Hi all,
We’ve had an excellent first day in Singapore! I first woke at about 5am, which
is 8am Melbourne time. At this time, we had already all received an email
saying our airport PCR test had come back negative. Freedom – woohoo!! Our next challenge was to complete our day two rapid test, and then book the supervised rapid test that we have to do tomorrow. Tick, tick!
We got up and went for a walk to the local shopping centre in Chinatown, where
we each had a cold drink and some breakfast. Mum and I went for a ham and cheese
sandwich, and Dad had a noodle dish. We quickly noticed how onto the pandemic
Singaporeans are. The little tables at the breakfast shop had signs and red
tape all over them showing where you could and couldn’t sit. Very precise!
We headed back and checked out of our hotel, and then set off to go and meet
Josh, the man showing us to our new accommodation. Our first room last night
for our quarantine was a shoebox with barely even enough room to open our suitcases,
and the new place could not have been more opposite. Due to Mum and Dad having paid
back at the start of 2020 for this accommodation and then not being able to get
a refund, the accommodation had upgraded them for free, let us check in early,
and are letting us check out late on our final day! Josh showed us around – the
apartment is huge, and has a fabulous view of Clarke Quay. It also has a really
lovely pool and gym area. We are in heaven and feel so comfortable and welcome.
They even provided us with a portable internet dongle so we did not have to buy
a SIM card to be able to research/get around on Google maps.
Once ready, we headed out to explore for the day. Our first few stops were in
Chinatown, with the first at the Sri Mariammaman Temple – the oldest Hindu temple
in Singapore. It was closed due to much needed works – the front entrance was
so faded compared to my photo from 2012. We enjoyed some of the murals and
streets in the area though.
Our next stop was the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, a Buddhist temple with a very impressive
façade. Here we enjoyed the temple section itself, the rooftop garden and the
museum which had various Buddha related artefacts.
Afterwards, we were very hot. We used the internet to look up where some ice
cream was, and found a nearby shop. I had a chocolate sorbet and delicious
mango sorbet, Mum went for mango and coffee, and Dad went for fig and blue
cheese. Blue cheese tasted just like blue cheese, which I love, but I’m not
sure I was a fan of it as ice cream!! Nevertheless, it was a nice cool treat.
We continued through this neighbourhood which had lots of cute shopfronts and
bars, and then found ourselves in the financial district. Here, we walked
through the only remaining hawker market from the 19th century – Lau
Pa Sat. Guy and I enjoyed coming here in 2012, the food was magnificent. The vibe
seemed a bit different nowadays. It was full, but you had to show all your
papers to get in. The street stalls were missing, but I think they may be back
at night. We will have to find out one night whilst here. We each enjoyed a
fruit juice in here, mine was an ice cold fresh pineapple and guava juice. It
really hit the spot. We also enjoyed the old style building. On the way out, we
stopped at a pharmacy and couldn’t believe that they had shelves full of rapid
antigen tests for just $4 each. Australia is being put to shame in many areas
over here…!
Next, we walked towards the marina area. We walked around a park and headed up
to the Merlion, where we enjoyed a view of the Marina Bay Sands hotel. The Merlion
is a statue that spits out water across the harbour, and has been here since
1972. Its part fish appearance represents the fishing history of Singapore, I’m
not 100% what the lion part represents and will have to find out. In 2012 I really
liked this area, and remembered it being very vibrant and full of tourists.
Today it was very different. We were the only people around. At one point
another couple came and took a photo, and that was it. This definitely has its
pros – it’s nice to have something to yourself. However, the crowds in a city
or famous place give it part of its buzz. I sincerely hope the world gets back
to itself some day soon.
We walked along the river and admired some statues, particularly one of some
children playfully jumping into the river, and the one of Stamford Raffles
where he first landed along the river. But again, this section was very empty.
In fact, all of the bumboat offices along here were so shut up that they were
filled with bags and rubbish that had obviously been there for quite some time.
Once back at the apartment building, we went to the supermarket downstairs. It’s
Japanese and was like entering an alternate, cartoon universe. Everything was
bright and cartoony, and nothing was in English! Dad bought a beer and Mum and
I bought some mystery canned fruity drinks that claimed to be “3%” – assuming alcohol?
We haven’t tried them yet. We had a swim at the hotel. The pool was awesome!
And then got ready for dinner.
Dinner was at Lavo, a restaurant on the 57th floor of the Marina Bay
Sands building. We figured we could either pay $25 each to visit the
observation deck up the hotel and take some photos, or we could pay $100 each
and enjoy a few hours of views and a nice meal. We took the latter option and were
so glad we did. The staff were nice and moved us to a table that had a view of
the CBD. For the next three hours, we enjoyed delicious food, a $12.50 cocktail
special, and magnificent views. I’ll let the photos do the talking! Dad bought
a huuuuuuuuge chocolate cake which was just ridiculously huge!! We had a good laugh.
We enjoyed seeing the city transformed by sunset into a sea of twinkling lights.
On the other side of the building, you could also see Gardens by the Bay and
the nightly light show. We will have to check it out up close another night.
Something that made us realise even more so just how seriously they take the
pandemic here was that a Singaporean man started talking to us from a distance
while sipping his drink. A few minutes into our conversation, a security guard
came over and said we weren’t allowed to mingle between groups, even though
we were metres apart outside. The world has gone mad. I guess that’s why there
are only 700-800 cases a day here though!
We had a quick look in the casino afterwards. Strangely, to get both in and out
you had to show your passport and travel papers. Why to get out we are unsure!!
We are pretty tired now! It’s 1.30am Melbourne time and we walked about 25,000
steps today, so it’s been a big day but a good day. Looking forward to another great
day tomorrow!
Love to all
Claire
Xoxox
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