East Asia

 

On February 16th 2024 Wendy and I set-forth on a 20 day trip, revisiting old haunts in SE Asia.

From Hong Kong we made a brief side-trip to Shenzhen in China then embarked on a Cruise, sailing down the east coast, south, to Singapore where we spent a few days, before returning home: [Hong Kong; Ha Long Bay/Hanoi; Hoi An; Ho Chi Min City (Saigon); Bangkok; Ko Samui; Singapore]

 

 

Before boarding our cruise in Hong Kong we stayed a couple of nights at the Marco Polo in Kowloon and then made an excursion into China.

While its not The Peninsular, it's still quite nice; and it's very convenient to both the Ferry to Hong Kong Island and to the Metro (that goes everywhere in HK).

The Club Lounge

 

In the morning we caught the Kowloon Ferry over to the City and a bus to the top of Victoria Peak on the very winding and precipitous road - quite an adventure - not for those afraid of heights.

As often seems to be the case, it was misty, restricting the view, so we caught the tram (actually a cable-funicular, a single track with the up and down cars passing in the middle) down.

We eventually returned to Kowloon, after a bit of on-foot exploration, using the Metro.

 

 

  More images around town

 

According to my phone I had walked 12 km but Wendy was not yet done. She was off to the markets.

At night we took a stroll to see the New Year's lights.

 

 

Noticeably less people in Hong Kong speak English. We were told that many English Speakers have left the Colony, now that China has gained more control here. One country one-and-a-half systems.

The following day we were off to China ourselves, just to Shenzhen across the border.  Conveniently, the two metro systems have stations on either side and thousands of people a day cross from one to the other - many are daily commuters who have credentials that allow them to pass through quickly.  Foreigners, like us, have to go through all the usual border controls, like passing from one country to another.

Apart from running on the opposite side, like the road traffic, the two Metro systems are very similar, with electronic displays and announcements in Chinese and English. While both are very inexpensive by our standards, the Metro on the Chinese side is free to persons of a mature age, including us.

 

 

In Shenzhen we habitually stay at the Intercontinental at Overseas China Town (OCT) as it's a five star hotel; within our budget; right on the Metro; and thus provides easy access to markets; art galleries; and even a theme park. Directly across the highway (access via the metro tunnel) there is a large more-natural woodland-park as well as a pleasant village and shopping precinct, with restaurants and coffee shops.  The hotel has well-appointed public spaces including several restaurants and conference rooms and is very comfortable.  The breakfast, in particular, is vast, catering to every taste.  

This is the third time we've stayed here. 

 

After arriving and settling in we went across the road to Walmart for a light lunch and to buy some Australian wine (yes, it was back). 

Such was our travail that we then had to relax at a pleasant coffee shop with charming server. We'd walked another 12 km today.

I spent the morning in the park and exploring the town - more coffee. 

This is just a small area in this largely wooded park. Very nice and very needed, given all the high-rise apartments nearby.

 

 

Around the local park. OTC, Shenzhen, China. The woman in red is a singer, walking about with a cordless microphone. Hence the feedback - the only sound my camera recorded.

 

Despite rumours to the contrary, China's building boom is still in full swing here. The building with the palm trees is new and the tall building in the distance is the Ping An Finance Centre, fifth-tallest building in the World (115 stories - 599 m).

 

Unlike last time, once out of the hotel, almost no one here speaks English. Can they have forgotten? No. It's a young and confident new generation. China is now a world power. It's the same arrogance that English speakers once had. 'If they don't understand you shout,' an American once told me.  At least the Chinese remain polite.

Last night in China.
Tomorrow it will be back on the Metro to the border; then on to the HK Metro to the city; to catch a taxi to the cruise terminal and board the ship. 

We went back over the highway to a restaurant that I'd discovered earlier in the day. Where we ordered whole roast duck and a salad.

 

Fortunately the menu had pictures, as there was no translation and we had no internet. Wifi was a couple of Chinese characters??? 

We'd bought the wine at the supermarket ($A 14) and tried to ask if BYO was OK. It was farcical trying to use sign language to ask that. But then they produced both wine glasses and ice. No charge.

