Singapore

We arrived in Singapore (the Lion City) this past Wednesday. Another bustling city but you can't overlook it's orderliness. Even the trucks leaving the muddy dock areas were hosed off over a drain so that they would not track dirt out onto the road.

Singapore is a conglomeration of different cultures including English, Indian, Malay and Chinese to name a few. And each is allowed, if not encouraged, to maintain their heritage. That being said, Singapore was a small oasis for us, resembling any melting pot you'd find in the US. Not to mention that many tried and true fast food, convenience stores and coffee shops that we'd find ourselves frequenting in the states made Singapore a very comfortable pit stop in this adventure of ours.

We walked around the colonial area of the city which largely consisted of government and administrative buildings and a few hotels like the gorgeous Raffles Hotel, all dating back to when the Sir Stamford Raffles of England first settled here in the 1800's. All were perfect examples of colonial architecture and beautifully preserved.

We made our way to Marine Bay Sands. It is a skyscraper of a hotel that touts a rooftop infinity edge pool which bridges the 3 buildings of the hotel. Incredible! Could not wait for our dip in the pool because Singapore was beyond steamy that day. But we were given some misinformation and it turned out that only guests of the hotel could actually swim in the pool. The "day pass" that we were after only allowed us in the garden that surrounded the pool and the privilege of watching the guests swim. Pass!

So we went to Sentosa Island instead. A beautiful tropical island which is only a ferry boat or taxi or monorail or cable car away! Sentosa is Singapore's main tourist attraction. The whole island is run like a theme park. Rides and shows, souvenir shopping at every corner...even the bus rides are narrated in perfect Disney World intonation and inflection. There is actually a Universal Studios park on the island that I am so thankful the boys were not interested in visiting. We ended up, instead at The Shangri-la Rasa Hotel. We bought a day pass for the pool and beach and spent some time cooling off from the heat.

In 10 years time, the plan is to move the Singapore shipping port (which is very large and crowded) to the western side of Singapore. For Sentosa Island it should be a much welcomed change. As it stands now, the "beach" is reclaimed land, as is much of Singapore, and it faces the port! So, imagine your view as you lay on the beach, eye dodging freighters just to catch a glimpse of the horizon! And the thought of getting in the shared beach/port water was not at all inviting to us!

Fortunately the pool did the trick! After a few hours and umbrella drinks, we packed up and went back to the mainland to meet my cousin, Lillian and her kids for dinner.

On Lillian's recommendation, we went to Clark Quay, an awesome outdoor entertainment center that sits on the Singapore River. Bars, restaurants, shopping, ferry rides and even bungee type activities. We had dinner at the very popular, Jumbo Seafood to try their famous Chili Crab.

Lillian and I met when my family went to visit the Philippines in 1989 (our best guess) so the reunion was a long time coming. Although we had not had any contact since then, there is something very comforting about seeing a relative on an adventure like this. A connection to home. Jeremy and Ben were very excited to meet Sophia and Ethan, Lillian's 2 kids, and true Filipino cousins! Knowing that they still visit the Philippines often, makes it much more likely that the Smiths will find themselves vacationing there in the very near future!

The next day, we had a scheduled field trip with SAS to some historical places of worship. Because we don't have any real knowledge of Buddhism and Hinduism we all found the information on the temples and the mosque we visited to be very intriguing.

The absence of footwear while in these places is one thing they have in common. They also use smoke as symbolic significance but Buddhists use incense where Hindus just use wood. Taoists and Hindus both display many gods in their temples while Buddhist only have Buddha but there can be many Buddhas. One temple we visited had hundreds of the exact same Buddha! The Sultan's Mosque was something different all together. It was like a giant ornate living room. Large enough to accommodate hundreds of worshipers during any of the 5 mandatory daily prayer times. Very different from the places of worship that we are accustomed to.

The Cathedral Of The Good Shepherd was on the itinerary. Built in 1843, it houses a relic of St. Laurent Imbert of France, the first priest to visit the few Catholics living in Singapore in 1821. And although it was dark and dingy, the walls were cracked and peeling, the pews were worn and creaking, it was another reunion for us, another comforting connection to home.

Myanmar next!