Despite all advice to the contrary, I decided NOT to stay up until my regular bedtime, to adapt to my new, temporary timezone, and I went to bed at 5pm. It worked out okay! I was up for a bit from 1-2am, but got myself back to sleep and slept through until 6am. YES!

After having the breakfast buffet in the hotel this morning with 3 coworkers, I struck off on my own to explore. Today is our official travel day, so while the rest of the team is still en route, the North Americans are here and settling in.

My destination this morning was the National Museum of Singapore. It is nearby and I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to learn more about Singapore!

Here are a few photos on my walk to the museum:

When I arrived, I found out the main gallery is closed for the entire summer for renovations! AHHH!!

Fortunately, they moved elements of the main exhibit into the basement and I was fortunate enough to time my arrival with an English guided tour! While I was waiting for the tour to start, I met a couple from Sydney, Australia. They had never heard of the Yukon but were eager to live somewhere cooler than Sydney! haha!

Our tour guide was part of the Friends of the Museum’s volunteer program. Jillian was fabulous!

Jillian said they rarely have locals come to the museum. She wonders if they just don’t care about their history?

I know so little about Singapore. But that was about to change! First she showed us some old maps that showed Singapore. The area was used as a trading settlement centuries ago.

Alexander Hamilton was offered Singapore in 1703, but he thought it was too big for him.

Then in 1826, the East India Company Merchant, Thomas Stamford Raffles, established a British Colony here. The Japanese took Singapore in 1942, but after WWII, it went back to the British. Later, in 1963, Singapore merged with Malaysia, but was expelled and became independent Singapore in 1965.

Raffles has so many things named after him here. After he started the colony, he left his right hand man, Major William Farquhar in charge to build the colony. He did so, but also allowed gambling and opium use. Eventually he was dismissed and was bitter for the rest of his days that he wasn’t acknowledged for his influence and impact like Raffles.

However, Farquhar did have children, and Jillian held up her tablet showing a world leader that decended from him. It was Justin Trudeau! His 5th great grandfather, through his mother, was Farquhar! I was the only Canadian in the tour group but many of them still knew who he was.

Jillian told us all about Singapore today. It has always excelled at trade, yet produces nothing of its own. The soil is so terrible, they can grow none of their own food. And until recently, all their water was imported. Still, much of its water comes from the Johor River in Malaysia by pipeline, but now Singapore is doing more with collecting rainwater and has a freshwater estuary they built, and use desalination plants. Jillian said it can be terrifying when she stops to think how they can’t produce their food here and rely on water from elsewhere. She said that was how Japan took the country. They blew up a bridge that destroyed that water pipeline, so they had no choice but to surrender.

Singapore has grown by 25% due to their land reclamation. They are the world’s largest importer of sand. They have made new parts of Singapore where it was once just water.

Jillian told us about the artist who drew the above large sketch entirely from memory after seeing Sinapore from the air once! That jungle area on the left is Singapore Gardens by the Bay area that was created by their land reclamation. The water in the middle is a freshwater estuary.

There was an area of the exhibit with modern Singapore moments. The Singapore flag behind Jillian was flown on top of Mount Everest! The team of Singapore climbers had to train for 5 years over seas because there is no height in Singapore to climb!

They are also proud of an invention they shared with the world. When SARS was spreading, they quickly designed the machine that can tell if a person arriving in the airport has a fever.

As for life in Singapore today, she said there are two things that are really expensive here. Land. And cars. Real estate is very expensive, because it is so limited. And to own a car, you need to apply for a certificate from the government. That certificate can cost $100,000 (Singapore dollars are almost at par with Canadian dollars) so by the time you buy a car, it can cost $200-300k !

They’ve also always been dependant on foreign labour. In previous decades, there was even a phase of Chinese women constructing the buildings here.

Leaving the museum with a much stronger sense of the country I’m visiting, I wandered to the Raffles mall, and then to the Bugis mall. So many malls!

Some street scenes:

They drive on the opposite side of the road here. I can’t find a consistant pattern on what side of the sidewalk to walk on to meet people though. Escalators are usually up on the left (there are escalators everywhere). English is quite dominant, making it a great first visit to Asia!

The food here looks fascinating, but what is also fascinating is how and where you can eat it. At the hawker centres (food vendors) and in mall food courts, people will find a seat, and then leave a package of tissues on it. That means it is taken. They’ll go up to a counter and purchase their food, and then come back to their claimed table.

You can’t eat or drink on the streets. So if you aren’t in a food court, you’ll see people carrying thin plastic bags of food with them as take out. There are a lot of foods in broths. Many noodles. And cold iced drinks, also in bags because you can’t sip them as you go.

I’m just so scared of having a reaction, I went to a Chik-fil-A for lunch! No shellfish or oyster sauce on their menu! I’m going to have to get over my fear, but I could also not, and play it safe. Stupid new allergy!

Now for the heat. It’s more the humidity that is just crushing. The air is thick. Everyone is sweaty. But no one smells. No one smells! How is this possible!?

There are so many cute places in the malls. I’ve bought nothing yet. I’ll have to buy something as a souvenir! And I’m pretty sure it won’t be a hoodie. I was wearing one on the plane and the girl beside me, from Singapore, said “You won’t be needing that here!”.

And now I’m watching some Singapore TV, listening to the thunder rumble outside, and am working at bringing my body temperature back to normal. (The air conditioning everywhere is amazing!).