Posing with the Singapore airlines hostess in her traditional batik outfit, Erich and Jordan are jet-lagged but pleased to be on the way. The service by Singapore airline was outstanding - in spite of the Los Angeles ground crew losing Erich's luggage on the tarmac and driving over it with the baggage car!

Taipei airport is modern, attractive and shiny with dozens of exclusive duty free shoppes such as Cartier, Gucci, etc. At 6:00 am it was deserted.

The Central Business district of Singapore encompasses the skyscrapers of the financial district, the shopping area around Orchard Road and the heart of colonial Singapore where major landmarks have been preserved.

In Little India, the sights, sounds and smells are reminiscent of India. A cluster of shops built in 1913 sell candies, saris, incense and sundry Indian groceries.

Before the Europeans arrived, Arab traders
plied the coastline of the Malay Peninsula and Indonesia, bringing with them the teachings of Islam. The area known as the Arab district remains a Malay enclave, the center of which is the Sultan Mosque.

Although 77% of the population is Chinese,
only a small urban area is designated as Chinatown. Chinatown was born 2 centuries ago when Raffles allotted various areas of the city to different ethnic groups in an attempt to reduce racial tension. Today Chinatown is a bustling area of markets and shops.

The famous Raffles hotel  epitomizes the Colonial splendour of Singapore in the late 1800's. The house rule is "No short trousers allowed!" - so we were not allowed inside for a drink.

The Singapore Botanical Gardens have a Rainforest Garden, an orchid garden where special species are hybridized and an Evolution Garden where the history of plant life of earth is traced.