Singapore, The Beginning

Our mini vacation within a vacation (for Shayne) began and ended in Singapore. I have been there once before and fell in love with the city. Our friend Caslin (who was also our travel agent for both Singapore and  Bali) lives there and joined us for the evening.

We arrived at the airport and found the Christmas decorations were still there to greet the travelers along with an towering sculpture in the arrival hall.

We were booked at the Stamford Hotel for the night. It is one of the tallest buildings in Singapore. Our room had great views over the city including a perfect view of Marina Bay Sands and an interesting look at the Flyer.

We joined Caslin on the 71st floor at the New Asia Bar for a welcome cocktail served in a replica of the hotel. The views gave us a good chance for a geography lesson before we set off to see more of the city.

Our next order of business was a Duck Boat ride. These amphibious craft are left over from World War II when they were used to shuttle supplies and soldiers across the river. We even had a duck on board.

It was very interesting to see the familiar sights from a new perspective. The Singapore Flyer and Marina Bay Sands were towering.

We got our first glimpses of the new Gardens By The Bay with its immense  conservatories and man made tree scape.

Singapore is known as the Lion City and an enduring symbol of the city is the Merlion Fountain. The fountain has the body of a mermaid and the head of a lion. On our earlier visit I only saw the fountain from a distance. The close up view from the water was beautiful.

After our ride, we went to Raffles Hotel to pick up a taxi. Raffles is home to The Long Bar where the Singapore Sling cocktail was invented. No time for one at this point as we were on a mission.

And our mission was dinner. We taxied to East Coast Seafood which is a restaurant complex sitting right on the sea wall. This was my second trip there and it is definitely a must do. Dinner was amazing and featured drunken prawn and the specialty of the city - chili crab.

After dinner it was off to the hotel and a short walk through the neighborhood before returning to our room and the great balcony view of the evening's light show.

And in the morning before heading for the airport, we were treated to a beautiful sunrise peeking through the Flyer and welcoming the day.