Day 5 - Shopping Day and touring around

We decided to have a bit of a lazy day today walking around our local area which takes in Chinatown and Tanjong Pagar.  There is a lot of refurbishment going on in the area and we were quite amused at the workplace health & safety measures that are taken here:-

Timber poles used for scaffolding!!

Tanjong Pagar seems to be undergoing some refurbishment with repainting of buildings, shops being modernised....Our hotel is on the RHS of this photo behind the middle building....

Chinatown.....shops everywhere...lots of vendors competing for your business, particularly the tailors wanting to make shirts and suits for the guys.....

Stopping off for a refreshing drink at a popular restaurant/bar in Chinatown.....

Trying a Shirley Temple drink.....



 I decided to get a Henna Tattoo - freehand drawn within a couple of minutes.... then I went and had a foot massage with a local vendor - took me upstairs three levels where I walked in to a parlour that had lots of chairs and massage tables there - I had a reflexology massage for 1/2 hour for $18 - I needed it after all the walking we have done.

 

We decided to go to a local Food Court, Maxwells, just across the road from Chinatown on the way to Tanjong Pagar and our hotel.  For $4 we had an amazing meal and a 630ml bottle of Tiger Beer was $6!!  Wine is too expensive here so I had to settle for a lemonade.
Lots of food stalls that didn't look like you should touch some of them, but they are rated and we have had some fantastic meals at these places....they are called Hawker Food Centres and you get the odd hawker coming around wanting to sell you anything from tissues to wallets.

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Day 4 - Singapore Zoo & Night Safari

Day 4 has arrived and we ventured off on the train to Singapore Zoo.  A short bus trip from the station directly to the Zoo made our journey very easy.  It is so easy getting around Singapore and cheap!!  This transport system puts Brisbane's to shame.

 

The Zoo is fantastic - very well thought out - very open...even the big cats are not enclosed in cages....but there are big moats and an electric fence at the bottom to stop any animals from venturing out.  It was quite funny watching the monkeys and one of the little babies happened to fall down the hill towards to water and electric fence.  Well...did he make a noise and a half in his panic.  His mother quickly came to the rescue and scooped him up and took him away to safety.....very cute.

 

There are many species of primates in the zoo - this big Proboscis fella was a very proud dad.....

 

 

This little otter was settling in to have a snooze......



The Orangatun's were all having a little snooze - they all had these hessian blankets over themselves....

This Meerkat was on sentry duty - apparently they do this for about an hour keeping an eye out for birds of prey - they each take turns....

 

 We went to the Rainforest Fights Back show which gave a very strong message to all to do what we can to save the homes of these creatures before they are all wiped out - quite moving....Dennis was quite taken with the snakes and took the opportunity to have his photo taken with a couple....he really wanted to hold the larger snake but they wouldn't let him....

In between this show and the Elephants at Work & Play Show, we stopped off for a refreshing snack.....a nice Banana split....yummy.....

 The Elephants at Work & Play show was very entertaining and we got to feed them at the end of the show.  One of the keepers allowed me to come a bit closer and hold the food up for a great photo opportunity.

 

 

 

 

 



Unfortunately the camera battery died and we had to use the phones to take photos.  I haven't been able to transfer the photos on to the computer for some reason.....will have to do that when we get home...but we had photos taken riding the elephants and also sitting with the Orangutans - that was something special.   The elephant keeper even let me lie on the elephants head and give her a hug the elephant before getting on her back.  Dennis took a video of that on his phone so just have to transfer across when we can.  It was just magical!!

 

Update - managed to download the photos from the mobiles....here are some of the orangutans and elephants....

 

 

 

We left the Zoo at about 5:45 and went across to the Night Safari park (next door) for a tour of the park viewing the animals in their environment after dark.  It certainly was a different experience....again open enclosures for many of the animals and some were wandering around free range, but in a controlled area (using grids).  We didn't have an opportunity to take many photos as camera flashes would disturb the animals too much, but I did manage to purchase a photo book of many of the animals in their environment.

