Four Days in Singapore

Hi everyone,
We have just returned from a short break in Singapore.  We took the buses there and back, and stayed at the Hotel Perak in Little India.  We had a great time holidaying with Graham and Anne from sv Kakadu.

Before our break we did a day trip as a reconnaissance.  It took us 3 hours from the marina to Johor Bahru, through Malaysian customs & immigration, across the causeway, through Singapore customs & immigration, and finally into central Singapore.  We spent the day exploring and eating wonderful, cheap food.  The lengthy travel each way convinced us that staying in Singapore for several days was the way to go.  Turns out we were unlucky with the travel times on our day trip, but staying in Singapore was great.

We explored Little India, Chinatown, Campong Glam (the Arab part of town) as well as the CBD.  We spent most time in Little India since that's where we stayed.  Preparations for the Indian Depavali "festival of lights" were well underway, with many streets decorated much as ours are for Christmas.

We visited the Marina Sands development, where a huge three-tower hotel has been built, together with a very upmarket mall.

We visited the Botanical Gardens too, which also has the National Orchid Gallery on site.  The orchids are amazing.Across the road from Marina Sands is the Gardens by the Bay.  Here a set of structures will eventually be covered with climbing plants.  There are elevated walkways between some of them and a restaurant atop one.

  

  

On our last day we went to the top of the Marina Sands Hotel to take in the spectacular view.  The previous evening we walked around the Quays, taking in the city lights at night.

  

We spent our last afternoon at the zoo.  It's a very modern zoo with animals having relatively open enclosures to live in.

  
From the zoo it was a short taxi ride to the causeway back to Malaysia, giving us a very quick return to Johor Bahru and Danga Bay.  Another great holiday in our extended sailing holiday!