It’s not often we visit a country where we are forbidden to bring certain items ashore such as chewing gum, chewing tobacco, imitation tobacco products, pistol or revolver-shaped cigarette lighters, controlled substances and drugs, or endangered species. And they added firecrackers, obscene articles or videos, and any type of reproduction of copyrighted materials. Violating these restrictions, you could be subject to severe fines and or jail time. Caught with selling drugs, you could be sentenced to death. And here, in Singapore, they mean it. And that is a good reason why this country is one of the safest in the world. It works.
When Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the British colonial administrator arrived in 1819, he found a tiny fishing village. Five years later, the Sultan of Johor deeded this site to the East India Company, and it was then that a major British trading post was launched. Over 40 years later, the British crown took control and made Singapore one administrative unit.
For a short period, a dark one at that, the Japanese took over the island in 1942 until the war was over in 1945. Eventually, this city/country became an independent republic within the Commonwealth of Nations. What we see today is a most affluent city, attracting visitors worldwide. And there is no doubt that it is one of the most expensive places in the world to live.
Guess we can describe Singapore as a melting pot of cultures with native Singaporeans, Chinese, Indian, Muslim, and dozens of other nationalities. In a day, you can visit districts that belong to each culture. Historical buildings reflect the British colonial influence, as well as being able to see churches, parks, gardens, numerous malls above ground and underground, modern hotels, and a massive financial district. Even the hotels, such as the Marina Bay Sands, can be a destination in itself. The underground mass transit system is the best way to access all of these sites, in our opinion.
The ship’s tours were numerous with short ones for the highlights to all day excursions with lunch. The tour prices ran from $70 to $210. Many of these sites can also be accessed by taking the MRT, and that was what we intended to do for both days we are here.
Even though our arrival time was 10am, Ian, the port guide, gave a Singapore Sail In talk at 7:30am. The best aspect of the talk was the offering of Merlion Rolls, which of course, are the Panama Rolls. These are such a special treat, we asked for a few at breakfast in the dining room. Our waiter sent his buddy to hunt some down. These puffy sweet rolls are filled with a tangerine/tapioca-like filling, although it tastes a lot like apricots. Dusted with powdered sugar, we love them.
Going ashore was not simple. We were required to bring our passports along with the landing card to show to the Immigration officials. The good news was that we were docked at the Singapore Cruise Center, which is located at Harborfront Center. It has been a few years since we were here, and it was most appreciated. This terminal ties into the huge VivoCity Mall, and more importantly, it links directly to the MRT and taxi or bus services. Getting through the checkpoint took a lot of time, since there were only eight agents and 1000 or more passengers and crew coming off of the ship. Also, the Azamara Quest was in port with even more passengers.
Besides stamping our passes and passports, we had to have a two thumb fingerprint photo taken. Security is taken extremely seriously here. Once through the checkpoint, we had to put our bags and ourselves through the xray check. When we came back later in the day, we went through the same process, only in reverse. The whole process this morning took an hour. Then we were free to explore.
We know the way well, getting to the MRT. What surprised us was the long line for the ticket counter, but then, we recalled that Ian had given detailed info on how to do this. Probably with his suggestions, more people decided to go independent today. The line seemed to be moving at first, but then it stopped. Something was wrong, and we soon learned what it was. The ticket machine had malfunctioned and no tickets could be sold. Since you can only buy the visitors one or two day passes at a manned counter, the only other choice was to purchase another ticket at a wall kiosk, and find another station that sold these passes. Not all of them do.
With that news, many people bailed out of the line, and went that route. We waited for a while, and lo and behold, the machine was up and running, and the vendor was back in business. At least there were only two customers in front of us at this point. Two tourist passes for two days cost $16 each, with a $10 refundable deposit. So for $8 Singapore dollars ($6.00 USD) each, we can ride the MRT for many miles to our heart’s content for a day. On San Francisco’s BART, we would have to pay a lot more than that for a one way ride from the East Bay where we live to the city’s downtown area.
Following the convenient booklet and a map of the system, we navigated our way to Chinatown, Little India, the Botanic Gardens, and lunch at the Orchard district. Each stop was as different as they could be, which the photos will show. We called it a day of being like “moles”…..going underground with a series of escalators and long stretches of hallways, taping our cards at every entrance and exit to the various platforms. The trains are computer run and are set up with north to south, or east to west lines. Each line is designated with a color, so it makes it easier to follow the signs and maps that are posted along the way. We should add here that owning and driving a vehicle is quite expensive in Singapore, and the daily traffic jams are historical. For that reason, this subway system is the best way for locals and school kids of all ages to commute every day.
