Oct 26 - Singapore

We shared a taxi to Singapore with Gary and Tara (sv Pursuit IV) and arrived at our hotel in one hour. There were no clearance fees to enter Singapore via the Second Link bridge, and we didn't have to get out of our taxi. This is one of the world's great cities, and is a separate country from Indonesia and Malaysia. The amount of building construction defies the imagination; cranes and heavy equipment are everywhere. The economy depends greatly on exports and tourism, so it's pretty easy to find your way around. The MRT

(mass rapid transit), or subway system, is just amazing, as is the bus system. Traffic is heavy, in spite of governmental efforts to limit auto ownership by the application of heavy taxes, but if you ever want to see luxury cars en masse, this is the place to visit. Education is stressed, and there are multiple places of higher learning. Years ago there was a book entitled "Europe On $5 A Day." Today, another book would have to be titled "Singapore On $200 A Day!" This is an expensive city, from $16 beers to meals at $25 minimum. We haven't bought anything, but can tell you that shoppers have found nirvana here at very, very high prices. We've visited Little India, Chinatown, the Singapore National Museum, the Botanical Gardens along with the National Orchid Garden within, and the Asian Civilizations Museum. We've also done the obligatory visit to the Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel, where Sue enjoyed her Singapore Sling (where they were invented.) We've done a lot of walking, enjoying the architecture, taking lots of pictures, and also took a narrative city sight-seeing bus tour ($18.-24hr. pass; highly recommended). Tomorrow we'll be returning to Puteri Harbour Marina via MRT and bus.