Why can't these foreigners speak Mandarin? Or read or write?

Needless to say, the meal was excellent. It was also inexpensive and a fraction of the price of a similar evening meal at the Intercontinental, across the road. Or in Australia.

The restaurant is quite large and there were numerous young couples, some with children, enjoying each other's company and the atmosphere was very convivial.  Have you ever noticed that people laugh the same in any language?

 

 

Yesterday evening, after we had embarked in Hong Kong, our ship, Celebrity Solstice, put out to sea, surrounded by a damp fog. Now it's nice out and we're on our way to Ha Long Bay and Hanoi. Tomorrow. 

 

 

 Celebrity Solstice, is an older slightly shabbier sister to the Celebrity Equinox, that we sailed on last year, so we know our way around - everything in the same place. Our 'stateroom' and even the dinner menu was familiar.

 

This is our fourth ocean-going cruise, if you don't count travelling by ship to Singapore as younger adults, long before Wendy and I met. Actually, Wendy didn't make it that far, as her ship caught fire, and she completed her trip to London by air.

We'd been on River river cruises, on the Nile and the Volga, but they were quite a different experience. We'd also observed cruise ships arriving in places were were staying - guided groups suddenly being marched around town or country for half a day then off they would go, back to their ship, while we sat among the bemused locals, making humorous observations. 

So, we are in no illusion that this is the way to 'see' a city or a country. That needs to be done by travelling by land in the country, preferably by bus or car, through villages farmland and the light-industrial outskirts of each city. Going to local shops for food. Staying in accommodation that one has booked oneself and so on. In other words: interacting with people going about their lives.

On a cruise, one is landed at a port, often far away from the major city shown on the itinerary, which often involves ship-organised transportation, potentially to be herded from site to site as a tour group.

As we all know from home, wherever that is, these groups are avoided by the actual residents, except for those who make their living from delivering services or some fabricated 'experience' to tourists.

On this occasion we were visiting places that we have been to before.  So, for a more in-depth discussion I commend my earlier, on-the-ground, travel diaries, linked below as relevant.

 

 

As the ship moored overnight at Ha Long Bay we decided to avoid the ship-provided excursions and spend a self-planned night in Hanoi.

 

 

  Ha Long to Hanoi's a two hour drive and we'd had a bit of drama with Wendy's visa prior to leaving, so we needed a new driver. Then, our substitute driver wanted a break in the middle. 

 

 

 

So it was a great relief to find that our inexpensive hotel (Emerald Waters & Spa Hanoi) was OK and we quickly found a very pleasant place for lunch. Then it was time walk about town browsing in the shops, joining the famous traffic.

 

 

Previous experience told us that the trick is to step out and walk across the road at a steady pace. As the travel guides advise: "Walk at a predictable pace so motorbikes can swerve around you and try to cross together with locals until you get the hang of it."

Standing on the kerbside, waiting for a chance to cross 'safely' is like the joke: "Have you come here to die?" - "No. I've been here since yesterday (Australian accent)."

It's not always a pretence that you don't notice them. Some of the motor-scooters are now those silent electric ones, like those in China, that eschew noise of any kind and speak up behind you. "Oh Sh..."

One would think that a Communist country would have road rules, yet it's complete anarchy, that somehow works.

Red flags abound here, reminding us of who won the 'American War'.

 

 

Yet this is a vibrant small business economy. Even many of the big businesses are managed in the private sector.

When we were in Washington DC, back in 2017 we visited the Vietnam War Memorial with the names of 258,220 who died.  As the Australian War Memorial in Canberra also records, not a few Australians also died here, or as a result of their service, including my bother's best friend, Ross.

 

 

Remind me again. Why did they die? Was it to protect the Vietnamese from all this?  I'm so grateful that my birthday did not come up in the conscription ballot.

Farewell Hanoi, it was fun. And, somehow, our bags are heavier. Then it was another two hour drive back to Ha Long Bay and the boat.

 

Back in 2010, we spend a couple of days on a junk on Ha Long Bay. 

