It is very expensive to drive a car in Singapore. The more so when the car is a Ferrari.

Singapore is a great place to eat inexpensively. The quality of offerings in the food stalls and food courts is high and the range of cuisines covers all of east Asia. Here we enjoy some excellent dim sum.

Singapore doesn’t impose a separation of food and religion. This shrine is at one end of a food court.

Food preparation is not something that happens in a factory many miles away

Many cuisines, many choices . . .

Two of my perennial “must visit” locations in Singapore. Sim Lim Square is the place for retail electronics and IT shopping. The nearby Sim Lim Tower is the location for components at the level of resistors and capacitors and such. Component offerings are but a fraction of what used to be available. There are fewer electronic hobbyists and the manufacturing sector is dealing with surface mounted devices.

Clear Channel is everywhere, as are their former employees

In front of a green screen, anything is possible. In this case you can have a memento of the Singapore Science Centre that shows you exploring the arctic or ensconced in some other current theme.

It was not too late for the Singapore Science Centre Christmas tree – 28 December 2012

I believe this is called an anamorphic cylinder illusion. One of the many interesting items in the “Mind’s Eye” section of the Singapore Science Centre

A bit of Indonesian culture at the Singapore Science Centre. Wayang kulit characters assist with the weather/climate presentation.

We managed to be there at the right time for the demonstration of the Science Centre’s large Tesla coil

At the end of the Tesla coil demonstration, a balloon filled with hydrogen is ignited by the sparks. Cover your ears!

The swastika dates back about 10,000 years. Still, it is a bit disconcerting for those of us from the West to see it on a religious artifact because of its 20th century associations.

Henna is said to have been in use for over 6000 years.

The FDA has not approved henna for direct application to the skin, but they can be remarkably slow at times.

Picture Me at Singapore’s Chinatown.

A walk around the Raffles Hotel is on the mandatory list. There is an abundance of souvenir items bearing the Raffles logo available in the Raffles Hotel Shopping Arcade.

Fountain at Raffles Hotel

No shortage of modern, tall buildings in Singapore. If you don’t think there’s enough, just wait a few weeks.

Outside the Asian Civilizations Museum – Office Buildings as Totems

The river cruise will let you see the city’s icon, the Merlion, without having to fight the crowds.

The Marina Bay Sands Casino and Hotel as viewed from the Singapore River

Fun with statues outside the Asian Civilizations Museum

There’s a story told through these statues but I don’t know the story

Modern art is appropriate in this modern city

Singapore has captured the Christmas spirit in the same manner as Dubai – as a contemporary commercial event which causes a spurt in retail sales

The bad tourist restaurants along the river at least offer a good view of the laser light show at the Sands

Cloud obscured moon over the fresh water side of the catchment area

The Marina Barrage at night

Singapore construction has never stopped and continues into the night near the Marina Barrage

Meet your friends in the evening at the Marina Barrage

A romantic encounter at the Marina Barrage

The Marina Bay Sands Casino and the Singapore Flyer as seen from the Marina Barrage. The Singapore Flyer is, at 165 meters, the tallest Ferris Wheel in the world, 30 meters higher than the London Eye and 5 meters taller than the Star of Nanchang. It is built on reclaimed land in Marina Centre. From the top you can see the Indonesian islands of Batam and Bintan and the city of Johor Baru in Malaysia.

Peace sculpture by Singapore artist Chua Boon Kee

Lieutenant-General Arthur Ernest Percival and General Tomoyuki Yamashita preserved in bronze