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Round The World 2000Singapore |
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| The first stop on our Round The World Trip
was Singapore, where we stayed at the Marina Mandarin Hotel with it's magnificent
Atrium. We had a great view of our hotel (bottom centre in the picture below) and
the surrounding area from the bar of the Westin Stamford Hotel. 
View from the 73rd floor of the Westin Stamford Hotel
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Marina Mandarin Atrium |
| Bumboat Ride |
| We took a ride on a bumboat - they used to be the workhorses of the port, fetching and
carrying from vessels which were too big to enter the harbour. Singapore is one of
the busiest ports in the world and when the new harbour was built the bumboats were
left with little to do. Now some are used to take visitors on informative
tours of the river and out past the Merlion statue, the symbol of Singapore. |
On the old bumboats you ride past Boat Quay, Clarke Quay, the Golden
Shoe financial district, various historical bridges, Parliament House and back to the site
of Raffles' landing in Singapore - Empress Place.
Empress Place - Raffles' Landing Site |
Financial District and Boat Quay |
Clarke Quay |
Merlion - Symbol of Singapore |
| Chinatown |
| Singapore's Chinatown is a colourful place to visit. The streets are filled with
little shops selling Chinese items, and there are several tailors offering to make you a
suit should you desire! |
Chinatown |
Sri Mariamman Temple
Right in the middle of Chinatown is the Hindu Temple of Sri Mariamman. In the
temple courtyard is the area used at the Timithi Festival, when devotees walk across a pit
of glowing coals to honour the Goddess Draupathi. |
| Raffles |
| Thomas Stamford Raffles was born in 1781, and is the acknowledged founder
of modern Singapore. Having worked for the East India Company in Panang, Java, and
Sumatra he realised that a better located port would be greater benefit to trading in the
region. In 1819 he landed in Singapore and secured the island as a free trade port for
the British. He took just one week to secure the deal to lease the island from the
local Sultans and appointed William Farquhar as Governor. Within four months 4,000
people had settled there.
Ill-health forced his resignation from the East India Company, and in 1822 he set sail
back to Singapore, by which time the population had grown to 10,000 and over 3,000 vessels
had registered at the port. During the following nine months he drafted the
constitution, founded the land registry and drew up a town plan which gave each race an
area in which to settle. Raffles died in London the day before his 46th birthday. |
Raffles' Statue |
Courtyard, Raffles Hotel |
Raffles Hotel
One of Singapore's most famous landmarks, The Raffles Hotel was established in 1887 to
cater for the growing number of traders and travellers following the opening of the Suez
Canal.
We treated ourselves to lunch in the famous Long Bar, an oasis of cool and calm from the
heat and humidity of the City! |
| Fort Canning Park |
St. Andrew's Cathedral |
Singapore from Fort Canning Park
Fort Canning Park on a hill which in Malay means "Forbidden Hill" as Malay
Kings were once buried there. It was the site of Government House and Raffles'
residence, both demolished to build the Fort in the 19th century, which itself was
demolished to make way for a reservoir.
The park is now a pleasant area with great views of the Singapore skyline. There
is a restored W.W.II bunker, and a spice garden, recreating Raffles' experiments with
economically useful plants. |
Completed in 1861, the Anglican Cathedral is said to have had it's bright white
appearance achieved by the use of Madras chunan - shell lime, egg white and
sugar. 
St. Andrew's Cathedral
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Go to Round the World 2000 | Next - Port Douglas (Australia)
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