Singapore Day 1
Trip Start
Oct 30, 2008
1
17
19
Trip End
Nov 15, 2008
Singapore,
Singapore
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Our hotel room
Ahhhh, it's good to be back in civilization!
View from the hotel
View from the hotel
Singapore is much like any big American city in that there's tons of people, plenty of buildings, roadways, etc., and all the city noises to go with it. Singapore is home to 4 million people however, which is a little bigger than we are used to! There are stores, malls, restaurants and the likes all over the place, and you wonder at times how there could possibly be that may people here to fill them all. Well, there are! It gets crazy busy, especially at night, and suddenly it's like the Las Vegas strip times 1000.
View from the hotel
Orchard Street, downtown Singapore
Orchard Street, downtown Singapore
After meeting up with everyone in the hotel lobby, we set up the plan for the day. First though, we stopped at the tour desk so we could square away tickets for the Singapore Zoo Night Safari tomorrow night. That should be awesome. We also purchased tickets for the Singapore Flyer. More on that in a bit.
A smaller group of us then set out on foot to head for the hop on, hop off shuttle bus that goes in a big loop through the city. After catching the bus, our first stop was the Singapore Botanical Gardens.
Bromeliads
Botanical gardens
That place was absolutely huge, incredibly immaculate, and were the finest gardens we've ever seen.
Botanical gardens
It was absolutely stunning, and we honestly only saw less than a fourth of it even after a couple of hours.
Botanical gardens
Botanical gardens
Botanical gardens
Botanical gardens
There is just that much to see!
Botanical gardens
Pam & Andy in the orchid gardens
The majority of our time at the gardens were spent in the National Orchid Gardens, where they have over 60,000 varieties of orchids. Incredible!
Orchids!
Orchids!
Between the two of us, we probably took over 200 pictures just at the gardens.
Orchids!
Botanical gardens
Any gardeners out there headed to Singapore should not miss a stop at the gardens.
Orchids!
Orchids!
Orchids!
Orchids!
Orchids!
Orchids!
Orchids!
Andy in the gardens
See no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil!
Of course, we should probably mention that it got pretty rainy while we were there. At first Pam was the only one wanting to buy an umbrella from the gift shop but before long, it became an absolute necessity!
A little rain feels just like home!
Actually though, the rain really only made the garden experience that much better. It really seemed like it was meant to be seen that way, what with this area still being tropical jungle and all. It was already warm and humid out, so what's a little rain!
We then hopped back on the bus and rode to an area of the city called Little India.
Little India
A large part of the population of Singapore has settled in that area over the years and has really made it their own.
Little India
It was very interesting to walk the streets and see all the stores, markets and such, selling absolutely everything.
Temple in little India
We were approached by a couple of guys trying to recruit customers for their upstairs restaurant.
After looking at the menu and hearing our stomachs growling, we happily obliged. Lunch was excellent, and we all had a great time!
The gang at lunch in little India
We then hailed a cab for the ride over to the Singapore Flyer. What's that, you ask? Only the world's tallest ferris wheel, at around 500 feet high!
The Singapore Flyer
It sits on the waterfront and affords a view of the entire harbor and downtown area, as well as views well beyond. On a clear day, you can apparently see for hundreds of miles and can see Malaysia and Indonesia.
View of the Singapore river from the flyer
It wasn't so clear today, but clear enough to make for an amazing ride.
Downtown Singapore
The cars are incredibly smooth riding, and the view really seems like you're just looking out the window of a very high office building. There's no sway to the cars, and you would never really know you were on a huge wheel. The Flyer just opened this past February, and the views and city historical background narrative were outstanding. We even got a chance to spot the city's famous landmark, the Merlion.
Singapore's symbol, the Merlion
We then walked through the city (not an easy task, as the city is huge!) to meet the rest of the group for one last final dinner together at Maharajah's Indian Restaurant, located in the very upscale shopping district of Orchard Street.
Ceiling at the evening's dinner location
Dinner was great!
One of our group is headed out tomorrow morning due to a family wedding in Chicago on Saturday. The rest of us have one more day to enjoy here in Singapore!
We can't rave enough about the city. It is amazingly clean, safe, well run, and very easy to get around in on foot, by taxi or bus. We're really looking forward to venturing back out tomorrow to see what else is in store for us! Last day of vacation tomorrow, so stay tuned!
Pam & Andy
