I had a cup of coffee in my room while I did some work online, then I went out in search of breakfast. One thing I observed is that like the USA, Singapore is a wealthy nation who are aging so they have issues with immigrants coming in to do a lot of the lower wage and physically harder jobs, including construction. I noticed this sign about illegal workers - the workers will be prosecuted but nothing about the employers.
I did see a lot of dark skinned manual laborers and construction workers, and they appeared to be from India - but I did not stop and ask them. I did talk with one of the hotel staff at the front desk. She is from India, speaks excellent English and told me she also speaks French, Hindi and some Russian.
I continued on and found this restaurant open in Chinatown.
For $4.30 SD (about $3.00 US), I had coffee, two soft eggs and toast with jam and butter.
While I knew about Spanglish, I did not know about Singlish - this was posted outside the restaurant.
After breakfast I headed in the direction of the Singapore National Museum, walking on South Bridge Road, which is the edge of Chinatown.
I passed the memorial for the Sook Ching Inspection Centre, marking what the Japanese did to Singaporeans after bombing, invading and then occupying Singapore during WWII.
The lawyer in me could not help but take a photo of the Law Society offices.
I came to the Elgin Bridge which crosses the Singapore River.
I passed the Singapore Parliament building, opened in the late 1990s as they had outgrown the older building behind it.
I passed St. Andrews Cathedral, and since I had time before the Singapore National Museum opened, I stopped at the Cathedral's cafe for a latte - much nicer than the Starbucks I had passed.
I passed by the School of Business - much nicer than our Business and Economics Department at Johnson State College.
Nearby was the School of Law and School of Accountancy.
Just before reaching the museum, I learned about the Tree Trail and how since WWII, one of the things Singapore has done is to protect trees, including this Indian Rubber tree in front of the National Museum.
I finally got to the museum just as it opened at 10:00.
There are sections dedicated to the time before it became a British colony in the early 1800s, the years as a British Colony, the Japanese occupation during WWII, become independent in 1965 and its remarkable success and growth since then.
The Museum. Law School and School of Business are all adjacent to each other and are at the foot of the hill where Fort Canning was built, so I went up the hill and explored what is now a large and beautiful park. And because it is the highest elevation around, part of the park surrounds the reservoir for drinking water for Singapore. I checked and discovered that the water is safe to drink, so I am surprised that the hotels provide bottled water - my understanding is so that you will take water with you and avoid becoming dehydration. I have used some of the hotel's bottled water but mostly have used my reusable water bottle I brought from home.
As elsewhere in Singapore, Fort Canning Park has sculptures throughout the historical buildings. It makes me remember how important it is for society to support the arts, something which our current administration in Washington wants to cut from the budget.
As I came down the hill, I walked by the uphill side of the Law School and Law Library.
I also learned a bit about the uses of the hill historically.
Since I had been out walking for more than four hours, I headed back to the hotel for lunch and a rest. While Saturday was cooler than the day before, I was still drenched with sweat and drinking copious quantities of water.
As I crossed back over the Singapore River on the Elgin Bridge, I got a different view, including the riverwalk and quay with many riverside cafes.
After lunch and a nap, I headed off in towards the Gardens by the bay. Along the way, I noticed how Singapore has been pushing developers to have gardens everywhere, including on the sides and tops of buildings.
I passed the old Customs House and its small marina.
Across the bay, I could see much of the development in the Gardens, including those three buildings with a large garden on top and a shopping center below.
I passed by these three unusual structures built to cool passersby. The top of solar cell panels provide shade and generate electricity for the large fan below.
As I reached the gardens, I could see back across the bay.
There is a man made lily pond across which you can see the buildings across the bay.
There is a beautiful bridge to cross the narrow part of the bay.
Here is another view of those three tall buildings with the large garden on top.
On the other side of the bay, they have the Singaporean version of the London Eye.
Beautiful gardens everywhere.
There are a couple of domed buildings like this with more gardens inside, but I was overwhelmed with what was outside, so I never made it into these buildings.
Saw several warning signs for the otters, but did not see any.
That is a swan sculpture about eight feet tall, but in the photo it looks like a real life sized swan.
The gardens include these structures that capture the rain and on which they are growing plants.
Most parts of the garden have good signage to explain just what you are seeing. I had never heard of nor see a cannonball tree, just one of many new things I passed.
Another section of the garden has sculptured plants.
Here are some more sculptured plants, with the three high rise buildings with rooftop garden in the distance.
After several hours, I was beat so I headed back to the hotel - again drenched with sweat, tired and hungry, ready for my third shower of the day and ready to call it a day. According to my pedometer, I covered about twelve miles on foot today. A good day overall.
