Architecture gone wild in Singapore

I expected the famous Singapore skyline with tall buildings but had not foreseen the amount of exuberant innovation because "We can," apparently. The coup de grace is the Sands hotel and casino, built for $1.5 billion dollars. It consists of three curved 50 story buildings, topped with the   a horizontal building in the shape of a ship that extends along the tops of all three buildings. The ship contains gardens and a pool.

For a time taller and taller is better and better had appeared to the theme of Asian buildings. But who can compete with Dubai? Now the competition may have moved to the most creative. It seems that if something can be imagined, it will be built.

Although this is the most amazing innovation, others include a building in the shape of a lotus and a concert hall whose ceiling adjusts itself to the sound of an opera singer's voice.

Contrasting approaches to religion in Malaysia

The Malaysian population is about half Malay, all of whom are officially required to be Muslim and perhaps a quarter Chinese, many of whom who maintain Buddhist temples in the styles of south China.

The Chinese aesthetic principle is "More is better," and the "more" is in vibrant color. It occurred to me that the Greek temples were originally as colorful and may have looked more like the Chinese temples than the colorless versions familiar to us.

In the Chinese temple in Kuala Lampur, all are welcome to wander about, photography is permitted and government officials sit at desks just off the main worship area to register marriages.

In contrast, the national mosque of Malaysia, built in the 1960's, is heavily influenced by the twentieth century maxim of "Less is more."  Non-Muslims and photography are limited to the forecourt of the mosque and scrutinized for adequate dress. Inadequate dress is corrected by the addition of head scarves and robes provided by the mosque. Having worn long pants and sleeves below the elbow, I was supplied with only a head scarf. Others received long purple cowled robes, making tourist groups appear to be purple European medieval monks.

Waiting signs

This is the first blog on board, the afternoon of the second day, because there was no breathing time the first day, in Kuala Lampur, and none yesterday, at Singapore.

Waiting is a significant part of air travel.The first leg of the trip involved a long wait in the San Francisco airport and the 14 hour flight to Hongkong, followed by another wait and a three hour flight to Kuala Lampur.

In San Francisco, I found a Quiet Room for reflection off in one corner of the international check-in area, nicely furnished with plants. The sign is self-explanatory. The only other person in the room was a young woman murmuring into a cell phone. I don't know if my digital camera qualifies as electronics but she didn't seem to object if I was disobeying the sign.

We were apparently fortunate because a second waiting related sign was posted in the 777 gallery on two large containers:

Snack for tarmac wait in US airport
Do not use for other purpose

Starting point II - the warmth of home

All is not bleak here at home. The contrast between outside and inside in December favors the inside. However, I think the furnishings indicate a long-held interest in Asian design. The real impetus for the trip, however, is the economic strides of the last two decades.

Starting point

On the eve of travels, first for Christmas and then on a five-week cruise to six Asian countries beginning the first of January, 2014, I am initiating a new blog devoted to travels. The picture is the view out my apartment window, the starting point. I think this might explain a motivation to seek some new views during the winter months, although some of the travel, particularly Korea and Japan, will involve similarly cold scenes.  But first, the warmth of Christmas celebrations and then some steamy tropical sites.