May 2015 –
Direct flight from Tianjin to Singapore…..here we come!
Here are just a few photos (okay, maybe more than a few!) from our recent quick adventure to Singapore.
We'd heard lots of great things about this city/country before checking it out for ourselves. We also had heard that Singapore is *very* expensive. Boy, they weren't kidding! But MAN oh MAN was it WORTH IT!!!
I think this bridge is called the Helix Bridge…it's right next to our hotel:
That funky flower-shaped building? I think that's one of the art museums. With only four days in Singapore we didn't manage to check that one out.
See that thing that looks like a ship on giant stilts? That's our HOTEL. Yes, it's a hotel. And on the top floor? That where the pool is located. Pretty awesome, right? Our room is on the 19th floor overlooking the harbor. Nice!!!
What we DID check out were the GARDENS! Right next to the hotel was the stunning Gardens by the Bay. Now, I've seen photos of these "trees" before but it's something else getting to see them up close. They're giant metal structures with plants "growing" up them (more likely carefully placed and maintained). Lots of bromeliads and "air" plants (like the Staghorn fern).
Another view of our rather unique hotel (Marina Bay Sands Hotel):
Inside the Cloud Forest (dome):
I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this giant conservatory! It was a giant man-made hill with a waterfall and walkways. The entire hill was covered with plants- begonias, orchids, bromeliads, ferns, and lots more plants…just gorgeous!
Inside the Flower Dome…they were hosting a tulip festival:
Too many people!
The flowers were lovely but honestly this wasn't my favorite.
At the famous Raffles Hotel….home of the Singapore Sling.
Naturally, Mark and I had to try a *real* Singapore Sling! (it's alcoholic) The girls got the non-alcoholic version.
The hotel pool….
So…you might have seen this pool in photos on the Internet or in magazines. As you can see, the view is amazing! Two things -first, being on the 57th floor it's quite cool (and not quite warm for swimming). Second, what is up with everyone in the world taking selfies???? Ack! I've never in my life seen so many narcissistic people!
Singapore Botanic Garden:
Which is home to the National Orchid Gardens:
We spent hours and hours walking around the multiple gardens – my favorite were the orchid garden and the ginger garden. We ate lunch at fantastic little restaurant which featured all things made of ginger in the gardens.
Since it was still too early to call it a day we decided to head to a part of town called Little India. (Singapore apparently is home to many ethnic groups: Chinese, Malaysian, Indian, Muslim)
We walked around Little India. I tried shop after shop after shop trying to find black lentils to make dhal. I couldn't find any! Grr.
One of the temples:
Something was happening inside the temple but we didn't stay long to fully figure it out. No shoes allowed inside the temple.
That's not water flowing out of that faucet….so what is that yellow stuff???
Playing instruments inside the temple:
Ah, the HOT TUB. Oh yeah….now this is the life! Too bad there are only two of these at the hotel. I think they should swap the pool for hot tubs…that would make it perfect!
Last day…off to check out the Singapore Zoo:
Even the bathrooms here are cool!
An elephant painting:
Holding a python (by the way, it's illegal to keep snakes as pets in Singapore):
The zoo was unique in that part of it was open…the orangutans could swing around on the tree tops overhead.
One last look around…this is from the tippy top of the hotel looking out over the Gardens by the Bay. See those domes? Those are the cloud forest and flower domes we visited on the first day.
And here's a view from the other side (the harbor…which is what our rooms overlooked as well):
Last dinner of pizza, nachos, and chocolate lava cakes with this lovely raspberry concoction.
There were so many things about Singapore that we found just a treat: it was CLEAN – and I mean very clean. People were out enjoying the public spaces but not abusing them. We saw lots of people exercising and jogging. The air was clean. The taxi drivers were friendly and helpful. It was easy to get around using English …BUT we heard lots of Chinese spoken. And the Chinese they did speak was honestly easy to understand. (none of that northern, Beijing accent that is so difficult to understand). All of the food was yummy and tasty (but staggeringly expensive). And the service? WOW! Nothing compares to the service we experienced in the hotel and the restaurants.