Saturday 2nd still hot in Singapore

Another hot and very sultry day in Singapore and over breakfast we contemplated the options for the day. It is too hot for any great exertion and for too much exposure to the UV.

It was decided that a trip to Chinatown and then a walk back to Clarke Quay and along the river front would be appropriate.

We walked down to Dhoby Ghaut, the metro station which seems to be the centre of all transportation in Singapore since it is at the confluence of 3 of the main metro lines.

Our hotel, the Fort Canning, is situated at the edge of Fort Canning Park and is close to what appears to be the most romantic spot in Singapore - an underpass!!

The underpass, which goes under the Penang Road, is certainly not grubby as are so many in Europe, and indeed it is spotlessly clean in true Singaporean style.  However, it is the last place we would have expected to be a venue for wedding photos. The first time we walked through the underpass we were puzzled to see photographers setting up their equipment at the bottom of a ramp and a staircase. Later we saw at least 4 couples being photographed in the underpass. We asked one of the photographic assistants why this was such a popular venue and she just shrugged and said it was just an attractive place!! We remain bemused but clearly Singaporeans think it is just the place for wedding photos!

We alighted at Chinatown and today Singapore is eerily quiet. We can only assume that this is the calm before the storm of the celebrations for the year of the Earth Pig which begin on Monday. Shops in Chinatown were full of mementoes and sweet treats to celebrate the New Year,

We walked back to Clarke Quay and along the riverfront until the LLW declared that enough was enough and a cooling cruise on a riverboat was required. This was perfect and the breeze created by the boats movement cooled us down considerably and we enjoyed all of the sites of Singapore from the water. It really is an astonishing city, with its melange of races, all strictly obeying laws and regulations and demonstrating patient courtesy to visitors, it seems the embodiment of a successful modern global city.

We then headed back to our hotel to have a rest and then start to get packed ready for our return to the UK. We are being picked up at 05:35 for our flight to Gatwick via Dubai at the end of what has been a wonderful holiday. It seems such a long time ago when we landed in Perth and we genuinely have enjoyed each and every day. We did decide not to compare places, days or experiences with one another whilst away but will review all when we get back.

Thank you dear reader for following my ramblings and I hope at least some were entertaining.

à bientôt !

Friday 1st February in Singapore

We are now well and truly in Singapore but it's worth a recap of our takeoff at Sydney as the weather was interesting!

We boarded the flight and after only a minute or so the captain said that the air conditioning was not working properly and since it was 42C outside he was suspending boarding until the aircon was fixed. This only took 10 minutes or so and we were very comfortable. Boarding recommenced and completed with perhaps only 15 minutes lost. However!! The captain was back on the intercom very soon after all had boarded to announce a further delay. The wind had suddenly changed direction to a southerly and the temperature had dropped to 26C in a matter of minutes. (southerly winds come straight from the Antarctic in this part of the world). A queue of aircraft readying for takeoff now had to taxi back the full length of the runway to prepare for takeoff in the opposite direction. We were not yet in that queue so no extra taxiing needed but we just had to wait until all others were in place. All in all we lost about an hour but made up half of that on the flight to Singapore. Takeoff was very bumpy as we headed straight into gale force winds but after about 10 minutes it calmed down and the huge Airbus A380-800 rumbled on its way to Singapore.

We arrived at our hotel just before midnight local time, which was 3am Sydney time, so there was no hesitation in heading for bed.

Breakfast was leisurely and we had decided to spend the morning at the Gardens by the Bay and wow were they spectacular.

Part of the gardens were the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest Dome, both of which were blissfully air conditioned and well as awesomely beautiful. It was now 32C and very humid which made walking around the gardens, and anywhere else for that matter, hard work.

The hotel we are staying in, the Fort Canning Hotel, is really lovely and the staff are impeccably efficient and charming but there is one drawback and that is a 1 km walk to the nearest station. Under normal circumstances that would be a doddle but in this heat and humidity and including a number of steps it is quite hard work.

We need a short rest back at the hotel before taking the metro to Clarke Quay and wandering along the river quays and having a very good Indian meal right by the river.