The picture top-left is new taken from the ship in 2024. The others are from 2010. The weather hasn't changed much. To see all the 2010 images Click here... 

 

 

 

 

Cruising may not be the best way to experience a new country, yet it does have it's benefits: excellent meals; bottomless beverages; some excellent floor shows; and plenty of opportunities to relax. 

 

A large caffè latte please, nothing to eat at the moment, I'll have a cocktail later.

 

 On the boat last night. We enjoyed the floorshow at one of the bars with our after-dinner cocktails. 

 

Some of the Ship's full-time entertainment crew, who provide a chorus and support guest entertainers. In addition there are ship musicians and singers

 

Thus primed, after our wine at dinner and a couple of piña coladas, we went onto the dance floor ourselves. Trad rock. Nice to have a dance occasionally.   [Facebook comment: Hermione Inglesby French: where's the video of you two dancing xx  Reply: Richard McKie: that one was seized by Security.]

 

 

As nearer ports can't accommodate ships this size, Celebrity Solstice put in to the Chân Mây Seaport, involving a two hour bus journey to Hội An. The ship didn't offer an excursion to Huế, that I would have preferred, based on our previous visits.

Yet, this road trip was interesting in itself. Though the 6.28 km Hải Vân Tunnel, the longest tunnel in Southeast Asia (Sydney has several longer ones but they are much newer); the Dragon Bridge over the River Hàn in Da Nang,; Da Nang city; followed by large number of failed resorts (abandoned; half finished; deserted). Evidence of a building bubble well-and-truly burst.

During the Vietnam War, Da Nang was often in our news in Australia. According to Wikipedia, during the War, the United States Air Force base at Da Nang reached an average of 2,595 aircraft traffic operations daily, more than any other airport and airbase in the world at that time. Yet, in March 1975, Da Nang fell to the communist north Vietnamese forces. The onetime base has become the Da Nang International Airport. Vietnam issued two special postage stamps to commemorate this event, within its "total liberation" stamp set issued 14 December 1976.

Today Da Nang is a busy, modern city. Note the Ford dealership. There is also a more up-marked BMW dealership in the same strip.

 

 

 Back in 2010 Da Nang struck me differently - on that occasion we didn't get to drive past the beaches.

We had flown in to Da Nang but wanted to catch the train out to Huế. The train was over an hour late so we had the opportunity of wandering around a non-tourist working town, at least near the station. Shop touts were totally absent and most impressive was the amount of economic activity and the variety of hardware, equipment and materials on sale, as well as the apparent quality of the buildings (like a NSW country town) and wellbeing of the populous. The (narrow gauge) train journey is spectacular; and the air conditioned soft seat (equals first class) cars were predominantly occupied by locals with local food offered for sale during the trip (better than NSWG railways). The train follows the rugged coast past beaches, around headlands and across escarpments hung with creepers covered in flowers. Once or twice it slows to cross a rusted or damaged bridge. Almost every bridge in Vietnam, except the spectacular new iconic ones, is shored up with temporary pylons or extra steel. Occasionally the train runs through a town and here people have extended their back yards to include the railway easement so that people have to move off the track into their houses as the train approaches.

 

Mais quel dommage, Hội An has changed in the past 13 years; and not for the better. It's no longer a sleepy little tailoring town. Now there are just too many tourists. Our busload didn't help that.

The tailor who has our measurements is still here but maybe my measurements have changed(?) and I don't need another bespoke business suit these days.

 

 

 This is what I said in 2010:

 

