Singapore

Next stop after Hong Kong was Singapore, where Steve and I were teaching the Smart Client course to another group of Microsoft employees and trainers.

Just after arriving at the Singapore airport, I noted this beautiful stand of trees in the arrival area, and I asked a gentleman on the way to his plane to take this shot. He was kind enough to oblige.

Got a taxi and headed towards the city. Actually it was a minivan. Just me and a driver, for $35 Singapore dollars (about $20 US).

I could have waited and shared the van, for $7 SGD, but I was eager to get going. The landscape all around was beautifully manicured.

As we got closer to the city, the high rise buildings appeared.

You know what? Next time I'm going to sit up front with the driver. I'll get a much better view from there.

I took this shot because it reminded me so much of Jamaica.

In Mandeville, especially in the old days, there would be plants like these--I think they're lilies--around public buildings and homes, with beautiful lawns flowing out from them. I still love it.

Then I got to the hotel, Raffles the Plaza...and walked into the biggest hotel lobby I've ever seen, probably a couple or three stories tall.

This shot shows about half of it. You could fit a multi-family dwelling in this baby, easy.

And this was the nice lady, named Renu, who checked me in, gave me breakfast coupons, laughed at my jokes, and said "no worries."

"Wait a minute," I asked her, "isn't that an Australian phrase?" She said they use that expression here too.

They're only four hours or so from the closest point in Australia, so I guess it just filtered over.

I got up to my 18th-floor room, and captured this image of the street below.

This shot was taken at around 4:00 o'clock on a Sunday afternoon.

I was amazed at the density of the traffic at that hour.

A panoramic swing from right to left from my balcony revealed various high- and medium-rise buildings...

...more of the same in the center...

...and to the left, the Carlton hotel and others, including a small piece of the original Raffles Hotel in the foreground.

Raffles The Plaza, where I was staying, was built later.

I think the original is a bit ritzier, too..

I had the grand idea that I'd do a self-portrait with the city as a backdrop.

Do you have any idea how challenging it is to set up a camera in the middle of a room at the right height to capture a 6'4" guy standing on a balcony?

Well, obviously, I had no clue, as this shot will testify.

I finally turned a stool on its side, propped my suitcase on it, slid the lens cap under the lens to lift it a little higher, and got it. Whew!

If you're wondering why my left arm is up so high, it's not just a pose, I'm holding the sliding door open.

It's designed to roll shut as soon as you let it go.

Inside, I had a very comfortable king size bed with more pillows than I could use.

The headboard was padded.

Nice big TV. Available channels included Discovery Channel, CNN, ESPN, CNBC Singapore, and of course a variety of channels in Asian languages.

Interesting bathroom, huh? Chrome and glass everywhere.

The shower's not in the tub. It's actually in the ceiling, and there's no door, just a lip to contain the water.

If you preferred, you could use the hand version you see there.

Beside the bed, a control center for everything: air conditioning, lights, alarm clock, even the curtains.

Now that's my kind of control center. Tim the Tool Man would say, "Arf, arf, arf!"

After I completed my tour of the room, I stepped back out of the hotel to visit the nearby shopping center.

Raffles City is a big sophisticated center for shopping and meetings.

There are lots of trendy people here. All the latest fashions are in vogue.

This fountain was on the lower floor as I shot from a mezzanine.

It had a variety of patterns for shooting the water straight up, as well as several designs created by spraying water out the sides.

There were all kinds of major stores here: Nine West, Armani Exchange, and many more.

The fountain you see here had dancing waters, where the jets of water seem to jump from one part of the fountain to the other.

Of course, when I shot it, they decided to quit dancing. Bummer.

On a lower level, as I was going to the supermarket, I came across this shop, which caters to just two things.

Yup, you guessed it--shoes and keys. Clever name, huh?

Back in the room, dusk was falling, the lights were winking on, and I was getting tired.

Wait a minute. Does dusk actually fall? Or does night start falling and then you call it dusk?

I don't know. Let's just say it was getting darker, how's that?

In any case, as darkness fell, I started getting ready to spend the first of four nights in Singapore.

That's all for now. More later.