Singapore

Singapore's Esplenade at the start of the Singapore River Quay.
Even though it's hot and sunny it doesn't look like it due to all the humidity in the air.

Singapore is a very small island between Malaysia and Indonesia where an astonishing 6.7 million people live in only 270 square miles. Our cab driver told us that the city is so packed and crowded that Singapore's government will not issue any more passports to foreigners once the population reaches 7 million people. And only Singaporean's can be taxi drivers because the government thinks there are to many roads to remember and any one else would get lost.

On Chinese New Year Chinatown was so crowded, my brother said "It is so crowded that you can barely move." The good thing about Chinese New Year is, they believe it's bad lucky to have extra goods at the end of the old year so the merchants sell their goods for 50% discount or more before midnight!

Gong Xi Fa Cai! Happy New Year's Eve in Chinatown.

We also visited a museum that gave a nice overview of the history of Singapore. Plus, there was a traveling exhibit about the Congo and the different kinds of masks from that African region.

Our route home every evening after a day of exploration.

Walking back from dinner along the river Quay my family saw colorful flying lights in the sky. All of us were so curious that we decided to check it out. We followed the lights to a field of grass next to the river and shops. We asked a young lady what is all this. She told us, "Every night people gather to fly their kites." "Kites?" "Yes, these are remote controlled kites with no strings but they look and act like real kites." She explained how they worked and how much the kites cost? She said "One kite and its remote control costs $400 Singapore Dollars or $366 USD."

The next day we visited the kite store. We asked the staff to show us how it all worked. The kite is built with a stabilizer in the back to prevent it from flipping over and a propeller in the front to make it move. The young man said "What makes the kite so durable is the brace, the brace is metal with two rubber pieces on the end which connect it to the front of the kite so when it crashes the propeller doesn't break. If you think of a football helmet and how it has two braces to protect the players face, the kite has one brace on the front of it to prevent damage. He also said "My friend was flying his kite and it crashed on the road, and before he could get to it a pickup truck ran it over, but after a day of work on the kite he fixed it with a new brace!"
Looking at the kites was a lot of fun, but my Dad said they are too expensive to buy and ship home. My experience in Singapore was so cool and amazing that we decided to go back soon.