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Published: December 14th 2014
Welcome to Singapore
We stayed at the Park Royal on Kitchener, which is located in the Little India area of Singapore. The hotel was only a block from the metro, across from City Square Mall, and near the Mustafa Center.First of all, the WOW Factors:
Changi Airport, Singapore. Voted "Best Airport in the World" by Business Traveler
27 consecutive years, and
5 years in a row by Skytrax.
Why? While waiting for flights you can:
Catch free movies in the cinemas....take a
FREE 2 hour sightseeing tour of Singapore..... Nature in the airport-Cactus Garden,TOrchid Garden, Koi Pond, Enchanted Garden, Sunflower Garden and even a Butterfly Park. They have a Balinese-themed swimming pool and Jacuzzi, children's Playgrounds, a 4 story slide, shopping. dining, rest areas, sleep lounges, snooze chairs, and much much more
Singapore is fast paced, vibrant, extremely clean (it is illegal to chew gum in public), expensive, and brightly lit. Even the escalators travel significantly faster....you must be careful.
It is the 2nd largest 'volume port' in the world as well as one of the major trading hubs of the world. It has increased its land area by a whopping 22%!i(MISSING)n the last 50 years by reclaiming land from the sea. The whole Marina Bay area, home to the F1 race track is on reclaimed land! The architecture is incredible, they have one of the top world class
Mustafa Center
It is a huge shopping destination for the Indian people and was full of all kinds of items. It even had a lower floor dedicated to gold, jewelry, coins and even golf bars, all sold at the daily exchange rate. zoos, and there is so much more!!!
Singapore was our destination for the 4 day American Thanksgiving long weekend. We left Kaohsiung at 7:50AM, transferred in Hanoi, Vietnam and landed in Singapore around 3 in the afternoon.
The Republic of Singapore is a sovereign city-state and island country. It lies off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula and is only 137 kilometers north of the Equator. It has a consistent sub-tropical climate with temperatures between 30 and 32 degrees during the day, and 26 to 28 in the evenings, year round. The temperature was about 31 during the day, and 26 in the evenings while we were there, and we had light rain for a few hours on Saturday afternoon while at the zoo. Perfect, as the animals were active then.
Approximately 5.4 million people call Singapore home, and because of the ethnic blend, there are four official languages, English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil.
Singapore is one of the world's major commercial hubs, with the fourth-biggest financial center and one of the five busiest ports in the world. They have the third highest per capita income in the world and place highly in
Bright Lights, Gold and Diamonds
Lots of bright lights, shopping, gold, diamonds, and everything you could imagine. Singapore is known as one of the wealthiest places in the world. international rankings in education, healthcare, and economic competitiveness. On the plane we read an article in the Vietnam News stating the average monthly 2012 salaries: Laos $119, Cambodia $121, Indonesia $174, Thailand $357, Malaysia $609, and
Singapore $3,547. This explains why we found Singapore expensive versus other Asian countries. My research shows that Canadian stats show we are just a little less income wise, however, when I checked the housing rental market, only 71 apartments out of 3021 apartments were renting for under $2200 CAD.
At the airport, we bought an MRT pass, got on the metro, and arrived a block from our hotel an hour later. We got to see the real Singapore during the ride. Thanks to Google Earth, we recognized where we were and soon found our hotel, the Park Royal on Kitchener, in Little India, Singapore. We checked in, then went exploring the brightly lit streets. While looking for somewhere to eat, we were invited by a couple of local Malaysian girls to share their table. They helped us order Briyani, a mixture of several different flavoured rices topped with our choice of mutton or chicken...delicious! They were working at the Mustafa Center and had
Street Sights
We went for a walk in the evening, and this vehicle was getting a set of four new tires installed, right on the street. been living in Singapore for many years. Their lives consisted of working 6 days a week, 12 hours each, with only the one day off. It is very difficult to get ahead because everything is so expensive but wages are better in Singapore than in most Malay countries. We wandered the streets and found sunglasses before running out of gas. We headed to our luxurious room with it's Kingsize super comfy bed!
