Singapore by day - Singapore by night

After exploring Chinatown we took the subway to Clarke Quay for a nice slow cruise on the river.

The Singapore river divides it's host in two equally beautiful parts, the River Planning Area and the River Valley. Practically all land surrounding the river is commercial hot spot. Thus making the river cruise a perfect starting point for those who want to get a quick overview of Singapore.

























Singapore by night

After a nice dinner at Clarkes Quay it was time for one last adventure before we'd call it a night.





The Singapore Flyer is the world's largest observation wheel, each rotation takes 30 minutes.

It was a real bitch getting there though cause the free brochure we found at the hotel said the closest subway station was City Hall but failed to mention that you then have to take a special shuttle bus. When we learned this we asked some guy who apparently was a complete idiot how long the bus ride was and he said we could easily walk it. Wrong! We did maybe half the distance but by then we had completely run out of curse words so we had to surrender and jump into a cab.

The hassle getting there turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Night time must be the perfect hour to take the ride actually. The land is dark and there's nothing but glittering city lights beneath your feet, it's urban beauty at it's best!

Chinatown - Singapore

Last full day in Singapore for us today. And even though we love the place, the great distance between Stockholm and this part of the world makes it a little uncertain when we'll see it again. Therefore we decided to be really busy bees and try to see as much as possible starting with Chinatown.

The Chinese people are by far the largest ethnic group in Singapore, composing approximately 75% of the population, which makes it perhaps a little bit silly to talk about a Chinatown part of town. However there's a certain district here called Chinatown that does retain buildings of historical and cultural significance. Large sections of it have been declared national heritage sites.

Sentosa Island

This morning we got a great start at the Coffee Bean Café, located not far from our hotel, the Rendezvous.



Since we arrived in Singapore we have tightened our belt strap and done free stuff like visiting the Botanic Gardens and exploring Little India. Today we felt it was time to let the dollars roll again. We took the train to Sentosa Island, Asia's favorite playground. There are an endless array of activities here, we had our eyes set on the Underwater world and the dolphin show.

The Underwater world has a really cool 83 meter long under water tunnel. We had ourselves a close encounter with sharks, sting rays and scary jelly fishes. It's not every day you see a shoal of piranhas swimming by if you look up! But to call this place a "world" is very misleading, it's more like a big room if you ask us. So we had 90 minutes left to kill before the dolphin show would start. They don't let you leave the underwater "world" to explore the rest of Sentosa Island so we had to stick around because the entrance is not the kind of fee you'd be willing to pay twice (read we were robbed).











Since we would have to wait for the dolphins we decided to do so in the what I guess you would call the VIP lounge. They have like 10 seats with comfortable armchairs. We get there and learn that there's a cover charge to sit there, you have to spend at least 10 Singapore dollars per adult, (50 SEK or 20 PLN). Fair enough, we do so on coffee and a sorry excuse of a cake. Martin jokes that he hopes it's gonna start raining now when we've paid extra to sit under roof. Two minutes later it's pouring down. Martin wishes for a million dollar and a house in Italy but it seems the gods are not granting us any more wishes today.



After a wait that seemed way longer then 90 minutes, the show finally starts. Ten minutes later the show wraps it up. We're still in chock. If you're gonna call it a show you really have to put on something longer then 10 lousy minutes. At the Singapore Zoo a show was 30 minutes plus (so go there instead). Not much left for us to do but leave. Obviously it's still raining. So kids at home, let this be a lesson to you all, be careful of what you wish for, it might come true.







Oh, and here some graffiti we spotted on our way back, seen in VivoCity, Singapore's largest waterfront shopping mall.

Singapore Botanic Gardens

No modern big city is of course complete without a set of lungs providing necessary oxygen to the people. Singapore's lungs is the Botanic Gardens and for more than one and a half century it has been "connecting plants and people" to quote their own slogan.

Walking around here at random equipped with some vanilla ice cream is a true pleasure reminding you that the best things in life can be, if not free, at least affordable.

It's perfect for picnics, dates and concerts. A part of the park near Symphony Lake is dedicated to the memory of Frederic Chopin, the Polish composer considered one of the greatest masters of Romantic music.