About Singapore

British Chamber of Commerce. Formula 1. Dave.

Not so long ago I would have looked at those three items and have concluded that they are completely incongruous, absolute gibberish. Or, had someone told me they were related, I would have said, borrowing a phrase from Dave’s grandma, “that’s beyond my comprehension.”

To give you an idea of how times have changed, when I got the call this summer from Dave that went something like “Hey, I was at a British Chamber of Commerce event and I won the big door prize - a trip to Singapore for the Formula 1 races.” My response was, “Naturally. When are we going?” So that’s how Singapore moved up on our travel destinations list.

Singapore is a small island located on the southern tip of Malaysia. While it has been an independent city/state since 1965, it was a British colony for about 140 years. Today Singapore is one of the world’s top logistics hubs; it is home to hundreds of multi-national corporations and has one of the business ports in the world. It has an extraordinarily diverse population with Chinese, Malay, and Indian being the major ethnic groups. In addition, more than 40% of its inhabitants are “foreigners” from all over the world.

One of the things we loved about Singapore was that it seemed that the city/state had done a great job of preserving “old Singapore” while embracing its modern, market-driven economy and diversity. We thought this successful balance was shown through its amazing architecture, old and new, that peacefully exist side-by-side. While we have hundreds of pictures, here’s a small sampling of what the city looks like:

Old fishing village builidngs have been preserved along the riverfront, while skyscrapers have been built behind them.


There is a lot to do along the riverfront with boat rides, indoor and outdoor restaurants, and shopping. The open-air market area is covered with a modern shade structure, which is appreciated since its summer year-round in Singapore.

Most new buildings in Singapore are architecturally interesting; not that all are beautiful, but most are more than a rectangular box.

One skyscraper has a "boat" on top that stretches across three buildings. It's located adjacent to some very traditional colonial buildings.

We thought this building on the left-hand side of this picture looked like an armadillo.


The Elgin Bridge, built in 1929, connects the business district to the riverfront development district.

The city is home to many museums. They were all well maintained and spotless - inside and out.




And, a beautiful night time skyline.

Next up, some pictures of our activities in Singapore.