March 5, 2023 – Singapore, Singapore

It’s like saying New York, NY.  A phrase we learned in Thailand a few years ago, ‘same same, only different’.  Singapore is not only the name of the city, but the country.  

Located off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula between the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean.  Once a sleepy fishing village, the island got its name in the 14th century when a visiting Sumatran prince saw an animal he believed to be a lion and renamed the island Singa Pura, which means the Lion City.  In 1819, the British East India Company established the city of Singapore as a British trading port.

Before entering Singapore, you should know they have many laws that need to be carefully followed or you risk fines and/or arrest.  No littering, no spitting, no drugs, no chewing gum, no cigarettes, no eating or drinking on MRT (train), don’t photograph gov’t buildings, don’t point your finger, don’t point feet or soles of shoes.  Now we understand, why this city has very low crime and it’s very clean.  If they find anyone fighting in public, both are arrested and put in jail for up to 2 years.

We sailed into Singapore early in the morning and it was raining.  You can see the beautiful city as we approached and docked next to a very modern building.  Thankfully, we docked in a very convenient place to tour the city (Marina Bay Pier).  We can see the famous hotel from our ship.  Our tour was delayed due to a very slow process going through immigration.  I’m really not sure if it was a systems issue or not enough employees to process everyone.  We could see the line going from the ship into the building and it wasn’t moving.  We sat in the theater patiently waiting and getting text updates from some of our friends.  They told us to go ahead and grab an early lunch and by then they called our tour.  We disembarked the ship, went into immigration where we presented our passports, took our fingers prints and photo and off we went.  

We got on a bus and just a very short drive, we arrived at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.  We followed the guide into a very high end shopping area and casino.  Bob was smiling as we walked down this very long hallway of just watches.  He’s a watch guy.  We followed the guide to the entrance of the Sky Park Observation area.  We took an elevator to the 57th floor and walked out onto this enormous, wooden, cantilevered platform.  The view was incredible!  360 degrees of the city.  We could see the ocean, our ship, sky scrapers, gardens and a corner of the F1 racetrack.  The 58th floor of the hotel is for guests only.  The infinity pool is 492 feet long and is the world’s largest elevated pool.  If you want to stay here, you need to make reservations far in advance, since it’s always sold out.  

We could see the ‘Gardens By The Bay’ (and super trees) that we’ll be going to next.   We walked around the top of the hotel, taking pictures and looking at the beautiful view.  We followed the guide back to the elevator and onto the bus.  They took us for a short drive through the heart of the city and then to the Gardens By The Bay.  We did see the ‘Merlion’ (the symbol of Singapore – a beast that’s half fish and half lion) as we drove by the bay.  The multi-award winning horicultural park, is one of the largest garden projects of its kind in the world.  The guide told us his city use to be described as a garden within a city, but now Singapore is described as a city within a garden. 

We walked into the gardens and immediately saw the ‘Supertrees’ (believe there are 18 of them).  The Supertrees are between 9 and 16 stories tall.  A spectacular vertical garden and landmark feature plus environmental engines for the Cooled Conservatories, incorporating devices for water harvesting and storage, air intake, cooling and exhaust, photovoltaic arrays and solar collectors.  The super trees are used both to vent hot air and to cool circulated water.  Incredible!  Some of the trees are connected by suspended walkways.  We walked to one of the trees and got into the elevator.  Look up, it’s a high tech visual as if you were inside the tree going up.  We exited the elevator and there in front of us was the Marina Bay Sands hotel.  What a view!  We walked around and took more pics.

Next, we went to the Flower Dome.  The largest greenhouse in the world, listed as 3.0 acres and replicates a cool-dry mediterranean climate.  We entered this enormous greenhouse expecting to feel heat, but no, it was cool and comfortable.  Cold water goes through pipes in the walkway and cools the entire dome.  He said someday if earth is too polluted, people in Singapore could live inside domes like this.  We walked through and admired all the different gardens.  Spectacular! We were not able to go through second dome, called the Cloud Forest.  It’s like a mountain with an indoor waterfall and plants from all over the world.

We left the tour when they were ready to go back to the ship.  We took a taxi to ‘The Shops At Marina Bay’.  All high-end stores and a canal through the middle with boat rides.  Beautiful fountains, lighting and glass ceiling where you can look straight up and see the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.  We went to a pharmacy and bought cough drops and allergy pills. Strolled through the beautiful shopping area and then took a taxi back to our ship.  What a fabulous day! So many more things to see and explore.  We’d definitely put this one on the list to come back and visit.

This city is very clean, people are very friendly and seemed different than other cities we’ve visited. They have public transportation (called MRT) that is very clean and easy to use.  I noticed there was not an extreme amount of cars for a city and this is why.  It’s a huge responsibility in Singapore to own your own car.  It’s true that cars here can cost up to six times more than other countries BUT before you can buy a car, you need a Certificate of Entitlement.  You don’t have a choice.  If you register a car, you must first have your COE.  The Certificate of Entitlement represents the right to vehicle ownership and the use of limited road space for 10 years.  The cost of this certificate for cars with 130 bhp is $92,090.  Yes, you read that right.  The certificate is $90k PLUS buying the vehicle, PLUS a mandatory road tax for vehicle owners, car insurance and parking fees.  MIND BLOWN!

Farewell Singapore.  Hopefully we’ll see you again someday.

Note: Currency is the Singapore Dollar (currently $1 US = $1.35 SD).  Population around 5.6 million.