Hotel mishaps and Singapore sights

The day doesn't start well, plug the kettle in for a morning coffee and all the elactric in the room fuses, a call to housekeeping means we have to get dressed quickly. The electrician confirms the kettle is faulty & it's duly replaced.



Buddist monks chanting in the Temple

After breakfast we set off to explore china town. The streets are quiet to start with but the closer to china town the busier they are especially with the street market. After Bangkok it all feels very organised and calm apart from the group of 20+ Chinese in wheelchairs. The Buddhist Temple is an oasis of calm with monks chanting and the sound of alms being dropped into the many jars around the temple all with the back drop of ornate figures and decoration. The walk continues past chinese shops, bronze statues and decorations for the new year. A muslim mosque with devotees at prayer (one of the sites of the founders of Singapore) and a chinese temple (the oldest in Singapore) are on our route back to the river where restauranters are setting up their seafood restaurants for the day ahead.


The Merlion

A cooling drink in the hotel revives us before the afternoon's city tour. It takes in the highlights of Singapore: Merlion Park, Thian Hok Keng Temple (one of the oldest buddist-taoist temple's, uhh oh that makes it 4 in one day, strike 2, I'm out of temples!!!!), the national orchid garden and little india. On return to the hotel the safe won't work at all... panic everything of importance is in there. Another call to housekeeping for a safe breaker, fortunately he's more than competent but what else will break in this room! The only thing to do is retreat to The  Crystal Lounge (our upgrade treat) for (many) complementary drinks and eats, will we make it out of the hotel tonight....


Than Hok Keng Temple

Of course we did, a visit to Singapore means a visit to Raffles Long Bar for a singapore sling. It's the only place in Singapore you can drop litter on the floor in theshapeof monkey nut shells. Was it worth the extortionate price for the cocktails probably, at least we can say we've been there.






National Orchid Garden



Hanging out the washing Singapore style