Sunday, May 1, 2011 (Singapore)

UP, UP AND AWAY: It was raining again this morning, but we went to the Singapore Flyer, which gives a great view of the city and offshore shipping. The ride took a good half hour. Our pod (similar to the one above, which was rolling along ahead of us--blocking our view for some of the time) held about 20 people. Very worthwhile doing. After we treated ourselves to some STING RAY at a hawker center that recently opened at the base of the massive wheel.

BOWLED OVER: On our walk from the Singapore Flyer to the National Museum, we came across a cricket match/practice on the expansive lawn at the Singapore Cricket Club. Someone threw the ball. Someone tried to hit it. (A small arrow in the photo points to the ball.) Beyond that, we really had no clue. Still, we gazed at the action for a good 15 minutes. Nothing really took root. The most amazing point revealed during the session was that Sandy pointed to the esteemed club building and acknowledged that she had recently had LUNCH inside that BASTION of cricketdom. Very jealous, even though that's not really cricket of me.

BLASTS FROM THE PAST: We trudged over to the landmark National Museum of Singapore (right) this afternoon. We spent most of our time strolling through a riveting audio-device-enhanced trip through the history of Singapore. The exhibit is formally called The Singapore History Gallery. The YouTube video below gives a bit of an idea about the exhibit. We really liked it.



AS LONG AS YOU'RE IN SHANGHAI, WHY NOT ZIP OVER TO SINGAPORE FOR A BRIEF VISIT? It's great having Sam here. He heads back to Shanghai and onward to Maine on Tuesday. To put his visit in perspective.....
He was in Shanghai and lives in Orono, Maine. That's about 7,500 miles as a crow flies.
The distance from Shanghai to Singapore is about 2,400 miles, for the same (albeit exhausted) crow. When we heard he was going to be in Shanghai, we invited him to come down to Singapore.
I've been trying to put this side-trip into perspective. Let's say that someone is in BOSTON and is about to fly to MUMBAI (7,600 miles as that crow flies). Then, as a side trip, this person heads to PHOENIX, ARIZONA (2,300 miles). That's the side-trip we're talking about.

IN THE SPIRIT OF LABOR DAY: Technically, today's a national holiday here, honoring labor. Most everyone has the day off. But they're busy as usual at the Tanjong Pagar Container Terminal here in Singapore. The Singapore Crane Index Limited Economic Indicator, reveals there were only six inactive cranes on the morning of May 2. Here's the latest look-out-the-window tally:


Date: May 2
Time: 7:45 a.m. (Singapore time)
Cranes Up (inactive): 6
Cranes Down (active): 20
CRANES MISSING (puzzling): 2