Sans Diego

Though we have yet to lift off Singaporean soil despite being so close to leaving on schedule today (cheers to mechanical issues being discovered prior to takeoff), some extra time here shows great promise. Between amphibious vehicle tours, which drove-boated us all over the Singapore River and around the touristy hotspots like the Merlion, Formula 1 racetrack, and boat-topped skyscrapers, and hitting the flashy casino by evening that sits beneath the boat-scraper, what more can one want? Singapore is an amazing place of modern development, that retains a lot of intriguing culture.

View of the boat-scraper light show from our new spot
(look hard to see the tower-spanning boat at the top).

We've experienced Chinatowns, Indiatowns, and Americatowns (the number of malls here would give Starbucks a run for their money in the US). The hustle and bustle is not so much visible in the number of people or densely crowded city streets, but learning that vast stretches of open space are to be covered in skyscrapers by 2016 - that about sums it up (some Singaporean trivia from one of the finest amphibious vehicle tour guides around). It is quite like a societal experiment, in which someone decided to build a country and said "let's try doing it this way." It's been unforgettable, and we're looking forward to another couple of nights here on the back end of our DGAR duties.

-james