Day 73 – Scenic Sailing: Strait of Malacca

Today, we are sailing the Strait of Malacca, the narrow passage between Malaysia and the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The Strait of Malacca was a major route for early traders and is now one of the busiest shipping channels in the world, linking the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

I started the morning with one of Dr. Babcock’s lectures, “History of Asia,” where he introduced us to the empires and people in this part of the world prior to their quest for independence. I’m beginning to reach information overload as I try to absorb what I can about the many countries we are visiting.

History of Southeast Asia

Nitza Lowenstein’s talk on “Malaysia’s Rich Cultural Diversity,” was next on my schedule since this is the country we will visit tomorrow. I was watching the lecture on Viking TV, when I finally gave up and accepted the fact that my brain had reached its limit for the time being!

Malaysia's Rich Cultural Diversity

I was feeling out of sorts and made the decision to cocoon in our stateroom. From time to time, I looked out the window and saw more ships than usual, a few of which were sailing quite close to us.

Lots of Ships in the Strait of Malacca

I also started to reflect on our stay in Singapore and began to have second thoughts about what an ideal city it is touted to be. Perhaps my frustration from yesterday had something to do with it, but I concluded that Singapore is not a city I want to return to. Yes, I enjoyed my excursions on Thursday and was impressed with some of the architecture and how green, clean, and safe the city was.

These things I applaud, but many of its attributes come at a price that includes repression. The strict regulations and emphasis on order often stifle individual expression. Rules are so strict that I was afraid to jaywalk in Chinatown for fear of being ticketed. Tim said that he wouldn’t want to live in Singapore because he might get in trouble for something he would not even be aware of.

Repression, however, goes beyond these more minor restrictions. As reported in the Associated Press:

Singapore has become much more repressive, and corruption in the Asian financial hub has worsened in the decade since the death of former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, according to his youngest son who fled to Britain to seek asylum from what he described as a campaign of persecution to silence him.

“Singapore has this veneer that purports to be a sort of affluent, democratic, free country. The veneer is quite thin,” he said in an interview in London on Monday. “Beneath that there is a repressive nature to that regime and there are people fleeing from it.”

Most of all, I found Singapore to be sterile. A guest I spoke with described it as soulless. For a while, I kept my opinions to myself, but I have been discovering that more than a few passengers feel the same way.

Except for my visit to Chinatown, I never discovered the history or culture of the people who live in Singapore. Perhaps that’s because the tours did not emphasize such things. The city seems to be built primarily for tourists, and that’s mostly what our excursions emphasized.

For me, the Marina Bay Sands perfectly epitomized my final impression of Singapore – from its cold, unfriendly lobby, to the conspicuous consumption in the highest of the high-end shops, and to an attraction that is touted as a must-see to attract tourists. I also found it hypocritical that the hotel complex has a casino, although casinos had previously been banned in the city. The city permitted the casino, however, since tourists demand casinos, with the stipulation that the developers include a museum and theater and restrict entry only to those with a foreign passport (unless a local were to pay an exorbitant daily levy). Las Vegas has come to Singapore.

For some reason, I have felt overwhelmed ever since yesterday, and I have lost much of my enthusiasm. Not only was I not able to absorb the lectures, but even the thought of going to dinner with so many wonderful choices was too much for me. Instead, I stayed in my room and had potato chips and a Diet Coke. That was the perfect comfort food, which suited me perfectly tonight.

In the evening, there was a Welcome Aboard celebration for our new officers, although I only managed to watch it on Viking TV. Captain Fredrik, Hotel General Manager Marcel, and Cruise Director Cornelia joined Viking Sky yesterday, and we are optimistic that they will be as wonderful as their predecessors.