Singapore April 2023

 

The genesis of this trip came about in 2016 when Greg and I were in Lisbon, Portugal.  Our first time in Portugal and we just loved it.  I’d had 50 people (adults and children) come to Bali for my 50^th birthday and we’d had a fabulous four days of tours, dinners and brunches, followed by a wonderful trip to Komodo (with Bella, Liam, Suzy, Ian and Hamish) which had made for many special memories.  So it seemed to me that a party in Portugal for my 60^th was a great idea.  Yes, this may have been after quite a few Portuguese ports (I’d never liked port before this trip!) but it seemed like an excellent idea.  I’d invite everyone who has been special in my life – family, work mates, long time friends, netball mates, Friday lunch girls, CTMH/CM ladies and have a big party in Porto.  I chose Porto because I hadn’t been there before!  And I reasoned, if it was as fantastic as the rest of Portugal, we would love it too.

I mentioned this plan to everyone I ran into and there was quite a bit of interest, and all seemed to be going along well until… covid hit.  And then we couldn’t even leave the NT, let alone the country!  I emailed a few travel agencies in Porto just to get an idea of what sort of prices we could expect for four days of tours, wineries and dinners.  I had a few replies (one of them was very persistent in trying to get a deposit for an event which was three years away and we were still the grips of a worldwide pandemic …. Also, she was very expensive!  However, I found someone with a reasonable price point and set about casting my net to see who was interested!  Initially – probably because of lockdown! – I had more than 60 people saying yes, but when it got down to committing, it was 31 in total. Airfares were much higher than pre pandemic.  And sadly, none of my kids could make it ☹  Then just weeks before departure my friend Denise broke her leg and she had to pull out with Bill ☹

Some people fitted this in around a trip they had already planned.  Some were going to continue on to other places.  Greg and I  wanted to go back to Spain so I asked who was interested in continuing on through  Portugal and Spain?  Fifteen people said yes, so I set about organizing transfers, accommodation and tours for 17 people for 18 days!  Re-living my old travel agent days!

1 April

I woke up at 2am and couldn’t get back to sleep.  I tried reading and eventually got up at 4am to try and do some things outstanding in my head!  I was tired so didn’t really accomplish anything of substance!  Finally we got on the super full Silk Air flight to Singapore.  Lucy, Thomas and Scott were on the flight too.  I was so tired but couldn’t sleep.   It was 8.30pm when we got to our hotel and Greg was keen to go out for something to eat and a drink.  We were at a crossing wondering if we’d go right or left…. a kindly Singaporean directed us to go right.  A gorgeous street of old Chinese buildings was absolutely full of Korean BBQ restaurants!   Literally 50 or more.  And they were very pricey – set menus seemed to start at $80 per person!!  Eventually we found a little Singaporean place and had an average meal, but quite cheap, with cold beer!

2 April

Thankfully today I woke up at 6.18 feeling much better and more refreshed!  Thank goodness for melatonin, its fantastic.  Greg was keen for local food for breakfast but none of it appealed to me.  I emded up eating two kiwi fruit, skin and all, in the hopes that things would get moving for me...!

We checked out the hotel pool.  Apparently there is a pool with a view on the 20th floor for VIP guests.  We don't quite make that category.  But we have a sea view!  Yes, you have to look through the gap in the buildings and zoom in, but there it is!  I had to put my glasses on to check!

We met up with Suzy, Ian, Thomas and Scott at 11am and set off for Gardens By the Bay.  It was pretty warm but luckily we were mainly in aircon as we made our way there.  It was still Cherry Blossom season, Sakura, so we enjoyed that display (along with the Pokemon, we knew Thomas would have loved it!).  After lunch at Satay by the Bay  we went to back to tackle the next dome, The Cloud dome, with the Avator Experience thrown in.  Again, quite spectacular, and a lot of fun.  I suggested that we could go to the Marina Sands Hotel and go up to the observatory deck and have a cocktail, something everyone thought was a good plan.

Suzy found a shopping centre concierge and got directions to two bars: an American one and a French one.  We chose the second one and were able to get a table as bookings didn't start until 6.30.  We were outside though and it was pretty hot, so Thomas managed to find us a table just inside, so we could enjoy a bit of aircon.  There was a band playing and we really enjoyed them, singing along to several songs which they appreciated!  We felt like we improved the ambiance of the bar by 100%!

Fiona Macdonald had recommended Din Tai Fung.  She said it had great dumplings but also a drunken chicken to die for.  Well, it turns out it is a chain and there was one in Marina Sands Shopping Centre.  We went there and lined up for a table.   It was worth the wait.  Even though the drunken Chicken was no longer available, everything we ordered was quite delicious, including the dumplings!  Afterwards we went to watch the sound and light show at Gardens by the Bay.  We were very tired after lots of walking (& some drinking) and headed home to bed!

3 April

Our Lion City Bike Tour was booked for rain or sun.  However it was a surprise to not only wake to drizzly rain, after the previous day's sunshine, but to have it increase to really heavy rain!  We made our way to Nicolls Road MRT and met our guide.  There were so many of us the decision was made to split us into two groups, and in our group we had two Americans, Irene and Jim, and another group of Americans, a parents and a whingy child.  They decided it was too dangerous for their child and the tour operator generously said they could go the next day, so there was just five of us!  We started going down the F1 track, which is not always open.  Our guide, Fred, was full of information and stories.  It would have been nice to have clear skies and no rain but it was at least cool!  We travelled 17kms and saw a lot of Singapore we hadn't seen before - tours are so worth it.  We felt we really needed to spend another week in Singapore to do all the things Fred suggested!  And it is fun to be on a bike and not walking!

That night Lucy, Greg & I decided to visit the Ramen restaurant Suzy & Ian had recommended, which was very close by.  We confidently set out and turned left, saw the Japanese noodle place they had also recommended and turned left at the tea shop as instructed, but could not find our way upstairs.  We walked around the shopping area twice, puzzled, then found a lift.  It took us up to a car park!!  We walked around the block.  We tried googling but google maps is not a friend to Lucy & I so that was no help.  Also we couldn't remember the name of the restaurant.  Greg finally realised we'd taken the wrong left, we had to go a bit further and turn left, and voila, there was Suzy & Ian's hotel and the adjacent shopping centre, with the Japanese restaurant downstairs... Lucy and I laughed and laughed :-)  We made it upstairs, had some ramen and a beer, then a final bedtime beer at our original cafe, and bed!