November 3 Singapore

Finally we took the tourist bus tour of the sights of Singapore. It's a ride in a double decker London bus with an open top. We baked in the sun for the first hour and then stopped for a drink, and a hat and suntan lotion. We rode the second hour back on top then moved to the air-conditioned downstairs for the final 15 minutes. I really enjoyed the commentary about the history of Singapore and the modern customs they now have. The unique city areas like Litte India Chinatown and the Arab quarter are the original boundaries allocated to these races when the British were in charge. Since becoming a city state in the 50's Singapore has maintained the status quo on racial makeup with Chinese(75%), Indian(13%), Malay(10%) and others being the 4 fixed categories. Beach Road, which is in the middle of the city, was the real beach until a land reclamation project 50 years ago. After the tour Joan went shopping at the Cloud Forest and I went picture taking. We had supper with Caroline and Ali at the huge food court near their apartment building.

Sands Casino with Cloud Forest Building on the right

Singapore Flyer