Living in an Inside Cabin

I was only in Singapore for a few hours on a previous cruise so didn’t see much.  This time I had 2 days to explore and I started with the hop on, hop off bus.  There are 3 routes so I took the a non-stop ride on the yellow route to get an idea of the city, plotted my next stops and hopped on the red route to get there.  Singapore is a city of neighborhoods  so I started in Little India with the sari stores and outdoor markets.  It’s a large section and I didn’t cover nearly enough but enough to get a taste. 

From there I headed to Arab street and the middle eastern section with the mosques and restaurants.  I went to the largest mosque and had a conversation with a hadji and his young helper.  I learned about the mosque and Islam and was given two books on Islam “for knowledge”, said the hadji.   The young helper, Ali, noted that I made a strange choice in visiting the mosque rather than shopping.  I just said everyone was different.  

Hopped the bus to the river and got off to take a few river shots before walking to Chinatown.  On the way I decided to get the traditional chicken and rice dish from Singapore so I stopped at BK Eating, a local corner joint where I was the only tourist.  Food was good and cheap, only $3.50 Singapore dollars for a high plate on which there was a new taste treat- teeny dried salty fish with some red peppers in solid honey.  Fish brittle!  Who knew?

Chinatown is also a large area with temples, old men playing games, and a huge market where you can find any type of Chinese trinket you could want.   The colors are stupendous and garish.  It’s a permanent carnival atmosphere where there is photo op every few yards, it seems.  The day ended back at the harbor with wifi and a piano concert on the back deck of the ship overlooking Sentosa Island with its thousands of lights.

Day 2 Singapore

The Bird Park is not some place I would have gone on my own but I escorted a tour and it is a lovely park that provided a pleasant couple of hours entertainment.  They have a huge variety of birds, many of which are not seen in temperate climates, like the great hornbills.  These guys look right out of Jurassic Park.  There is a very good show where they show off the intelligence of the birds and their tricks – great fun with audience participation.