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This blog is about our short but fun visit to Singapore. 

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December 31, 2019 / January 1, 2020 – Flight to Singapore. New Year’s Eve Fireworks

We were up very early for an early drive to the airport.  The weather has been very foggy so Tara wanted us out early in case the flog slowed us down on our way to the airport.  Fortunately there was no fog to speak of so we made good time.  After saying goodbye to Shyam we checked in and waited in the lounge for our flight.

The flight was about four hours and was quite uneventful.  We flew Singapore Airlines, our first time with them.  They were very good.

We were in our hotel by about 6:00.  Lovely hotel, the Rendezvous.  We walked a few blocks down to Chijmes, a huge market area that started out as a convent.  Now there are all types of eateries, although the majority are Japanese.  We found a burger/Western cuisine place and both ordered pizza.  Spent part of the meal watching cricket clippings on the big screen TV and kept asking the waiters about some of the rules.  Complicated game.

About 11:00 pm we headed out to the waterfront to watch the New Years fireworks.  They started to set off occasional fireworks well before the countdown so we found a park with good views of the fireworks at a mid-distance and settled in to watch and take photos. 

Great fireworks display for the new year and the new decade.

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 More Fireworks Photos

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Video 1 of fireworks
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Video 2 of fireworks
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Video 3 of fireworks

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On the way back we passed this memorial to civilian victims who died at the hands of the Japanese during World War II.

We were back in the hotel by 12:30 and crashed.

January 01 – Walking and Boating in Singapore

The plan was to sleep in a bit, get a late breakfast and head out to explore Singapore.  Unfortunately, we slept in so late that we missed breakfast.  And we were too late to get reservations on an interesting sounding tour to Malacca, Malaysia.  So we are doing Singapore totally on our own.

After lunch at a German restaurant we headed out to Clarke Quay to catch a boat ride along the Singapore river.  We had great views of bridges and buildings along the river…

and a downriver section of Clarke Quay that used to be the main location for incoming cargo.  The old colonial buildings have been preserved and it is now a colorful neighborhood of bars and restaurants.

Other sights included views of the skyline,

the Theaters by the Bay (nicknamed the Durian as it looks much like the noxious smelling, favorite Queen of the Fruits),

Marina Bay Sands Hotel,

and the Merlion (half lion and half fish).

After our boat ride we re-walked much of the riverfront.  The Old Hill Street Police Station was a really colorful rainbow of windows and shutters.

We made it back to the Clarke Quay with its small shops and restaurants.

We also had closer views of the Merlion (and the huge crowds of tourists there).

We saw a lot of street art of all types...

including some fascinating benches.

And there were more waterfront views...

and an interesting sign on this bridge.

And more views of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel...

with the lotus shaped ArtScience Museum in front.

We eventually got to the Marina Bay Sands Shopping Mall...

where we discovered (OH JOY) and Angelina’s Shop.  Angelina’s is an iconic tea salon in Paris that makes the best hot chocolate in the world.  There was quite a line so we will have to go back another day. 

We took the lift up to the top of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel (56 floors) and had really great views of the Singapore skyline,

the ArtScience Museum

and the Singapore Flyer.

We even had views of the pool at the top of the Sands.  Long pool with phenomenal views.

There were also good views of the Gardens by the Bay behind the hotel.

By now we were both beat with sore feet and legs (Mary had almost 19,000 steps in for 8.7 Miles) so we decided to by metro tickets and took the train back to the hotel.

We decided to just eat in the hotel restaurant tonight.  Pumpkin soup for Mary and asparagus pasta for Paul.  Then to our room for some work before collapsing into bed. 

January 02 - More Singapore Sights

The plan today was to go to the Singapore Flyer (a large Ferris Wheel similar, to the London Eye) for a ride so that we could see the city.  However, it was closed due to a technical problem.  We asked at a desk there when they thought it would open (hoping for later in the day).  As it turns out the ride has been closed for a month.  So guess that was out.

We walked down to the harbor and crossed over the Helix Bridge to the Marina Bay Sands area.  The bridge is modeled after the DNA double helix. Sort of cool.

When we got to the Sands we saw what looked to be a full size model of a breaching humpback whale…made of plastic waste.  The statue was made of 5 tons of plastic waste that had been collected from the ocean near Hawaii in just 4 months.  Lots of plastic bottles, buckets, laundry baskets and such.  Pretty sad that there is so much trash out there.

As we walked through the Sands Mall, we passed Angelina’s (worlds best hot chocolate).  There was no line, so we stopped for an éclair and hot chocolate…as yummy as any we have had in Paris.