Singapore – March 14, 2018

I was up early and watched the sail-in to Singapore from my deck.  I chose the “Best of Singapore” tour that lasted 7.5 hours (although it was advertised in the brochure as 8.75 hours).  I have been to Singapore twice before but I had not taken a tour and I really learned a great deal (even if it was hot and tiring).

We had a beautiful new (2 months) bus and our guide was Georgie.  Our first stop was at the Sultan Mosque.  We walked a couple of blocks and saw a number of the “shop houses” which are two story buildings where originally there was the shop on the ground floor and the shopkeeper lived above.

After a drive through Little India we drove to Clarke Quay where we boarded a bumboat.  We sailed by Boat Quay,  the Fullerton Hotel, under the Cavenagh Bridge, by Merlion Park (the Merlion – half lion, half mermaid – is the symbol of Singapore), the financial district, the Customs House, and ended up at the Marina Bay Sands.

We walked through the Marina Bay shopping centre and then through the lobby of the hotel to get on a lift to the observation deck on the 56^th floor.  We had time to get some pictures before heading back downstairs and managed to survive two down escalators in the hotel!  Surprisingly, the land on which the hotel is built is leased for only 30 years.  Provided the hotel complies with the guidelines set forth by the Singapore government, the lease can be renewed.

We had a short stop at the City Gallery to see a model of Singapore and Georgie explained about the plans the government makes to improve the city.

It was getting time for lunch so, after a short drive through Chinatown, we walked to our restaurant for dim sum.  As typical in China, the food was served family style with a lazy susan.  As soon as we were finished we could leave and have some time for shopping.

The Intercontinental Hotel was our next destination for what Georgie called our “happy drink” which was a Singapore Sling.  Normally the stop is at the Raffles Hotel where the drink was invented but the hotel is closed for remodeling at the present time.  I don’t think anyone was upset since the Intercontinental had free high-speed wi-fi!  We were worse then a group of kids with no talking and everyone holding a device.

Gardens by the Bay was our last stop.  This opened in 2012 and cost a billion Singapore dollars to build.  The two parts are the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest.  Amazing displays and nicely air-conditioned.

A few things I learned on the tour…

1) To cut down on cars in Singapore, by 2020 GPS will track each car and charge the owner for the kilometers driven (Singapore has excellent and relatively inexpensive mass transit and they want to promote the use of it)

2) The humidity averages 90% year round

3) The Arab “shop houses” were more highly decorated than the Malay ones because the Arabs were wealthier

4)Singapore has no natural resources so they consider their people as such

5) You cannot cut down any trees (even on property you own) without permission

We returned to the terminal at 5:00 and I spent 75 minutes using the free, not so high-speed (but not bad) wi-fi.

Ate dinner in the Lido (really good rotisserie chicken) and then walked out on the back deck to see the lights of Singapore.  Met up with Cyndi and Ed and had another Singapore Sling (“when in Rome…”) and we talked until about 9:30.  It was a beautiful evening with a nice breeze (the predicted thunderstorm did not materialize).

I am too tired to process my pictures tonight (it normally takes over an hour to choose the ones I want, resize them, and get them loaded onto the blog) so check back for them.

Sail-in...

Sultan Mosque and the Arab Quarter...

field trips - now that brings back some memories!

shop houses

Little India...

Bumboat ride...

a bumboat

Clarke Quay

Boat Quay

Cavenagh Bridge

the Merlion

kids fishing by the Merlion

Marina Bay Sands Hotel

Marina Bay Sands...

the Amsterdam and the Sapphire Princess

City Gallery...

the 3-D map of Singapore

Chinatown and lunch...

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple

Who knew drinking Coke brought prosperity!

????

Singapore Sling...

Gardens by the Bay...

this display was called "Aloes in Wonderland"

waterfall

Street scenes...

nicknamed the "Dorians" because they look like the fruit

"The Chopsticks"

By night...

Smooth sailing until next time!