Location: Singapore
Our first day in Singapore.
We were awakened by a phone call, asking us to come to the Singapore Stopover Tour desk at 9:30. SST is all our arrangements here in Singapore, so we went to their office around 10:00. All they wanted to do was sell us very expensive tours for various sites and attractions around Singapore. We politely declined and took off for the day, much to the salesman's dismay.
We got on the "Hop On" bus and rode the 90-minute loop around the city. It gave us a good orientation to the city. It's unbelievable how many shopping malls/centers there are. And they aren't like outs in the US -- they are huge 3-6 stories of shops; hundreds of shops. Fashion shopping has reached new heights here. I've never seen anything like it.
After our Hop On tour, we stayed on the bus and went to Lau Pa Sat, a food/eating area near Chinatown. There are a zillion street food venders of every imaginable ethnicity housed within the largest remaining Victorian cast-iron building in Asia. Unbelievable variety, unknown ingredients and lots of commotion. It was quite an experience and great fun. Good food too.
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| Lau Pa Sat at lunchtime |
Then on to Chinatown.
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| The hustle and bustle of Chinatown |
Thiam Hock Keng Temple, the oldest Chinese temple in the city was very nice. After a few streets of shops in Chinatown, we were ready for a break and found it at a Starbucks. This was the first I could get a WIFI connection, so I did a little catch up on messages while MJ did some exploring. She found Clarke Quay -- a beautiful, colorful, twinkly lit, river front walkway with restaurants, live music and lots of activity. We walked a long way along the river and ended up taking a riverboat ride on the Singapore River, which winds through the city. It was a very special end to our first day in Singapore.
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| Clark Quay |
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| The Sky Park atop the Marina Bay Sands |
We'll see what tomorrow brings -- today I was struck by how clean and well organized the city of Singapore is. It's really quite remarkable how thoughtfully designed and laid out everything is. It feels like a country that has considered human needs and planned for a pleasant life experience -- I really like it a lot.
The biggest downside to the whole trip right now is that I got an e-mail saying that Dan Coughlin got sick in Bali and ended up in the hospital. I feel so sorry for him and wish that I had known. Fortunately, Elaine was flying back to Orlando on the same flight as Dan and she has stayed with him. Hope to get more details as they evolve. Elaine is the hero on this one.
Goodnight
Mum/Nancy
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