Singapore!

About those photos I promised earlier…here’s the first batch.  It’s Sunday here and it is a quiet day, so I walked a couple of miles along the river after enjoying the typical morning feast featured in every 5-star Asian hotel…

There was way more food in the breakfast buffet this morning than what I’m showing you above.   I only shot photos of what I sampled.  I suppose I could have a little fun and tell you that the upper left photo is something exotic like slices of shark intestines.   Nope, they are just onion rings (and they were good).   I had a very early breakfast, I read a bit (I’m on to Jeremy Kroeker’s Motorcycle Messengers book now), and I just kicked back and enjoyed my morning meal.  Like I always say, life’s tough and this is a tough job, but hey, somebody’s gotta do it!

A heads up here, folks:  I didn’t bring my Nikon with me on this trip.  Everything you’ll see on here today is from my iPhone.   I’ve had guys tell me that you can get photos from an iPhone as good as the ones you get from a Nikon.  I’m here to tell you that just ain’t so.  I can see the difference.   I had to try it, though.  On my next trip, it’s back to the Nikon for me!

I shot all of the photos in this post along the Singapore River, except for this one.   Take a look at this, my friends.   It’s a vintage mid-’60s CB160 Honda, and it’s still doing its duty as a daily driver!  It was parked in the Muslim Quarter on Arab Street here in Singapore.  Wow!  I’ll have more photos of it for you in the next blog.

Okay, so back to the Singapore River.  I grabbed a cab down to Clarke Quay (the Singaporeans pronounce “Quay” as “Key”)…

As near as I can tell, there are three or four of these “Quay” areas in Singpore, and I think the term means something like “dock area.”   The only boats that hang out there now are tourist river cruise affairs, and the entire area is basically a restaurant river walk sort of arrangement.  I imagine the place really hops at night.

So, how do you read this sign?  Does it require the folks in Clarke Quay to consume the entire booze inventory by the posted times?

More photos along the Singapore River…

This guy was out for a Sunday morning bike ride with his dog…

Yep.  Mi casa es su casa.  Just like home…

I even saw a Mexican restaurant that was advertising Taco Tuesday.  In Singapore.  Go figure.  I’m tempted to try one of these places just to see how their Mexican food compares to the real thing.   I’m convinced that the best Mexican food is to be found in a few spots in California and most of Texas.  Mexico has a few good spots, too.  But Tex-Mex is the best.

Here’s a motor officer.   The engine looks like a CG derivative of some sort, similar in design to our TT250.

There are four languages in Singapore:   Malay, Mandarin, Hindi, and English, mostly reflecting the ethnicities I saw here this morning.   Singapore is a multicultural city.  One of the cab drivers told me the dominant religions also reflect the population (Buddhism, Chistianity, Hindu, and Islam).

In some places the walk along the Singapore River has steps that go right down to the water.   This sign was at the edge of the last step.   I wondered about the story that led to a sign like this.   Maybe some guy fell in the river and told folks he didn’t realize he was on the last step.   It could happen, I suppose.

Here’s my obligatory selfie.   There were these huge polished domes outside the Museum of Asian Civilizations.  Singapore has a lot of museums.

The Cavenagh Bridge, and another interesting sign.   The bridge made me think about our good buddy Jim Cavanaugh, a key guy in helping Steve resurrect the old Mustang motorcycle.

More bright colors.  Singapore is the cleanest city I’ve ever experienced.   You can’t chew gum here, and the sidewalks show that (they’re spotless).   The city has lots of color.   It’s a very green place (I’m not trying to be politically correct here; the place actually is very green with many parks, trees, and other plant life).   Many of the buildings are painted in vivid pastel colors.   There doesn’t appear to be any air pollution, and the sky is a vivid bright blue.  It’s a great place for taking photos.

A motorcycle with a sidecar used as a food cart.   That little bike was hauling a lot of weight!

One more photo of one of the many night spots along the river.   I liked it….a P51 Mustang mockup outside a bar…very cool indeed.

After I walked along the river in in the Clarke Quay area for a couple of hours, I grabbed a cab and went to Singapore’s Muslim Quarter.  I wanted Middle Eastern food for lunch, and I got what I wanted.  But that’s a topic for the next blog post (which I’ll get to later today or tomorrow).   As always, stay tuned!