Singapore

Although I was sad to leave Myanmar, I was looking forward to spending a couple of days in Singapore.  No guide was necessary and we took full advantage of the subway system and consistent internet access.  Singapore is part kiddy theme park and part shopping paradise, neither of which I was interested in.  Our hotel was in the Little India section of Singapore and was built around several pre-war shop houses.  In addition to walking around Little India, we went to the Botanic Gardens (the National Orchid Garden was amazing) and then took the subway back towards downtown to see some of the newer parts of the city.  

Three hotel towers with a fake boat-like thing linking them across the top.
The flower shaped building  is a museum.  Of course there is also a Ferris wheel.

We finished that day with a look at Raffles Hotel (only guests are allowed inside) and trip to a food hawker center.  All the centers are now regulated by the government but it was still fun to choose food from the different vendors and people watch.  

We had time to visit Kampong Glam, one of Singapore's older and well-preserved neighborhoods, before our plane left.  Fortunately, there is a growing movement to preserve some of Singapore's older neighborhoods.  The amount of new construction that is going on is amazing -- it seems like there is one shopping mall and apartment building for every ten residents.

Kampong Glam shop houses