We awoke early and planned our day. The concierge made some recommendations and sent us off to Chinatown. A stop off for some REAL local coffee and a pork bun energized us. We took the MRT to Chinatown and were pleasantly surprised by the look of Pagoda Street with it's shops and wares. We connected with some Australian ladies while shopping and exchanged stories over big beers. Linda discovered Tom Yum glass noodle soup. We made a quick trip back to the hotel to drop off purchases and get ready for our Druthers Bicycle tour. Because we were late, we cabbed it to City Hall, met our guide "QT" and headed out to see the sights by bike. First, Historic Singapore, ( through the Fort Canning Area
Excited Kids
Amazing how the poor imitation snow excited the children as they danced about outside the City Square Center where people do a lot of networking, and business suits abound), then along the Singapore River, and across the Fullerton suspension bridge. This bridge was manufactured in Scotland. It was shipped to Singapore and assembled by Indian convicts in 1869. We rode along Marina Boulevard and admired the fantastic views of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, complete with a ship on the roof. We cycled through the new city (built on reclaimed land, the dirt was brought in from Indonesia and Malaysia), then past the Gardens by the Bay, the sea wall, the reservoir and the Singapore Flyer. The Singapore Flyer is described as a giant Ferris wheel with 28 air-conditioned capsules. Each is able to accommodate 28 passengers and stands 541 feet high. We crossed the Helix Bridge, which is made of stainless steel, and cycled onto the F1 Race Track, which winds along the harbor. We went past the WW1 and WW11 Memorials and finally said our farewell to QT three hours later, as he rushed off to his next tour.
Seeing as we were downtown and very close to the historic Raffles Hotel, we thought that it would be a good time to check out the
QT, Our Guide
We booked online with Druther's Bicycle City Tour. QT gave us a wonderful overview of the city and a bit of history to boot. home of the "Original Singapore Sling, created in the Long Bar sometime before 1915 by Ngiam Tong Boon, a Hainanese bartender working there. We had to wait a few minutes for a table to open up, then we were seated and served peanuts which we shelled and dropped on the floor. Because the place was so packed, we invited an Australian couple, our age, to join us and had a lovely visit. The first round of slings was so good, we thought we might as well have another. We headed to the bar to pay the bill and leave. What a SHOCK! We figured the drinks would be expensive, but were not prepared for the $136 Singapore or $120.00 CAD bill. Good thing the peanuts were free!
We headed to the harbour for satay dinner and a stroll by the reservoir to see the lights of the New City. The Singapore government is planning a unique celebration in which the reservoir will be filled with red and white buoys. People were writing their New Year's wishes on them and then they were placed in the harbor. We walked to the MRT and onto the hotel on tired and swollen
Icon of Singapore
Marina Bay Sands is an integrated resort fronting Marina Bay in Singapore. Situated on 15.5 hectares of prime land, it is the world's most expensive building, at US$ 4.7billion and has a gross floor area of 581,000 square meters. The iconic design has transformed Singapore's skyline and tourism landscape since it opened on 27 April 2010. legs.
Next morning, we were up early enough but were slow to get started. It just felt so good to relax and not rush. We headed out the door around 9AM and enjoyed strong local coffee from next door and visited with an Australian who was locally employed in the banking system. We find that we enjoy eating out with the locals rather than at the high priced hotel restaurants. We took the MRT, then the bus to the world renowned Singapore Zoo. According to the brochure, it is home to some 2800 animals and occupies 28 hectares (69 acres). Animals are kept in spacious, landscaped enclosures separated from the visitors by either dry or wet moats. The moats are concealed with vegetation or dropped below the line of vision. Dangerous animals that can climb well are housed in landscaped glass-fronted enclosures. Because of this, there were no fences interfering with the views of the animals set in natural settings. In every venue we saw the inhabitants close up! Wow! They had lions, tigers, leopards, and a bunch of other cat species, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, otters, other water loving animals, elephants, giraffes, kangaroos, zebras, reptiles, crocodiles, alligators, turtles, snakes, and
Historical Singapore
Its modern history starts in the ealy 19th century with the arrival of the British. They are the ones who built these government buildings. the list could go on and on. The light rain seemed to bring the 2800 animals out and in the open. The rain kept the temperature and crowds down so we were able to observe the animals and surroundings comfortably in our ponchos. When we were tired, we caught the tram and were driven through a huge loop of the zoo while listening to a commentary, in English. We had an early dinner at one of the 3 Ah Meng restaurants in the park, then walked across the road to the Night Safari and rested while we waited for dark.
