It was a busy Sunday. Breakfast was the only leisurely bit. Orchard Road to start. Faced with junk or $1,000 jackets we window shopped for a while amongst the throngs and then headed for the tranquility of Raffles. The Singapore Sling was as good as I remember back in 1988. At $31 it was probably equally as expensive to the $7 it cost 28 years ago. One cocktail was enough to let my body absorb the deliciousness and vividly recall my first visit back then.
How Singapore has changed. The Gardens by the Bay are spectacular in their manufactured way. Indoor tropical forests, waterfalls and trees and flowers of all descriptions from around the world. Impressive. As was the design and construction of the domes housing it all.
Tasty satay and beer went down well for lunch as we just about passed out due to heat. And sore feet. We have walked many kms by this stage.
Up to the observation deck of Marina Sands. This hotel is staggering in its design with the great big faux ship on top of three towers. It is indeed, as so much here is, an engineering marvel. Where do they begin to visualise these things, letalone construct them? It is beyond me and I realise I am a word engineer and not a structural one so the anomaly of the creation of such buildings will remain a mystery to me.
Leg weary and thirsty we admire the incredible view, limited only slightly by the haze which has now largely cleared. Ships are lined up in the harbour awaiting their berth. The Gardens we have just wandered through look like a mini-golf course below.
We order cocktails and eye the comfy chairs. But no ... We are only drinking so we are not allowed to sit down. You must eat to sit. Seriously. We say we will have bar snacks. The bar menu has closed. Dinner starts in an hour. Can we not sit down in this in-between time? Hell no. They are setting up for dinner. Pfffffff.
There are no bar stools at the bar. There is barely any shade. This wasn't quite how we envisaged enjoying a couple of cocktails for two exhausted kiwis! Fortunately the cocktail I chose was tasty and thirst quenching but we left it at one and, with some words of disapproval about their policy, we left.
Not before glimpsing the lucky ones frolicking in the rooftop infinity pool. We wanted to dive in too but it is for guests only. Crikey, we weren't even allowed a seat!!
A quick trip to Pagoda St in Chinatown was just that. The building facades are quaint and lovely but it is $2 shop territory. On steroids. For the masses. We left.
Back to the hotel for a freshen up and then we wandered to the local Food Court which our taxi driver had recommended.
Our hotel is in a quiet part of town. An older area away from high rise mayhem. It is fabulous ... More on it separately.
We pass a few authentic local eateries, mostly seafood restaurants with al fresco dining and lots of local families enjoying casual Sunday dining. We reach the food court. Half the stalls are closed due to it being Sunday.
Up to the observation deck of Marina Sands. This hotel is staggering in its design with the great big faux ship on top of three towers. It is indeed, as so much here is, an engineering marvel. Where do they begin to visualise these things, letalone construct them? It is beyond me and I realise I am a word engineer and not a structural one so the anomaly of the creation of such buildings will remain a mystery to me.
Leg weary and thirsty we admire the incredible view, limited only slightly by the haze which has now largely cleared. Ships are lined up in the harbour awaiting their berth. The Gardens we have just wandered through look like a mini-golf course below.
We order cocktails and eye the comfy chairs. But no ... We are only drinking so we are not allowed to sit down. You must eat to sit. Seriously. We say we will have bar snacks. The bar menu has closed. Dinner starts in an hour. Can we not sit down in this in-between time? Hell no. They are setting up for dinner. Pfffffff.
There are no bar stools at the bar. There is barely any shade. This wasn't quite how we envisaged enjoying a couple of cocktails for two exhausted kiwis! Fortunately the cocktail I chose was tasty and thirst quenching but we left it at one and, with some words of disapproval about their policy, we left.
Not before glimpsing the lucky ones frolicking in the rooftop infinity pool. We wanted to dive in too but it is for guests only. Crikey, we weren't even allowed a seat!!
A quick trip to Pagoda St in Chinatown was just that. The building facades are quaint and lovely but it is $2 shop territory. On steroids. For the masses. We left.
Back to the hotel for a freshen up and then we wandered to the local Food Court which our taxi driver had recommended.
Our hotel is in a quiet part of town. An older area away from high rise mayhem. It is fabulous ... More on it separately.
We pass a few authentic local eateries, mostly seafood restaurants with al fresco dining and lots of local families enjoying casual Sunday dining. We reach the food court. Half the stalls are closed due to it being Sunday.
We don't know what half the things are. We don't feel like pigs tail soup or chicken feet stew. Some things sound even worse. Perhaps we'll go back to the place across the road where we could interpret the menu. But then we come across a stall with a big queue. It is selling Cantonese roast duck, pork and chicken. Alas only pork left. It looks good. We get some. And some Thai dishes from another stall. At $5 average price this is as tasty and good value as you can get. DELICIOUS. Washed down with Tiger beer. Even better!
Exhausted - but not quite replete - we head to the bar/cafe across the road for a glass of NZ Sauvignon before collapsing into the comfortable bed in our lovely hotel room.
Day one complete.
Observation of the Day: Taxi drivers know a lot. Ours was fab and his little gems were the best. Get all the local info you can on that ride from the airport.
And why can't Auckland have a subway system as fast, cheap and efficient as Singapore's?
Exhausted - but not quite replete - we head to the bar/cafe across the road for a glass of NZ Sauvignon before collapsing into the comfortable bed in our lovely hotel room.
Day one complete.
Observation of the Day: Taxi drivers know a lot. Ours was fab and his little gems were the best. Get all the local info you can on that ride from the airport.
And why can't Auckland have a subway system as fast, cheap and efficient as Singapore's?
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