Day 6: CBD and Colonial District (Part1)

If you want to have a good day, start it off with a bowl of piping-hot laksa: noodles, bean sprouts, sliced fish, muscles and deep-fried scrambled egg (or at least that's what it tastes like), all in a spicy yet creamy broth seasoned with coriander and chili paste. It's a Singaporean signature dish and is now officially my favorite breakfast food! I spent most of the morning making my way through the Central Business District, but it was difficult to orient myself at times with all the skyscrapers looming over. I eventually stumbled upon the luxurious Fullerton Hotel, which featured a jade waterfall trickling into a koi fish pond, as well as what I think was a Model 290 Imperial Bosendorfor concert grand piano. I played a few songs (only Chopin though so as not to disrupt the atmosphere or attract too much attention to myself) and it was by far the nicest-sounding piano I have ever touched!

Exiting the hotel and crossing the street, I entered the tourist-packed Merlion Park. After taking pictures of the Marina Bay Sands Casino, Singapore Flyer and Merlion statue, which is a cross between Disney's Mufasa and Ariel (see next post's pictures), I stuck around for a bit to watch the DFS dragon-boat races which happened to be taking place.

I then crossed the river onto the northern bank and visited the Asian Civilizations Museum. Besides the wonderful exhibits depicting the various influences on Singaporean culture, I listened to a live performance put on by about a dozen young children playing various traditional Asian instruments. By then I was starving so I grabbed a bit to eat and then started to search for a good napping spot.

I found a nice shaded area in a park near a war memorial. When I woke up I crossed the street to the beautiful St. Andrew's Cathedral and was able to make their afternoon service. After that I perused through the Colonial District admiring the architecture until I hit Clarke Quay. Apparently this area has a buzzing nightlife and is best visited after dark. I spent the rest of the afternoon strolling farther up north toward the Canning Park area, but most of the sights were closed, which is why there will hopefully be a Part 2 to this area. I took that as my queue to head back, tomorrow marks the beginning of my research at NTU and so is a big day, hopefully things aren't too busy and that posts still make it your way!Read more