Friday, February 7 and Saturday, February 8, 2025 - Singapore, Singapore

We have now reached one of our favorite cities on our world cruise. As we sailed into the Singapore Harborfront and towards the dock, I could feel my anticipation growing.  I always wonder if this city is as fabulous and fun as I remember.  Then, we arrive and step off the ship.  YES!!! My memory has served me well.  It's as beautiful and wonderful as always.  Singapore may be tiny, but is an ever so civilized society.  It is an oasis of calm in the chaos of Southeast Asia.  Most everyone here speaks at least a little English and people are scrupulously honest.   

Futuristic skyscrapers loom over the area while exotic temples set happily among them.  There are four official languages and many religions.  Yet, the diverse population lives harmoniously together with very little crime.  Staff informed us that Singapore would be one of the best shopping cities on our entire cruise.  He suggested that Orchard Street is one of the best shopping streets on the planet at which point all of the women sat up and paid close attention and all of the men groaned and slumped in their seats!

 

Singapore is a delightful city in which to walk.  The streets and sidewalks are spotlessly clean.  However, in order to create this immaculate environment the country is highly regulated.  It is illegal to chew gum on the streets.  Also, a person can be fined for not flushing a public toilet!! (Not sure how they would enforce this law).  Singapore has become a beautiful cosmopolitan mixture of cultures which pulls together to obtain success in everything they attempt.  However, with all its success, it has become one of the most expensive countries in the world in which to live.  

We arrived early in the morning and after breakfast on the ship we set out on our tour of my favorite place in the city, the  Gardens by the Bay.  As part of the gardens there are two enormous flower dome enclosures.  One of them is the Cloud Forest and the other is the Flower Dome.  

The Cloud Forest is a 7-story circular enclosure with a walkway which spirals down inside with flowers, plants and waterfalls lining the walls all the way down.  The major waterfall is located just inside the entrance and cascades forcefully down from the 7th story to the first floor and creates a mist which lightly covers the entrance and guests as they enter the dome.  It is the world's tallest indoor waterfall, falling over 114 feet. Photos just don't capture the magnitude of this beautiful and graceful, yet thundering, display.  I just wanted to stand there and bask in the beauty surrounding me.  

Once past the waterfall, we took the elevator to the top floor and began our walk down the spiral walkway, stopping to admire the flowers, plants, and displays as we descended.  Just imagine a high mountain, with exotic tropical flower and plants descending down the sides covering the entire surface.  Now, imagine a waterfall starting at the top of the mountain, falling gracefully over lush green foliage, eventually ending in a rock lined pool bordered by water lilies and other tropical flowers.  This dome probably remains my favorite place in the city and I drag poor Bob here every single time we visit Singapore! After completing our seven-story walk, we walked across the way to the sister exhibition, the Flower Dome.

The Flower Dome was still celebrating the Chinese New Year so many of the displays were built around the color red.  The new year ushers in the Year of the Snake with spring blossoms, a floral display inspired by Legend of the White Snake - one of China's four great folktales, which tells the story of the union between a mortal man, Xu Xian, and a female snake spirit, Bi Suzhen, also known as Madam White Snake.  The floral display featured over 1,000 dahlias, with the introduction of five new varieties this year.  Symbolizing prosperity and new beginnings, dahlias are a perennial favorite during Chinese New Year.

After spending time in these two spectacular structures, we jumped back on the bus to drive to the unique and beautiful Marina Bay Sands Hotel.  The hotel has a structure resembling a boat on the roof, connecting the two towers.  This hotel has been featured in many magazine and travel photos.  We rode the elevator up to the observation level, on the 57th floor which took a mere 60 seconds.  Talk about our ears popping!!! We had a 180-degree view of the area which overlooks the spectacular gardens.  There is also a restaurant with indoor seating.  Although they used to have a full menu restaurant outside, they have converted it to a bar with casual seating.  Still, it's a fabulous view. There is a spectacular view of the coastline and docks, including our ship which looked like a toy in the distance.  We could see the nearby Singapore Flyer which is the gigantic ferris wheel we rode on a previous visit to Singapore.  It takes 30 minutes to make a complete circle om the spectacular ferris wheel and each car holds up to 28 people.  There are bench seats inside the capsule, and, if desired, food and drinks, along with a waiter can be included.  It's a fabulous experience and one not to be missed when visiting this spectacular city.

We were fortunate to have had a lovely sunny day to enjoy our tour.  Now, we are headed back to the bus for our return to the ship.  We have to get ready for tonight's activity, which is a special evening event for the world cruisers.  Interestingly, it will be held on the 57th floor of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel (yes, we just left there)!  Thankfully, it's a lovely place. 

 

As the sun set we returned to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel to enjoy our beautiful evening.  As night fell and the skies darkened the view from the tower unfolded like a jeweled tapestry beneath us.  The glittering city scape was made even more beautiful by the spectacular towering "trees" and the light show.  

 The famous "supertrees" are eighteen tree-like structures that dominate the garden's landscape with heights that range between 82 to 160 feet.  They are imaginative vertical gardens that perform a multitude of functions, which include plantings, shading and serving as environmental engines for the gardens.  They are home to a variety of unique and exotic ferns, vines, and orchids.  They are fitted with environmental technologies that harness solar energy, as well as collect rainwater which is used for irrigation and fountain displays. They are one of my favorite aspects of this beautiful garden, especially at night when they add glitter and shine to the gardens.

Our evening celebrated the mesmerizing sights, sounds and flavors of Singaporean culture and included Malaysian kampang drumming, the synchronicity of the Indian Banghra dance and the tradition of a Chinese lion dance, while enjoying a feast of the city's famous Hawker (street food) cuisine.  

 

 

 

After a lovely evening we boarded our mini vans for the return to our ship.  The only inconvenience in visiting Singapore is their incredibly intense customs and immigration process.  Every time we entered/exited the ship we had to undergo a thorough inspection.  Unfortunately, my fingerprints never show up on the machines so I am always separated and put into a separate room for additional screening.  This added screening takes quite a long time, and since Bob always sails right through immigration, he has to wait patiently while I complete the screening. It seems like may be after the initial screening they might know who I am and perhaps they might do a lesser screening, but in Singapore the screening is just as thorough and intense every single time.  

Our ship remained in port overnight and we were scheduled to go on tour the next day.  However, since we were already tired from all the activity the previous day, as well as the lengthy immigration screening. we decided to remain on the ship and work on the blog for the day.  Bob did spend about an hour walking around the huge mall adjacent to our ship.  We've been to Singapore many times before so we felt that we would be repeating sites we have already visited and we were anxious to finish catching up with our blog entries.  Now, we will sail to Phuket, Thailand, which is always a lovely place to visit.