April 4th

Singapore

Singapore without a Sling

Last time we were in Singapore we seemed to be docked half way to China at the container port, luckily this time we were at the Marina Bay Cruise Terminal. After disembarking we had to go through immigration and customs. The queues at immigration looked like something from a Disney ride, but they moved quite quickly, and in about 10 minutes we were out the other side and ready to explore.

The terminal itself is rather sterile, but it does have a tourism office, ATM, currency exchange, pharmacy, small souvenir shop, and free wifi with lots of seating, so it meets all of my criteria for a good terminal, except it did lack a convenience store.

There were no shuttle buses provided, but it is apparently a short walk to the subway station, and the subway system is clean, safe, and easy to negotiate, so most people seemed to be heading in that direction.

We had Hop on Hop off bus tickets, and there was a bus right at the terminal that took you to their main hub. On our way to the hub we passed the magnificent Marina Bay Sands Hotel towers, which are quite a feat of engineering, especially as they apparently have an infinity edged swimming pool on top.

We used the Hop on Hop off Red Line bus, and our first stop was Little India. This neighborhood is guarded by 2 large brightly colored elephants, so you can’t miss it. We wandered down the side streets marveling at the sights, sounds, and smells. The streets were packed with people, bicycles, trucks, and scooters, making any progress a challenge, but it was a great excuse to slow down and take everything in. There were produce shops packed with the most interesting looking fruits and vegetables, spice shops, dried flower shops, hardware stores, clothes, fabrics, junk, toys – you name it, they had it. Everything for sale in the stores and stalls was brightly colored, especially the sari stores. There were pungent aromas everywhere, and loud music drowning out the noise from the scooters. It was totally wonderful.

However, we could not linger there forever, so we returned to the main street and set off to visit the Hindu and Buddhist temples in the neighborhood.

Every temple had something special about it, but soon the aromas from the nearby restaurants got to us, and we decided it was time to eat.

Veronica had recommended the Banana Leaf Café, and luckily this was easy to find, just off the main road. The food was really excellent, and best of all they didn’t have plates, it was served on a banana leaf. That must help with the washing up!

We then boarded the bus and went to the area around the Sultan Mosque. We wandered around the side streets again checking out the shops. There are several wonderful looking Lebanese restaurants in the neighborhood, worth considering on our next visit to Singapore.

We had hoped to stop at the Raffles Hotel’s Long Bar for a Singapore Sling, but alas the hotel is closed for renovation, so we headed to China Town instead and checked out the temples we hadn’t seen on our previous visit. It was very hot and sticky, so when we walked by a bar with a sign that said they were one of the top 5 rooftop bars in Singapore, it seemed like a good time to sit for a while with a cold drink.

They did not serve Singapore Slings, but had a variety of herb infused drinks, made from their very impressive selection of herbs growing on the roof. I was not in the mood for anything herb infused, and decided on a glass of cold bubbly instead.

It was great to sit in the shade of a tree on the roof and marvel about what a splendid place is Singapore. I love that they have been able to maintain their ethnic neighborhoods with their 2 or 3 storey brightly colored shop houses, and build the most amazing striking skyscrapers right next door.

Everywhere you go there is nature all around you, from the trees, to the creepers, to the flowering bushes, and songbirds singing above it all. It really is a fantastic place. Worth a longer visit next time.

When we returned to our cabin there was a bottle of Pol Acker waiting for us. Not chilled, or in an ice bucket with a napkin and champagne glasses, but sitting in warm solitary splendor on our coffee table. Thank you Cunard for your most generous gift, although why we deserved it I don’t know. Anyway, cheers!