Singapore certainly lived up to its name as the Garden City. Interesting facts I learned: Singapore was founded as British trading post in 1819. Before that it was known as Temasek. It is located on the southern tip of the Malay peninsula between the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean. Singapore is 278 square miles with a population of 5.6 million people. they refer to their population mix as CMIO – Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Other. Eighty percent of Singaporeans live in government housing; the remaining twenty percent own private homes and condos.
There was some kind of snafu at Singapore immigration. Our tour met at 9:30 am, and we didn’t get on the bus until 12:15 pm. What a horribly long, hot, humid, and tiring wait to get through customs. We also were treated to monsoon-type rain (though we were covered at the time) which did little to cool things off but thankfully ended before we had to go outside. All the people around me whining, their frustration building was really irritating to me, but I tried to stay calm and not engage. I didn’t want that negativity to get in and spoil my day.
My original plan for Singapore fell through, so I took a morning tour (which turned into an afternoon tour) around the city, to Chinatown and the National Orchid Garden. Our first stop was to the top of Mount Faber, the highest point on Singapore (only 1.6 km high). They have a gondola system that you can take up there or to other parts of the city. At the top, there are some happiness bells gifted to Singapore from Poland. So now couples or people with wishes come to the top and tie silver and gold bells to the fences with their wishes. Like the locks on the bridge in Paris and other places.
.jpg)
We then headed to the National Orchid Garden, where the rain returned. The orchids – the largest collection of different orchids in the world - were so beautiful even in the rain, I just wandered around with my umbrella up, snapping away and enjoying a walk in the cool rain.
A free time stop in Chinatown allowed me to wander into the Sri Mariamman Temple, the oldest Hindu temple in the city. Very impressive.
I then wandered the stalls and markets of Chinatown looking for deals; I found some.
Then we headed back to the ship. I dropped my things, changed and cleaned up a bit, then headed out with a friend to go to Gardens by the Bay. Gardens by the Bay is a 250-acre park with domed conservatories covering several different regions. The rain had ended! We grabbed some dinner at the food court, where we ate Chicken Soya from HawkerChan, the first Michelin-starred street food hawker (it was very good).
We wandered through the flower dome and admired the luscious displays. It got me all fired up with new ideas for our home garden. I hope the feeling passes before I get home!
After that we went out the main open area to watch the light show amount the Supertrees. (You may have seen them in “Crazy Rich Asians” in the wedding scene.)
We hopped a taxi and got back to the ship in time to watch the second show of the traditional dancers featured on the ship. There were Chinese, Malay and Indian dancers, who highlighted their own regional dances and then combined them into group dances. They were very talented and I enjoyed them all, especially the Indian dancers. I suggested that we should do some of that in our line dancing class.
I had a wonderful relaxing shower, put on some cozy clothes and watched the nighttime sail away from Singapore to end a lovely day.
Comments
Post a Comment