Getting Acquainted

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Day Two October 4, 2009
Singapore / Little India / Clarke Quay/Esplanade

We arrived at our hotel at 3:00am Saturday morning, we were surprised to see the streets around our hotel busy with young locals. It turns out that there is a disco next to our hotel, and discos or night clubs stay open until 5:00am in Singapore. I don't think these 50+ year olds will be part of the local night life anytime soon.

We checked into our hotel and although we were somewhat tired we ordered room service, we enjoyed satay, spring rolls and something that tasted like rice but looked more like wallpaper paste. After filling our stomachs we headed to bed. I was able to sleep well but Rich was not as lucky as most of you know this is pretty atypical in our household. We awoke around 8:00am and went to the hotel lobby restaurant for breakfast. It was interesting to see the different stations with western food, Singaporean food and Indian food. We had a great breakfast and retired to our room to plan our day.

We decided to take the hop on hop off bus around Singapore which allows you to see the city and hop off if there is something that interests you. As we headed to the Botanical Gardens the driver informed us that he would stop for 20 minutes so we disembarked and took in a short visit to the gardens. The garden was built in 1859 and holds more then 2,000 hybrids of orchards. We walked through the rain forest which is older then the garden itself. I will certainly go back later in the week.

To say it is hot and humid in Singapore would be a mild attempt to describe the climate, it is extremely humid to the point that you drip with sweat just waiting to board the bus. Once comfortably back on the bus we toured the local areas and decided to get off in Little India. We spent time walking the small streets taking in the local smells, shops and foods. I felt like we were on the amazing race as we made our way through crowded small streets with merchants trying to persuade you to purchase their wares. We decided to grab lunch in one of the local stands and enjoyed Naan, chicken curry and Tiger Beer a local brew. The food was wonderful and the beer helped with the heat and humidity.

We hopped onto the bus and were about to view scenes very different then the small streets of Little India. I cannot tell you the opulence of the shopping in Singapore one designer store after another, Versace, Prada, Gucci etc. Huge high rise malls all around us, people walking with shopping bags and construction every where. One of my travel books stated...Singapore is a wonderful city and will be even better when it is finally finished..I think construction may be their largest industry.

We then decided to get off the bus at Clarke Quay which is along the River Front and had been described as one of Singapore's most popular night haunts. It is host to shops, restaurants, pubs and night club type establishments. Again the opulence of these establishments are amazing, there was an article in todays local newspaper that they have recently invested sixty million dollars into new clubs and novel concepts just in Clarke Quay to help battle the recession. Some stimulus plan! We enjoyed a local brew at an outdoor bar and then decided to walk around the area. Low and behold we came upon a dancing group that originated from Bella Horizonte, Brazil and are now based in Singapore. They practice an art form called Capoeira that combines the elements of fight,dance and game. Our friends Jackie and Tom have lived in Bella Horizonte and recently came back from an extended vacation there..such a small world.

We decided to walk back to our hotel along the river to take in all the local flair of the restaurants and bars along the way. We picked out many that we want to go back to. After a fifteen minute walk we arrived back at our hotel for a needed rest.


We took a nap and awoke at 6:30pm to have a cocktail in the Executive lounge and plan our evening. As evening in Singapore does not start until 10:00pm, these jet lagged folks will probably not make it. We decided to head out of the hotel around 9:00pm and headed by cab to the Esplande to take in our first Hawker dinning experience. Hawkers are best described as food courts in the USA. They are all over outdoor Singapore and consist of all types of amazing street food. We had some great local favorites.

This area is also by the river and hosts some amazing restaurants, chocolate bars, (yes actual upscale bars that serve everything chocolate). An outdoor bar called White that is in no other words but decadent. We plan to go back one evening for a drink so I will describe in more detail later.

After dinner we came upon a orchestra playing the most peaceful amazing music in the Esplanade along the river. We sat and enjoyed the interesting sounds coming from instruments that we had never seen. The backdrop was large sky scrapers along the river with names such as Hitachi, Royal Bank etc. The skyline is also lined with lighted construction cranes that look like sculptures of light through out the city. It was now nearing 11:00pm so we grabbed a cab and headed back to the hotel for the evening, as expected our hotel was bustling with people getting ready to enjoy the start of their evening.

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Photos

Botanical Gardens
Rain Forest

Little India
Wares

Clarke Quay
Single Malt Cuban Cigar Bar

Esplande
Chocolate Bar

Esplande2
Mid Autumn Celebration

Comments

[TED46]

Oh my goodness, Andrea and Rich, it sounds amazing!! I know you must be having the time of your lives. I am so excited that you are doing the blog. We feel like we are living it with you. Have fun and be safe. Love, Tom and Jackie

[Cheryl Hynds]

amazing
It sounds like you are having an amazing trip so far. You have done quite a bit in a short period of time. How do you like their food or are you trying to eat more places that have western food. It's so fun to read your adventures. My friend and cousin were both there at different times for 3 months. They also blogged their trip. Have a great time!!

[Irene]

Enjoy!
Wow - sounds awesome so far! Glad you finally figured out how to get some sleep, Andrea - all you have to do is travel for days at a time or move to Singapore! Missed you two at the pool yesterday - enjoy and keep us posted!