DAY 30    Singapore, Singapore   Day One

January 27, 2024 

Today was supposed to be easy.  Day one of a two day hop-on hop off bus trip, and then a Singapore by night tour.

But Singapore is really strict about entry.  Tons of warnings for drug trafficers..... special packaging for tobacco....and even fines for bringing in chewing gum!

So after two hours waiting in line for immigration even after submitting our online arrival cards in advance....and then another half hour bus trip just to get to the hop on hop off bus origin.....we had had it!  So we took the bus route (one of two), never hopped off, got off at the starting point so we wouldn't miss the bus back to the ship...waited in the mall for 90 more minutes (had a nice western lunch of fish and chips and a wagyu cheeseburger) and then walked around the mall.....

The trip was fun, not too hot (we are just about at the equator) and enjoyed the upstairs views on the bus.  It is getting close to Chinese New Year, so the decorations for the celebration are starting to come up.

We saw small India town, big China town, and even bigger Down town!













Our Singapore by night started with a nice river cruise, then a trip to the Bugis shopping area.  (The most well known origin of the "boogeyman" comes from Indonesia's third largest island, Sulawesi. During the 1800s, there existed a group of pirates, known as the Bugis. These ruthless pirates were known for their dark black sails and cannibalistic hunger. The pirates terrorized sailors who were either trading with or colonizing the area. It is believed that these European sailors then returned to their home countries with the fear of the "Bugi Men". This mall back in the day was where they traded.)  Then a trip to the Singapore Flyer for some amazing engineering and beautiful views!



All the lights along the water in the picture below are "riverview" restaurants!











We actually circle back to spend one more day in Singapore...and above is where Leslie would like to go that day after seeing pictures and reviews of the site.  It is a huge indoor arboretum and plant/flower conservatory (temperature controlled of course) where they have built walkways up to and around the tops of the trees. Sounds fascinating!

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