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Published: March 7th 2007
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Little India
THe Sultan Mosque is in the background Day 1 Wednesday January 17th 2007
After teary goodbye to Mum, Dad, Phillip and Alison we boarded the plane and headed off towards sunny Singapore. The airhostesses kept coming around with food and drink every hour or so and watching the set movies made time go really quickly and soon we had landed at Singapore airport. We arrived at 3:30pm so still had plenty of daylight to explore the city. It’s funny to think that its winter here but it’s so hot and humid. Caught a maxi taxi to the Allson Hotel and we drove past some lush scenery, gorgeous flowers and greenery. Also past many utes with people just sitting in the back. Was very relieved to put our bags down when we got to the hotel and change into some clean clothes. We decided to try and stay out of the heat so explored the underground mall. Here we tried a traditional duck meal but I don’t think duck is my kind of meal so was very grateful we decided to get some flavoured rice as well. We then walked over to Suntec City. This is where the world’s largest fountain is and we were dazzled by its
Chinatown
They were setting up for the Chinese New Year and these are some fo the decorations delightful laser and music show. We were lucky enough to be at the fountain at the right time as when the laser show ended, the fountain was turned down so we could walk out to the fountain centre, make a wish and walk around the fountain centre while touching the water. It was then a short walk to the Esplanade. This is their performing arts area and the buildings are dominated by spiky domes. My Fair Lady was being performed at the time. The locals call this area the ‘Durians.’ As it was getting dark we got some good night photos of the spiky domes and the surrounding water decorations. From here it was a nice walk back towards the hotel via the fabulous Raffles Hotel. This hotel dates back to 1887 and is known to be a travellers paradise with luxury accommodation. We were pleasantly surprised that you could just wonder around a lot the hotel. Sat down at the Long Bar and watched the rich but not famous people enjoy their $15 beers but decided that the famous Singapore Sling could be enjoyed somewhere a little cheaper. So soaked up the atmosphere instead. A short walk back to
our hotel and a relatively early night.
Day 2 Thursday January 18th 2007
Awoke to a lovely sunny day. After making the most of the free breakfast we boarded the hop-on-hop-off bus. Our first stop was the Limbo Seng Memorial Park and a short walk along the Singapore River to the Fullerton Hotel. Another hotel where the rich and famous stay, quite a lot bigger than Raffles Hotel but nowhere near as spectacular (from the outside anyway!) We walked further around to the Marina Bay where we entered into Merlion Park. The statue of a half-lion, half-fish is the famous icon of Singapore. Prince Sang Nila Utama of the Sri Vijaya Empire (Sumatra) rediscovered the island and sighted a beast which he learnt was a lion. The fish tail represents Singapore’s beginnings as a fishing village. After exploring a souvenir shop we headed back along the Singapore River to boat quay where we were bombarded with locals trying to get us to eat at their restaurant. There were so many restaurants to choose from, each offering really cheap meals and huge discounts on drinks. After we managed to escape the clutches of the restaurant owners we headed past
Night Safari
Peace and I on the Night Safari Parliament House and up to St Andrews Cathedral. Mass was being said at the time so did not enter into the main section of the church. A big white church, with friendly people and free refreshments! Feeling refreshed we heading off to Chinatown. As it was nearing the Chinese New Year many of the locals were decorating the streets and shops with traditional decorations. Lots of Chinese dragons and lanterns to be seen. A short walk into Chinatown leads you to the Sri Mariammam Temple, built in 1827 and dedicated to the goddess Mariammam. We were amazed by the beautifully crafted statues that cover the temple and surrounding walls. Beside the temple is of course Temple Street which transforms into a local market where we wondered around for ages looking at ethnic souvenirs, handicrafts and antiques. Again so many locals urging you to come into their shop and buy, enticing you with offers such as 5 for $10 or we’ll knock $100 off the price. A good place where we got a lot of souvenirs from. Back on the bus and off to the Singapore Botanic Gardens. We wondered along the track beside the rainforest walk towards the National Orchid
Centre, it started to spit a little bit but we didn’t think much of it. We passed a lot of locals sprinting towards cover and back to the entrance and thought it was strange but the rain wasn’t that heavy so continued on our way. BIG MISTAKE! A few seconds later the heavens opened and we were caught in the biggest downpour of rain I’ve ever been in. Thank goodness we had our ponchos with us. We must have looked a sight walking back towards the entrance in our ponchos and jumping in the puddles, a local even took a photo of us. That put an end to the botanic garden experience as it rained for pretty much the rest of the afternoon. We headed back on the bus to our hotel where we got ready for the Night Safari. Over 920 nocturnal animals (130 species) inhabiting 40 hectares of forest. We took a tram ride around the park and saw the animals at play at night. We were fortunate enough to see rhinos, elephants, giraffes, tigers, deer, buffalo, giant anteater, fishing cat and numerous birds and other animals. The night ended off by watching the Creatures of the Night
The Esplanade
Sinapore's attempt at the Operah House Show. Here we saw otters trained in sorting rubbish into recycling bins according to whether it was paper, plastic or tin. A hyena jumping for food and an owl listening and responding to a noise we couldn’t hear. A big highlight was watching this huge snake be put around the neck of some poor Australian boy. The snake was hiding the whole time under the seat in front of us so we got a good look at the snake when it was brought out. A great night.
Day 3 Friday 19th January 2007
Another gorgeous day in Singapore. Again we made most of the free breakfast before heading off to the Bugis St markets. A popular with the locals for getting just about everything. We tried some of the best juice, freshly squeezed and so cheap. A nice treat for a hot, crowded day. As we walked further down the street we passed the Goddess of Mercy Temple where we were fortunate enough to see the locals praying and burning incense to worship some God. An interesting sight. We continued walking and came across the Singapore Art Museum where we stood in front of the “I was here”
I was Here
At the contemporary university of art statue and had our photos taken. From here it was a short walk to Orchard Road, Singapore’s famous shopping strip. Shops and shops and shops and shops. A shop-a-holics heaven a boyfriends nightmare! Prices very similar to home so no real bargins but still fun to window shop. When we’d had enough of shopping we decided to head off to Little India, where we passed many open aired food markets so encountered some lovely aromas of Indian spices and the not so lovely aromas of dried seafood. We made our way to the Sultan Mosque, a very popular tourist attraction. We decided not to enter the mosque as there was quite a cue for the females to wear the traditional dress and cover up those bear shoulders, arms and legs. Near the mosque were lots of ethnic shops selling silk, brassware and bangles to charm all the tourists. A nice afternoon was had strolling around Little India and then making our way to Clarke Quay - the entertainment riverfront with plenty and restaurants and nightclubs, including Hooters and Ministry of Sound. We soaked up the afternoon sun and night atmosphere by sitting in an open bar enjoying their happy hour and tasting the local beer, “Tiger Beer.” The night ended with a fabulous Indian meal from the Taj Mahal and more Tiger Beer with some locals.
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Phill
non-member comment
Tiger Beer is Gold!
It sounds like you made the most of your short stay in Singapore and packed as much in as physically possible. The Night Safari was great fun when I did it, but they must have added the show as I don't remember seeing that. Probably a good thing as I hate snakes! How awesome is Tiger beer, I remember drinking a heap of that on the plane! Can't wait for the next installment!