Singapore. 20-23 Jan 2011
Arrived exhausted from a very pleasant flight w Singapore Airlines, just bad timing in terms of the flight and arrival. Got our room immediately, which we paid/planned for, so we could go to bed for a few hours at 06:00.
Walked a lot, but otherwise a low-key day. Hot and humid, a bit of pool time called for. We have been here before, so we need to find new things to do this time.
Here's something you don't often see! We went for an early dinner, and for a beer after in an effort to stay awake. Gus didn't get a single pint down before he said he had to go to bed. That was on a patio where he could smoke. Quite remarkable. I think those of you who know him would agree.
Slept for 12 hrs, both of us. Phew!
Had a nice breakfast up the road and then Gus went for a transit map in the tourist office, and ended up having to sit down to hear all the wonderful things you can do here, and then fill in a form about how good the service was at the tourist office. I was left sitting in the lobby, wondering how he could have possibly become lost just 2 blocks up the street. (Stranger things have happened). He was gone almost an hour. No transit map in the end, either.
Took a bus to the Bukit Timah Nature reserve, and once we found the way into the park, had a good hike around and got some much needed exercise. "Little bit up, little bit down.", as the Nepalese say. Wonderfully quiet and remote feeling in the middle of the city, complete w monkeys. There is of course a fine for feeding the animals. There is a fine for just about anything here. These fines are covered in the "Where" magazine, for the tourist's erudition.
Out for a really good Italian meal. Would have been happy to have had that risotto or pumpkin ravioli anywhere in Italy.
Stopped at the Irish bar near the hotel, celebrating 50 years in Singapore. Quite a party atmosphere! Stayed awhile, even danced. (No, not to Abba or Barry White).
A little rough to start off, we decided to take the "Hop on/Hop off" around the city the next day. Truly a city of both old and new. Old Chinese houses and stunning skyscrapers side by side. After a spin around, I had some noodles at a hawker centre (Asian food court). You can eat very well and cheaply at these places. Otherwise, the food and drink scene is very expensive. The sin-tax on alcohol trumps ours, and probably approaches Sweden's. More walking, a bit of pool. Can't seem to make myself take pictures of things I've seen before, so the blog photos are going to be a bit thin.
Chinatown is insanely busy this time of year. They are gearing up for the lunar new year. "So long, Tiger. Hello Bunny!" is the refrain. Might be fun to be here the first 2 weeks of February, as the calendar of events appears to be full of parades (both street and river), food everywhere, and lots of other festivities.
You won't be surprised to hear I whiled away the better part of the next day at Singapore's phenomenal botanical gardens. It has an excellent and very evocative evolutionary garden, as well as perhaps the world's best orchid garden and breeding program. They also have a coldhouse! It's for the mountain species of orchids, kept at a frigid 24 degrees Celsius. The entire garden is very well annotated, but more than this, it serves as one of the city's main green-spaces. It is free to the public and very busy on a Sunday afternoon with families picnicking, etc.
If you want photos of Singapore, you'll have to settle for tropical plants, 'cause that's all I've got!
Interestingly, I have heard our boy Michael Buble in every country we have visited thus far. I was listening to "I Wanna Go Home" today by the pool, and while I like the song very much, it could hardly be further from the truth from my point of view.
Flew to the airport via super-sonic cab, and off to Kuala Lumpur tonight. Malaysia, #101!