August: Singapore

Also in August, we both went to Singapore. This must have been Shelly's 20th trip there, but it was my first. Unfortunately, I was there for just over a day, so I didn't have much opportunity to see much of the city. (I had an oh-so-wonderful schedule of leaving Hong Kong at 8 pm on Wednesday and leaving Singapore at 8:15 am on Friday. It was a terrible way to visit Singapore.)

I was in Singapore for a day for an interview and a few meetings with law firms around the city. In between the meetings, I was able to see a few things, eat some Kenny Rogers chicken and some great Indian food for dinner.


It was rainy much of the day, so I spent more free time than I would have liked to in shopping malls. But I did make sure I visited Singapore's famous Raffles Hotel. I wandered briefly through the lobby and shot a few photos and then wandered back out. I'm sure the rooms are fantastic, based on the lobby and the grounds.

My meetings did give me lots of opportunity to view Singapore from tall buildings.


In the foreground is a tiny part of old Singapore, on both sides of the river. The government and courts are on the far side, and old houses -- now converted mostly to restaurants -- on the near side. Also on the far side, you'll see one of the oldest cricket grounds in Asia -- it's right up there with Hong Kong's. The flying-saucer-like building on the left is the Supreme Court building. After my afternoon meetings, I walked along the river and had dinner. Then, I went back to my room and worked, and then got up really, really early for my flight home.


In such a short visit, it's hard to really report on a city. Singapore has very clean air -- a great change from Hong Kong -- and nice, wide streets, which result in much better traffic flow than Hong Kong has. But I really do prefer old cities, and Singapore is definitely a new city, which makes Hong Kong preferable for me.