Where in the world are Ethan and Siena? They are now at the southern most tip of continental Asia. Which is odd, as we are on an island. But, the island is connected to the mainland by a causeway, so I guess it qualifies as on the continent. This is a fast growing, modern city, that we learn handles one quarter of the containers shipped worldwide. We loved the phrase that this is a “fine” city, where you will be fined if you litter, spit, eat or drink in the wrong place, cross streets inappropriately, or, yes, even chew gum. This, of course, is Singapore.

Singapore likes to be the ultimate, whether it is with the biggest Ferris wheel in the world, busiest port, or, in a truly lovely statistic, the city with the most people stuck by lightning annually. There is supposed to be a 2 p.m. storm. It came early one day, but we were treated to quite a display each day we were here.

If you could take New York City, throw out all the poor people, wash everything until it sparkles, and place it in a terrarium near the equator, you would have Singapore. We wander and sweat our way through the streets and along the river, marveling at the modern skyscrapers, which surround the old colonial buildings. One of the classic buildings is the Raffles Hotel. This is one of those old world, classy establishments with a low key elegance, where they treat you the same if you are dripping with jewels or wearing shorts and t-shirts (thank goodness as we definitely fit the second category). We treat ourselves to a Singapore Sling at the bar where the drink was invented. It is a wonderful concoction with gin, cherry liqueur, pineapple juice, Cointreau and Benedictine. I’ve got the recipe for when we return. The food is dominated by the majority Chinese that live here. We have wonderful dim sum and enjoy eating at the hawkers’ centers, where the owners vie with each other for our business. We have sad, sad news regarding the Beattie Beer Index. The local beer is Tiger, which was brewed in Thailand, and the cost, a whopping $8 sgd—about $6 US. Luckily, we can finally drink the tap water again. This is the first country we’ve been able to do so since South Africa, and we relish freely rinsing our toothbrushes, and refilling our jugs.

We raise our expensive mugs to you, and say

Cheers! (They speak English here…)

The Beatties