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Everyone enjoyed a hearty breakfast this morning, as we had a whole day to explore the sights of Singapore.
We made a decision of the sights we wanted to see and 7 of us were travelling over to Sentosa Island by cable car and 2 were going by monorail.
The 7 got into the cable car and saw the sights from up high, which are a spectacular view. When the island was reached we disembarked and made our way to meet up with the other 2, whilst going to the arranged meeting place, Sensei Paul Derrick went down the escalator, and realised he was going in the wrong direction and started to make his way back up the down escalator, after climbing the moving stairs and not seeming to get anywhere he eventually reached to top to bouts of laughter from the remaining 6. The other 2 (Jackie & Andy) who had 3 years previously been on the island and roughly knew where they were going, stayed on the monorail a station too far and had to walk back to the rendezvous point, but in the lovely sunshine didn't seem to mind.
We all strolled down to the beach and walked on the golden, hot sands and when we walked as far as possible decided to stop for a refreshment break to quench our thirst so as not to dehydrate. We found a lovely beach front bar with huge rattan circular sofas and had a few glasses of water and then a large beer, as the water was free and we thought it would be rude to abuse their hospitality. After sitting in the sun for quite a while, all getting very red, we had another group discussion on where our next location should be.
The vote was made and we returned on the monorail to the harbour front, where we then hailed 3 taxis to The Merlion at Marina Bay.
Walked on the front, had some photos taken with the symbolic Merlion sculpture and then hailed another 3 taxis and made our way to The Marina Bay Hotel Sky platform. Little did we know that there were actually 3 different drop off locations and not all the taxi drivers used the same one, hence 6 people at Tower 3 and 3 people at Tower 1. All eventually regrouped and proceeded to purchase the tickets for the sky tower to be whisked up the 56 storey hotel in 40 seconds and not a single jerky movement from the lift. A beautiful clear day to take in the sights of the vast area of Singapore's marina area.
All had a leisurely walk around the viewing platform, took lots of photos and then made our way back to the lift to go into the local shopping mall for some lunch. Liquid refreshment was required once again and after arriving back at our hotel we walked along the harbour front and found a lovely bar with views over the river.
After having ONLY one drink we went back to the hotel to get ready for the evening. Sensei Shane Riley and other instructors were dining out on a pre-arranged meal, which left Sensei Paul Derrick, the appropriate adult, in charge of the evening meal arrangements. A minibus was arranged as no one knew the name of any streets in Little India and we didn't want a repeat of the morning's escapade.
We arrived at an Indian restaurant, which looked very inviting and asked if they had a table for 9 people (as Luba from Lowestoft had joined us), they were very accommodating and sat us in our own booth and handed out the menus. The waiter was such a pleasant chap and took lots of photos of us all sat around the table. Andy asked if the said waiter could recommend any speciality chicken and meat dishes to be told that they were a vegetarian restaurant, Shaun's reply was "but I'm a butcher". The kind waiter informed us of an authentic Indian restaurant across the road.
We all got up and left the restaurant, feeling guilty for having drunk the jugs of water and for taking the photos.
We headed towards the restaurant that the waiter had recommended that did meat dishes, all the tables and chairs were outside and it looked a bit dubious. The new waiters asked if we would like to sit inside or out, with the amount to traffic and people in the streets we thought that the best option would be indoors. We were taken to a little door that led to a flight of stairs and we all proceeded with caution, to find that at the top of the stairs was a truly authentic restaurant. It is true what they say " you should never judge a book by it's cover".
4 tables were pushed together for our large party and new menus handed out, this time with delicious sounding meals on it. We asked if the waiter could recommend a variety of their speciality dishes, which he did and all the meals went down a treat. We were asked if we would like a drink and as a few wanted larger, he suggested that we had a Tiger beer tower, this held 12 pints again this went down a treat.
After being completely pogged, we jumped taxis again back to the harbour front where we had arranged to meet Sensei Riley. After a night cap, we made our way back to the hotel and all retired on full stomachs.
Breakfast arranged for 8am the next day.
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