Singapore
Monday 12/09/2013
Andy writes:
The British influence is evident here; all vehicles have driver side on right and lanes are reversed in direction. Have yet to see an American made vehicle; most are Japanese and some Korean – including all the trucks. Haven’t seen a single pickup as we know in US – many trucks are a different style with smaller wheels and bigger flat beds with very low sides. Very few SVWs also. Some buses are double decker. Motorcycles are more common too.
Overall the area is quite clean- littering is a serious offense here as well as spitting and jaywalking. Chewing gum is banned in the country. It is not considered polite to point with your finger – it is preferred to point your entire hand. Asking someone to come towards you is to put your hand with palm facing down and moving your fingers as if you are scratching. It is also impolite to look someone in the eye.
Finally starting to rain pretty steady all afternoon; guess we were fortunate to get no rain on Saturday as rain is almost daily this time of year. Most of the sidewalks where there are shops have the buildings overhanging above so it’s not so bad except when one has to cross streets. Majority of the people do not use umbrellas.
Had another Indian vegetarian dinner – we are really enjoying all the new flavors. Later had some Indian desserts of mango ice cream and some type of coconut and cream desserts – both are super sweet and a bit too much for me. Mary wanted to order a Manhattan drink after dinner but they didn’t even know what that was or how to make one. More common drinks here besides beer and wine are straight liquors such as whiskey, brandy, tequila, vodka and gin, plus sweetened drinks like Mojito, Singapore Sling, Margaritas, etc. They have a 10% service charge for alcoholic drinks. I found out today that there is a sales tax but it is already incorporated into the price so you get a true idea of the cost of something and not have to think about the total cost after calculating the tax. I think this is a better way and perhaps in US and other countries, retailers want it to look like the cost is less without showing the tax until after you’re ready to pay. Am surprised US gasoline companies haven’t tried to do the same thing considering how high the taxes are on it.
This hotel that Mary picked out is in a perfect location. It is very close in walking distance to many things and we don’t have to take a bus or rapid transit unless we are wanting to go to another part of town which we will probably do tomorrow. The room is not large but more than adequate and the staff is very helpful. Have only turned on television for short while one night to see what it was like and some channels are English and some not. One appears to be from Australia. Have to insert our room key card to use elevator to get to our 4th Story room. About our only complaint so far is that there are no wash cloths so we have to use a hand towel. Also Mary is non happy that we’ve yet to find a restaurant that provides napkins.
Monday 12/09/2013
Andy writes:
The British influence is evident here; all vehicles have driver side on right and lanes are reversed in direction. Have yet to see an American made vehicle; most are Japanese and some Korean – including all the trucks. Haven’t seen a single pickup as we know in US – many trucks are a different style with smaller wheels and bigger flat beds with very low sides. Very few SVWs also. Some buses are double decker. Motorcycles are more common too.
Overall the area is quite clean- littering is a serious offense here as well as spitting and jaywalking. Chewing gum is banned in the country. It is not considered polite to point with your finger – it is preferred to point your entire hand. Asking someone to come towards you is to put your hand with palm facing down and moving your fingers as if you are scratching. It is also impolite to look someone in the eye.
Finally starting to rain pretty steady all afternoon; guess we were fortunate to get no rain on Saturday as rain is almost daily this time of year. Most of the sidewalks where there are shops have the buildings overhanging above so it’s not so bad except when one has to cross streets. Majority of the people do not use umbrellas.
Had another Indian vegetarian dinner – we are really enjoying all the new flavors. Later had some Indian desserts of mango ice cream and some type of coconut and cream desserts – both are super sweet and a bit too much for me. Mary wanted to order a Manhattan drink after dinner but they didn’t even know what that was or how to make one. More common drinks here besides beer and wine are straight liquors such as whiskey, brandy, tequila, vodka and gin, plus sweetened drinks like Mojito, Singapore Sling, Margaritas, etc. They have a 10% service charge for alcoholic drinks. I found out today that there is a sales tax but it is already incorporated into the price so you get a true idea of the cost of something and not have to think about the total cost after calculating the tax. I think this is a better way and perhaps in US and other countries, retailers want it to look like the cost is less without showing the tax until after you’re ready to pay. Am surprised US gasoline companies haven’t tried to do the same thing considering how high the taxes are on it.
This hotel that Mary picked out is in a perfect location. It is very close in walking distance to many things and we don’t have to take a bus or rapid transit unless we are wanting to go to another part of town which we will probably do tomorrow. The room is not large but more than adequate and the staff is very helpful. Have only turned on television for short while one night to see what it was like and some channels are English and some not. One appears to be from Australia. Have to insert our room key card to use elevator to get to our 4th Story room. About our only complaint so far is that there are no wash cloths so we have to use a hand towel. Also Mary is non happy that we’ve yet to find a restaurant that provides napkins.