May 18, 2026
SINGAPORE has been high on my list of must see destinations for a long while and WOW it didn't disappoint! Singapore is a highly developed sovereign island city - state as of 1965. It is famous for its safety, efficiency and lush Garden City nickname. With a population at 6.11M, it is a major hub for finance, trade and tourism. They say every 80 seconds a plane leaves and every 4 minutes a boat comes in or out!
Above is the famed Marine Bay Sands (MBS) Hotel & Casino complex. Land reclamation accounts for 30% of Singapore's current land and they are projected to get to 40% by 2040. They use polders for reclamation, a method in which an area is enclosed and then pumped dry. They leveled many of their hills back in the 1960's and used the soil / rock for fill. This allowed them to have an exceptional underground network for subways, utilities and infrastructure. The 3 MBS hotel towers are meant to resemble decks of cards, supporting the Ship with the infinity edge pool that surrounds the roof top pool, bars & restaurants. At the base of the MBS towers, is a large shopping mall, complete with a river and gondola rides. The white lotus flower or 2 hands coming together structure on the left is the Arts & Science Museum and said to be the Hands of Singapore greeting you.
The Merlion is the mythical mascot of Singpore, even though lions never lived here. The legend is Prince Sang Nila Utama who was hunting on a nearby island believed he saw a lion when he arrived here. He therefore named the island Singapura which is Lion City in Sanskrit. The Marina Merlion is the largest and 9 other statues dot the city.
I arranged an architecture and food tour for 8 of us on our first day in Singapore and it was still realy good despite the rain. There were so many places to get out of the down pour and take in the views and history. Sustainable design with high requirements for green space and water reclamation are the norm. Claim to have the best drinking water of any City in the world.
