Asia trip Day 3 - Singapore

Tuesday February 28

It was rather late yesterday but that doesn't matter when you are on vacation. Slept well and woke up at a good time. We enjoyed that included breakfast again which is way more than we usually have for breakfast at home. It was very nice. And as I mentioned before: we don't have to bother about lunch or dinner.

Sometime between 10 and 11 am (no idea when exactly) we headed out to explore. We were a bit worried about the weather because when we lived here, we can't remember a day when it rained a whole day. We used to laugh about the quarter past 5 downpour which lasted maybe 20 minutes. But we didn't really prepare because surely it would not rain a continues day in Singapore. Well, unfortunately it did. Since we also look for the positive we can say that we were early enough. 

We were lucky because we headed out to get on top of the most famous building in Singapore, the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, and most likely one of all in the whole world. The weather was still ok then but got worse and worse.

We had to admit that this was really an incredible building. You have to walk and see a lot of it because there is tower 1 and 2 and 3. Finally you come to the elevator. We came to a place were we had to generate the tickets ourselves and it went incredibly smoothly and in no time (no problem even for us old fogies).

First view from the observation deck.

 

The view was incredible and worth it. We saw of course the symbol of Singapore, the Merlion, the Raffle, St. Andrew's Cathedral and lots more.

The Merlion is so much smaller than I had it in remory. Do you see it at the water's edge?

We had met a couple in the underground when we were looking for the way and talked with each other. They were from Australia. I asked whether they wanted to have their photo taken and they took ours. 

And James took this one and a few others. He usually leaves the picturetaking to me but today he had several to share with me when at the hotel.

Ha, this looked like the London Eye.

So much has changed in the 15 years since we were last  here. It was so interesting to learn about it and we were sorry that we didn't have more time.

The front of the building with the pool etc. We could not go to it. Sorry, not a good picture.

Walking through the lobby of that hotel. A selfie which actually came out ok. There might be hope for me.

Walked across the street. A look back. 

And from here on the weather was not cooperating. We had wanted to walk around the water to the Merlion. Unfortunately it wasn't just a sprinkle here and there but it rained pretty much the whole rest of the day. As always we made the best of it. Walking through that shopping mall I opened one of the glass doors to take this photo. Just thought it was pretty.

It was a place with expensive shops.

Our plan to walk to the Merlion didn't quite work. When we came to the exit on the other side of the shopping mall there was (still) a tremendous downpour. A group of dogwalkers was seeking shelter. 

We were wondering what to do and decided we had not had enough liquid this day yet. Oh my gosh, this was a fancy place. The most expensive beer (for James) and cider (for me). Well, the cider had come all the way from France. Hope you are not thinking that we are complaining. The people-watching was a lot of fun.

What to do? I suggested to take the underground to go to Chinatown. That way we had not to be in the rain. Using the underground actually was a lot of fun. The swiping to get in and out is to easy and practical, but knowing which color line to take has to be learned. Well, we got some experience but of course we are not here long enough to get good. 

James nudged me in the side. No durians allowed. We remember it well from 15 years ago. That has not changed.

Yes, a lot has changed but a lot has not. Singapore is still as clean as ever. The people are so friendly and helpful without asking if they noticed that you are lost or so. Most people are nicely dressed and most have a smart phone. This seemed such a "picture of our times". I very discreetly took this photo. Most likely it could have been taken anywhere in the world.

We went all the way to Chinatown without being affected by the rain but when we popped up out of the station we had to think hard about getting somewhere without being drenched. I also did not know where the place was or what it was called where I had bought the Singapore Airlines fabric. Yes, I thought it would be nice to make another quilt with that.

It was not a fancy place but a two story mall with narrow alleys and one stall next to the other. It looked like the whole upper floor was fabric but there was also hardware stuff and all sorts of other things. So interesting. But I was not lucky. 15 years ago that fabric was available in several places. There was only one stall this time that had what I was looking for. It had really nice Indonesian fabric but it was not cheap any more. The company had also designed something similar now but it was of much cheaper quality. I could not bring myself to make a positive decision. Without having an actual plan in my head for a quilt and know how much I needed I could not. Oh well. James said it had been an interesting experience anyway.

