Singapore, Jan.4, 2002 Island Nation

By Bob Van Leer
  (SINGAPORE, Jan. 4, 2002) - We flew into this island nation yesterday after a 27 hour trip from Medford. We will board a cruise ship, the Crown Odyssey, here but first we have a couple of days to explore Singapore.

  This is a prosperous island nation of 4.3 million people and is definitely not "third world". A publication of the U. S. CIA says Singapore has the fifth highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world.
  The plane flights we took were pretty much on schedule. Out of the 27 hours of the trip we were in the air about 18 hours. This was the first air trip we had taken since Sept. 11 and we wondered about what problems we might encounter. At Medford we had to take off our shoes. Other than that, there was a little rerouting at the terminal and there were Medford National Guard troops in evidence. We had expected more.
  Our longest flight was 14 hours and 20 minutes on Cathay Pacific from San Francisco to Hong Kong. This is a long time in a narrow economy class seat. Cathay Pacific service and food was good and the cabin attendants were what the U. S. airlines used to have, all pretty young girls. Our flight was "great circle", passing over Anchorage, Alaska, and eastern Russia and China before landing in Hong Kong. We had to change planes there for a three hour, 16 minute flight to Singapore. Total mileage was about 9000. We are now 16 hours ahead of Gold Beach time and we lost Jan. 2 completely because of the International Date Line. We gain the day back when we return.
  A number of the passengers on both flights were fellow cruise passengers. We really stand out. Most of the other passengers were Asian and of average ages. Our group probably averages about 65 years old and members are white. Singapore is serious about the drug problem. On our entry forms is a bold red statement, "Warning, death for drug traffickers under Singapore law".
  Singapore is small in area, only about 27 miles wide and 15 miles north and south. But they have done an awful lot with the small space. It is a pretty city, a lot of lush greenery and almost everything is well maintained. The city is only one degree north of the equator and is an open air greenhouse. But the rules are very strict, no jaywalking, no gum chewing, no drugs.
  We went to a market area and dined on lobster for dinner and turned in early, but not before a stop at the "Long Bar" at the old colonial Raffles Hotel where the Singapore Sling was invented.
  This morning we started with a city tour and our guide said unemployment rose in the city after Sept. 11 (but is only up to 3.8%). He said tourism is off also and our hotel, the Inter-Continental, says the same thing. Singapore is an aging city, our guide said, and the government now pays a bonus of $30,000 Singapore for babies over two per couple. (The exchange rate is $1.82 Singapore for one U. S. dollar.)
Military service of 2.5 years is compulsory for young men and annual exercises are part of the package. The population is about 75% Chinese, 14% Malay and 8% Indian. After lunch we took a cable car for a tour of Sentosa Island, a sort of museum-entertainment park. An interesting part of the tour was an underwater aquarium. People travel through a plastic tube under the water on a moving walkway.
  On a monorail ride we went through Ft. Soloza, the old British fort to defend Singapore from the sea. The Japanese didn't know the rules and came down the Malay Peninsula from the north instead of by sea, and the guns couldn't turn around to fire at the invaders.
  Tomorrow we will board our ship, the Crown Odyssey, to begin our 31 day cruise.
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