Tuesday, April 9, 2013

April 5, 2013 Singapore 7:00a to 5:00p

Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, 137 kilometers north of the equator. It’s approximately 267 square miles, slightly more than 3.5 times the size of Washington DC.

Best known for the Singapore Sling at Raffles Hotel. Oh, and all the rules….They still cane people here.
Prohibited Goods:

Chewing tobacco and imitation tobacco products
Chewing gum
Cigarette lighters of pistol or revolver shape
Controlled drugs and psychotropic substances
Endangered species of wildlife and their by-products
Firecrackers
Obscene articles, publications, video tapes/discs and software
Reproduction of copyright publications, video tapes, video discs, laser discs, records or cassettes
Sedititious and treasonable materials.  

Smokers could only take 1 pack of cigarettes ashore and of course no gum chewing.  There are lots more rules, but I can tell you their system works. It's a lovely very clean place. Our favorite sign was a sign before boarding the subway that said "no durian". Durian is a very stinky fruit. We tried some at our last Sunday Buffet on the ship. It doesn't taste as bad as it smells, but it probably in an acquired taste. LOL

We woke up to thunder and lightning and pouring rain. We were supposed to be able to get off the ship at 7:00. But it was nearly 8:00 before they announced we could get off. Grrrr. We had to go through immigration on shore, but that went smoothly.

We had no organized tour here and used local transportation to see the sights. First off we grabbed a taxi to Singapore Botanical Gardens.
The serene and beautiful park had many locals walking dogs, exercising in groups, walking their babies and couples just taking in the morning. The rain let up and the sun came out and it was scorching hot today! There were ginger gardens, heliconia gardens, bamboo gardens and of course their orchid garden which has the largest display of orchids in the world. We went through the Mist House which houses a host of rare orchids, the Cool House which encloses a montane tropical forest, the Orchidarium is where most of the wild orchids are displayed and the VIP and Celebrity Orchid Gardens. We then walked through the rest of the gardens to find the MRT (subway station) to head to Little India. On the walk out there were heard what sounded like cicadas only with a loud metallic sound. (like an icepick to the brain)YIKES! Makes our cicadas at home sound like easy listening music. Ha!
 

























































We got off the subway and explored Little India. We walked to the Tekka Center to see the “Wet Market” for unusual seafood, fresh meats and vegetables. Every kind of fish, shellfish, sharks, and various chickens and pork products. Then we went upstairs and shopped the beautiful saris and other clothes. I picked up a cute top for about $8.00, the lady looked at me and pulled out my size, I tried it on over my clothes and it fit perfectly!
Once the 'Cattle Corner' of Little India Singapore, Buffalo Road and Kerbau Road today still bustle with many colorful sights, minus the buffaloes. (Kerbau is Malay for buffalo)

We wandered Serangoon Road This is the main road that runs through Little India, and therefore receives lots of traffic - vehicles and people. two very prominent Hindu temples - the Sri Veerama Kaliamman Temple and the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple.





















































 



























 

We then headed for the Kampong Glam area. Arab Street is a great place to find bargains for textiles, fabrics, dresses, beads, sequins, scarfs and women's wear. There were also a handful of shops selling carpets and other hand-woven household stuff.
 
Bussorah Street has 2 sections - one open to vehicles, another only for pedestrians. We had wanted to visit the Sultan Mosque, but the Call to Prayers sounded and it is closed during this time. We watched them clean all of their orifices and feet etc. before entering. It was a beautiful Mosque. We saw the Malay Heritage Center which is a restored 2-storey building in a lovely compound. This was once the palace of Sultan Hussein. It is now called the Malay Heritage Centre, but its old name of Istana Kampong Glam still sticks in many people's minds.
































 
We then took the subway to China Town for a late lunch at Maxwell Road Food Centre - Where some of the best hawker food in Singapore can be found. We had hoped for Chilly Crabs and some other Malay dish, but the center didn’t have either, so we had some grilled pork and noodles with pot stickers and duck with rice. Fried bananas for dessert. While we ate 2 sets of different men came to our table to chat with us. They thought we were from the U.S. and just wanted to talk and tell us about Singapore and suggested some things to visit.



















 
All of Singapore is an eclectic mix of people. China Town itself had a mixture of cultures. We walked through the Telok Ayer area to see Singapore’s oldest Chinese Temple Thian Hock Kheng Temple, an Indian shrine Nagore Durgha Shrine, Al-Abrar Mosque, Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church, and heritage shop houses with European, Chinese and Malay influences. How’s that for an eclectic mix!
 
Besides these ethnic neighborhoods Singapore has a thriving modern business district. There is a new hotel that the top looks like a ship and has an infinity pool at the top floor.
 
We didn’t have time to visit Raffles Hotel (home of the Singapore Sling) and we were about 8 minutes late getting back to the ship. We took the subway to the Marina Bay stop where we were going to catch a cab back to the ship. Our first issue was I was behind Greg on the escalator with 1 person in between us. When we got to the bottom, I was swept up in the crowd and never saw where Greg went. He had gotten on the subway and it left before I could get on. Another train came in a few minutes and I got on and got off at our stop. Greg was there waiting for me. Phew! Then, we couldn’t get a taxi back to the ship for ages. We got in the cab just as we were supposed to be boarding the ship. I don’t think we were last, but still….. Luckily, we had no wait at immigration and got through that fine.
 
Showered and went to dinner. It was Greek night in the dining room. We skipped the show to relax in the cabin and get ready for our tour tomorrow in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (it was the hypnotist)

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