Hey everyone

Today was 'museums and exploring' day!

Naturally, we didn't have a lie-in (despite our sore feet) and got up early ready for another big day (and lots of free toast for breakfast). Today we decided to explore the buildings in Singapore and famous areas we hadn't been to yet. We began by heading to the National Museum, but after picking up the museum leaflet and realising it was pretty expensive, we decided to pass on this one and go elsewhere. So on we went and a few minutes later we arrived at the Singapore Art Museum. We went in, took a leaflet, realised it was a bit too pricey and decided to move on and go elsewhere... (maybe we just weren't in a museum mood).

Next stop - the famous Raffles Hotel. We had a little look around at the lovely yet very pricey bars and shops, took a few snaps, and decided we couldn't quite afford afternoon tea there... On we walked! Next to the War Memorial Park. Here we saw a tall monument basically consisting of four concrete pillars, and strangely, at the bottom of each pillar was a stray dog. As Christina walked around the monument each of the dogs looked up in turn as she walked past...scary stuff - she hasn't had her rabies injection!

Next stop, places including the Supreme Court, the Art House, and then the statue of Sir Thomas Raffles by the river. Then, the rain began. We ran for cover in the Fullertons Hotel lobby, and sat there for a while planning where we would go next. The rain didn't seem to be stopping, so after a while we decided to head to the nearby Merlion Park. There we saw a huge 'merlion' (a cross between a mermaid and a lion) spouting water into the river. Fortunately the rain began to stop, so we then headed over the river to the Esplanade - a huge perfomance arts venue in a very modern building, costing about £300million to build! We had a good explore of the building and there were great views from the huge rooftop terrace.

We then considered going back to the hostel...but changed our minds and decided to go to Sentosa, a small island just off Singapore. There are a few ways to get there, but by far the most exciting (...or petrifying, if your name begins with C) is the cable car. Alex has to add that before we went to the cable car station, we popped by a convenience store to get some water, but at the till Christina pointed out some cards behind the counter. Alex saw them and because the particular deck of cards is impossible to buy in the uk (let alone for as cheap as they were in the store), bought a couple of decks straight away, with a grin on his face...

So anyway, we got our tickets for the cable car and the fear in Christina was already growing. But an excited Alex and a panicky Christina got in a cable car, and began their journey. There were great views of the docks and the tall buildings in the financial district, as well as the water far, far below... Christina held on tightly to Alex for the whole 10 minute journey, telling him to stop moving so much every time he went to take a photo. The video Alex took in the cable car is pretty funny...

But we arrived safely in Sentosa, and what an island it was! The entire place had been converted into a resort, and it reminded Alex of Disneyland, as everything was artificial and had been designed to look beautiful. There were flowers everywhere, tranquil music everywhere, and things to see and do (and spend money on) everywhere. To get an idea of the design effort put into the place, the escalators SLOWED DOWN when no one was standing on them! What a way to save a little bit of energy. We went and saw the huge merlion on Sentosa, which towered over us, and took lots of photos of the amazingly colourful yet fake flower displays.

After a bite to eat we went towards the Songs of the Sea show, as we could see the water fountains from far away. We found a spot where we could sort of see the show from a distance, as it wasn't hard to miss the huge 3D faces made using lasers and water fountains, or the fireworks at the end of the show. As much as Alex wanted to go in and watch the whole show, Christina explained that it wouldn't be the same as we had already seen the fireworks finale... and because the average age of the audience was 4 years old. So we continued our stroll around Sentosa, past hundreds of fairylights and many fountains. It would have been rather romantic if there hadn't been 10,000 people around.

A little while later we took the cable car back (christina just about held a smile long enough for us to have our photo taken) and we went back to our hostel, looking forward to our final morning in Singapore... Xxx