 |
Water taxis to other islands. |  |
Inside the boat. |  |
The village on Pulua Ubin. |
Singapore is a multiethnic society with the Indian, Malay, Chinese, and Islamic ethnic groups predominating. I visited Little India, and was impressed by the lack of tourist garbage (t-shirt and souvenier shops, "authentic" restaurants, more tourists than locals, etc.) There were very few tourists, and thousands of Indians. I ate at a local curry shop and got my food on a banana leaf. It happened to be the last day of an annual 9 day festival, so there were many women and girls packed into one of the local (NOT the famous tourist one!) temples singing, dancing, chanting, etc.
 |
Inside the temple. |  |
Twins. |  |
My lunch. |
I also went to the Islamic section of town, although I wasn't as impressed as I was with Little India.
 |
The famous tourist mosque. |  |
You have to wash your feet prior to entry. |  |
An Islamic cemetary, over 100 years old. |
Singapore is a strict, well ordered society, and as long as you follow the rules, you're ok. But break them, and you're in for some stiff penalties. Some examples include USD 600 for littering, USD 300 for eating, drinking, or smoking in the train station, and USD 3000 for pushing the emergency button on the train. They also have some rather GRAPHIC and effective no trespassing signs, printed in 7 languages!
 |
No eating, drinking, or smoking. |  |
Don't go in, or they'll stop you at gunpoint. |  |
If you don't stop, you die. |
There are also video cameras aimed at busy intersections to keep people from jaywalking.
 |
No jaywalking. |
From Singapore, I took a ferry for about 2 hours to the Indonesian island of Bintan. I was there only a day and a half, but even so went to a smaller island and met some locals, along with seeing many interesting things, such as corpses displayed in busineses along the main street.
 |
Taxis to nearby islands. |  |
A man I spoke to with his daughters. |  |
Muslim women at the market. |
 |
My boat. |  |
One of the small islands. |
Following Indonesia, I went to Johor Bahru, Malaysa (on the Singapore-Malaysia border) to see my friend Murali that I met at Keesler AFB, Mississippi. After meeting him, I went by train and bus to Melaka, a historical city founded by the Dutch in the 1600's. There I had the pleasure of meeting his brother Ragu (spelled incorrectly). After Melaka I went to Kuala Lumpur and met his wife, daughter, and father-in-law.
 |
A man I spoke to at the dock. |  |
The Fock Sin Coffin Shop truck outside a Chinese temple. |  |
The coffin shop. |
 |
Me on the train with the attendant. |  |
"No pissing here here." |  |
Another graphic "protected area" sign. |
 |
Serving food aboard the train. |  |
Instead of toilet paper, a hose is provided for your convenience. |  |
The very clean second class section. |
 |
With university student Norhani Othman. |  |
Murali's brother Ragu. |  |
Murali's wife and 3 year old daughter. |
Sign My Guestbook View My Guestbook