 

We got on the train about 11:00pm but not before having a bit of an altercation with some Indian fellows who decided that they wanted to push their way through the long bus line to get on the bus first.  They boldly just walked past everyone and tried to get on....but Dennis and another fellow from Italy told them in no uncertain terms to get back and wait their turn.  They were dressed in some sort of uniform/costume and I was concerned later that they may have been some sort of clergy or something, but from what I understand they were just very rude people. 

 

Day 5 coming up - shopping!!

 



 

Day 3 - Kranji War Memorial and back to Little India

We took the train out to Kranji, then hopped on a bus for 2 stops away and walked up to the War Memorial.

The War Memorial represents the three branches of the military - the Air Force, Army and Navy. The columns represent the Army, which marches in columns, the cover over the columns is shaped after of the wings of a plane, representing the Air Force, and the shape at the top resembles the periscope of a submarine, representing the Navy.

 

The Memorial's walls inscribe over 24,000 names of allied servicemen whose bodies were never found, spread over both sides of 12 columns of the war memorial itself.

 

The War Cemetery is the final resting place for 4,458 allied servicemen in marked graves laid out in rows on maintained and manicured lawns. Over 850 of these graves are unidentified.

A wonderful dedication to our fallen heroes.

We then made our way back to the station and grabbed a couple of drinks; I got a mango smoothie made with soy milk and Dennis got a watermelon drink - very refreshing and we sat outside the station drinking them as you are not allowed food or drink in the stations here - that why they are so clean!!  A few drops of rain started to fall and we took cover as a good shower came down.  It dropped the temperature a few degrees and brought with it a nice cool breeze.  By the time we got to the city the sun was shining again.

We went back to Little India to go to the Mustafa Centre which is a place where you can buy anything and everything.  It is a huge centre and I mean HUGE!!  We walked from the clothing area to the jewellery centre which was wall to wall GOLD!!  Pieces of jewellery worth hundreds....thousands.....I have no idea who buys these products!!  The wages here are very low and the cost of living is very high.  Petrol is $2.04/L; the cheapest car costs $80K; all food is imported as there is no agriculture here - it is a concrete city.  While there are the ordinary market areas, there is a lot of opulence here and a lot of building going on. 
We left the Mustafa Centre after being dazzled by all of the jewellery and I saw some fresh bananas being put out at a store, so I bought a couple as I felt like a piece of fruit.  It was delicious after eating a bit of spicy food. 

We found our way to Arab Street which is well known for all of it textiles....fabrics, ribbon, laces, and rugs. As we passed each store, we were invited in by the shopowners to purchase a new rug or fabric - the fabrics were just beautiful - those which make the beautiful Indian dresses...sequins and jewels galore.  I was particularly looking for some different trims that I could use for scrapbooking but the prices weren't anything special.

We went to the local shopping centre to find a toilet where we had to pay 10 cents to use the toilet - very clean though.  As we left the shopping centre, we decided to find somewhere for lunch and I overheard a lady say that Sim Sam was a good place to eat which was just across the road. So off we went for another lunch adventure and got to the door where the vendor invited us in to dine.  We went upstairs to the air-conditioned rooms and we chose a table part of which was occupied by a couple of muslim ladies who were joined by one of the lady's husband and son.  They started chatting to us and the son told us that he was leaving for Tasmania in two weeks time for 4 years study.  So we talked about what his expectations would be and we asked about their lifestyle here in Singapore.  We were flabergasted at what they told us; cars are expensive to buy and they pay $95 per month to park their car at their unit carpark.  Electricity costs them $300/month; they paid $500k for a 3 bedroom home (unit) which they have to pay off in 25 years and if their home is still in the family after 90 years they have to hand it back to the government - after paying it off!!  The wages here are $6/hr - we have no idea how they afford anything.  They do work very long hours but we can't imagine how they manage.  They were very nice people.

