Monday
Following our evening arrival we only had time for a short exploratory walk through Chinatown. With the Chinese New Year approaching the neighborhood was decorated with lots of red, gold and citrus.
year of the snake!
festive decor
Off the main street were pedestrian walkways stuffed with shop and stalls.
Our senses overloaded, we went back to the hotel after about an hour of wandering, but not before stopping at one of the numerous 7-11s for juice and beer.
Tuesday
We started our day taking the MRT to City Hall. As we came out of the station we were treated to a view of St Andrew’s Cathedral, then a short walk to a grassy esplanade with a nice view of downtown.
On the map it appeared that we were close to the Fountain of Wealth… in reality, most of the intersections lacked street-level pedestrian crossings so we had to use underpasses and tunnels which can be tricky to navigate. After a few blocks we finally found the fountain which, unluckily for us, was turned off for maintenance!
Undaunted, we made our way to Marina Bay area where we enjoyed great views of the downtown core, the new art center, and the famous merlion fountain.
downtown Singapore
Crossing the Esplanade Bridge
Merlion!
view from the Merlion pier
It was now midday and getting quite warm, so we made our way along the Singapore River to the Central Mall. After a juice break we took the MRT back for a cooling off period at the hotel. That afternoon Eric met with a work colleague, leaving Leandra to wander around Chinatown and Clarke Quay.
We met up again for dinner at Lau Pa Sat, then with time before sunset, we walked over to the Marina Bay Sands area. Of course we stopped for photos along the way.
Art Science Museum and Singapore Flyer
The imposing Marina Bay Sands
The new Gardens by the Bay is on the other side of the complex, so we walked through the mall (air conditioning!)
this is only one small part of the mall too
And across a foot bridge to our first view of the super trees.
given the climate these will be completely covered in a few years
While we were enjoying the gardens a sound and light show started (7:15p) that was rather cheesy but did provide some interesting visuals.
Having seen one light show we figured we might as well catch the Marina Bay show too, so we headed back through the mall to the observation area for the 8p ‘Wonder Full‘ show. On the way we enjoyed the early evening views.
With 10 minutes to wait before the show we enjoyed the view of downtown while resting our feet too.
pre-show view
lights and water spray
getting a bit dramatic now…
After some additional walking around the city we concluded our first full day of exploration. Sleep came easily that evening…