Vietnam is a shopper’s paradise. While not like China for electrical and photographic goods, one of the drivers of the apparently booming economy is clothing manufacture. Seconds, rip-offs and the occasional genuine designer brand original fill the markets. A discerning and careful buyer can acquire an entire wardrobe including having patterns from European and US fashion magazines tailored to order. Central to this tailoring industry is the riverside town of Hoi An. Unlike Hanoi that had been cold, Hoi An was blisteringly hot but the Ha An Hotel was like a tropical island, complete with hammocks and beach umbrellas. Here we went for a trip along the river in a local boat with an excellent driver (me) past fisher folk, duck farms, cattle grazing, coconut groves and sand barges. I used a hotel bike for a look around the town but except for the local market, and that soon palls, it’s a bit dull; unless you are excited by recently built Buddhist shrines and pagodas and the bizarre Vietnamese version of that religion. There are a couple of small threadbare museums and some of the French colonial architecture is interesting, including the tailor’s where we spent a lot of time. The evenings cooled a bit and it was pleasant to sit in the hotel garden with a glass of wine, or to rest in one of the nearby restaurant/cafes along the river. On the road in to Hoi An, there are some Hindu/Buddhist ruins similar to those in Cambodia (but on a much smaller scale) and a very long beach with a casino, lined with future tourist resorts under construction; adjacent to the Greg Norman Golf Course! Looks terrible, and if you think Hoi An is boring; not even a tailor in sight...

 

 

 

 

Another day another port: Ho Chi Min City (Saigon)

The trouble with large cruise ships is that they are often relegated to some seaport out in the boondocks. In this case it was the SP-SSA International Terminal at Vung Tau.  Ho Chi Min City (Saigon) is around 80 km, or two hours away by bus.  

 

 

As we had previously spent several days in Saigon, Wendy and I chose different excursions. 

You can read about our previous, much more in-depth, trip Here...

Wendy to the city and I chose an excursion to the Mekong Delta, an hour further on.

On the way, the bus passed many hectares of rice paddies. Our guide, on the bus, explained that Vietnam is one of the largest rice growing countries in the world and has the best rice. That's odd, because a similar guide in Siri Lanka firmly assured us that Siri Lankan rice, like their tea, is the best. 

On returning to the ship I looked it up. There are a lot of rice varieties so taste is a factor. According to the judges at the 2023 International World Rice Conference, Vietnamese rice did indeed win the prize as the "World's Best Rice." Second and third places went to Cambodian and Indian rice, respectively. Alas, Siri Lanka didn't get a mention.  I suppose that, after regular exposure to Agent Orange, Vietnamese rice is both more tasty and herbicide resistant?

In terms of rice production, China is by far the largest grower, with five times Vietnam's production. Vietnam is fifth largest, after Indonesia.  

We no longer see teams of people, with plate-like hats, as Noël Coward observed, bending over in the paddy fields. As in all these advanced rice producing nations, hand planting and harvesting have long been replaced by machinery.

 

 

 

The visit to the delta turned out to be a fabricated tourist experience. Given three hours on a bus to get there and the need to get back before the ship sailed, it was a brief visit, mainly to an island set up for tourists, with an inland river constructed for the use of local boat persons, with plate-like hats, ferrying patrons, à la Disneyland (without the submerged rail tracks); a coconut 'factory' and 'local' honey products, sans bees. 

 

 

But we did see some real local fishermen on the actual delta, a lot of countryside, and My Tho, a nicely appointed, modern town.

Leaving My Tho, it was an hour back to Saigon and the traffic.

 

 

 

At sea on our way to Thailand.

 

 

 

 

There's seldom a dull moment on the ship for those who like to be entertained, be beautified, exercise or gamble.

Or, if you don't care about skin cancer, you could join the hundreds, many getting horribly sun-burnt, out on the upper deck.  One can also sit in a bar - with the semi-permanent inhabitants - but some can get a bit rowdy.

Alternatively, there are pleasantly quiet places, to read or to play games.

 

The library is behind the (real) tree - a nice place to sit and read.
The games room is below it - Mahjong anybody?

 

Of course there is always the 'stateroom' balcony - very pleasant - with the ocean swishing by

 

We like the trivia competitions. Yet, against teams of 8 or 9, we generally fall short, unless we join with a quiz grandmaster (rain man/woman), as happened occasionally on previous cruises.

It's seldom ignominious, except for sport (don't even bother) and that music quiz that featured Disney tunes and their matching animated movie and performer. I think we got 'Frozen' and 'Snow White', but who sang them?   And what were all those others? Where does one hear this muzak?  Obviously parents and grandparents get exposed to animated movies but how do they remember the music; or who sang the song?  Yet one of the LBGTQIA+ group, aced it!  Grandchildren??

