Had a bit of trouble sleeping - stoopid thermoregulation issues.
Woke up at 6ish though. Got up, did photo and blogging stuff, then headed out by myself.
Pedestrian underpass sign
Swissotel at Raffles City
The sun was out so I thought I'd make the most of it before it got tooo hot. Decided to walk down to the harbour again. Even at 8:20am, the Merlion is super popular with the tourists. So got some photos of it and the harbour and it was all quite pretty.
Esplanade Outdoor Stage - with fogged up camera lens
Singapore skyline
Clouds over Marina Bay
Esplanade Bridge and Raffles City
The Durian - Theatres on the Bay
Merlion
Merlion
Merlion
Clouds over Marina Bay
ArtScience Museum
Little Merlion
Then back to the hotel to have a shower and have breakfast.
After breakfast (it was about 10:45 by this point) we headed out.
We took a train out to Orchard to see a couple of stores Stu wanted to see.
Shops on Orchard Road
Chinese New Year - Year of the Monkey
The first was Kinokuniya - a huge bookstore. Had a good long wander through there.
The second was The Demin Store - Stu thought maybe he could get some better quality jeans there. But it was just before 12:00 and they didn't open til 12 (!?) and the shop was quite small, so we gave up on that idea, figuring they wouldn't have anything in Stu's size anyway.
While we there, it rained. When we came out, the temperature was actually almost bearable. We headed back to the hotel, and by the time we got there, the sun had some back out. And it was HOT. And HUMID. Just awful.
Carlton Hotel, Singapore
Chilled out briefly in the hotel, then headed out again - downtown to go on a foodie tour. But this one had a lot more culture and history than the Hong Kong ones do. In fact we didn't actually eat anything for the first hour and a half - we just looked at some buildings and went into the Singapore City Gallery which was in the town planning office and it had all these super cool models of Singapore as well as history of the place and future planning.
Singapore Model
Singapore Model
Singapore Model
1:400 Singapore Central Area Model from above
1:400 Singapore Central Area Model from above
1:400 Singapore Central Area Model from above
Singapore Master Plan poster
1:400 Singapore Central Area Model
1:400 Singapore Central Area Model
1:400 Singapore Central Area Model
Singapore Island Model
Singapore Island Model
Singapore Island Model
The foodie tour bit then kicked off. We went to several food courts, where old street hawkers had been moved under cover, which gave them the benefit of running water and electricity and more space for customers but presumably less character. I guess similar to what they're trying to do in Hong Kong to move the little green sheds into more fixed premesis.
At the first one we had sugar cane juice, chicken rice (almost a rerun of yesterday's lunch!) an oyster and mushroom cake, and a banana fritter.
Maxwell Food Centre
Sugar cane juice
Ah Tai Hainanese Chicken Rice store
Chicken rice from Ah Tai Hainanese Chicken Rice store
Maxwell Fuzhou Oyster Cake store
Making the oyster cakes
Oyster and mushroom cake
Banana fritter
At the second one we had a vegetarian popiah (which is a wrap made with the same skins used for spring rolls, but not actually deep fried). Very fresh and very nice.
Ann Chin Popiah store
Ann Chin Popiah store
Vegetarian popiah from Ann Chin
We heard some of the history of the local streets.
Old terraces on Smith Street
At the third one we had a Chinese-Malaysian chicken curry which was a tad spicy for me but very tasty.
Ah Heng Curry Chicken Bee Hoon Mee store
Chicken curry
Finally we ended up in an actual mall, and had a cake made with pandan juice. So light and fluffy.
Pure Pandan store
Classic Pandan Chiffon Cake
So all up a pretty good afternoon.
Singapore Art Museum
Headed back to the hotel, had a shower, then had a swim in the hotel pool.
Glass in the lobby of the Carlton Hotel
Had some drinks and nibbles at the hotel, then went across the road to the Swissotel to have a drink in the CityScape bar (after we found the entrance to the place - have I ever mentioned how much I hate malls?!). I had a Singapore Sling (as you do) and enjoyed the *ambience* and the view. Super expensive though :( Also didn't get the full panorama. Might have to try the restaurant next time.
Singapore by night
Clarke Quay by night
St Andrew's Cathedral by night
Decorations at Swissotel Raffles City
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