Singapore Day Two

Tomorrow (Friday) we head to Chiang Mai. We will have been traveling for 36 days -- India, the cruise with multiple stops, and these three nights in Singapore. It has all been wonderful, but it will be good to be in one familiar place for a longer period. 

Yesterday after my hours-long adventure on the hop-on-hop-off bus tours and a stop in Little India, I was quite tired, but there was one more thing I really wanted to do in Singapore. I knew that if I didn't do it today, it would never happen. So this morning I got two tickets for the observation deck at the Marina Bay Sands tower; Dan decided to go along. It turned out to be a hazy morning -- we had a rainstorm late yesterday and there is another predicted for this afternoon. The humidity must be about 99.5%! And it's just over 80°F.

After searching various websites for bus information, I found that bus 106 would depart from the same stop as our Big Bus tour yesterday, just a block or so from our hotel. It left us off in front of Tower 3 of the hotel, and the observation deck entry was at Tower 1, so we had a bit of a walk. Our timing was great, as there were no crowds and we walked right in and onto an elevator. The deck is on floor 56. It is cantilevered out from the end of Tower 1 with views in nearly every direction. There were good signs in English and Chinese indicating what the various buildings and locations were. The bus stop to return was across the highway and we had to get off at a different stop. My trusty Singapore map helped us find the way back to the hotel; it was just a few blocks. (We don't have cellular service here, so my phone isn't much help when out and about.)

Looking down on the ArtSci building (welcoming hand)

Explanation of the construction seen in the rear of the previous picture

Esplanade venues, called durian buildings because they look like that fruit

Singapore Flyer, similar to the London Eye

Looking down on the Helix Bridge

Yesterday we didn't see the Merlion, a symbol of Singapore. Here you can just see it beside the water. Lots of people are milling around it.

Supertree Grove in the Gardens by the Bay -- they give shade by day and a light show at night.

The main part of the rooftop of Marina Bay Sands is not open to the public. But I got a glimpse of the pool from the corner of the observation deck.

Lightpole sign at crossing

The next time you hear from me we should be settled into our studio in Chiang Mai. It's comforting that we are going back to a place where we are familiar with the surroundings.