 

The ship's full-time musicians and singers provide backing to guest entertainers. There is a new guest performance in the theatre every night, repeated once the same night. This guy could do a very plausible Roy Orbison, as well several others of that vintage. But he moved a bit too much to be the real Roy.

 

 

 

 

As was usually the case on this cruise, the mooring was well out of the city, at Laem Chabang, allegedly a two hour drive to Bangkok. 

Unusually, our boat reversed into the mooring - demonstrating the versatility and manoeuvrability of these large diesel-electric ships (that I've discussed elsewhere).

The two hour drive to the outskirts becomes three as soon as you hit the Bangkok traffic, that's more akin to a car park than a highway.  Significantly worse since we were here in 2014.

 

 

Our bus finally got to Central Markets, from where we were on our own. It was very close to the the Grande Centre Point Hotel, Ratchadamri that we stayed in during our 2012 visit. There is a Sky Train stop at Ratchadamri and cabs to anywhere. But first we had some shops to see.

 

 

 
As our time was limited, we decided to restrict ourselves to one key tourist attraction and took a cab to the Royal Palace. But as we approached the traffic became so heavy that we decided to walk the last kilometre.

It was very hot. 

 

 

If you are interested in more pictures, follow this link: Pictures from Thailand 2012, 2014 & 2024

To get back to our bus we caught a ferry from the Palace to Sathorn to catch the Sky Train (the green line on the map).

 
The only catch was that the station names didn't correspond to those on our map. Also it's a single track system so, trains run in both directions on the same track/platform. It was only the nearby river that warned us that the first train to arrive was going in the wrong direction. Anyway, we figured it out. All good.

On one previous visit to Bangkok there was unrest in the streets. Regrettably, this is not unusual here and I used it as the basis for a short story. You might like to read it?  The Greatest Dining Experience Ever in Bangkok

If you are considering a visit to Thailand, here is my travel diary from a dozen years ago, that's still pretty current. If I was updating it the statistics would change but the relativities are much the same.  Read more...     

One big change is the number of motor vehicles manufactured. Toyota has it's second largest plant here and Mitsubishi also has a huge factory, along with numerous other Japanese and Chinese manufacturers. There are many hectares of vehicles at the port awaiting export. Australian coal and gas provide much of the energy.

This is reflected in the volume of traffic in the city. So that it is often faster to walk - over one of the many sky-walks - or to take the sky-train than to use a cab.  The tuck-tucks are now totally absent in the city.

 

 

 

The following day, put off by the traffic and familiarity, we elected not to go back to Bangkok but to try a guided excursion - still involving a long bus trip - to the town of Na Mueang, Chachoengsao and enviros.

Na Mueang offers a temple complex on the Bang Pakong river. And a visit and an historic marketplace, complete with an ethnic dance performance. The excursion included lunch at a nearby resort and an extended temple visit where the faithful apply litte squares metallic leaf to dozens of Buddas for good luck. Like Portia's suitor in The Merchant of Venice, I was disappointed to learn that "All that glisters is not gold". 

Gold leaf is not particularly expensive, surely the faithful could afford the real thing?  But I suppose that, after many accretions of real gold, the Buddas would gradually become rather too attractive to thieves. So it's an alloy of bronze. Even then, they are periodically stripped for the metal. Alternatively, or in addition, one can add to one's good luck by contributing a donation to the monks, worthy of a special blessing. I'm often amazed by the implausible ideas whole groups of people believe; and weave their lives around. 

Finally, we were taken to an even older market, on the river, that doubles as the homes of the stall holders.

 

 

 

 

 

Ko Samui Island, still in Thailand, was the ship's last stop before Singapore.

This was the only place that Wendy and I had not previously visited.

Wendy booked a ship's excursion that I had declined, deciding instead, to simply go ashore and look around. We had to tender in.

