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Published: March 20th 2006
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Singapore
Sky Line along Boat Quay I was scheduled to leave Diego Garcia at 8:00pm Monday the 23rd of January; I got lucky on my first trip to DG as the plane leaving for Singapore was a commercial jet that the island leases out once every three months to take the workers back to the Philippines. I was even luckier to have been booked in Business class on the flight to Singapore; although the drinks were free and the leather seats were nice that is wear the luxury stopped because the meal sucked and I could not even get frequent flyer miles for this leg (none of the airlines I fly are affiliated with Philippine Air????).
Once our plane lands and I get my bag, go through customs and get to my hotel (Park Royal) and check in it is 3:00am Tuesday morning, I leave a wake-up call for 8:00am so I can see the most of the city in the short amount of time that I have.
On my flight from DG to Singapore I did manage to read some of "Lonely Planet Singapore", so I had kind of had a game plan on some of the sights I wanted to check out. The
Scaffolding
Asian scaffolding at the hotel first thing I did was buying a subway card and put $10 of credit on it. Ok I was ready to go.
(Day 1)
Leaving my hotel I saw the infamous scaffolding the use in Asia, although this was not bamboo it was some type of tree. Anyway I was very close to the Sultan Mosque so I walked there. You had to take your shoes and socks off to enter the Mosque; they let you walk on the perimeter of the main room. The detailing was very cool as were the lamps. I stayed in this area through mid afternoon and walked up and down all the streets in this area. The architecture in some areas was very similar to old Victorian with bright pastel colors which surprised me a little. I ate lunch in this area at an Indian type restaurant, I think. I did not know what was what so I just asked the lady behind the counter to fix me up, and she did. I had a huge plate of beef with a light curry gravy, green beans and chicken in a kind of sweet sauce, probably the best rice I've had. I told her
Sultan Mosque
Sultan Mosque I like spicy food so she put two types of chili past on the side. It was an excellent choice.
After I ate I decided to walk over to Little India. This was a neat little area, the air smelled of spices and incense. Walked the streets looking in the shops selling flower garlands for offerings, incense holders and any type of incense you want. I was disappointed I could not find a spice shop.
Next stop was Raffles Hotel, birth place of "The Singapore Sling". I hoped on the subway. The first thing I noticed is how clean and easy their subway system is. The subway stop is right across the street from the Raffles; I head right for the outside bar and proceed to fork out $17 for a Singapore Sling. As I was enjoying this rather pricey drink I was reading in my tour book that Raffles uses a pre-mix, it listed a couple of bars that make the real drink (using real egg whites), and at half the price, oh well next time.
After my 1 drink I went back to the hotel to freshen up, had a dinner engagement with our Singapore
Sultan Mosque
Inside Sultan Mosque employee (yes just 1 person). I have no idea were we met her at, all I know is it was like the Pottery Barn area in FT. Worth (some of you will know what I mean). There was this food court with about 40 food vendors. You go to the vendor that has something you like, tell him what you want and what table # you are sitting at and repeat at the next vendor. Once you have selected your meal go to your table and in minutes your food arrives. We ordered BBQ Sting Ray, Noodles with Squid, Beef Lamb & Pork on a stick with peanut/garlic dipping sauce, Greens with sautéed garlic, BBQ Chicken Wings, Oyster Omelet. Our drinks were ground sugar cane juice mixed with fresh lime juice, we also had two desserts. All this cost $15 Singapoian dollars which is about $10 US.
(Day 2)
Slept in till about 8:30am. I have a 9:00pm shuttle to airport so I have about 12 hours of exploring. I take the subway to China Town. China Town was very crowded since it was very close to the Chinese New Year. Went to the Sir Mariamman Temple, and walked
Sultan Mosque
Outside Sultan Mosque around it, walked the allies and looked in all the shops. Noticed a very long line (about 2 hour wait) to get food, walked further down and saw the same type of food, but a much shorter line. So I got in line and started talking to the gentlemen next to me. He tells me this meat (like thin jerky) is very popular during the New Year. I bought 4 slices for lunch and it was quite tasty.
After my snack I took a cab to Boat Quay, a very popular river front area and had an over priced salad. After my lunch I took another taxi to the Botanic Gardens, I wanted to see the Orchid Gardens. This place was amazing so many orchids, most just growing on trees, very nice and relaxing.
It was getting very close to diner so I took a subway to my hotel and ate diner at a nice little Jazz Bar and people watched until I had to catch my shuttle to the Airport.
The Singapore airport is very nice with a health club were you can work out, have a message or just shower and take a nap. There
Boutique
Typical syle of architecture is also a movie theater. It was a very fast visit and I would like to come back when I can take my time and see much more of this very nice city.
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Scott G
non-member comment
40 Hrs in Singapore
Gee wiz Johnny, don't they have barber shops in that area of the world? Also, I'm very disapponinted that the Punchinello did not make the trip. Do you even let Punch out of the house?