So our first stop was at Chinatown, taking the purple line from Harborfront. Besides a plethora of shopping bargains, they have a huge building that houses food hawkers in tiny stalls. You will see how the locals eat “fast-food” Chinese style. And some of the items are beyond description such as duck heads, spicy intestines, pig trotters (feet), savory liver, as well as fresh veggies and fruit. Did we mention that durian products are sold here? It is mostly made into baked goods, but there is also a candy form that almost looked appealing. Just don’t smell it, or bring it back to the ship in a raw state. We cashed in a bit of New Zealand cash we had with us, and if we had missed getting money exchanged on the ship, this would have been a good place to do it. Needing a couple of small calculators, we easily found them here for really cheap.
Back down to the MRT, we went to Little India, home to many shops selling spices, snacks, saris, jewelry, brassware, and flowers. The first visit was to a small store where we bought a poncho-like top last year. Negotiating for two this time, we got a better deal. Then the second visit was to their “wet” market where the meat, fish, and produce markets are located. Know why they call it a wet market? Because the floors are always wet from being hosed. So wet, you have to be careful where you walk. Here we saw lamb and goat meat, poultry, fish of all kinds, and lots of fresh produce. After taking loads of photos, we went back down to the MRT.
The highlight of the day for us was a walk in the park, namely Singapore Botanic Gardens, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Singapore’s first nomination. The beginnings of this garden began in 1859, where the British tested the collecting and growing of potentially useful plants. The rubber tree happened to be of their major successes. Another plant to emerge was the orchid. A section of this park is dedicated to the National Orchid Garden, the largest one in the world, featuring more than 60,000 orchid plants. We must have taken a picture of almost every bloom we saw today. It is a big “wow” and well worth the $1.00 Singapore dollar entrance fee (senior discount). Over 4 million people visit this park a year, making it the most visited botanic garden in the world. Although we had a limited time to stroll from end to end, we did make it to the major spots. Walking around Symphony Lake, we saw small turtles and one rather long and nasty-looking monitor lizard swimming along the shoreline. All of the lakes in the park seemed to be rather low, but we did not find anyone to ask if there was a water shortage here. The last couple of years there has been a draught, although the grassy fields and plants all look really green and lush.
Did we mention that the day was hot and extremely muggy? So much so, that the park was almost empty of visitors while we were there. It felt like it could cloud up and rain at any moment, but it never did. Bet it would have felt good and temporarily cooled the air off. It was time to head back down in the MRT and cool off for a bit.
It was time for lunch and something really cold to drink. That would be the Hard Rock Café in the Orchard area, where most of the hotels and most exclusive shopping can be found. Even though it was getting close to 4pm, they were serving a late lunch or early dinner. Recalling that the hamburger meat was more like meatloaf, we opted for a salad and a duo of nachos. Beer is taxed so high, that it is not a good deal. So we had the bottomless Coke Zeros, which comes in cans. We could not resist ordering a serving of mud pie to share. It was the most expensive part of our lunch, but the most savored. It was almost too cool sitting under their strong air conditioning, because when we went back outside, the heat hits you like a punch.
Usually, we would have made a final stop at Clarke Quay, but it was getting late, and we still needed to go through the reverse process of screening back at the terminal. And besides, we will have another partial day here tomorrow to do more.
Back on the ship, we had what seemed like thousands of photos to sort through, especially the ones from the orchid park. How these most beautiful delicate blooms hold up in this humid heat, we do not know. Before we knew it, it was time for dinner. Barb was there, as always, and we all realized that this will be our last night as a table for three. It has been such a pleasure having such an intimate meal almost every night for two months, we will have to adjust for a table of five. Knowing the two guests arriving quite well, we will have a great time with them too.
At 9:30pm, there was a one-time showing of the International Dance Performance with a group of ladies from Singapore sharing their culture through song and dance.
We did receive two more pillow gifts today……ballistic nylon expandable carry on travel bags with wheels and handles. These have to be the most useful gifts so far, and the same type we got last year. They supposedly will fit under the front seat of an airplane if you choose to carry it onboard.
Looking forward to tomorrow, and seeing more of Singapore’s favorites.
Bill & Mary Ann
Saturday, March 23, 2019
Report #63 Singapore, Singapore March 22, 2019 Friday Chance of rain & 91 degrees