We then decided to go to a few temples in the area to have look.  We found this sign along the way.....

We also found what I believe to be the Thieves Markets which is a flea market - anything and everything was for sale, most of it second hand.  It was interesting to see so many inspecting the goods for sale.

We came across this building that was having some renovations done - check out the acrow props on both sides in where the windows should be!!  All the while, trading is still continuing.

This was the only temple that we found open - we were a but disappointed as we were pretty much ignored while there...no-one came and gave us some information about the temple at all...I was promptly told not to enter an area that I was making my way to but that was the only communication that we had.

Some renovations were being done; there was some beautiful artwork that was being painted over in pink paint...we didn't quite know what was going on there but it seemed such a shame to be doing that.  I guess we will never know what was happening....

The train station was only a short walk away and we stopped off at a couple of shops to see what they had.  Dennis walked out while waiting for me and noticed some men talking and looking at him, laughing and chatting away while turning around looking at him some more. He knew they were talking about him so next thing I know he is walking up to them and asking them what they were saying about him.  The ring-leader was a bit shocked that he was approached and promptly told Dennis that he wasn't talking about him so with we continued on to the station.  It was quite obvious what they were doing but I guess we won't know for sure.

We got back to the hotel about 8pm and decided to go upstairs to the restaurant for dinner which was very reasonably priced which surprised us a little.  So another day down and ready for a big day at the Zoo tomorrow.

Monday 19 August - Gardens by the Bay, Marina Bay Sands, Little India, Raffles Place.....

We have had a huge day today looking around Singapore.

The train station Tanjong Pagar is just a street away from the hotel.  We purchased a travel card and took the train to Gardens by the Bay.  This area is only about a year old and is wonderful to say the least.  The detail of everything here is amazing....there are many differnt Garden areas and the first we visited was:-

Flower Dome - a fantastic collection of plants from around the world intermingled with pieces of garden art in a domed area of about a hectare.....and air-conditioned....

 

Cloud Forest - a tropical rainforest area with a skywalk taking us around various levels of the "mountain" along with escalators joining some levels

 

This is the view from the Marina Sands Hotel - 57 storeys high.  As we entered the area to go up to the 57th floor, our photograph was taken and by the time we got up to the top, we were presented with the photo in a cardboard frame.....for a cost of $50!!  Without the frame....$30.....guess who ended up holding the photo.........not us - outrageous!!
But....check further down when we visited Merlion Park.....

We then decided to go to Little India for some shopping and we stopped for lunch in a food court that looked like it should be avoided, but we have learnt that these places are a great place to eat......and so tasty.....Dennis had mutton and I had chicken, all served on a piece of brown paper on a tray.....a local businessman sat at our table and we started chatting....he told us a lot about Singapore and some helpful tips.....

We then took the train to Raffles Place to go to the Raffles Hotel and have a Singapore Sling.  We should have gone the next station up, but it was a favourable mistake as we found ourselves at Merlion Park which was opposite the Marina Sands Hotel and guess what, we got someone to take the exact same photo of us that the Marina Sands Hotel wanted to charge us $50 for!!  Hahahaha.....

 Merlion Park - Merlion is the symbol of Singapore - the Lion City..

Raffles Hotel - you will see a member of the hotel staff in traditional uniform...

Just before we got to Raffles Hotel, we met a local man who started chatting to us and gave us some local tips and took us to a travel pass kiosk to get some tour bargains.  He also told us not to go to Raffles for the Singapore Sling as it was $38 per drink!!  He said to go just up the road to Swissotel Hotel and go up to the 70th floor to the Bar Area where we could get a Singapore Sling for half the price in fact $15......and the view was even better....so that's what we decided to do.....

This is the view of Singapore from the Hotel....everywhere you look is highrise....

We got back to our hotel about 8pm and then ventured up the road for some Subway for dinner as we weren't that hungry after the big meal at Little India.

Stay tuned for Day 3.