Singapore looks nice. Feb 26

Yesterday I booked my bus for this morning just around the corner from my guesthouse at the bus stand in front of the Times Square hotel. How handy is that?


Later in my guesthouse lobby I enjoyed the antics of the crazed office cat. He is not napping in the out basket but simply getting a plan for his next attack.

I saw these flowers as I headed over to the bus at nine AM this morning.


I was warned by a travel agent that these buses were not good quality. He said I should go to a company way across town and pay triple the amount for the good bus. Fortunately, I was too lazy to do that when this set-up was so handy. I paid 45 Ringgits which is about $ 15.00 US.

It was possible that he could be right because I was just coming from countries where anything goes with the buses.

Well, to my surprise and delight the bus was wonderful, with executive seats and lots of room. A very nice bus. The trip took six hours including a smooth stop at customs for a Visa stamp which didn't cost anything.

The highway and the driving were good. We passed towns along the way and where there were no towns there were coconut palms. Millions of them in the valleys and on the hills. They are going to make some coconut oil I think.

Here are some young palms.



And some old established ones which are lush and green.

I loved the look of Singapore as we drove in. I just grabbed one skyline picture from the bus. I have three days booked here but after I check it out a bit tomorrow I may add a few more.

There were no crappy looking areas to be seen along the way in. Anything which was even slightly unsightly, like the area under an overpass, was covered with trees and plants and looked beautiful.

I am sure there are poorer areas, in fact, where I am staying in Little India is one. Even though the area is old it is not derelict.

The motorists obey traffic laws and even stop for pedestrians on cross walks. I have become so accustomed to running for my life at times that I did it today and the fellow in the stopped car just smiled.

OK, I will admit to being a somewhat seasoned traveller now. I was just thinking that mere months ago I would not have just showed up in Singapore and gone to a hostel booked online in the Little India inner city area and not given it a second thought.

Tomorrow I am going to get me a map and go mix it up with some subway trains.