Noon Report:

• Location: N 01° 15.71′, E 103° 49.07′
• Speed: Docked
• Course: Docked
• Weather: Overcast
• Temperature: 26º C, 79º F
• Wind: NNE 10 knots, 11.5 mph

The 9:30 lecture this morning was Russell Lee’s last lecture. In a couple of days he and his wife will leave the ship (at the end of their contracts) and return to their California home for a few weeks before returning to Italy to help launch the next new Viking ship – the Saturn.

For his final lecture Lee led us thru some of the myths and legends that “every child in Singapore knows.”

• Raja Suran and the undersea kingdom, and the Island of Temasek
• The Three Princes (Suran’s sons) and how Sri Sang Sapurba became “The Prince of Three Worlds”
• Sang Nila Utama (Sang Sapurba’s eldest son) and the return to Temasek – and seeing the Lion that caused him to rename the island Singapura (Singa = Lion, Pura = City) and becoming the first king of Singapore
• Sri Wikrama Wira (Sang Nila Utama’s son) who defended Singapore against invasions by Siam and Java
• Badang the Magnificent who had a wish for great strength to be granted, and used his strength to defend Singapore, and to defeat Wadi Bijaya in a contest of strength by throwing the Singapore Stone down from the mountain
• The attack of the Garfish, thwarted by a boy who defeated their attack with banana stems and how his death is related to the origin of the hill known as Bukit Merah
• The sorcerer on the hill and how a mighty warrior defeated the sorcerer with trickery and the origin of the area known as Bukit Timah
• The island of Pulau Blakang Mati and why its name was changed to Sentosa
• The two warriors who engaged in a naval battle that disturbed the water spirits who destroyed both ships, and thought better of what they had done so they took the spirits of the warriors and turned them in to islands – Pulau Hantu Besar (Big Ghost Island) and Pulau Hantu Kechil (Little Ghost Island)
• The Benevolent Turtle who turned itself into an island (Kusu Island) to save a pair of fishermen
• The Two Sisters, one of whom drowned while trying to escape from a pirate and the other who killed herself rather than live without her sister, and how they came back as the islands Pulau Subar Laut (Big Sister’s Island) and Pulau Subar Darat (Little Sister’s Island).
• Parameswara (aka Iskandar Shah) – Singapore’s last king (and the Great Great Great Great Grandson of Raja Suran)

It was very interesting how the tales are all linked, and how they move from fantasy (the undersea kingdom, the turtle becomes an island) to actual history. Lee also presented items from the historical record that relate to each of the stories.

We arrived in Singapore at about Noon.

Our next schedule event was the excursion Singapore After Dark.
This excursion started with an entry process thru Singapore customs.

• After leaving the ship about 4pm (and scanning our ship cruise cards to check out)
• We walked about 1/4 mile (actually 700 meters) thru the terminal to Passport control
• We stood in long lines that wrapped back and forth many times
• We presented our passport, covid card, and SG Arrival Card Bar Code to the agent, assured them we had no banned items to declare (including chewing gum!)
• We were facially photographed and had our thumbprints scanned
• We stood in another wrap around line before we passed thru the luggage scanner/metal detector to make SURE we had no banned items

That got us to the hall where we checked in with our Shore Excursions team and received the group number for our tour tickets. Then we waited around with our group until time to board the bus at the appointed hour (it was 6 pm – sunset is at 7 pm).

From there the operation got a whole lot smoother and more enjoyable.

Our first stop was near the Singapore River. We walked a bit down the shoreline enjoying the music from the various eateries/drinkeries and checking out the colorful buildings.

At the dock we boarded one of the electric bumboats that ply the river and took a tour of the sites of the city center.

Back at the dock we ditched the boat and walked over to the Fullerton Hotel for a restroom stop.
From there we took an underground tunnel to the Merlion park where we had time to wander and take a few more photos.

Along the way we passed Victoria Memorial Hall – One of the homes of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (where younger brother Bradley played in the Singapore Symphony and met his future wife!)

Our next stop was the Raffles Hotel – specifically the Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel, home of the Singapore Sling. During Colonial times, women were expected to only drink soft drinks or fruit punch but an enterprising bar tender invented a red colored alcoholic drink which was promptly a great hit! We were each given one Singapore Sling to enjoy ($37 each if you want to buy a second one) while we ate peanuts and threw the shells on the floor. (This is the only place in Singapore where you can litter and not be fined and only because this is a tradition carried-over from colonial times.) Note the woven palm frond fans which wave back and forth along the ceiling.

Then it was back on the bus and back to the ship to:

• Stand the passport control line
• Show our passport and ship card to the door guard
• Pass thru the luggage check/metal detector
• Stand in line
• Have our passport scanned
• Walk (700 meters) to the ship
• Scan our ship card at the check in gate (so they’ll know we’re back)
• Call it a night.

Till tomorrow, TTFN, R

Cheryl’s Factoids:

• Singapore is an ASTONISHING city. In only 58 years they have gone from a little port to the 2nd most expensive city in the world with 40% of the world’s shipping (through this port pass 500 ships A DAY). Singapore has the most millionaire households per capita of any county in the world. Due to the island’s small size they suffer from water shortages (currently buying water from Malasia) but now have created 17 water catchment areas (they dammed up the Singapore river and have spent 20 years recycling the water until it is now a fresh water lake). They also have salt water desalination plants and reverse osmosis plants to recycle waste water into purified drinking water (like the astronauts use). They have leveled all the original hills (except one which had prehistoric buildings, cemetery, and a British fort on it) pushing that land into the ocean and continuing to buy sand from Indonesia to enlarge the island – most of the “downtown” financial district is built on reclaimed land. Singapore has pledged to plant more trees and cover roofs of buildings with grass in an effort to reduce the heat since this country sits only 40 miles from the equator.
• To give people more places to walk, they have paths joining all their parks together. For a huge population, there is no feeling of crowding as Singapore has tight controls on traffic. Almost everyone uses the public transportation system which is very clean and efficient. To own a car you need to pay big bucks to get a permit to own a car (which is only good for 10 years after which you would have to purchase a new permit for another 10 years), then you have to pay an additional hefty fee to purchase a car – on top of any dealership import costs (all cars are imported) and insurance payments. It is so expensive to own a car here that there are very few cars and also very few motorcycles on the roads, so there is no traffic congestion.
• Littering has a hefty fine so all areas are very clean. Importing drugs will get you the death penalty. Back in the 70’s an American youth was caught painting graffiti on a building – and the penalty is a caning. The father pleaded with the Singapore government that in America we don’t cane people, and even the U.S. President called, but their response was that the boy had broken their laws and had to pay their price.
• In an effort to provide housing for everyone, Prime Minister Lee Kwan Yew established a governmental program which builds very modern apartments, which any family can purchase very cheaply, and after 5 years sell it at a profit and move into larger/even nicer apartments. Owning their own home has made a huge difference to the poorer classes. However, since a large part of the purpose is to encourage families, if you want a divorce, you have to wait until the 5 year mark to split the profits of the apartment sale. (Originally the government asked people to only have 2 children but now it needs more workers and will pay each family an additional $5,000 for an extra child.)
• Government officials are paid very highly so there is no incentive for political corruption.