So back to the Merlion. Downtown is such a good place to walk and see all sorts of things. We hoped that the weather would get better. We could not leave the station and decided we needed something to drink. By now it was almost 3 pm. I wasn't hungry at all but this place was interesting and a cup of Chinese tea looked inviting. There were dumplings on offer in all sorts of numbers and with all sorts of fillings. James shared. I had three and they were really delicious. Grandson William would have so loved them. Thinking of you, William!

We even could see how they made them.

Oh yes, it seemed it was getting better again. Where we popped out of the underground we could see the Merlion. From the observation deck we had seen it and thought when going there the reverse kind of photo would be cool. Not quite there yet though.

And then we had a real downpoor again. James took these photos ... getting wet.

Ha-ha, I took this one of him doing it. But I didn't venture out far enough behind the Merlion to take that "reverse" photo with the Marina Bay Sands Hotel in the back this time.

We stood underneath an overhang for quite a while hoping it would stop, and then we gave up. Never got the photo I wanted. Oh well...

It was getting late enough and we decided to make our way back to the hotel. Plan was to get out again in the evening for a dinner. We thought about a fancy dinner at the river or a hawker place in walking distance. But neither happened (we just never got hungry enough).

We were trying to find an underground station which is usually not difficult here because there is such a network of the lines. But it still rained heavily and we had to make careful plans to run from one side of the street to the other to be as much out of the rain as possible. Ha-ha, our two umbrellas in our hotel didn't help. When we came to Orchard Station we only had one choice: just to walk in the rain. It was warm and at the hotel we could change and the clothes would dry again.

Back in the room we took hot showers. Soon it was time for the 6 pm happy hour. The canapees were plenty of food and we did not need to go out again. It had been an adventurous day and we had laughed about it a lot. We could not remember ever having had a day like this while we had lived here. Or may be it had not been commited to memory (because it is not a big deal for us). I am writing the blog. Accomplished! Time to turn the light out.

If you are reading this ... I am sorry it is a strange "mostly wet" report. But no complaints. Really.

Asia trip Day 2 - Singapore

Monday February 27

A good night's sleep makes all the difference in the world. I had ended the previous blog with a bit of today. We had arrived after midnight and had to straighten ourselves out about the time and day. We left Saturday (day 1) but I am not really counting Sunday because somehow we went over the dateline. It really doesn't matter, does it?

We are not big breakfaster at home, have our mainmeal at lunch and snack for supper. Most hotels include breakfast in the booking. Ok, this one from 7am to 3pm. Included. And more to come. I just read the fine print.

It was more like after 9 when we finally were downstairs. It's a very nice area with little tables and large windows to see the garden. James is getting our coffees. The rest is ordered and will be delivered.

It sounded healthy on the menu which you get via scanning a QR code on your smartphone. Avocado on sourdough toast with smoked salmon and poached eggs (cooked to perfection if I may add).

Afterwards we were not quite ready to go out. Strange. I had expected to be on the go on these two full days we have here but I am so enjoying taking it easy. We went to the room and gathered some stuff and find a place to chill. First we went to the 12th floor to look at the infinity pool. Quite nice but not quite right. 

So we went downstairs again were we had seen the garden terrace next to the breakfast place.

James quickly relocated even a little further into the greenery until a shower chased him back.

I sat in the chair in front with the yellow pillow and wrote blog Day 1 (before I forgot). Look at the visitor right next to me.

I was done when James had to come back which was perfect timing for him to proof-read.

While he was doing that I just sat back and saw the writing on that building: 2006/7 our address was Cairnhill Circle. Memories. I wrote about it HERE in case you are interested.

Finally we got antsy. Thanks to now having T-Mobile I could use maps and looked for Lucky Plaza. Just down the hill towards Orchard Road. 

Lucky Plaza is a Mall with cheap shops. 15 years ago I always looked there first when I needed something.

We had to replace James' toothpaste which was confiscated by security. Too many oz. I could not resist to take a photo of the (boiled) salty eggs when we checked out. Lent? They look purple to me just like my toenails. 

We also bought 2 cheap umbrellas because there are showers once in a while. Insurance because usually if you have one you don't need it. When we had enough there we went further along Orchard Road. Oh, how I remember it. I compare this road with 5th Avenue in Manhatten. Lots of fancy stores, Takashimaya being one of them. Opposite was Paragon Mall, on the corner of our street. We went briefly in but I could not find the window where you could watch udon noodles being made. It was so incredible. Also could not find the place Louis-Jeanne bought her little glass buddha. 

