Singapore - Another visit

---

4^thApril Singapore



We arrived into Singapore on a very hot & humid morning. This is the third time we have been here in the last few years but the first time we have arrived by sea. We berthed at the brand new cruise terminal which has recently opened within sight of the metropolis of Singapore city. The skyline here is dominated b the Marina Bay Sands Hotel which we have seen from a basic structure to the completed building. We went up to the viewing platform on our last visit (2011) where there are amazing views of the city.



The amount of building has not ceased and they are reclaiming more and more land from the sea to accommodate the need for space.



An island republic in the Malay Peninsula, Singapore has come a long way since Sir Stamford Raffles founded it back in 1819.



There is so much to see and do here, but we have also done quite a bit ourselves n our last two visits. From Chinatown, Little India, Arab Street, National Museum, Botanical gardens, the Zoological gardens to Sentosa Island it is all in easy reach from the Cruise terminal.



Then there is the shopping, Singapore is a duty free haven and the choice and quality of goods on sale is mind boggling. We have not seen so many Gucci, Prada and Armani shops in one place. Every shopping mall has all this brands (including M & S) as an outlet.



We caught the shuttle bus and then a taxi to Orchard Rd (the heart of the shopping area) to really see what was available. It was very hot and humid and soon the rain began which only increased the humidity.



We had planned to shop today and then go and look at some new hardens called Gardens by the Bay on our second day. Billed as ‘One of the top ten indoor gardens of the World’ it has domes, Supertrees and a collection of exotic plants from around the world. The gardens have become a ‘must see’ destination when in Singapore.



However, the best laid plans of mice & men. It was so hot & humid on the first day, with queues to get out of the terminal and to get the shuttle bus to & from the ship once we’d done our shopping, it was after 4pm when we got back (dripping wet).



We thought we could have an early start to look at the gardens, no such luck; we had torrential rain from when we woke up on the second morning until mid afternoon. So we missed out (just have to come back again).



Singapore is a great stopover place for a couple of days and if you have the chance to get here it’s well worth a visit.



P.S – I’m not getting lazy, but if you look back on the blog to 2011- you will see what we did during that visit.



Next stop Port Kelang, Malaysia

---