Singapore, Singapore Day 2

Excursion Singapore Oddessey

Our first stop was in the Little India neighborhood. We walked a couple of blocks, had a few minutes to shop before getting on the bus for the next stop. Most of the shops in the Indian neighborhood had not yet opened.

We then had a chance to cool off with a tour of the National museum. This was a very informative tour and our guide did a masterful job of giving us a brief but thorough tour of the history of Singapore.

Our next stop was the Malaysian community. Here we viewed the local mosque from the outside and were given a brief history of the Malaysian district. Then, as is standard, we had a time to shop. I did find a few scarfs. The fabrics were absolutely breath-taking.

After working up an appetite shopping, we were treated to a fabulous lunch served family style.

With our appetites satiated, we walked through the warehouse district. The warehouses in this area along the river have been converted into shops. The buildings are heritage listed so the outside of the buildings must retain their character but the interiors are modern shops, restaurants and bars. At this time of day, it was almost deserted. We are told that at night, it gets very lively.

We got back on the bus.

We needed to make a decision on our choice of excursions for the portion of the cruise from Cape Town, South Africa to St. Malo, France. As a result, I was trying to read through the offerings on our way back to the port.

When we got back to our stateroom, we discovered that the form for listing the excursions that we wanted had been delivered this morning shortly after we left for our excursion. The excursions are distributed on a first come, first serve basis. So I quickly filled out the form and ran it down to Guest Services.

I then headed back up to our stateroom to try and grab a quick nap.

Just as I was dosing off, the phone rang. We were told that there is information missing from Bob's Yellow Fever and Malaria form.

After the phone call, I was unable to get a nap.

So we got up and had an early dinner.

Our night excursion was Singapore after Dark. When we got assigned to our tour guide, we noticed that it was the same guide that we had last night. She was one of the worst guides that we have had so we asked to be assigned to another guide. Our request was granted and we were off to find our bus.

We boarded our bus well before dusk to find a guide that had lost his voice. But we immediately recognized that he was an excellent guide.

We drove to the river where we had walked by the warehouses yesterday. The ghost town that this area was yesterday had turned into a lively restaurant and bar scene.

Since we arrived before dusk, we were not able to see the lights of Singapore but the commentary from our guide was really good. We also had a great group of people on this tour so we thoroughly enjoyed the river boat ride.

Our next stop was at the Raffle Hotel which we had seen yesterday but today, we were ushered passed a very long que of people waiting to enter the world famous Long Bar. It was here that the Singapore Sling was created by a bartender named Ngiam Tong Boon in 1915. During that time, etiquette dictated that ladies could not consume alcohol in public. The talented Ngiam thus saw a niche in the market and decided to create a cocktail that looked like a fruit juice. Masking it in pink gave it a feminine flair and together with the use of clear alcohol, he cleverly led people into thinking it was a socially acceptable punch for the ladies.

As a side note, Singapore is known for its many rules. No chewing gum or cigarettes can be sold, littering is against the law, one cannot spit in public, and the list just goes on and on.

The Long Bar is one place where it is okay to throw something on the floor-that something being the shells of peanuts. I believe that many Singaporeans come to the Long Bar just to feel like they are rebelling a bit.

After a couple of Singapore Slings, we laughed our way to the bus for the next stop which was the Marina Bay Convention Center to view the Merlion from across the river.

We were lucky enough to catch a special presentation of the drone, light, and fountain show which was scheduled for a private event. It was a very impressive show.

Next, we headed back to the bus for our way back to the ship.

Upon getting to our stateroom, we immediately crashed being totally exhausted by our two full days in Singapore.

I need a sea day!Read more