Days 2 and 3

Turns out I've walked about 25 miles in Singapore, and wore myself out. I wanted to go out again this evening, but I don't dare walk another step. Luckily I bought sandwich fixings yesterday.

Primary goal was explore the east coast of Singapore, which is probably the largest section of single family housing in the country. I hope to live in a house or town house if possible. Also checked out a lot of malls, primarily because they are air conditioned, and Little India on the way to check out a listing Vanya found.

Speaking of air condition, just how hot is Singapore? Actually it is right on the edge of comfortably hot. I did most of my walking in blue jeans and polo shirts (which aren't exactly airy), and did all right. It isn't the heat of heat that saps the life out of you. But if you get the sun shining on you, it heats you up fast. I need to buy an umbrella and use it rain or shine. Luckily, most of the time it has been cloudy so far.

As for the East Coast: much much calmer than center city. Shops are bigger and less frantic. All the neighborhoods look nice. I actually kind of wonder if Singapore has bad neighborhoods. Some neighborhoods aren't pretty, the public housing blocks (HDBs they call them) are a little ugly, but they aren't crime ridden ghettos.

A highway lies between the actual coast and the neighborhood. Reachable by pedestrian underpasses is a large park along the coast. They have restaurants, bike rentals, bike and walking paths, skating school, fishing piers, and the beach. A real thin beach that looks out at an astounding line of shipping gridlock waiting patiently in line for the shipping port. Singapore does not appear to the place to go for a beach vacation. Actually I have to check out Sentosa Island before giving up on the beaches here.

One other thing about walking through Singapore. It seems like the zoning requires a side walk, but doesn't require it to actually be usable. The best side walks (and you see them a lot in center city) have the buildings overhanging the side walk so you can count on shade and being out of the rain. No guarantee that the side walk will line up from one building to the next though. Shops will often set up all the way out to the curb, so that walking down the side walk involves going down an aisle of the shop. Many many times I have seen a tree planted in the middle of the sidewalk. And in Little India I had to give up and walk down the middle of the street.

Last night I found myself going from mall to mall. How the heck does one city support so many malls right next to each other? And I couldn't find a book store in any of them.