Singapore

We are finally just getting back into the swing of things after being in Singapore for 5 days!  My cousin Megan had a business trip there so she asked if we'd want to meet her there to explore after her meetings.  Of course we said yes.

We started out the journey by meeting Megan and her coworker on Friday evening at the Raffles Hotel.  The Raffles Hotel is the home of the original drink called the Singapore Sling.  Megan and Zan both tried the drink - Bill and I opted for other choices. 

   

Singapore is the worlds only city-state that is also an island country.  The weather there was 90 degrees fahrenheit and HUMID!   Bill and I weren't huge fans of the hot weather but we loved the country… clean air, blue skies, English is spoken as the official language!

Would you believe that in Singapore chewing gum is illegal (there is a $500 fine if you get caught), spitting on the street is also illegal and that fine is $1,000, if you are caught with any drugs the punishment is death on the following Friday.   Needless to say the city was very clean, people were very friendly and things worked in a very cohesive orderly process.  It was a welcomed change from China that's for sure! 

After the Raffles we headed over to Marina Bay Sands complex.  This complex is amazing, it's a ship hoisted in the air with amazing views of the water and city.

 Here's what Marina Bay looks like from a distance in the day.

Singapore is known as the Lion city and they have what they call a Merlion - a mermaid lion statue.  On Saturday we took a nice sweaty walk to visit the Merlion!

We then made a pitstop for lunch and beers at Brewwerkz! It was a tasty refreshing break from the heat.

After that we headed to Little India.  Singapore has an entire area of town called Little India which is pretty much like a Chinatown except for Indians.   They have a place called the Mustafa Centre which was HUGE and you could literally purchase ANYTHING you could dream of.  Purses, watches, spices, fruit, veggies, perfume, ace bandages, EVERYTHING and ANYTHING.

  We then enjoyed dinner at a local curry house.  You know you're in a good place when the people next to you aren't even using silverware to eat their meal!

Singapore was all decked out and ready for Christmas.  It was a bit surreal being so hot out and having Christmas music and decorations all over but I do have to say they were pretty spectacular.

 On Sunday we took a boat trip to a nearby island called Palu Ubin where we rented bikes and rode around exploring.  We saw wild boars:

 And then we got stuck in a monsoon….  not kidding look at the road in the back ground.  While trying to get back to the ferry area we braved riding in the rain and a tree fell right in front of Bill so that's when we decided we needed to take shelter.   Needless to say we were SOAKED from head to toe and it took our shoes 2 days to dry out!!!

Our last day we headed to the botanic garden which was very impressive.  I'll post those pictures in a separate post as they are on the camera and these are only my phone pictures!  

It was a great city to explore with endless shopping malls, eateries and fun.  It's definitely a place Bill and I would consider going back too again.