At 6:45PM, the Thumbuakar Performance (human torches) began. Three young men entertained the crowd by filling their mouths with fluid from a liter sized water bottle, then blowing out fluid which would ignite in a 10 to 12 foot long fire flares. After the 20 minute performance, we boarded the Tram and took the ride through the jungle to the East Lodge where we did 4 challenges for the Mystic prize at the end of the evening. We then walked through the night on paths where the Creatures of the Night were displayed in their dim habitants.
Cavenagh Bridge
Manufactured in Scotland, shipped and assembled in Singapore in 1869. It is now only accessible for pedestrians and cyclists. Dim low impact lighting would show the various animals in their natural habitats milling about. Once again, we were so impressed by the fact that the animals all seemed to be in a natural habitat, though there were no barriers or fences to be seen. We completed the tram tour, then walked along the subtly lit paths, and made our way to the amphitheater for the 9PM performance. The host and his assistants demonstrated some of the animals predatory and survival instincts. After the fun and informative evening, we were able to take a bus back to within a block of our hotel. We observed how efficiently traffic moved over the 6 lane freeway, which narrowed to 4 lanes and finally to 3 lanes. It was truly bus ballet! We marveled at Singapore's public transit system and their ability to move massive amounts of people quickly and effectively. Our bus took us down Orchard Drive, a 2.2 kilometer-long boulevard that is the retail and entertainment hub of Singapore. It is a huge tourist attraction in addition to being the most popular shopping enclave in Singapore. The Christmas light and decoration display was SOO over the top, easily rivaling Las Vegas.
Holding Hands with Colonel Cavenagh
Later a Major-General, Cavenagh -Cavenagh was governor from 1859-1867. Sunday morning, we were up feeling rested. We packed up, checked out and went next door for our morning coffee and steamed bun. This day we visited with a German fellow who has been in Singapore for 30 years. He informed us that rent of a decent 2 bedroom apartment in a reasonable district of the city was $4-5000 for a month. The goal in Singapore was to get ahead, and the way to do it is through education and work. The life was fast paced and the mélange of people fascinating. We used the very efficient MRT to get to the airport with its multiple attractions at the 3 terminals: the butterfly garden, enchanted garden, sunflower garden, kinetic rain moving sculpture, rooftop swimming pool, a full gaming deck, movie theatres, snooze lounges, world's largest slide inside an airport ..... All free for guests leaving from the airport. AND the airport never appeared crowded or rushed. Most gates have their own security screening and at every turn they asked clients to rate their service via computer screens so as not to impose on you.
We relaxed during our comfortable 3 hour flight with Vietnam Airlines with
On the River Boardwalk
Lined with cafes, restaurants and bars, this is where many business people come to network. included a meal and free alcohol as we flew to Ho Chi Minh City Airport. There, we spent the next 4 hours reading, exploring and relaxing. We arrived back in our apartment in Kaohsiung around 10:30, impressed by Singapore, relaxed and ready to go Monday morning.
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Diane Selby
non-member comment
Wow!!
Too bad you aren't having any funnn!! You will find it difficult to come back to we ordinary mortals here is Saskaberia!! I'm soo glad you are having the time of your lives. Enjoy!! Hope to see you some time when you are home. Keep smiling!! Cheers, Diane