I did see a lot of dark skinned manual laborers and construction workers, and they appeared to be from India - but I did not stop and ask them. I did talk with one of the hotel staff at the front desk. She is from India, speaks excellent English and told me she also speaks French, Hindi and some Russian.
I continued on and found this restaurant open in Chinatown.
For $4.30 SD (about $3.00 US), I had coffee, two soft eggs and toast with jam and butter.
While I knew about Spanglish, I did not know about Singlish - this was posted outside the restaurant.
After breakfast I headed in the direction of the Singapore National Museum, walking on South Bridge Road, which is the edge of Chinatown.
I passed the memorial for the Sook Ching Inspection Centre, marking what the Japanese did to Singaporeans after bombing, invading and then occupying Singapore during WWII.
The lawyer in me could not help but take a photo of the Law Society offices.
I came to the Elgin Bridge which crosses the Singapore River.
I passed the Singapore Parliament building, opened in the late 1990s as they had outgrown the older building behind it.
I passed St. Andrews Cathedral, and since I had time before the Singapore National Museum opened, I stopped at the Cathedral's cafe for a latte - much nicer than the Starbucks I had passed.
I passed by the School of Business - much nicer than our Business and Economics Department at Johnson State College.
Nearby was the School of Law and School of Accountancy.
Just before reaching the museum, I learned about the Tree Trail and how since WWII, one of the things Singapore has done is to protect trees, including this Indian Rubber tree in front of the National Museum.
In 2015, Singapore celebrated its 50th anniversary as an independent nation. Thus, there are many markers like this recognizing their Golden Jubilee.
I finally got to the museum just as it opened at 10:00.
There are sections dedicated to the time before it became a British colony in the early 1800s, the years as a British Colony, the Japanese occupation during WWII, become independent in 1965 and its remarkable success and growth since then.
The Museum. Law School and School of Business are all adjacent to each other and are at the foot of the hill where Fort Canning was built, so I went up the hill and explored what is now a large and beautiful park. And because it is the highest elevation around, part of the park surrounds the reservoir for drinking water for Singapore. I checked and discovered that the water is safe to drink, so I am surprised that the hotels provide bottled water - my understanding is so that you will take water with you and avoid becoming dehydration. I have used some of the hotel's bottled water but mostly have used my reusable water bottle I brought from home.
As elsewhere in Singapore, Fort Canning Park has sculptures throughout the historical buildings. It makes me remember how important it is for society to support the arts, something which our current administration in Washington wants to cut from the budget.
As I came down the hill, I walked by the uphill side of the Law School and Law Library.
I also learned a bit about the uses of the hill historically.
Since I had been out walking for more than four hours, I headed back to the hotel for lunch and a rest. While Saturday was cooler than the day before, I was still drenched with sweat and drinking copious quantities of water.
As I crossed back over the Singapore River on the Elgin Bridge, I got a different view, including the riverwalk and quay with many riverside cafes.
After lunch and a nap, I headed off in towards the Gardens by the bay. Along the way, I noticed how Singapore has been pushing developers to have gardens everywhere, including on the sides and tops of buildings.
I passed the old Customs House and its small marina.
Across the bay, I could see much of the development in the Gardens, including those three buildings with a large garden on top and a shopping center below.
I passed by these three unusual structures built to cool passersby. The top of solar cell panels provide shade and generate electricity for the large fan below.
As I reached the gardens, I could see back across the bay.
There is a man made lily pond across which you can see the buildings across the bay.
There is a beautiful bridge to cross the narrow part of the bay.
Here is another view of those three tall buildings with the large garden on top.
On the other side of the bay, they have the Singaporean version of the London Eye.
Beautiful gardens everywhere.
There are a couple of domed buildings like this with more gardens inside, but I was overwhelmed with what was outside, so I never made it into these buildings.
Saw several warning signs for the otters, but did not see any.
That is a swan sculpture about eight feet tall, but in the photo it looks like a real life sized swan.
The gardens include these structures that capture the rain and on which they are growing plants.
Most parts of the garden have good signage to explain just what you are seeing. I had never heard of nor see a cannonball tree, just one of many new things I passed.
Another section of the garden has sculptured plants.
Here are some more sculptured plants, with the three high rise buildings with rooftop garden in the distance.
After several hours, I was beat so I headed back to the hotel - again drenched with sweat, tired and hungry, ready for my third shower of the day and ready to call it a day. According to my pedometer, I covered about twelve miles on foot today. A good day overall.
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