Dave's News: Day 31: It's really been a month! Singapore on Sunday Feb 9

To answer your questions, yes the coconut jam on toast was good. They do it with light and airy toasted white bread, with butter and the jam. Great with Kopi!

The chendol was a combination iced dessert. It has pandan leaf jelly bits (for the green color), coconut milk, and palm sugar syrup drizzled on top. There may also be red beans for more texture and their sweet flavor. Unusual, but sweet and cold.

And we are realizing that we cannot make it to all the hawker centers on our list. Also that at some of them were cannot eat all the dishes on our list for that location. Uh oh! Great problem to have!

Today we had a light hotel breakfast, namely we finally found where they hide the fruit. Then out to do a little shopping in Chinatown. Back to cool off before heading out for the day. This time it's to the Singapore National Museum, followed by lunch in nearby Little India. Then over to Marina Bay to see the Supertree Observatory. By then we're worn out, so return to the hotel for a shower and rest. Then out for a drink at the Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel and pepper crab dinner at Long Beach. Oh, and a dip in the rooftop pool and hot tub to relax the legs after all that walking.

At this point in the trip one starts trying to name the top three cities, sights, etc. Singapore is definitely in our top three!

We find the fruit table! Dragon fruit, watermelon and pineapple. Surprisingly there is no mango available. And what, no durian?!? It is an open question whether we try durian on this trip or leave it for a re-visit trip.

I'm amazed at the difference in scale between Chinatown and the skyscrapers next door. There must be a lot of development pressure on Chinatown, but I guess a lot of cultural pressure to keep it intact. It says a lot about the planning abilities of Singapore not to just cave to developers.

Hmm, Chinatown had no problems with eggs and they are S$2.50-S$4 per dozen. That's $2-$3 USD.

We find an iJooz machine near the hotel. For S$2 it squeezes three fresh oranges and delivers it in a sealed cup, automatically. Cool!

We visit the Singapore National Museum, where the volunteer tour guide delivers a tour-de-force 30 minute recap of the entire museum. This is a fragment of an ancient stone with undeciphered inscriptions.

Skipping over 100s of years of progress and trade, were now in the 1800s as Singapore is a thriving and growing free trade zone under British control. The Chinese do much of the work, including such difficult labors that many succumb to opium for relief.

We skip ahead again several decades to the Japanese invasion. They invade Thailand and other nearby countries on Dec 8, 1941. Just a day after the Pearl Harbor attack. So again, the bombing of Pearl Harbor was intended to remove America's naval power from the Pacific, so that Japan could conquer the Pacific for all its natural resources. Now understood to be a major strategic blunder, of course. But I'm surprised that I had never heard it outside of visiting Pearl Harbor.

This tank is a replica of the mini tanks Japan used to capture Singapore and other southeast Asian countries. About 2 meters wide and 5m long (say 7x16 feet) and holding three, presumably uncomfortable, soldiers. Japan used 200 of these through the jungles.

Based on WWI the Brits thought tanks needed to be larger, had none at hand.

Also the Brits expected a sea invasion of Singapore, had made 15" guns to protect the harbor. Harbor included world's largest drydock, tanks for 6 months supply of fuel, etc -- harbor suitable for world's greatest Navy. They assumed the British Navy would come to defend as needed, but of course in 1941 they were busy in the Atlantic. So Singapore fell to a land invasion from the North.

Japan also used 12,000 bicycles to help its soldiers advance faster and with heavier loads.

The great purge, or "Sook Ching", was Japan killing 20,000-30,000 military aged Singaporean men. The guide told a personal story of how his grandfather avoided execution in this purge.

After the wonderful museum visit, we go for lunch in Little India. What was amazing -- as soon as we stopped foot in the bus to Little India, it seemed we were in a different country. Full of Indians, no longer any Chinese. And a few blocks later as we disembarked, we really were in the crowded streets of southern India. So different from just a mile away!

Lunch at Jaan West Coast in the Tekka Center hawker market. I could eat here several times to try out all the Indian food!

Now on to see the Supertrees and the Observatory.

Wow, you're up high in the Observatory and still just knee high to the Marina Bay hotel. There are people up on the observation deck at top right. For scale, the people are like tiny ants up there.

On a catwalk 75 feet up, or so. Great view, just don't look down.

Heading home. They are very systematic on how to board and exit the Metro.

We head to the Raffles Hotel bar for a drink. Have you ever gone to a place where everyone you see looks dressed as a wannabe internet influencer? So it is no longer a real place to go, just a story in the feed of people who live online? That is the Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel. The line of influencers waiting to enter is just too long for us.

We try the Writer's Bar. This must be for best-selling writers only, as every drink is S$32 or more, most bottles of wine are a couple hundred, etc. Clearly this is not our place. We head out for dinner.

Robertson Quay and bridge are a lovely area to stroll. So nice!

Dad tried to show the kid the crabs, the kid is not going any closer. Top crab in the tank sees dinner coming and climbs up to meet the kid. Monsters!