We decided to go up our street. There it is in the middle (green glass looking). Called The Light at Cairnhill. Opposite used to be a street downhill to walk to an area with historic looking houses and really nice restaurants. No more. Another highrise. We would not have the view anymore which we used to have. I remember seeing the enermous fireworks out of the window and TV live simultaneously. 

Back downhill and back into the Paragon. I remembered there just to be a supermarket. Finally James found it. Basement. So many interesting things. Thought we get some apples. OMG, the prices everywhere. Super expensive. But all those fresh veggies and things we hardly see in the USA. Loved it.

Ha-ha, these are cakes. The one in the middle looked like a knitted hat.

We did buy something though. We were thirsty. We bought some beer and 1 bottle of water we can refill and take on walks. Its nothing new that I could not my water open but James tried so hard and it didn't budge. A young man with long hair and a stroller laughed and just took it and with minimal effort opened it in seconds, and walked off still laughing. What was the secret?

And back to the hotel. So convenient. It's the one in the middle. You can see the pool area just above the tree on the 12th floor.

When we travel we never talk about jet leg. We go by the local time and that is that. But we did not feel that we had to run all over town to see everything there is today. We were just happy and decided to chill a little. There will be quite a program once we are on the ship. So the main thing was to sort things out and then we looked for a warm place to play our card game. We thought downstairs would be nice next to the water feature and greenery but the wind was too strong for our cards. 

So we went upstairs to the 12th floor and it was more sheltered. I won though. Again. I have quite a lucky streak.

At check in we were informed that our breakfast was included and also 24-hr lounge access with light refreshments and evening cocktail 6 to 8 pm, and gym, pool etc. We were not hungry but decided to take them up on the happy hour.

We had a choice of drinks and each got a glass of red wine. And we did not turn down the offer of "canapés". It was quite a selection of interesting things. 

We were offered a second drink and opted for wite wine this time. Deffinately a better choice.

Second wind? We decided to go out again. No dinner needed though. Everybody is so helpful and nice. When we asked how it works with the subway now and whether there might be a tourist pass. We were given a pass each left by a previous hotel guest. They did not know what might be left on the card. 

We walked to Orchard Station and inquired. The cards were empty but all we needed was to top them up. It was suggested to put 10 Singapore dollars on each. Sounded fair. But we needed to get cash, Singapore cash, nothing else was accepted. That took a bit running around underground until we found the right place to exchange some US dollars. And back to the counter to have the cards topped up. 

The whole day it had fissled once in a while but now it was a really nice evening. There was a warm breeze and very pleasant. James wanted to see St Andrews Cathedral again. So that's where we got out and walked to. Lots of familiar sights like Funan Plaza etc. But the Cathedral was not visible. No idea what was going on but it looked under renovation. We need to google on it. 

So we kept walking. The city with her lights was just lovely. And  lots of people milling about. We probably should go tomorrow at daytime to check this out. It definately was built after we left.

We kept walking until we were at the Singapore River and walked along it.

When we came to Clarke Quay nothing had changed. You walk between restaurants and there are seatings at the river edge and at every place there is somebody who tells you why you should eat there. Ignore ignore, ignore. But we were thirsty so we ask whether we could have a drink only and they were happy to sell us that. Concidering the prime place it wasn't even outlandishly expensive. 

Then I wondered where the statues of the little boys might be which I liked so much. I had taken several photos but never in the dark (at least not that I can remember). Thanks to our new telephone provider T-Mobile we can now google whereever we are and I quickly found out that it was next to the Cavanagh Bridge which is in front of the Fullerton Hotel. We could see the hotel from were we sat. 

Yeah for T-mobile!

We continued our walk and I was happy to see another of my favorite statues. I used a photo I had taken of it on the front of for our Christmas card that year. I gave the two men Santa hats and put some gifts on the card. I wished I could show you but that is in Virginia.

And here are the boys. A real piece of art in my eyes.

And then it was time to find the underground station again. Each time the swiping took 99 Singapore cents of the card. About 75 US cents (?) And so easy to use. 

Night night! It's after midnight. And we never had dinner. Yes Vanessa, our AAA Traveladviser, you found this hotel with happy hour for us we didn't even know about. We didn't feel like having dinner but feeling good from walking and not "having stuffed" ourselves. And we didn't have a big dinner bill either, ha-ha.

What a splendid Day! 

Thank you, Lord!