Advertisement
Published: June 26th 2017
Edit Blog Post
Geo: -34.9258, 138.6
Our last afternoon in Singapore was very enjoyable. Once we had checked out and stored the bags we caught the train into City Hall. From there we walked to /suntec City which is the terminus for the bus company. We wanted to ride on the third route but that bus wasn't going for 30 minutes so we hopped on the Yellow line again and rode round the circuit to Orchard Road. Though I am not a big shopper everyone expects a visitor to Singapore to at least stroll down Orchard Road. We did alight there and had a look at a couple of the huge shopping malls. found a bookshop where Fletcher found a rare sports history book then looked for lunch. On the third floor went into the Crystal Jade Lao Mian Xiao Long cafe and had a great lunch which wasn't too expensive.
Decided that all the shops were the same as you would find anywhere in the world we caught the bus of the third route and rode thios to Marina Bay. This is where Merlion Park is situated and the River Cruise port. This area is incredibly attractive. It is all reclaimed land and now boasts
the huge Marina Sands Resort. This is the three towered building that has a ship like structure across the top. It cost 5.7 billion dollars to build! The Merlion, the symbol of Singapore, is also here. This is a fountain which spurts a large arch of water from its mouth. We found the River Cruise landing and embarked on a 40 minute tour up the Singapore River. The view from the boat gives a very different perspective of the city. We went past Boat Quay which is lined with Chinese shop houses. These were originally where the Chinese community had their shops above which they lived. This stretch of the river was the original port. Further along we went under several bridges and reached Clarke Quay which is now a colourful restaurant area. Along the river banks are great sculptures depicting the way life used to be in the 19th century.
It was very pleasant pottering along with a lovely breeze, cooling us in the humid conditions. We returned to Marina Bay getting a grand view of the Merlion Statue which is the symbol of Singapore. It was originally Singhapura, lion city, due to one being originally spotted near the site.
Then the tail of the fish was added to acknowledge the reliance on fishing and the sea. We really enjoyed the trip.
From there we walked along the bank back to the Asian Cultures Museum and stopped for a beer at the Indo-Chine restaurant. Outside this there are several statues, again depicting the old and the new. It was getting dark as we sat and watched the lights come on. We found Sir Stamford Raffles statue further along, on the supposed site where he landed in 1816. Then we went across the river to one of the restaurants in the shop houses on Boat Quay. We had a small meal there and watched the laser light show on the top of one of the skyscrapers. The old and the new certainly blend in here.
Then it was back to Changi Airport to board our flight which left at midnight. The plane was only half full and we got into Adelaide at 7-40am. Lucy, Emilie and Scarlett picked us up and we were home before 9am. We had seen and experienced much in the 5 weeks and thoroughly enjoyed the holiday. always good to be home though.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.039s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 7; qc: 28; dbt: 0.0202s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Jo Armour
non-member comment
Thanks, Col. Thoroughly enjoyed your blogs. Jo