I was immediately assailed by numerous cab drivers offering a tour of the island. As I still had more Thai Baht than I wanted, but not as much as they were asking, I negotiated a price within my means (Baht 2000 about $80) to go all the way around, stopping at places as suggested by driver - marked on his map. A bit of sign language and bartering was required. Google maps, in conjunction with my phone, subsequently told me we travelled about 90 km.

Here are some of the highlights.

 

 

 

 

Back on the ship we had another sea day before Singapore and for the first time it was a bit rough, creating interesting waves in the solarium pool, caused by the ship rolling slightly. The waves are considerably larger periodically but, as usual, as soon as I got my phone out they stopped. Something to do with resonance?  There's a subsurface ledge that acts like a beach, causing the bigger waves to break. It's probably deliberate, to dampen the oscillations and stop it sploshing over. Cool.
 

Waves in the solarium pool

 

 

 

 

We got into Singapore this morning.

 

 

As Singapore is a regular stopover between Europe and Australia we have been through the airport frequently and on two of those occasions, in November 2018 and in September 2019 we stayed over for a few days.

We were not enamoured of the hotel we stayed in in 2019, that was near the harbour front but inconvenient to public transport.  So, on this occasion we went back to the Sofitel City Centre that, in addition to being very comfortable, sits over a metro station to the airport; a shopping mall and a food hall. 

Now. What to do?  We could take the cable-car to Sentosa again but that would take most of a day and we've done it before, similarly, we could go for a walk around the fake trees at the Gardens by the Bay - a Metro ride away. But no.

 

 

That leaves China Town; the shopping malls and the museums.  China Town is a short walk away. 

 

 

Singapore is now, per capita, one of the wealthiest countries in the world, not much behind Luxembourg (the wealthiest). When we were here, separately, in the 1970's Singapore was relatively low-cost and a cornucopia of shopping bargains. 

There are no such bargains anymore, unless it's an eight thousand dollar watch or a similarly priced handbag.  Sydney is less expensive.  So, after a bit of exploration and some token nick-nacks from China Town we gave up on that idea.

The museums remained. The 'ArtScience Museum' at Marina Bay Sands beaconed. Two birds with one stone? Up-market shopping on the air-conditioned walk from the Metro and an interesting museum. Despite an eye-watering entry price we lined-up, only to be told it was sold out today. 

What about my old favorite? I have photos from three separate visits to the 'National Museum of Singapore'.  This time I persuaded Wendy to come with me.

 

 

The Museum acknowledges Singapore's British founders, and it's role as an important outpost of the British Empire. The terrible contrast provided by the Japanese Empire is obviously a factor in the generally favorable attitude towards the British. The return of the British was particularly welcomed after the Japanese defeat. More recent galleries go on to document: industrialisation and social services; the post-war independence movement; the failed merger with Malaysia; and 'going-it-alone'; culminating in pride in the new country's success.

The rickshaw exhibit reminded us separately of how much Singapore had changed since the 1970's, when they were a common sight.

Singapore's post-war success was in part to a massive social housing program, combined with the 'Girl or boy, two is enough' campaign that qualified families for social assistance, bringing rampant poverty under control.

Leaving, on our third day, we remarked that although there are obviously poor people, we were yet to see a homeless person.

Nevertheless, the difference in wealth is palpable. Up in our hotel lounge a couple can enjoy an afternoon (high) tea for just $120 (special deal). It's sold out. For more information watch the movie: 'Crazy Rich Asians'.

 

Crazy Rich Asians is a 2018 romantic comedy-drama directed by Jon M. Chu, based on the 2013 novel of the same title by Kevin Kwan. Much of it looks like a promotion by the Singapore Tourism Board

 

Many Singaporeans have servants, at the very least a cleaner, and most cleaners, manual labourers, and so on, are guest-workers. They come from neighbouring Malaysia or Indonesia, some commuting in daily. Others are temporary residents and may come from further afield. I didn't enquire but, by appearance and language, possibly from the sub-continent.  They need to get about and to be clothed and fed.  So, down in the station food court, a very good full-meal costs around $10. Clothes are cheap. And the trains are inexpensive too.

