Well, we are finally back in the US. We have actually been back for a couple of weeks, but my wife and I have been busy working and settling into our new home. As promised, I am going to share some pictures of our adventure over the next few posts.
My wife and I began our trip by meeting her family in San Francisco. We then flew overnight to Singapore. We arrived in Singapore around mid-day for a planned two day stop-over.
For our first evening/dinner we planned on meeting some friends in the Gardens by the Bay First we checked into our lodgings, then made our way to the gardens. Not but a few moments after we stepped out of the hostel we were greeted with a torrential downpour.
We were not well prepared for rain, but fortunately the rain cleared after about ten minutes and we were on our way.
The public transportation system is fabulous in Singapore! Though I enjoy the convenience of driving my own car, in Singapore you can get around quite well via bus or MRT (essentially Singapore’s subway system). Without too much difficulty our group made our way to the gardens, and we were greeted with this!
Opulence was the word that kept coming to my mind. This garden was way over-the-top!
From the same vantage point we could also see the skyline of the city to the right.
Beautiful, right?
Just in case you are wondering, the curved building in the right side of the picture is a giant hotel that has a cruise ship on top. We had a better view of it from our lodgings.
Like I said, opulence… The gardens are on the far side of the hotel from this vantage.
Much to my chagrin I had to pose for a lot of pictures. So here is one at the breakfast table.
That is my sister-in-law to my right, trying to drink out of my water bottle… If you have seen other pictures of me you will notice that the beard is gone. Sad day. Oh well, maybe I will be able to convince the wife to let me grow it again.
Our first stop of the day was a “food tour.” This was a small shop where we learned about the history, and unique culture of Singapore. The tour also involved a dress-up session… and more pictures. Hooray… 😉
One unexpected benefit of our visit was the arrival of the first lady of Singapore! Of course I didn’t know who she was, but the owner of the shop let us in on the secret! With the arrival of such a dignitary, we got the impression that it was time for us to depart.
Our next stop was Singapore’s Botanic Garden (apparently not botanical garden(s)…). Sticking with the theme of ‘opulence,’ the gardens were impressive. One of the main attractions was the orchid garden.
above: Not an orchid, but pretty cool
below: definitely an orchid
We spend most of the second half of the day walking around the different gardens. After a few hours we headed back to the hostel and turned in for the night.
For our final day in Singapore we went to Sentosa Island. This seemed to be the recreational center of the nation. There were a number of theme parks, museums, and other attractions on the island. My wife and I chose to check out the aquarium. I can safely say that I have never seen an aquarium like this one. I believe it boasted the largest tanks in the world… and they were huge!
Following our trip to Sentosa we made our way back to the hostel, packed up our luggage and headed to the airport to complete our trip to Sri Lanka.
In short, if you get a chance to visit Singapore I would recommend it!
Ron's Vintage Pens 