Items of interest (or maybe not) about Singapore, part 1

Items of interest (or maybe not) about Singapore. Some are fact-based (and lifted unabashedly from online sources); some are observations by us writers:

It is a city, an island and a nation.

When we were first here in the mid 70s, it was referred to as “The Garden City,” and “Asia For Beginners,” because it was so easy to adapt.

This clip talks mostly about Singapore’s beautiful Botanical Gardens, but also includes a very short history of the country. Notice the Caterpillar at 3:05! http://www.nparks.gov.sg/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=78&Itemid=66

Singapore is located 85 miles, 1 degree, north of the equator. That means it is hot! And humid.

How hot is it?

- Temps don’t vary much throughout the year. The average high is about 89 degrees, and it may drop way down to 78 at night. Humidity averages 89 all year. Often it rises to 100% when it rains.

- It is so hot that even the locals affix cute little fans onto their babies’ strollers:



- It’s so hot that when I put toothpaste on my brush before I took my shower, it sank into the bristles by the time I finished my shower (we keep the window open).

- It's so hot that I have learned where I can take a welcome detour through air conditioned buildings instead of walking outside.

- It's so hot that bacon grease doesn't solidify when left on the kitchen counter.

- It's so hot that my shorts were really gross with a salt line near the waistband when we finished playing 18 holes of golf. Sweat was not because of exertion; we rode in a cart.

It rains a lot, often with very dramatic thunderstorms. I’ve heard it said that per square mile, S’pore has more lightening striking the ground than anywhere else on earth. Rainfall is heaviest in December, about 11 inches, and the driest months are June and July with about 6.3 inches per month. Total annual rainfall is over 92 inches. Often times it is spotty. The heaviest rain to date at our apartment didn't fall at all where Paul works. From our apartment I took this picture of our shuttle bus going up the hill. Water was pouring down the street:

The official languages are English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil. Most people speak English.
The population is made up of 74% Chinese, 13% Malay, 9% Indian, 3% others.
Religions: 42% Buddhist, 15% Muslim, 15% Christian, 9% Taoist, 4% Hindu, 15% others.

For a nation that claims only 15% of the population as Christian, Singapore goes out for Christmas in a BIG way. It must have to do with the almight (Singapore) dollar:





In 2007 it was rated the 2nd most densely populated country in the world, 18,652 people per square mile. Compare that to 87.4 people/sq mile in the US in 2010.

As of 2011, the resident population of Singapore is 5.18 million people, of whom 3.25 million (63%) are Singaporean citizens, while the rest (37%) are permanent residents or foreign workers.

Due to scarcity of land, four out of five Singaporeans live in subsidized, high-rise, public housing apartments known as HDB (Housing and Development Board) flats. The HDB is generally credited with clearing up the squatters and slums of the 1960s and resettling residents into low-cost state-built housing.

When we lived here in 1975-78 and 1997-99, there were virtually no people in wheelchairs in public. Now many of the busses are handicap accessible, corners of sidewalks have been sloped to accommodate wheelchairs (and strollers too!)

Most Chinese men have few whiskers on their jaw line. So to make up for that, the old men, at least, let hairs grow out of facial moles to astronomic lengths. Sorry, no pic.

Since Singapore lacks natural freshwater rivers and lakes, the primary source of domestic water is rainfall. Demand for fresh water is approximately twice that supplied by rainfall, so Singapore imports much of its fresh water from Malaysia and Indonesia. To lessen its reliance on imports, Singapore has built reservoirs to collect rainwater and recycled water facilities. In addition, Singapore has built a desalination plant on the western coast and is building another.

In our earlier years here we were impressed by the cleanliness of the city. Notices were posted that fines would be given for littering. Unfortunately today there is a lot of litter.

Gum is still not sold in S’pore (it is ok to bring it into the country), and caning is still a method of corporal punishment.