Because our long flight home was via Singapore we decided to have three nights there - although we'd be arriving in the evening our flight out was also in the evening so we had three full days. The first day we booked an afternoon tour visiting various places of interest. But the morning was free so as our hotel , which had a good view over the river, was fairly near Chinatown we decided to walk there. The weather that day was extremely hot and humid, but we survived! Although the traffic was heavy and seemingly endless, the flower bridges were a very pleasant way of crossing the road! The street market and stalls were very colourful. Although Chinatown, there was a large Indian temple with this ornate tower over the main entrance. And I couldn't resist this pub sign - most politically incorrect I'm sure!
Back to the hotel to cool off then the prearranged tour in the afternoon - collected from the hotel of course! First port of call was the area which became the main quayside at the time the Island was first colonised. The entrepreneurial, influential, and philanthropic Sir Stamford Raffles founded the colony on behalf of the East India Company, and the beautiful buildings of that time are still in use.
The magnificent Raffles Hotel named after the great man was the next stop, and a tour of the beautifully appointed hotel was followed by an elegant early afternoon tea.
After tea a riverboat cruise was a treat. We passed under several bridges, some quite old but still in regular use, a good view of the colonial buildings, eventually reaching the main Marina area, dominated by the new 'Integrated Resort' with it's remarkable hotel looking like a ship in the sky. A very modern building houses an Art Gallery, and the Merlion is a popular tourist attraction.
Singapore is of course a thriving international centre of commerce and boasts an impressive array of skyscrapers. It has an outlet of the renowned Royal Selangor pewter company, and that was the last visit of the tour where we saw pewter items being manufactured and of course were invited to view in the saleroom. We bought a beautiful and unusual plate which is now on display at home. The weather had broken with some rain, and for the rest of our stay it was less oppressive.
The next day we had again booked a tour but this one was on the replica Ming dynasty Chinese junk 'Cheng Ho', named after a famous 15th century Chinese admiral. Beautifully finished and ornate yet of course fitted and run to modern standards. The harbour area was alive with small boats, some trading, some water taxis all jockeying for position at the quayside. And when we left the inner harbour it was plain to see how busy and important Singapore is as a centre of commerce - I have never seen so many ships in one area.
Although we expected superb views of the Singapore shoreline from the boat, unfortunately the weather was closing in, and as we approached our destination, Kusu Island, the rain met us with a vengeance! But umbrellas were provided and we had an interesting time visiting the Chinese temple and other aspects of the small island. It is also known as 'Turtle Island' and houses not only a collection of turtles, but a substantial sculpture.
But the day was not over, and that evening we celebrated our wedding anniversary in the excellent Raffles hotel. First of course the obligatory Singapore Sling in the Long Bar. Traditionally the peanut shells are thrown on the floor! Then an enjoyable meal in the restaurant.
For our last day in Singapore, and indeed the last day of our holiday, we spent much of the day exploring the magnificent Botanic Gardens.Early on the rain forest section was interesting with exotic flora and fauna - this tree snake was doing it's best to look like a leafy branch!
The gardens, which were beautifully manicured seemed endless, but of particular interest was the Orchid garden. World famous, and only room here to show a tiny fraction of the photographs we took.
In the cool house we saw specimens from more mountainous areas, then enjoyed lunch in the restaurant. The rain returned after lunch, but the restaurant very kindly supplied us with plastic macs - rain must be an occupational hazard there! Huge trees, and in contrast the occasional beautiful sculpture.
A fine collection of Frangipani. Maintenance is ongoing!
There is even a concert platform in the gardens - I think the performers have the best view! An interesting and well laid out 'Evolution Garden'. Finally a magnificent tree at the exit.
We had used a 'Hippo' hop-on hop-off bus which stopped outside our hotel to get to the gardens, and continued further on the route. A few shots from the bus going down Orchard Road. Then a brief visit to St. Andrew's Cathedral with its beautiful nave. We queued at the wrong stop outside the cathedral and missed the bus which sailed on by another couple of hundred yards. And the next bus was 5 minutes early, catching us window shopping on the other side of the busy road! So in the end we walked back to our hotel, enjoying our last experience of the city. Although we stayed in many good hotels on our travels, the Miramar deserves a special mention. Always clean, cool, courteous and obliging, with a good restaurant, on this last day although we had vacated our room, they looked after our luggage during the day and provided a room for us to shower and change before our taxi arrived to take us to the airport.
Singapore, particularly the Botanic Gardens was one of the highlights of our trip. But after an overnight flight to Heathrow and a link back to Newcastle our adventure was over. Many wonderful places visited, several probably for the first and last time. With the short time allowed we only scratched the surface of most places - you'd need to spend months/years to really get to know a country, even a small one. I've lived in Britain all my life and there are still many places I've never been to. But of all the countries visited, in the unlikely event that we ever decided to emigrate it would be a toss up between New Zealand and Tasmania!