On our last day we wanted to see some of the iconic sights of Singapore, acting like tourists. We had an evening and most of the following day to explore a bit more.
Our first stop in the evening was the famous Raffles Hotel, built in 1904 and named after Singapore’s founder Sir Stamford Raffles. We ordered a Singapore Sling at the Long Bar, just where the drink was invented 100 years ago. The drink was pleasant and fruity, unremarkable but historic, and the bar is lovely.
There is an amazing mechanical multi-drink shaker at the bar that still works but is not currently in use. It’s cool.
After our drink, we headed to Chinatown to find a bite to eat. Taking a bus, we wandered towards lights and noise and found the busy streets lined with restaurants and shops. The aroma of a Chinese BBQ place awakened Chris’ appetite. We ordered some chicken, thinly sliced marinated beef, mushrooms and leafy green stuff that we grilled on the tabletop grill. It’s all-you-can-eat within 90 minutes and we ate our fill, maybe even too much. Having promised ourselves that we would get to bed early, and eat lightly, we failed miserably (and happily) on both fronts and got to sleep about midnight again with stomachs too full. Ah, well, this is what date night is like.
The next day we packed up and took a walk to the crazy looking hotel with what appears to be a giant boat on the top, hundreds of feet above the ground. Along the way, we admired the skyline of Singapore, which is quite spectacular. One whole end of the skyline is glass towers with matching blue glass which is cool.
The hotel is amazing. The inside is like being in Las Vegas, glitzy and polished and lined with restaurants and many super fancy and expensive shops. For such a huge place, it’s pretty busy with people wandering around aimlessly. It’s a casino as well, underlining the similarity to Vegas. We didn’t quite have enough time to have a drink on the rooftop bar, but we took an elevator to the top before heading back to the hotel and picking up our stuff and then taking the train back to the airport.
Several people had told us and we had read about this amazing waterfall at the airport and so we arrived with enough time to see it.
Changi airport is a destination all of its own, with a movie theater, a swimming pool and other attractions. The waterfall is AMAZING. Play the video to see it!
We got to our gate and then into the plane. The first leg of our journey from London to Singapore was on Emirates Airlines, with huge, new A380 planes. But Qantas kind of sucks and this plane is old and grotty. Chris said it reminded her strongly of planes she flew 30 years ago, and I’m not surprised. Qantas has consistently been crap for every aspect of this trip, from booking to flying. It used to be a good airline, but no more.
Tomorrow we will be in Brisbane, Australia! We were in England shortly before the shortest day of the year and now will be arriving in Brisbane two days after the longest day of the year. It will be 80 degrees and sunny when we arrive. Looking forward to it!
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