Well, the day started better with the bathroom facilities back to normal. However, when we went to go to breakfast, we found another fan blowing in the hallway next door. That's when we noticed that the carpet outside our bathroom door was wet….again. Here we go once more. We learned later that the room next to us with new segment guests had flooded all the way under their bed. Somehow that extra water was finding its way to our side. We did report the wet carpet and our room stewards promised to follow up on the repair. Good thing we were leaving for the day, giving the plumbers more time to find the problem.
It was going to be another hot day with temperatures in the low 90's with 41% humidity. The winds were 18.4 mph with broken clouds. At least there was a breeze, but it seemed to stay near the pier and the water. At 9:30am, there was another crew drill, so we felt it was a good time to leave.
Today was easy since we had purchased our 2 day MRT tickets and could go directly to our stop. Today we got off at City Hall and walked through Raffles City, another fabulous mall of high end stores. From there, we found our way to the correct street where Raffles Hotel is located. A few years ago, the entire property was closed due to renovations. Finally, it was re-opened and nicer looking than ever. This hotel dates back to the colonial times with architecture to match. It may not be as opulent of a hotel to stay, but it sure has character. Proper could be the best way to describe it. Very British and a bit on the formal side. There was a day that any visitor could walk through the entrance to the lobby, passing the turbaned door greeter. Today, only the registered guests are allowed into the lobby. And most all of them are well-dressed, not your typical tourist.
One of the busiest places in Raffles has to be the Long Bar, located on the second floor. It opened at 11am, and we were told was filled quickly. This is one venue that does not require long pants to enter. Years ago, we had been invited to a private tour of the hotel and lunch in the Long Bar by the marketing manager, who we met quite by accident in New York City the previous year. It was quite an honor to have such a royal welcome and we did have a fun lunch in the Long Bar where beer drinking and peanut shell shucking is a common practice.
This time we covered the property on both levels and toured their outdoor bar, which was not opened yet. From here, we crossed the street with the intentions of going to see St. Andrew's Cathedral. We stopped short after walking past Chijmes, another historical area that we have missed seeing here. What we took for the steeples of the cathedral, were actually an old chapel that was turned into a Catholic girls school for 130 years. The entire property surrounding this church-like venue is an area of premium dining and entertainment hub. The courtyard is surrounded by gardens and greens with semi-outdoor dining.
We never did search for the cathedral because it was just too hot, and we were running low on time. From here, we back-tracked to the MRT going through the mall instead of walking the outside streets. Our next destination was to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and Gardens by the Bay. It was a little more complicated getting there on the MRT, but following the map and directions in the mall, we got the correct train that went to the fabulous hotel. In fact the entrance to The Marina Bay Shoppes was close to the MRT exit. It dropped us off at the Casino and the canal where people were getting rides in gondola boats that resembled those in Venice. They do not go very far inside this massive mall, but it is something different for visitors to do.
We made our way to the back doors of the complex and went outside on their boardwalk. From here, we had the view of Marina Bay and the iconic Merlion spewing water from the Singapore River. It was far better to take pictures from this angle instead of being in the crowd that was already surrounding the Merlion Statue. There is a garden of trees that were dedicated to every country that participated in the Olympics years ago. And there is a huge pond with purple- blooming lilies very close to the Lotus, which is a science museum.
Time for lunch, we ducked back inside and found our way to Roberta's where we discovered very good wood-fired pizza a few years ago. We had Tiger beers in bottles (no draft) and shared a Margherita pizza topped with extra red onions and pineapple chunks. We were lucky to get the last table for two. The service was good and we were on our way to do some further exploring.
Locating the escalator that took us out on a skywalk, we made our way to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. We entered through doors that took us on a raised walkway high above the lobby of the massive towers. We could look down at the activity in the busy lobby, not disturbing any guests. Continuing out another set of glass doors, we walked most of the way to the Gardens by the Bay, but did not go into the park itself. From this vantage, we were able to take many pictures of the domed conservatories and the "trees" that are famous here. If we had more time, we could have walked the park . Keeping in mind, the all aboard time was 5:30pm, we had to cut our walk short.
We had to take two different lines on the MRT to make our way back to Marina South Pier. The end of the line is here, so we were among the last to leave the mostly empty train. Then there was the long walk back, which equated to about 500 meters to get back to the terminal. Luckily there was a nice breeze blowing. Once again we had to show our room keys and passports to gain entrance to the xray units. Then we went to the escalator up to the screening kiosks. Facial recognition was done at two screens, then we made it to the gangway and back onboard.
One of us was detained by the security folks due to the fact we had a message from Kumar, our Mariner rep. He arrived in minutes and said they had dealt with the flooded carpet and it was currently drying with the big industrial fan again. The story to this flood was due to a major pipe that broke. We would learn the following day that it was more than just a broken pipe. The carpet was still pretty wet when Kumar came with us to the room. He apologized profusely, and we understood it was a fluke. The new neighbors had it worse since their room flooded even more.
Captain Frank, who joined us yesterday with his wife Alexandria, came on with his first update talk around 5pm. Unlike Rens with few words, Captain Frank was very thorough with his updates. He expected our lines to drop around 6pm, and he would work his way slowly through the very over-crowded harbor. He claimed there was more ship traffic due to the partial closure of the Hormuz Strait. The Volendam would travel 35 miles to get out of the traffic scheme area. Now we will have 635nauicsl miles to reach Vung Tau, Vietnam in two days from now. From there, we would go up the river to a different anchorage of Phuok An instead of Phu My. Details would arrive later in a letter. Besides the report of smooth seas and 81 degrees, he also told us the sunset times and sunrise times tomorrow. We have missed that info. And finally, we would set our clocks back one hour…the final hour back on this cruise he said. Besides many commercial vessels, we also passed numerous small fishing boats all evening.
We were really tired after two days of hiking and riding the MRT , so dinner was light with different appetizers of a pork/lettuce salad, and a mixed salad. Both of us had the parmesan-crusted chicken with honey mustard and rice. Very good and nice and hot. Dessert was one special Bosche Ball and a coconut pudding. We were about ready to leave the dining room, when good friends Greg and Heo stopped by to say hi. They joined the ship yesterday and will remain on it all the way to Montreal. Another surprise was a visit by another frequent world cruise traveler, Larraina. Although we don't know her well, we have sailed on several cruises over the years. Nice to see her back although she was still having jetlag symptoms. We sure understand that one.
The show was a magician, Sunny Chen, leaving the audience spellbound. We will have to catch this show next time. Setting the clocks back that one hour will be most welcomed.
One day at sea, and we will be in Vietnam.
Bill & Mary Ann