'Crazy Rich Asians' represents, at least some, Singaporeans as 'airheads'. Yet, this year, 2024, the Programe for International Student Assessment (PISA) ranked Singapore's school students first in the world, with top scores in maths, science and reading.

Another factor in Singapore's success was an authoritarian approach to government by Lee Kuan Yew the first Prime Minister, who was often likened to a benevolent dictator, and called anti-democratic, supressing any opposition to his many reforms that included a strict civic code, like jail-time for littering. Singapore was a predominantly Buddhist enclave amidst a predominantly Muslim region and the resulting religious intolerance and interreligious and interracial conflicts were firmly put-down, with the younger generation being taught that tolerance of another's unfamiliar beliefs, or a different ethnicity, is the essence of being Singaporean.

Today, while the immediate neighbours, Malaysia and Indonesia, remain predominantly Muslim, only 30% of Singaporeans still identify as Buddhist; 20% report having no religion and several other religions (including Christianity, Islam and Hindu) make up the balance.

In surveys, only about a third of Singaporeans report that religion 'is very important in their daily lives'. Yet in Indonesia, across the border, 98% report that 'religion is very important in their daily lives' and across the other border, Malaysia is not far behind. 

By comparison, one in six Australians reported that 'religion is very important in their daily lives' (source: Pew Research Center surveys - 2008 to 2017).

Thus, religion is no longer as socially disruptive in Singapore as it once was. Yet, as in Australia, not long after our return, there will always be outbreaks of religiously motivated violence, as long as there are religious fanatics.  I've discussed the origins of religious belief extensively, elsewhere on this website.

According to the Pew Research Centre: 

...no more than around a third of the population follows any one religion, according to the latest census. A 2014 Pew Research Center report even ranked Singapore as the most religiously diverse country in the world. Singaporeans report high levels of interreligious tolerance and acceptance on multiple measures. This tolerance appears alongside a history of state-sponsored coexistence in the country. Ever since its independence in 1965, the government has staunchly pushed the idea that being multiracial and multireligious is foundational to the country.

 

Singlish

 

We liked the food court for a light meal. Down there young people (mostly office workers and students) speak Singlish among themselves. It's pretty well unintelligible except for all the 'like' s, 'oh my god' s and 'did she?'s.
You have to listen carefully to realise that it is indeed English. 

At the Museum several groups of uniformed children, from a local school, were gathered around teachers, learning about periods of their history. One teacher was speaking in standard English. Another was speaking in Singlish. I could understand a fraction of what she was saying. Yet, the children were equally engaged. To them, Singlish is just the local accent, no sub-titles required.

English remains the lingua franca. Like Australians, Singaporeans: 'queue for a taxi'; go to the 'second storey' and down to the 'ground floor'; 'take away' coffee; and put things in the 'boot' of their car. China Town is the only place that has dual language signage. Elsewhere, including on public transport, it's only in English.

 

 

To see all of the photos from the trip - click on the image above

 

 

We caught the Metro from our hotel (there is a station in the basement) to the airport and all was well, until we boarded a dingy Finnair aircraft (codeshare with Qantas).  After a long delay on the ground we finally got going (Fin in air?), probably not their fault.

But then the plane started falling apart. As we took off, bottles of water tumbled down onto Wendy from a broken pocket above.

We were soon to be served an almost inedible one-course meal - no bread; no salad; no little chocolate or cheese, no desert.  We chose different options but both were equally horrible and pushed aside, hardly touched. It was like the Woody Allan joke in 'Annie Hall': comparing life in general to a retirement home: "terrible food - and such small portions".  We both asked for wine. Red or white?  No varietal sub-options. We were each given a tiny one-glass bottle. Wendy asked for another. Certainly madam - snigger. She's still waiting.

Oh well! Maybe breakfast would be better? But there was no breakfast! The only other food provided on the flight was in a small cardboard box, literally thrown, from side-to-side, as the attendant passed down the isle. It contained some sort of tasteless, bar only marginally more edible than the box it came in.

On the bright side the plane didn't crash. And we have now found another airline to put at the bottom of our list, that was almost worse than Aerolineas Argentinas.