Singapore Day 4
Plan today is to head back towards Marina Bay to check out the botanical gardens. If time permits I'm thinking of hitting a different hawker area for a meal. It may depend on the weather. So far it seems that when rain hits here it hits hard and for a short time.
Back is feeling better than expected. The extra rest time yesterday morning seems to have paid off. I'll probably be doing a lot of walking today. Not sure how my body will respond. Up. Shower. Shave. Breakfast. Chinatown for a Covid test. $120 SNG cash for the test. Feels like everytime I've had to take a required test the price is extortion. Meh. I'm over it.
After I got the cash for the test, found the location, and took my test I headed towards the gardens. I meandered around the area for about an hour and made my way towards the Sands hotel/casino.
It didn't take me long to figure out that I came way too early. I need to come back later tonight when the place is lit up with colored lights. There's also several buildings with sites inside that I think will be worth while. The cloud forrest and flower dome look to have potential.
The Helix bridge feels like a "center of the city". From there you can take pictures of the Sands, the Science and Art Museum, and the water front stands that work as the finish line for the Formula 1 race (Singapore Grand Prix). How would you like to race through the city streets at 200mph?
I ended up inside the Marina Sands Shoppes just cool off and meander. The place was enormous and full of stores that normal folk don't see often. Versace, Gucci, and Prada just to name a few.
As I was nearing the end of the shoppes on the ground level I noticed a group of people gathered around something round. Here's what it was.
This swirling fountain drained down to the lower levels. I worked my way downstairs to get a better view.
It then turned into a canal that drifted down through more shoppes on the lower levels.
Headed back my hotel to watch a race live back in Tulsa. After the sun drops I'm gong to head back and get some night time shots and check out at least one of the indoor gardens.
Fell asleep again. I might be able to get used to this nap thing. My mattress is way harder than I prefer, but this one seems to work for me.
I've been thinking about having an authentic Singaporean meal, but when I've asked around it doesn't seem to exist. Food here is what we would call Asian Fusion. It's a mix of Malay, Indian, Chinese, Indonesian, and western. The nation of Singapore is more of a massive melting pot. There are people from all over the world here. It's got a reputation as a tax haven for the wealthy. Several famous wealthy people have denounced their citizenship in favor of Singapore. Eduardo Saverin (Facebook) comes to mind.
I found the original hawker that was made famous for first earning a Michelin star. I believe that star has since been rescinded,
But I opted to give the famous meal a try.
The meal is Soya chicken and pork.
It wasn't bad. Nothing terribly special. I liked the pork best. It also came with a tea egg. I've had them in China several times. It's a hard boiled egg that's soaked for several days in tea. They're quite good. The soya sauce on the rice was good, but again, it didn't really blow my skirt up.
I opted for two choices of touristy type experiences. The Skyway and the Cloud Forrest. Each are attractions in the Marina Bay area. The Skyway is just a walkway that connects to of the "trees". I got there just as the sun was dropping so you can see the progression towards sunset in these pics.
My second choice was the Cloud Forrest. It's an indoor bontanical area that they have lit up and given an Avatar theme too. I wasn't able to get very good poctures inside because the lighting was sort of sketchy, but it was a pretty cool experience. It had a real rain forrest feel to it.
I then turned my attention back where I had been earlier in the day. The Helix bridge and better views of the city.
Off to sleep. Going to be a long day of travel tomorrow.