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Singapore Sling
The flight from Darwin to Singapore was fairly uneventful apart from a man that was sitting next to me ...he was asleep when we got on the plane, started snoring very loudly throughout the flight, including take-off and landing, only waking when I gave him a shake as we left the plane - lovely for him....just hope no one thought it was me making all that noise!!
We had chosen to stay in Little India and after dumping our bags at the hotel at 10.30pm went next door for a curry...The proprietor was very friendly and the next night after dinner took me next door to his dancing establishment - Interesting but I didn't stay long!! The hotel was nice, old with wooden floors and I could sit back, smoke and watch the world go by on the front porch. At night though we did feel in the heart of India as the Bollywood music went on till 3am some nights but it all adds to the atmosphere.
Having reached the part of the trip which had not been planned before leaving home we'd not taken into account Chinese New Year on 31st January and therefore (with around 70% Chinese population) that many of the shops & Chinese restaurants were closed on 31st Jan & 1st Feb - however it did make for some colourful displays and celebrations and we certainly won't forget that 2014 is the Year of the Horse!
Feeling a little worn out from our Aussie adventures and also finding there is lots to see and do in Singapore we extended our stay a couple more nights which made our sightseeing a little less frantic and definitely more enjoyable. We used the hop on hop off sightseeing bus - the commentary always provides some extra information on the historical aspects of the city and got us out to the Botanical Gardens which we really enjoyed. It just goes to show how tastes change with age...a few years ago it would have been bars and bungey jumping...well maybe still the bars. Apart from the Orchid section it was free and so pleasant to just wander around - we even saw large Monitors roaming the bushes and hundreds of turtles basking in the sun!
Despite the hot weather we did quite a lot of walking - exploring the Arab Quarter, Chinatown and Orchid Street - seemingly endless shopping malls - fortunately for my wallet, we went on a public holiday so not much was open. Down at the waterfront we had a good wander in the fairly new Gardens by the Bay with it's rather futuristic 'super trees' - vertical plant displays which look strange but are surprisingly attractive - especially lit up at night!
One evening we did an organised walking tour of the quay area and learned quite a lot about Singapore's beginnings and life in the old days - in the 1980's the whole place was cleaned up so it's now (apart from one stretch of original buildings which are now expensive bars/restaurants), full of high-rise banking buildings - of course they are lit up at night, though seemed more tasteful than some Asian cities we've seen along the way! Looked really pretty when we took a water taxi for a very peaceful evening cruise. We also used the metro to get about - very cheap and efficient (that didn't stop Catherine from sneaking through the barrier without using her ticket....accidentally of course....and it did catch up with her later).
The latest addition to the harbour front is the Marina Bay Sands Resort - or the Ark as I like to call it as it looks like a very large boat balanced across 3 huge towers - it's actually a rather expensive hotel plus casino, shops, restaurants & bars. As we weren't staying there we didn't get to see the infinity pool but if you can 'google' it - looks like you could just dive off into the harbour! We did go to a bar at the top though for what has to be the highlight of our trip - Singapore Sling cocktails with fantastic views all around followed by the free light and music show down in the harbour where they project images onto water sprays, use lasers and jets of fire all against the backdrop of Singapore's skyscrapers...a fantastic end to our last evening in Singapore.
Bit sad that we didn't have time to take in more history - the wartime talks, museums and exhibitions looked really interesting. But it was time to move on, so after a last leisurely breakfast and quick taxi ride to the local bus terminal, we boarded our 'luxury' executive coach to Kuala Lumpur. It was a good drive and the customs stop was interesting, but the luxury bit must have been a few years ago as the seats didn't perform all the functions they should and the inside was well worn. Still, Malaysia here we come.........
- comments
Catharine Sounds great, loved the photos and update just in time to include in weekly email to Mum and Dad, they'll be pleased to see it! xx
Eleanor Wixon You both always manage to put a smile on my face!