to a rehab center for six months. If you possess narcotics that weigh more than three small coins it is death. This truly makes for a safe city. The tip of Malaysia has always been important as part of the ancient ocean spice route. A shrewd trader, Sir Stanford Raffles, made suggestions to the British crown that turned a multicultural city into a major international trading seaport and holiday retreat for Asians and Europeans. In the Tiffin rooms of his Raffles hotel, we lunched on northern Indian cuisine. At the grand entrance, a doorman dressed in traditional Indian garb is said to be the most photographed single person in the Far East. We then visited a Hindu temple dedicated to the nine forms that the God Vishnu comes to earth as. These are depicted in the 6o foot high tiers of the God forms. Next Jim and Barb appear before the Sultan mosque, which has a huge prayer hall that on Friday, the Islamic Sabbath, worshipers enter through fourteen doors.

A lot of the land on the Island has been reclaimed. On it are beautiful high rises-and some parks to break up the scenery!

We have great pictures of Singapore-just email me if you would like to see more.