Leaving the ship in Singapore

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We are very glad to be leaving the ship today. This is the first time we have ever felt this way, and we have done 14 day cruises before.

We were disappointed that all the TV channels had been disabled this morning, so no update available on any news item. Is this really necessary. We also think that the turned the air conditioning off during the night to make sure we did not stay in the rooms longer than we had to. Not a very welcoming end to our cruise. All seemingly very unfriendly for departing guests. Never ever experienced this with any other cruise line.

We had asked for the 9.30am tickets to get off the ship, but they gave us 8.15am so we decided to skip breakfast and catch something when we got to the hotel.

By 9.00am we were off the ship, through customs and in a local taxi on our way to the hotel which is in the Serangoon district of Little India.

Our home for the next six nights is the Holiday Inn Express near to Little India. This is very near to where we stayed last time so we know it is an area we will like.

When we were booking this hotel, we took up IHG membership, the loyalty scheme for Holiday inn. Because of this, they were able to offer us a room as soon as we arrived at about 10.00am. Major result.

First stop this morning, is the local shopping mall to collect supplies. We have also ordered a data SIM card to be picked up here. As we had missed breakfast on the ship, we treated ourselves and had a McDonalds breakfast.

Once back at the hotel, we did what unpacking we could. The room is not big, so we have tried to keep the floor as clear as possible. It will suffice for the next few days here.

The main reason we picked this hotel was because they have their own self service laundry. This is very unusual in Singapore. Very much like Dubai here as they like everything done for them here. As we had not done any washing for ten days it was a nice opportunity to catch up and get some clean clothes. Just paid for the washing machine and the washing powder was even provided free of charge.

After a rest and catch up, we walked down to our favourite hawker centre at the Tekka Centre. There are hundreds of stalls here and it is hard to choose which one to buy dinner from. Eventually settled for one and had a very enjoyable meal for about 18 Singapore dollars. About £9.

Little India is bustling with people tonight. Not sure exactly what is going on.

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