$ingapore, Day 2

Cheng Hoon Temple, Melaka

The Dutch village center, Melaka

The Ruins of St. Paul's Church high above the Straights of Melaka, Melaka

Somewhere deep in that urban jungle I've got a bunk bed with my name on it, Singapore

The best sign I have ever seen, Singapore

So I am in the internet cafe with my pack, getting ready to head back to Melaka, and I figured I would write about my wonderful (though still expensive) morning in Singapore as well as update you with some pictures. The first thing I did this morning was to make my way to the wonderful Asian Civilizations Museum (ACM). The ACM holds one of the most thorough collections of SE Asian antiquities. Very interesting stuff. I really enjoyed it there, even if it was plagued with school children.

I figured I would head to the park district today since I mostly wandered around the financial district last night. It is gorgeous. The good news about a shortened trip to Singapore is that my itinerary did not actually include that much stuff to go see. The ACM and the Battle Box were the two highlights and I did manage to experience both to the fullest. The Battle Box is the bunker where British officials ultimately decided to surrender Singapore to the Japanese, just a week after December 7th 1942 (Pearl Harbor). There are varying views as to why the British did not stand and fight; the two most prominent being that the officials simply realized they were over matched or that Churchill wanted to draw the U.S. into the war and figured a big defeat would do the trick. The museum highlights the former of the two theories with a series of, somewhat hokey, animatronic recreations of key elements of bunker life within the actual bunker itself.

I ate lunch at Hooters today. In fact the Hooters in Singapore was the first, but no longer the only, Hooters in Asia. They should really think of renaming the place 'Nice Butts and Agreeable Faces' for their branches on this side of the planet. Don't get me wrong the girls were gorgeous but lacking in the chain's infamous trademark. I'll be heading back to Melaka now to relax for a few days before I go camping (and relax) in Thailand.
C. Johnson