OK, with the election of Obama we all know that democracy can claim to be somewhat restored in the U.S. So it’s time to turn our attention to other forms of democracy! I heard a story last night I thought I’d pass on about democracy in Singapore. As you may know, the government in Singapore […]
I was chatting with a store owner named Lucy last week, and she said that if she had some spare money now she would buy U.S. dollars and Australian dollars. The reason is that her two children are about to start their post-graduate studies at Columbia University and the University of Queensland, respectively. Previously, in […]
The Singapore government builds roads and train tracks, creates bus routes and the world’s nicest airport, and runs a really great airline. Fares on public transit and taxis are very low, probably subsidized, certainly controlled. The government builds and runs schools and universities; it builds and sells high-standard public housing; it hires armies of cleaners, […]
OK, by popular demand, this is what your leather items look like if you keep them in the closet without moisture-absorbing crystals. I bought a hydrometer a few weeks ago and can tell you that the ambient humidity tends to range from 86-94%. Today is exceptionally dry – it’s only 78%! So what happens in […]
This is one of the local ornithological glories – the Great Hornbill. This guy is unusually cooperative, from a photographer’s point of view, sunning himself on the branch in the front of the aviary, not so high that I get only a shot of his rear, and obligingly turning his head so I can focus […]
OK, I get excited about pheasants, especially when they’re as gorgeous as these Asian ones. This silver pheasant is an ancient Chinese symbol – if you look at pictures of mandarin robes you can see it embroidered on them – I’m not sure what rank you had to hold to allow you to have a […]
One of the great things about the Jurong Bird Park is their collection of Southeast Asian birds. They dwell in a huge aviary with a central open area and a water feature, and with a daily thunder shower at noon. The thunderstorm is broadcast over some loudspeakers, and sprinklers shower the birds and their visitors […]
Singapore has an indigenous snake called the spitting cobra. I have yet to see one outside the zoo. But it also hosts a much more common species, the Spitting Chinese. These are lamentably abundant. In the periodic TV announcements urging Singaporeans to be civil, government spokespeople sometimes inveigh against spitting in public. I’m with […]
OK, you may think that I’m going to be gross, but I’m not, really! Toilets in Singapore come in both varieties: seats and holes-in-the-ground, and they are generally kept very clean and pleasant, except where someone has left footprints on a seat, not knowing what else to do with it. But there are a couple […]
You always learn the most while in taxis. We were riding around in one the other day when the driver received a message (they have screens that display traffic conditions, fares, alerts and other news): a couple of streets downtown would be closed from midnight to noon for firewalkers! Well, that’s unusual (at least to […]