Singapore  Day One

19 Tuesday Mar 2024

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Jan. 27th 2024

First we went to the Orchid section of the National Botanical Gardens.  Really nice.  Next we traveled to the Merlion Park on the Yas Marina.  The lion is the symbol Singapore. We walked across the street and over a bridge which was one of the few things left from when we visited Singapore in 1975.  There was no harbor/dock area in 1975 and now massive container ships come to Singapore to be unloaded at docks built on recovered land.   Singapore has added about 25% to its size – all reclaimed land. Our final stop was in China Town which was a National Heritage site.   

Singapore – Day Two

19 Tuesday Mar 2024

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Jan. 28th 2024 – Discover Singapore

This morning we exited the ship for good and began our three day extension in Singapore.  We began with a walk along Waterloo street to see that different religions can get along with their neighbors whith buildings of worship just about next door to each other We walkied Albert street to view local vendors and the  hawker center(more local shops).

Next we visited the National Museum and walked through the History of Singapore exhibit.  We finished a few min. before others and found three distinctively illustrated hand fans that had to come home with up before we departed. 

An icon for the Singapore sky line is the Marina Bay Sand’s Hotel, Casino and Skypark. The three towers compose the Hotel with the Casino across the street. Foreigners can get in the casino for free by showing their passport.  When it first opened locals had to pay $100 for a three hour admission.  Now it is $500 for a 24 hour period.   No gambling addicts in Singapore.  We rode the elevator to the 56th floor observation deck.  Just as we walked out on to the deck it started to rain lightly.  The rain picked up and then became a drizzle.  When our time was up to leave we rode down and arrived to sunshine. 

After having lunch we did a riverboat cruise that included the Mariana Bay area as well as the Singapore river.  We started in the same location that we watched the junks being unloaded in 1975.  A few of the surrounding building were still in place and restored but is totally different.

Our final stop before going to our hotel was a walk through another historic.  Our guide explained that housing is controlled is such a manner that the ethnic make of each area matches the makeup of the nation. There are no Chinese, Malay, and Indian areas. 

We checked to our hotel at 4:45.  It was a good day.  I really wanted to see how the former inter-harbor had changed

IMAGES FROM 1975 VISIT

CURRENT SINGAPORE – 2024

Singapore  – Day Three

19 Tuesday Mar 2024

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Jan. 29th 2024 – Final Pre-Paid Oceania Tour

Today we visited two of the major tourist attractions.  First the Gardens by the Bay which included giant metal (super) trees about 8 stories tall and which they show images of during the Singapore Gran Prix Race. We visited two indoor habitats – First the Flower Dome with plants from different regions of the world and the second the Cloud Forest Dome.  Our guide explained that the super trees had many functions which included collecting rain water, generating electricity and as exhaust for the heated air generated by the air conditioning for the Domes. Disney would be proud.

 Our other stop was the Raffles Hotel which was originally on the beach.  When we visited in 1975 it was near the beach and didn’t look as well kept and a place that Becky and I wouldn’t have spent time at.  It has definitely been restored and is now quite up scale.  We completed one of the thousand things to do before you die – we had a Singapore Sling at the Raffles Hotel Long Bar.

There are toll  scanners all over the city.  You pay to drive on the city streets and a lot of the streets are one way both which help to reduce congestion.   It is very expensive to have a car in Singapore and only Singapore citizen are allowed to own cars.  Toll scanners in the city are all ready in London and are being discussed in New York and Chicago.  Welcome to the future.

Singapore  – Day Four

19 Tuesday Mar 2024

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Jan. 30th 2024 Singapore  Day Four

Our final day in Singapore – we are on our own.  No preplanned tours by Oceania.   In our 1975 Singapore visit we went to a bird park with a giant free flight aviary that was 3 maybe 4 stories tall.  As it turned out that was still in use until 2023.  Nine months ago it was replaced with a new bird park that is located next to the zoo.  We taxied to the bird park and arrived at 10:00 – Just in time to view the 10:30 show.  We visited exhibits until 12:30 and viewed a second different show. We finished looking at exhibits and stopped for a snack before taking the transfer bus to the Zoo at 2:00.  We were a bit tired arriving at the zoo so we rode the tram circuit throughout the park and then spent time at the orangutan enclosure before having a drink and returning to our hotel at 4:20.