For all of our regular readers I am sorry for the delay in updating you. It not for thr want of trying. Although many places offer wifi, ot is not always realable enough to handle such sophisticated data transfer that I require.
We were forced to say a hurried goodbye to Dorothy when we left Colombo. Dorothy was leaving us to return to the Uk while Mary, Michael and myself went on to Singapore.
Singapore is like no other place to which I have been. It was apparent right from the start that there was something different about the place. The ride from the airport consisted of driving through beatifully landscaped roads with what are to me quite exotic plants, trees anf flowers, all organized in a deliberate way. In fact there is very little in Singapore that is out of its place. Iy has all the advantages of a strict regime with zero tolerence on misbehaviour such as drug use and litter dropping. It feeld very safe and uniquely for a city I have not seem a policeman in the two days I have been here. A resident had told us that a lap top can be left on a bar table and it id unlikely that it would get nicked.
This obviously a very prosperouse place. A totally different feel to Sri Lanka. It is paradise for anybody who is interested in modern architecture. On every turn of view there is someting visually exciting to see.Very imaginative and a masterpiece of town planning. We visited the Tropical Gardens today which in its way reflects the rest of the city. Nothing is out of its place and very organised. Like the city there is a surprise at every turn. The orchid house was a wonder to bestow and I have put a few pictures of the plants on the gallery. However they will not do justice to what is there.
We are only here for a few days and there os a lot more to see. We have managed to experince the ethnically diverse communities of Chinatown, Little India and the arab quarter. They provide a little relief from the uncompromising tidyness of the rest of the city.
Singapore is s place to stimulate and challenge your thoughts about social development. In my lifetime it has gone from a racially divided colony to a modern economy where ethnic divisions are celebrated. This may be a lot to do with their separation from Malaya soon after independance. Understanding what has happened has stimulated an interest in Singapores' history.
Tomorrow we say goodbye to Mary's brother Michael who is going on to Australia while Mary and I fly to New Zealand.
