Subject: FW: Report # 75 Singapore March 15, 2016 Tuesday Day Three Chance of rain & 86 degrees 85 Pictures Part #1 of 2
Guess what? We had another great day in Singapore, like that's a surprise. However, before the day got started, we ran into a little "bump" in the road with our upcoming safari in Sri Lanka. Seems that the officials there don't always share their visa plans ahead of time with their requirements. In other words, they can change their minds regarding anyone spending more than three days in their country. Usually their blanket group visa is sufficient. However, we found out through our travel agent that we need to have a longer visa, since we will be flying out of Colombo 7 days after we arrive in Hambantota, our first port in Sri Lanka. Yes, we could have done this before we left home, but at that time, it wasn't required. The good news is that our travel agent can get it online, and forward it to us. At least that is the plan as of this morning. Sure hope it works.
We headed off of the ship by 11am, and back onto the MRT. Today our destination was Raffles Place, reached by the purple line to Dhoby Ghat, then transferring to the green line to One Raffles Place. We have attempted this stop before, but got turned around, lost in the high rise skyscrapers. We were looking for a way to cross the road, which is not always easy in Singapore. You either have to go over or under in this city, as there are few stop lights. So this time, we followed a crowd of folks that seem to know where they were going. It led to covered walkway across the road to The Fullerton Hotel Singapore. We entered into the lobby with a massive crystal chandelier and a central restaurant under a vaulted ceiling. It was beyond elegant, where a few guests were enjoying tea and sandwiches. Even though they offered to seat us when we checked out the menu, we felt we were not properly dressed, so we said no thanks.
This hotel, as well as others, sits on the Marina Reservoir, where the Singapore River ends. Walking out of the hotel, we ended up at Merlion Park, where the famous Merlion sits, spewing water from his mouth from the river into the reservoir. This famous statue represents the Singapore symbol of welcome. It is a mythical creature with the head of a lion, and the body of a fish. As well as a mascot, it is the national symbol of Singapore. And as you might expect, the Merlion is a favorite statue for photographing. We took several pictures, before walking across the Jubilee Bridge, dedicated to 50 years of Singapore's independence. That took us across the Singapore River, where we first planned on heading back to the MRT. But it seemed like we were halfway to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel already, so why walk back to the train? Well, one of us could think of a few reasons…..it was another incredibly hot and humid day, and walking in this heat was not easy. Few folks were doing it.
Oh well, we didn't want to wimp out, so we continued on, using an umbrella for shade. We strolled the Marina Promenade, passing the Esplanade Theaters on the Bay, some restaurants, the seating gallery with the Float at Marina Bay, and finally to the Youth Olympic Park. If we had kept walking, we would have ended up at the bottom of the Singapore Flyer, the world's tallest observation wheel. It is 541 feet high, 90 feet taller than the London Eye. We read somewhere tht it takes 30 minutes for it to make one revolution.
Taking the Helix Bridge, we entered near the Artscience Museum, which is shaped like a giant lotus blossom. The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands begins here. This is luxury shopping plus in our book, with several floors of boutiques, restaurants, cafes, an ice skating rink (not real ice), and a canal that runs on the lowest level (complete with gondolas like those in Venice). A casino is also part of the complex along with multiple theaters.
We would come back here for lunch, but for now, we wanted to stroll through the Gardens by the Bay. This wonderful complex takes gardening beyond the typical expectations…….. a garden of the future, leaning towards education about conservation. Gardens by the Bay can be accessed in a few ways, one of which is by taking the MRT to Bayfront Station. If you are already at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, you can walk across the Lions Bridge on level 6. Or, you can walk from the Helix Bridge, and follow the footpath along the waterfront, like we did.
Coming in at the West Gate, we made our way to the Silver Garden, which has three of the "living" trees. The trunks of these metal tree structures are planted with grasses, orchids, bromiliads, and vines, which are dripped or misted with gravity-fed water. Full descriptions are included with each and every attraction here, explaining how all of it works with nature. We made our way to the two massive domes that house the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest. The tourist fee to access both is $28 Singapore. The Flower Dome is filled with Mediterranean and subtropical trees and plants. We have seen this attraction on past trips. The Cloud Forest is filled with cool and moist tropical species, enhanced by a 35 meter manmade mountain and waterfall.
The other big attraction is the Supertrees Grove, a much more dense collection of "living" trees. One of them is large enough at the top to house a dining venue. Connecting these structures is the 22 meter high OCBC Skyway, a dramatic walkway that cost $5 Singapore to stroll between the trees to get the birds eye view. Would be a treat to see and hear the spectacular light and sound show at the Supertrees at 7:45 and 8:45pm nightly.
The surrounding garden displays were equally educational with Colonial, Indian, Chinese, and Malay plantings. The display that described traditional plants used for medicinal purposes was interesting. Completing the circle, were the cactus, palms, and even a children's garden.
There are ten different restaurants and cafes scattered throughout the complex, including McDonalds. The kids love it.
Since our time was getting away from us, and also due to the fact it was blistering hot, we made our way out of the complex via the Dragonfly Bridge, which crosses over the Dragonfly Lake. This manmade lake plays a role in supporting the ecosystem by storing and filtering the park's watering system. It also has a 440 meter boardwalk to enjoy.
