Merlions, Bum Boats and Chicken Rice…This must be Singapore!

July 8-9, 2015

After leaving the peacefulness of the Indonesian Islands we entered the fast-paced and brightly-light city of Singapore. Our super-fast taxi driver introduced us to the pace as he sped past night traffic, including a police car, at upward of 120 km/h to deliver us to the V Hotel Lavender. Checking into our nicely air conditioned room secured us a restful night sleep.

Our first full day in Singapore included a walk through little Arabia and the SunTech City shopping districts. We then purchased our “sight-seeing” MRT metro passes to aide in our navigation around the city.

As we were standing in the middle of the mall looking at our map, we were called over to a tour desk by a consultant named Derrick who not only sold us passes to local attractions but also took us on a mini tour of the area and brought us to the Chin-Chin restaurant for lunch. Now, this wasn’t an organized tour, he literally said, “Have you had lunch?” and when we answered in the negative, he said, “I’m just about to go for lunch and I’ll take you there with me.” So we left his grandmother to mind the shop and continue playing a slot game on her tablet.

At the Chin-Chin restaurant not only did he show us what was up, he helped us order the local delicacy, Singapore Chicken Rice, then helped us secure a table at this very popular and stuffed-full place, as well as arranging our payment and bringing us back the change! As he had to scoot back to work, we shared a table with 5 workers from an insurance company. Mabel sat beside Carolyn and they talked a lot about work and schooling in Singapore. On our way back towards the metro station, another young man helped guide us in the right direction. We were so lucky to meet so many nice and helpful Singaporeans!

We made our away though large construction sites, as preparations are underway for the National Day Celebrations, toward the civics centre. We walked past the parliament building, the new and the old law courts, the national theatre and arrived at the Asian Civilizations Museum. We were transported back in time as we viewed and read about the religions and icons of the past – mostly Buddhist, Hindu, and Muslim. We also read up on the changes in ceramic and warfare production over time.

Our walk then took us to the banking and financial district of Raffles Place. We happily accessed an HSBC ATM and then headed toward the Singapore River (harbour). We caught a glimpse of 4 turtles paddling in the bay. We were very happy to make it to the other side and enter the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and Shopping Mall. This high end mall sits below 3 towers of hotel rooms/office space. On top of the towers sits a deck shaped like a massive boat. We definitely had to see what was at the top!

It was incredible to view the ocean chock-a-block full of transport vessels as well as the man-made peninsula covered in gardens. Then to look from the other side back towards the city of towers and lights! Truly incredible!

In the evening, we made our way back to the river mouth and caught a bum boat tour from near the Merlion. We learned more about the history of Singapore and enjoyed the lights of the city from the water. We ended the evening with a free light and music show from the base of the Marina Bay Sands. Truly enjoyable.

Shopping district in Little Arabia, Singapore, July 9, 2015

Lunch at Chin-Chin, Singapore, July 9, 2015

Marina Sands Sky Park, Singapore, July 9, 2015

View to the ocean over the gardens, Singapore, July 9, 2015

View of the City, Singapore, July 9, 2015

Merlion in the evening, Singapore, July 9, 2015

Merlion at night, Singapore, July 9, 2015

Laser Light Show, Singapore, July 9, 2015

Laser Light Show with bum boats in the background, Singapore, July 9, 2015

Sky lit up for the finale, Singapore, July 9, 2015