Something to Declare

If it’s Thursday and Friday, this must be Singapore

Thursday, March 9. The 18-hour flight on EVA Airlines went quite smoothly. We watched the sun begin to come up over Taiwan.

On the descent into Singapore, the in-flight announcement was careful to note that we shouldn’t dare bring any weed or other substances into the country – there’s a death penalty for that sort of thing (aggghhhh!).

On landing, found that the Customs signs in Singapore airport were a rip-off of the name of my blog, but cleverly disguised (“Nothing to Declare” – Hah!). As a city, Singapore is very lush with tropical vegetation, and an interesting mix of traditional and modern architecture. The Fullerton Hotel (formerly the Post Office) is very upscale.

The room itself is quite lovely, with an outdoor terrace over the pool, with a view of the skyline and the Singapore River.

Dinner in one of the Hotel’s restaurants (“The Town”), and then a walk along the Singapore River.

We strolled along the Singapore Riverwalk, a strip with a gazillion restaurants, each with representatives on the street, hawking and trying to entice you in. Made it a point to try to stay up until at least 9:30, which really worked to alleviate the jet lag. Woke at 7:30 am local time, feeling refreshed and synchronized with Singapore Standard Time.

Friday, March 10. Today (Friday) and tomorrow are free days before the formal tour begins. After breakfast outdoors on the veranda, we took in the Jewish heritage of Singapore. First to the “Jews of Singapore” museum. Nicely curated, describing the history of the Jewish community that got established even before Singapore became a Crown Colony of Britain in 1867.

Initially, nine Jewish merchants had set up shop in Singapore in the very early 1800s (not enough for a minyan), but quickly expanded to 18 (“Chai”). By 1849, there were 30 men and 27 women in the Jewish community. They got involved in all sorts of trade. This included, sad to say, opium. But when the perils of drug addiction came to be known, the Jews switched out of opium and got into other enterprises, like real estate.

We were surprised to find out that, during the WW II occupation, Jews were singled out by the Japanese for particularly unpleasant internment. Who’d have guessed? This included being required to wear armbands bearing name, number and “Utai” (Japanese for “Jew”). After the war, the Jewish community grew with the commercial expansion of Singapore, and included David Marshall, the first Chief Minister of Singapore. He was involved in the struggle to get independence from Britain in the mid-1960s.

The second Synagogue of Singapore was Congregation Maghain Aboth, established in 1878. It’s right next to the museum, on Waterloo Street, but it appeared to be closed for repairs. The main synagogue now is Chesed-El on Oxley Rise.

Our tour group, “Trails of Indochina/Asian Odysseys,” officially gathers tonight (Saturday), with a walk to a museum, the National Gallery, and dinner.