Sunday 3 to Tuesday 5 November 48 hours in Singapore

Just back from blitzing Singapore and doing it in luxury. We have friends, Derek and Rachel, who live there and had invited us to stay. Not only were we invited to stay but they came to pick us up in the luxury of a car. Not for us to work out where to change bus in Johor Bahru, navigate immigration. Instead an air conditioned ride and a gentle introduction to Singapore. A barbecue by the pool with all the Epicurean delights, like smelly French cheese, we haven't enjoyed in ages and to sleep on shore with air conditioning was a real joy (for me).

German butcher

 

Monday was Jackster Day. As always, the boat has to take priority and we had need of fuel and oil filters to replace the large number we'd gone through when the fuel was dirty. Prior to getting the bad fuel David had used two filters in 5 years but when the problem hit he was changing and washing them in petrol and borrowed from friends to get us here. The price was very right so we took a dozen of one type and half a dozen of the others. Many, many thanks to Rachel for driving us out to supplier in an out of the way industrial estate and then taking us to Little India in downtown Singapore to a chandlers. The chandlers didn't have anything we wanted but we happen across a kitchen fittings shop which had a replacement hose for our kitchen tap. 
When we first started sailing when we needed a part we'd ask 'how much' . As we've gone into more remote, or less well supplied countries, this has been changed to 'have you got' and seizing the opportunity, filter, hose or tap fitting and popping it in your bag.

Raffles garden court

 

dinner with Derek and Rachel

 

futuristic trees

At the end of the day there was time for some sight seeing and for me a return visit to Raffles Hotel. It's changed from the faded old Colonial hotel it was when I stayed in 1988 ton my way to Australia to a swanky international hotel but the garden room, or perhaps just the exterior, I had then is still there.
For dinner Derek & Rachel took us to their favourite curry restaurant and it was perhaps the best Indian meal we've enjoyed since we started travelling. And after dinner we went for a night time walk through the illuminated marina bay gardens with its Avatar style 'trees', man made structures in the shape of palms with plants growing from the sides and lit blue and green. Singapore is so safe and clean. I wouldn't dream of wandering around a park after dark in central London.
With Jackster's presents bought we could dedicate our second day to seeing the city. Starting river barrage (like the Thames Barrier but closed) which turns the river which bisects the city into a reservoir we walked through the botanical gardens with the Avatar trees and I went into the two new conservatories while David looked after the bags and rested his eyes. These two super size greenhouses are simply stunning. The first is called the Flower House and is a collection of temperate zone gardens with full size trees. The second is mountain habitat with a waterfall cascading from the summit of the mountain seven stories high. The blurb said the environment in the upper gardens was that of a cloud forest. Of extra delight was the cool temperate air – a relief from the humidity outside. I could have stayed all day but there was more to see.

Can you see the London Eye?

 

Marina Sands hotel or steelhenge

 

flower conservatory

mountain conservatory

Back outside in the warmth I found David and we continued on through the garden to the Sands on the Bay hotel which reminds me of Stonehenge; three towers linked at the top by a lintel. It's looks like a big silver boat, all curves and sinews and has the roof top restaurant, bars and pool for the hotel. We walked through the hotel but with an admission fee to reach the viewing platform we viewed from the exterior. 
Our path linked us through a particularly upscale shopping arcade - think clothes shops whose names end in a vowel like Gucci and Prada - and out to the Singapore river, now dammed, with the skyline clear to see. What better way to see a city than from the water which is why Singapore has become so important. Apart from the financial district it's also home to the third largest oil refinery in the world (well, according to the blurb I read). Of course, there's no oil refining downtown. Instead we saw the original small waterfront buildings with the towers looming over their roofs although there is a 27 floor maximum for buildings here. We got off the boat in Clarke's Quay, scoffed at the proliferance of theme bars, had a bite of wonderful Chinese lunch and then took the tube to Little India to a shopping mall which is 6 floors of cameras and computers and everything electrical between. If you want a camera and are not absolutely sure of the make and model it would be bewildering with each store offering something 'better' or more expensive. 

modern architecture

There was so much to see it was too much and for the first time ever David had had enough of gadget shops and asked if we could go home. I was only too happy to go. The mall is very close to the bus terminal where we got on an air conditioned bus with the Malaysian commuters and headed back to JB.
Going from down town Singapore through immigration, across the Causeway, and immigration again plus a local bus back to the marina took under 90 minutes in the evening peak period. The service is so good you could travel in for dinner very easily though food was not on my mind as we've eaten so handsomely over the last couple of days.