Travel Log for Melvin: World Cruise 2017 Day 64 Singapore, Singapore

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

World Cruise 2017 Day 64 Singapore, Singapore

Friday, March 10, 2017

Today the ship spent the night in Singapore. I did not schedule a tour for today. I walked to the terminal with my computer to see if I could transmit my reports. I could not get it to work so I got on the shuttle bus to go to the Millenia Walk Shopping Center. I got on but I still could not get the computer to transfer my reports. I have Cox and I tried to change some of the parameters but I still could not get it to work so I got on the bus and went back to the ship. At 1:10 PM we left for the return to the ship. We arrived back at the ship at 2:30 PM. After dinner I went to a movie at 7:30 PM and at 10PM I went to the show. It was put on by Fly Rights a group of 3 black singers from England who sang a variety of hits.

Singapore officially the Republic of Singapore, sometimes referred to as the Lion City, the Garden City or the Little Red Dot, is a sovereign city-state in Southeast Asia. It lies one degree (137 km) north of the equator, at the southern tip of peninsular Malaysia, with Indonesia's Riau Islands to the south. Singapore's territory consists of one main island along with 62 other islets. Since independence, extensive land reclamationhas increased its total size by 23% (130 km²), and its greening policy has covered the densely populated island with tropical flora, parks and gardens.

Stamford Raffles founded colonial Singapore in 1819 as a trading post of the East India Company; after its collapse and the eventual establishment of the British Raj, the islands were ceded to Britain and became part of its Straits Settlements in 1826. During the Second World War, Singapore was occupied by Japan. It gained independence from the UK in 1963 by federating with other former British territories to form Malaysia, but separated two years later over ideological differences, becoming a sovereign nation in 1965. After early years of turbulence, and despite lacking natural resources and a hinterland, the nation developed rapidly as an Asian Tiger economy, based on external trade and its workforce.

Singapore is a global commerce, finance and transport hub. Its standings include: the most "technology-ready"nation (WEF), top International-meetings city (UIA), city with "best investment potential" (BERI), second-most competitive country, third-largest foreign exchange market, third-largest financial centre, third-largest oil refining and trading centre, and the second-busiest container port. The country has also been identified as a tax haven.

Singapore ranks 5th on the UN Human Development Index and the 3rd highest GDP per capita. It is ranked highly in education, healthcare, life expectancy, quality of life, personal safety, and housing. Although income inequality is high, 90% of homes are owner-occupied. 38% of Singapore's 5.6 million residents are permanent residents and other foreign nationals. There are four official languages: English (common and first language), Malay, Mandarin, Tamil; almost all Singaporeans are bilingual.

Singapore is a unitary multiparty parliamentary republic, with a Westminster system of unicameral parliamentary government. The People's Action Party has won every election since self-government in 1959. The dominance of the PAP, coupled with a low level of press freedom and restrictions on civil liberties and political rights, has led to Singapore being classified by some as a semi-authoritarian regime. One of the five founding members of the ASEAN, Singapore is also the host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Secretariat, and a member of the East Asia Summit, Non-Aligned Movement, and the Commonwealth of Nations.

This picture was taken from the ship of Singapore.

This picture was taken from the ship of Singapore. The green area and the land where the buildings are built are land fill. The green space is newer land fill and buildings will be built here in the future.