Finding the Lions Bridge, we went to the massive one-of-a-kind Marina Bay Sands Hotel, which resembles an ironing board on top of three huge towers of hotel rooms. From the top of an interior walkway, we could view the lobby of all three towers far below us. Our first visit here, we navigated the ride up the tower that went to the top with a restaurant and a most beautiful infinity pool. Although viewed from a gated area to give the paying guests privacy, it is still quite a stunning view of the city below.
The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands connects to the hotel with a series of escalators taking you down to the top floors. Looking down from the top is dizzying.
It was time for lunch and a much-needed rest to cool down. One café we know serves a good pizza is Mozza Pizzeria. They even have a wood-fired oven for a thin crispy crust. Of course, we ordered the margherita with some extra onions. Cokes were $6 Singapore each, no refills here. In fact, we figured we could have gone to Raffles Hotel outdoor bar and café and had the same lunch for the same price. Oh well, when in Rome……….etc. Singapore lives up to its reputation of being the most expensive city in the world.
We joined the MRT at the Bayfront Station by following the signs in the mall. Here we had the choice of two MRT lines to take, but with some help, we found the blue line to Chinatown would take us to the purple line, and finally back to Harbour Front. For the third time, we crossed paths with Martha, Pam, and Maureen who happened to take close to the same route we did today. The odds are astronomical with so many people riding this system, that we would run into each other at the same train at the same time and same entrance. Maybe it's time to try our luck at the casino onboard??? Probably not…………
Before we left the MRT station, we went to the ticket window and got the $20 Singapore refund back to spend in the stores for necessities. That included a few items at Watson's pharmacy and the local supermarket for snacks. We did well, ending up with 35 cents. Once through the xray and immigrations check, we walked the long hallway to a table set up by the gangway. There we dropped off our passports for safe-keeping. It was about 5pm, and there was plenty of time for folks to make it back by the 8pm all aboard time. The Insignia was getting ready to drop her lines as we came back. They have 3 ½ months more to go on their eastbound world cruise. Whew……
Sure was nice cooling off in our room while downloading millions of photos, or it seemed like millions. At dinner, only eight of us were present. Leslie was still out sick, and Heo has come down with something. Seems this nasty cold is traveling swiftly, which we hate to see. There wasn't a whole lot of enticing entrees on the menu, with the exceptions of the Dutch pea soup, lamb chops, and the alternate sirloin steak.
We did not attend the show of a virtuoso pianist Filip W, and we forgot to mention that the folkloric show the previous night had been cancelled. Even worse, this group had broken their contract, not showing up at all. A newly-released movie was shown instead.
Around 9pm, Gene began announcing names and room numbers of folks that had not turned in their passports. We could not leave until that was done. Going out on the lower promenade after dinner, he was still calling names around 10pm. Finally, the ship left the port after 10:30pm, sailing quietly into the darkness of night.
We are now headed towards Thailand, and the port of Phuket. Be there in two days. So sorry to be leaving Singapore as it had been a blast as always.
Bill & Mary Ann
The station at Raffles Place
Raffles One square
Buried in high rises
Raffles One Park
Chevron House
Raffles One
Stained glass
Business buildings
Commuters
A "living" wall of plants
Modern sculpture
Reflections
Has some symbolic meaning
A round building
Finding our way out
The Fullerton Bay Hotel
Entrance of orchids
A big "wow" lobby of the Fullerton
Beautiful setting for a restaurant
Solid crystal fixture
Fountain with the Marina Bay Sands Hotel in distance
The walkway towards the Merlion
Buried in skyscrapers
Waterfront on the Marina Reservoir
The Fullerton Hotel Singapore (6 stars)
Waters of the reservoir
Hot blooming bouganvilla
Whimsical sculptures
Marina reservoir and surrounds
Walkway
Café-lined reservoir walk
A riverboat ride
Giant flower
Lotus blossom
The Merlion spewing water
Welcome to Singapore
The national symbol of Singapore
Head of a lion, body of a fish
Indonesian group of ladies
Perfect view of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel
The Singapore River ends here
The Esplanades Theaters
Sure looks like an ironing board to us
Riverboat traffic
Everyone says, "Take my picture".
Riverboat and Artscience Museum (Lotus-shaped building)
More photos
Crossing the Jubilee Bridge
Crossing the Singapore River
Marina Reservoir sites
The Esplanade Theaters on the Bay
A jungle of high rises
Heading towards this complex
The Jubilee Bridge
Esplanade Outdoor Theater
The river flows into this reservoir
A kiddie park on the Marina Promenade
Marina Bay Seating Gallery
The Float at Marina Bay, Bill keeping cool
The Singapore Flyer
The Helix is the foot bridge to the hotel and gardens
Very modern and fairly new
Hotel on left, museum on the right
The Float and city buildings beyond
The viewing gallery and floating platform
Artscience Museum
Sheltered from the weather
Entrance from the Helix Bridge
The top floor at The Shoppes
Ice skating rink that is not real ice, go figure
Dramatic shops and stores on several levels
Highest end shopping
Not too crowded
Beautifully built
Outdoor patio at the Shoppes
Ponds full of lotus blossoms
Patio ponds
Looked cool, but it was NOT
Art in the patio
Too hot outside for most folks
Looking under the Helix Bridge
The bottom of the Marina Bay Sands
Donated pianos for anyone to play
Play It Forward….anyone can try it
