Singapore I

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

We got into Singapore around midnight last night and what a beautiful airport! We have never seen such beautiful airports – greenery all around – I said that it looked like a nice hotel lobby. From the time we got off the plane until we were in a taxi headed to our hotel only 30 minutes had elapsed! (Granted it was midnight, but still that was pretty good for passport control and customs etc.)

We are down in the Marina District downtown and the view from our window is gorgeous. We started the day (late) and took the “Hop On/Hop Off” bus tour of the city. We feel that it is the best way to get the feel of a city. Singapore is a city-state, which means the city is the country. The main focal point of the city is the Singapore River. This is where Sir Stamford Raffles landed and he built his settlement for the East India Trading Company. Frommer’s guide says, “In 1822, he developed a town plan which allocated neighborhoods to each of the races who’d come in droves to find work and begin lives. The lines drawn then remain today, shaping major ethnic enclaves held within the city limits.”

In the afternoon, we went to visit the Marina Bay Sands Hotel – the Skypark. We saw a documentary on the plane about the constructing of this building and it is the most amazing building we have ever seen. Google it you won’t believe it! It was a little scary being suspended on a cantilevered portion (56 stories up) longer than a 747. Seriously, Google it. We will put our pictures in.

After this, we had to check out the legendary Raffles Hotel which is a neat old Colonial type of hotel. I had a Singapore Sling there at the “Long Bar” – the drink was invented here. (Actually, Charlie’s beer was better.) The place was neat, but the staff was pretty snooty!

It is hot here, but you are not out a lot. Singapore is 85 miles north of the Equator meaning hot all the time, lots of rain, and high humidity.

We are getting up earlier tomorrow to head to the Botanical Gardens which are supposed to be fabulous!