All Our Bags Are Packed!

                                    Blog # 21 - Singapore

                                        Fantastic skyline

                   Unique architecture throughout the city

Tropical environment provides enough moisture to grow plants everywhere--even on the roof of a building

Design is open and airy

A Lego building or...

An "Erector set?"  

Singapore is probably the cleanest city in the world

Marina Bay Hotel: 2016 and 2024

                    Almost a "science fiction" building!

Amazing architecture - We are always in awe!

            Shangri-la Hotel - Singapore: We love the hotel chain

                                        Hotel doorman

                Part of the hotel's Chinese New Years decorations

                             Time for a snack in the lobby lounge

Strange dish name - not sure about all of the ingredients - flavors were unique

Dessert: Spongy, squishy, bouncy, tasteless and definitely a one-timer!

          Malaysia is next to Singapore - plenty of Malay visitors

                        Singapore has a fabulous aquarium

           Everyone is getting ready for Chinese New Years

Everyone shops for the holidays: Sweets, fruit, etc.

Singapore lights up at nighttime

Lots of religious activity going on throughout the city

   We were fortunate to walk into a Buddhist temple and witness a  lot of religious activity

This woman told us that she changed $10 into coins. She then dropped a coin into each bowl representing a different "cause" or  "program."

                                    Learning at a young age

                    Pretty Muslim woman wearing a baseball  hat 

 We came across a store that offers cures for anything/everything

                                                Snake oil?

Cruise is over. We have a few hours before having dinner with friends, heading off to the airport and going home.

                    So much for R&R - It started to pour

         So what if my laptop is wet. It's a "military grade" device.

              Besides, the temperature is still in the high 80's

We discovered that our "old friend," Edward (Lounge concierge) was still working at the Shangri-la Hotel. He had a sad story to tell us. In his "previous life," he was a head purser for United Airlines. Edward got fired after 9/11 because he was a foreigner. Following the unexpected termination, he found this job at the hotel. He's 72. Normally, in Singapore, there is a mandatory retirement at 65. However, the hotel management extended his contract each year because he was the hotel's goodwill ambassador. Everyone loved Edward. He was also assigned as "Butler" when dignitaries stayed at the property. He showed pictures on his phone of him standing next to Obama, Clinton and Michele Obama. He just got word that the new hotel management is terminating his contract. Edward is trying to figure out what to do with the rest of his life. Sad situation!

We finished our Singapore stay by having dinner with our good friend, Anthony and his family. Anthony was a "business partner" with PMI for twenty years.

Two of Anthony's three daughters were able to join us. There are many, many dishes when it comes to a Chinese celebratory event.

                Six of us piled into a car meant for four people

We did the same thing several years ago. In that case, there were seven of us.

                                       **********
The following photos represent miscellaneous situations on our trip

                    Our travel agent gifted us with flowers...

                            ...and champagne. Someone told us that this was the same champagne used on the Titanic

Our hotel in Mumbai used this type of device to send out a strong scent in the hallway.

Mumbai: It was startling to see in the early morning so many people practicing Yoga at the Gateway of India

The Gateway of India was very crowded even during the nighttime

                    Time for some relaxation at the Mumbai hotel

                                             Hotel artwork

                            A little Indian music before breakfast

            Cables in our hotel room to handle all of our devices

Although this is a Indian naval ship, Jerry thinks this was one of the poorly designed USA ships probably sold to the Indian navy

Elephant handlers hanging out while the animals play in the river

            One of the cruise's restaurants: stacking up chopsticks

View looking down at a "poorer" section of Kuala Lumpur. The same type of structures are also found in Singapore's China down and Little India

In these areas there will be "shop houses" - shops at the street level, homes on top

The cruise had a Malaysian dance group come on board and put on a show for us

                                            It was quite good

Having snacks outside our cabin

                        We loved watching all of the port activity

                    Thousands of containers coming and going

                           Our ships is getting new supplies

                   We're leaving one port and heading to another

During our last trip to Japan (October, 2023), we "struggled" to see Mt. Fuji. It was always covered with clouds. At the last day and at the last moment, the clouds parted and we were able to see it. During our final approach from Singapore to Tokyo, we happened to look across the aisle and saw through a window, Mt. Fuji!

We were lucky (again) to spend time in JAL's First Class Lounge. It is a special place in terms of amenities, food and service

We had two mishaps which ended up on a happy note. Jerry was going through Singapore's very busy port security and was told he had to place his cell phone on the conveyor. During the process he was handed someone else's cell phone. He didn't recognize the problem until we were back on the ship and trying to download pictures. Returning to security was about a two-mile walk. Fortunately, Jerry's phone was found. The other issue dealt with my glasses. They were left on the Singapore-Tokyo flight. The glasses were found and returned before we took of to Los Angeles.

We had a great time on this trip - lots of worthwhile and interesting experiences. The best part of the trip was being so close to the elephants but a close second was watching all of the port activity -- loading and loading ships, trucks transporting containers and watching the myriad of port people doing their respective jobs.