Singapore

Singapore is a tiny island city/country located on the Southern tip of the Malay peninsula. Thomas Raffles (the same guy that discovered Borobudor) was sent to this area by the East India company in 1819 and founded the actual site of what was to become the modern city of Singapore. Having been colonized by the United Kingdom in the 19th century it was occupied by the Japanese in WW II which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of local people as well as thousands of allied prisoners of war. The Japanese took the country on bicycles from the northern Malay penninsula while Singapore had their army readied in the opposite direction toward the sea. After the war Singapore became part of Malaysia and gained its Independence in 1965.
Singapore’s rules are tough, but clear. Jaywalkers are fined on the spot. Litter and you pay and convicted traffickers can expect a death sentence. You may remember the caning incident of the American for drug possession about 10 years ago. However, you can walk fearlessly day or night, but don’t chew gum and throw it in the garbage.
More than 3 Million people live on the island and there are 14 nationalities, mostly Chinese.
Today, Singapore has the highest standard of living in Asia and is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. The port is the busiest in the world and the slowdown does not appear to have stopped the construction projects or booming restaurant trade.
We were able to visit all 4 of the main neighborhoods including Chinatown, Arab town, India town and the Colonial central business district (mostly walking in the rain). We had a great Indian Lunch and our dinner consisted of the huge crabs (with Pepper) from Sri Lanka. This is a very interesting country and worthy of much more time. We felt completely comfortable and thoroughly enjoyed this beautiful place.
We left Singapore by way of the Straights of Malacca toward Phuket, Thailand. This is a well known Pirate area and we noticed that security had been deployed around the outer decks looking for suspicious small boats. There were a lot of small fishing boats but none that the crew seemed concerned about.