Judy and Gord and Cammie have been and gone! They were here for 4 days, and are now off on a side trip to Thailand. I can't wait to get their views.
You can take some things in Singapore for granted, until you visit another Asian country. Singapore is a first world country. Other Asian countries are certainly not: Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand. How Singapore has done what they have done in 47 years is truly remarkable.
The infrastructure here is excellent. The unemployment is low, the standard of living high. The man responsible, Lee Quan Yew, set out to make Singapore a business hub of Asia. He has done it. The businesses must pay a lot of tax, because income tax is 15%, education to the end of high school paid, some health coverage for all residents, air quality really very good, considering the population is 5,000,000.
Of course there is the other side of the coin; strict laws for everything imaginable, enforced strongly, secret police, cameras everywhere. But the city is easy. Traffic orderly, city safe , wonderful public transit, very little begging, (I have seen 3 in my 16 months here), and they encourage tattling, or reporting on anything out of the ordinary.
I actually think I am repeating myself. Sorry folks.
Judy and family and I went to Marina Bay Sands Hotel. That is the 51 story 3 towers hotel, with 2500 rooms, with the massive boat/swimming pool on top. If you haven't, you should google it. The Wades asked what they should see, what was the one thing they should be sure to see. For me it is MBS.
In the hotel lobby, Judy engaged in a conversation with a hotel staff. That turned in to a private tour of the top. Instead of $20 each, to look over a fence to this amazing pool, we got to walk through the pool area, and they got the whole shpeel. Interesting though, the wonderful employee talked of a partnership between the builders and the government. I think the real story is the builders went bankrupt and the government bailed them out.
Another day we went to Little India, to the seven story, two building, 24 hour, 7 days a week, department store Mustafa. It is truly amazing. Makes Honest Ed's look like a small boutique! More than you can imagine of everything, including the kitchen sink. A whole department of chocolate, an area about 2,000 square feet!
I was able to take Judy to an FOM lecture on Indian painting telling a story. Meanwhile Gord and Cammie did a river cruise downtown. We then headed home to home cooking for Cammie, who is a real sport, 12 years old, and trying strange food. But she thought some was almost as good as back in Fort Erie!
When they left town, I did aother cooking class. This now my 4th here down the street. I should get good at this. I would like to be able to know the spices and curries for Thai, Cambodian, Laotian, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Indonesian, and Singaporean cuisine.
I am back to my yoga every day. I really am making headway. As slow as it is, I can see progress. My pain is still silent, thank the Lord and alleluia, and in some ways I am in better shape than before this whole awful year of fibromyalgia. So I am a happy camper. But I do see I have to stay with it, and if I miss a day or two I stiffen up.
I saw a wonderful movie, Midnight's Children. A book of Salman Rushdie's made in to a film. He did the screen writing and the narration. It was particularly interesting for me because I am reading his autobiography, Joseph Anton, about his years he lived in hiding during the fatwa.
The last 3 weeks we have been through the hottest weather I have experienced to date. Apparently April to July, yes JULY, are the hot months. I think I was so out of it last year, or every day seemed so hot, that I didn't notice. Actually I do recall July being moderate. Well it sure ain't moderate now. Very hot and very humid.
I am starting to think of trip home. I plan to come back in August and stay to October. Tim will come for 2 weeks in September for a wedding in Collingwood. Oops I am repeating myself. Sorry.
I'll sign off. Off to the gym. It's 8 p.m. but the gym is cool, actually cold, so it is easy to talk myself in to going.
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