Or, more appropriately, 'The Pales Arrive'.  The Browns were not so brown when they stepped out of the customs area of the Singapore airport on the evening of October 30th, dragging their steamer trunks equipped with wheels.  They were pale, and tired, and probably brain dead, although they didn't admit to feeling brain dead.  Michele flew first class and business class while Bryan sweated it out in coach for the 24 hours it took to fly half-way around the world.  Needless to say, Michele arrived less pale, tired and brain dead than Bryan, but then again, neither one admitted to feeling brain dead.  As a matter of fact, they both stayed awake and alert until at least 11:30pm that first night - and this after several gin and tonics, wine, and for Bryan, an introduction to the delightful world of single malt scotch.  Their fault, really, since he and Michele were the ones who brought us the fancy single malt scotch in the first place.  That and the fancy dark chocolate, but dark chocolate doesn't induce drunkenness or hangovers.  Not that Bryan exhibited drunkenness that first night.  Oh no, some of that came later.  Neither did he exhibit a hangover the next day.  In fact, he and Michele were bright and bushy-tailed, raring to 'get going' on their first full day of vacation.

 

This is the trouble with working people on vacation.  They think it's necessary to 'get going' at all times.  They've yet to learn about the joy of taking it easy, laying back and breathing in, losing track of the time, the day of the week, the date, the month and the year.  This is something we know how to do well, and we did our best to impress our vast knowledge of this topic onto Bryan and Michele throughout their 2 1/2 week stay.  I'm proud to say they adjusted rather well.  No watches were worn, and it was more than once that one or both asked us what day it was.  The frequency of this question accelerated as time went by.  A very good sign, we thought.

 

Speaking of adjusting, the Browns did remarkably well.  Once the steamer trunks were unpacked and stowed (not an easy feat, but one that Michele took on with vigor), they fell into the rigors of boating life in the extreme tropics rather easily.  Anyone else would have immediately wilted in the heat and humidity, whined about giant blisters on their feet from too much walking, laid awake and uncomfortable on sweat-soaked sheets, thrown up over the side during choppy motorsail slogs, succumbed to severe dehydration when hit with the dreaded traveler's trouble commonly known as 'tourista', or jumped overboard to avoid additional boat-related calamities.  They did none of these things.  Instead they grinned, laughed, chatted, joked, went sight seeing, enjoyed or at least endured the 500 miles of motorsailing we did, and drank gin and tonics.  Maybe it was the gin and tonics that aided their adjustment?  We were thinking it was their sunny dispositions, but after reviewing their overall alcohol intake, we're not so sure.  Regardless, they came out alive and mostly well, although we're convinced they both dropped a good ten pounds due to excessive sweating along the way.

 

And us?  We adjusted rather well too.  Having guests aboard was marvelous and we enjoyed every minute.  Now the boat feels empty, and we are left counting the weeks until our next guests arrive.  Lucky for us, it's only 12 1/2 weeks before Kathie and Bill Maloney arrive in Thailand for the second installment (3rd for Bill) of their Harmonie adventures.

 

Ok, so, Singapore.  Here's a synopsis:

As stated in an earlier blog entry, Singapore is a city, an island and a country.  It's population of 4.8 million (roughly the same as New Zealand, which is spread across an area the size of the UK) is squeezed onto tiny Singapore Island just south of the tip of Malaysia, which measures about 20 miles from east to west and 10 from south to north.  The British, namely Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, decided in 1819 to make the island an important part of the British Empire.  It prospered as Southeast Asia's free-trade hub, with the help of lots of imported Chinese labor, until WWII when the Japanese invaded.  In the '50's, a home-grown socialist political party was formed, and Singapore gained its independence from Britain, but remained loosely a part of Malaysia until 1965 when it became fully independent.  Singapore was ruled by the iron fist of Lee Kuan Yew, a third generation Chinese, Cambridge-educated, Singaporean, for 31 years.  In that time,  Singapore rose from the third-world trading post that it was, to the first-world gleaming city/country that it is now.  Singapore is still tightly controlled with government censored media, and more rules and associated stringent punishment (including the death penalty and a hefty fine for jaywalking or chewing gum in public) than any place we've visited so far.  We really can't complain though because the result is a sparking clean, modern city with reliable and efficient public transportation, very little crime, and enough huge shopping malls that if placed end-to-end would allow a person to traverse the whole of Singapore Island without ever having to see the light of day (or feel the heat and humidity).  That's the thing about Singapore, if you're not working, eating or shopping, then you are sleeping, because there's not much else to do.

 

Not that eating in Singapore is disappointing.  Oh no - there are too many cultures converging there for the food to be anything less than marvelous.  The mix of Chinese, Indian, Malay, Indonesian and Thai is a spicy food lover's dream.  And the shopping isn't bad either.  If you're into that kind of mall shopping thing.  You can buy anything in Singapore (we were surprised to see winter coats and sweaters - who buys these things??).  And you can buy the real thing or the copy - it's just a matter of how much you want to pay.  Hail to Singapore!  A consumer's version of heaven!

 

We certainly enjoyed the first world conveniences of Singapore at slightly less than first world prices.  We didn't do a lot of sight seeing, but did get to a few places both before and after Michele and Bryan arrived.  Below are pictures.

 

 

Bryan and Michele's introduction to the world of Singaporean food.  Spicy Chinese lunch in a wooden tub - all for less than $4.

 

 

Some of the newly constructed sky scrapers in Singapore's glitzy Marina Bay area.

 

 

The primo Singaporean shopping mall - complete with outlets for all well-known designers (the Prada store featured fake-fur mini-skirts), multi-tiered escalators and a river running through the middle (all fully air conditioned, of course).

 

 

The DNA helix pedestrian bridge and funky hotel with  garden, pool and observation deck on its soaring roof slab.

 

 

Michele and Bryan on the helix bridge, just starting to turn a pale shade of pink on their first day of vacation.  Unbeknownst to Michele, a giant blister was in the process of forming on the ball of her foot, caused by her most comfy flip-flops.  They were forever banished from use after this marathon walk through the glitz of Singapore (which was a pity because it limited Michele's footwear choices to only 6 non-bejeweled pairs of shoes/sandals).

 

 

What we fondly referred to as the 'orange peel'.  It's still under construction, and we're not quite sure what's it going to be, but for now it really does look like an orange peel, doesn't it?

 

 

Bryan's introduction to the delightful world of single malt scotch.  Note that he is not wearing a watch, and is still smiling while simultaneously remaining awake - not bad for day number one.

 

Anne