2014-15 six months trip to Pukhet,Thailand- India, Malaysia, SINGAPORE

after visiting east coast Malaysia, south and Malaysian Borneo in 2010-11 i decided to come back to visit east coast and Singapore. From Kuala Lumpur I continued towards Kota Bharu the neighboring city of Singapore, not very interesting that however I walked around some hours, a large city that tries to rival Singapore without succeeding and whose inhabitants tend to work as commuters in the rich island state city. I arrived by bus at a large station where I had to change transport and while waiting I left my suitcase on the platform to have a drink in the nearby bar on my return I found myself surrounded by 4 or 5 policemen who shouted at me and asked me if I was the owner of that suitcase that they wanted to blow up for fear that it had been left by a terrorist, I saw it badly, luckily I managed to convince them that I was a harmless tourist! I had booked a tiny bedroom in a nice hotel in Chinatown with a panoramic terrace where I had breakfast and used my notebook. Singapore is simply splendid even if too severe (death penalty for drug dealers, very high fines for those who throw garbage on the street or use prohibited chewing gum. On the other hand it is very clean, with beautiful colonial buildings, and futuristic skyscraper in the bay which has completely changed since my previous visit in 1990, in fact the Marine Sands immediately catches the eye, three twin towers joined at the top by a sort of boat which houses a gigantic swimming pool and a luxury restaurant bar. Then a huge architectural building representing a white lotus flower and hosting art exhibitions, at the time of my visit on Leonardo Da Vinci, not far away are the Bay Gardens, a gigantic greenhouse with a rock covered in vegetation, and spectacular illuminated trees, the subject of a laser light show in the evening there is also a lion statue spitting water from its mouth which is the symbol of Singapore. I then went to see the Orchard Road, an elegant shopping street with elegant skyscrapers hosting commercial centers and stylist boutiques,flollowed by a vistit to a Hindu temple in the Hindu town with low and colorful houses, shops and ethnic restaurants. Chinatown is much larger and busier and it must be said that Singapore is mostly Chinese and it represents the best of what the Chinese are capable of in a free and democratic economy. There is also the rich colonial part represented by white buildings such as the famous Raffle Hotel with its courtyards, swimming pool, shops, halls and period furnishings as well as many other public buildings and a beautiful museum which at the time of my visit told the story of Singapore from its origins to today. There is also an artificial island accessible by subway, preceded by a large amusement park and containing a beautiful sandy beach with palm trees. Another place visited is a park with Japanese gardens with typical bonsai, stones and a beautiful red bridge, an orchidarium inside a botanical garden and a panoramic hill from which you can admire the panorama of Singapore. Eventually the beautiful airport with water fountains, orchids and precious marbles which is the visiting card of this small and rich Asian republic, a large port and avant-garde producer inside its island which represents the only limit: the space that it is about to overcome with floating artificial surfaces.

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