Singapore Singapore Day 3

I met Dale and walked with him through Immigration so that he, Jenni and I could all be on the same tour.

Dale showed us the robotic orange juice machine that produces fresh squeezed orange juice. I thought that the Latimer's really need one of these machines with all of their orange trees.

Our excursion for today was Iconic Singapore.

Our first stop was the Gardens by the Bay.

Upon exiting the bus and taking a short walk, we were greeted by Supertrees which are sustainable vertical gardens housing over 162,900 plants and over 200 species. The tallest Supertree is about the height of a 16-storey building. Seven of the Supertrees are designed to harvest solar energy. They are illuminated at night which adds even more interest to Singapore's skyline.

We made a walk to the shore of the reservoir before making our way to the Flower Dome. The Flower Dome is a cavernous, cooled conservatory which holds the Guinness World Record for the largest glass greenhouse. The Gardens by the Bay's operating costs are $50 Million annually. The Singapore Government pays $25 Million and the other $25 Million comes from other means such as entrance fees.

Our guide began with the plants of the desert. I opted to go off on my own because I wanted to see both the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest as a fellow guest had told me that the Cloud Forest was amazing.

After some time in the Flower Dome, I made my way to the Cloud Forest. Upon entering the cloud pavilion, I was greeted with an impressive waterfall. As I made my way through the Cloud Forest, I was happy to see a portion dedicated to orchids. I love orchids and am hoping that Rob is able to keep mine alive at home.

Again, all too soon, my alarm when off indicating that I had just a few minutes to make it back to the meeting place. Problem was, I could not find my way out of the Cloud Forest. I was literally lost in the clouds!!! I am frantically racing around trying to find the exit. I finally found a gentleman who worked at the Cloud Forest and he was able to whisk me into an elevator and pointed me in the correct direction. Although one of the last people to make it back to the meeting place, I did make it with a minute or two to spare.

Next, we went back to the Warehouse District along the river for a repeat of the boat ride that we took last evening. This time it was in the blazing sun but one of the boat drivers was a genius with taking photos and he kept us entertained while we sweated through the boat ride.

After the boat ride, we reboarded our bus and headed to the Sands Hotel at Marina by the Bay. This is a three tower hotel with an infinity pool on the top. The top level is shaped like a boat. We entered an elevator and were taken to the top floor. We exited the elevator to a great view of Singapore but I felt like an egg in a frying pan! It is so hot-and this is from someone who tolerates golfing at 103 degrees in Phoenix. This is a whole different level of hot!

It wasn't until getting to the top of this hotel that I grasped the compactness of Singapore. Since it has so little space, the City has no place to go but up.

One of the many amazing things about Singpore is their emphasis on green spaces. They have so many parks even though they are severely limited on space. Their buildings incorporate plants in their architecture.

I returned to the ship by 1:15 PM and promptly had lunch.

We had a presentation by the ship's doctor on Malaria prevention. Since the change in our itinerary due to the conflict in the Middle East which resulted in us going around Africa, Viking has graciously agreed to supply all those who want to take malaria prevention with either Doxycycline or Malarone. I initially wanted to take Doxycycline but I tried some during our time in the Mekong Delta. My lyme systems flared enough that I changed my mind and am opting for Malarone.

We had dinner at the Chef's Table. The theme was Sweet and Salty. I loved it, Bob was less impressed.

After dinner, it was straight to bed.

Final thoughts on Singapore:
Singapore is a beautiful city.
It is a very expensive city.
Singapore feels a bit like Disneyland-it is very curated and clean but has a bit of an artificial feeling.
We had a great time in Singapore and it was so refreshing not to smell burning rice fields or burning trash.
Although lovely, Singapore is not on my list to visit again.もっと詳しく