The start of day 3 was kind of like any other morning except we were always more tired than the last. Today we decided to jump on the MRT to get to Orchard road to be picked up by our first tour bus on our first tour of Singapore. Tour East whom were our tour company picked us up bright and early at 8 am, which meant an even earlier wake up time. The first tour of the day was a Singapore City tour of which I highly recommend to those whom are going to Singapore because of its deep background insights. The usual meeting point for this tour group was under the Singapore flyer and after all the formalities we were given a sticker to wear to identify us before heading off to the famous Merlion. This beast became a legend of Singapore and the main Merlion sits proudly on Sentosa Island. As we got off the bus for the usual photos and a bit of commentary the guide said, “If you are late we will leave you” Funnily enough a couple people didn’t make it back on this tour. None the wiser we kept moving.
As the tour continued we stopped several times at places of interest but none more interesting that the gem factory, which made paintings made entirely out of gems. These paintings ranged from 50 dollars like the small Merlion I bought to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Nice to hand on the wall if you’ve got the money to buy it. I after leaving this gem factory more background was given on the housing schemes that the government gives to Singapore citizens. Basically a citizen can buy an apartment and pay it back over 20-30 years at a fraction of its cost. This enables all citizens to have somewhere to stay. If you’ve wondered why there is a huge deck somewhat resembling a car park underneath these giant apartments its because there is no space for people to have their parties. This space more commonly known as a void deck can be booked for events of the tenants. Next stop was the botanical gardens of Singapore and the national Orchid garden followed by the final stop of the tour Little India.
The national orchid garden and the huge acreage that made up the botanical gardens is a definite must see for plant lovers and tourists alike. If you’re on a budget this place is a good place to go for a picnic with some home made sandwiches. There are thousands of different types of orchids on display, some even with famous names. For the small fee you pay to get in you can literally spend days in this area. Being on tour we didn’t get much time to look around and we will definitely be going back to check it out next time we are here. Last stop was a quick look around Little India. We decided to not take our tour up on their free return transfer but instead look around one of Singapore’s unique ethic quarters (there are four). If you love your butter chicken there is no better place to get it than here. (Some might say what about India) – at least in Singapore you have a really low chance of getting sick. The streets are lined with gold shops and Indian fabrics sort of like Mustafa’s. After enjoying some great Indian cuisine we stumbled upon a rare gem called Sim Lim Tower very close to the Bugis Street Markets. This massive complex was six floors of just tech gear from computers to cameras there is plenty to buy for a fathers day gift. Unfortunately buying this stuff was definitely not in our budget so window-shopping had to suffice.
Leaving Little India was a little sad knowing that the Indian Holiday where they light up the streets (Deepvali – most likely the incorrect spelling) was drawing near but we knew there probably wouldn’t be enough time to come back and take a look. On the brighter side we did pass by this festival driving past one night and to say the least the lights were quite amazing. We headed back to Orchard Road for some lunch before our next tour “A night at Clarke Quay with Singapore Sling”.
Again we waited at our nominated hotel for them to pick us up to begin the tour. Getting off the bus and heading down the side staircase of the bridge we made it to our restaurant for dinner. Now for those who have been to Clarke Quay it is absolutely massive literally 3 kilometres worth of bars, nightclubs, restaurants and pubs. Why we were right at the beginning? Probably because the tour guides are too lazy to walk down the riverside to other restaurants. Most likely a time constraint. Anyway before we knew it we were told to choose between chicken, salmon or steak. I chose chicken, as chicken is normally a safe choice. UNTIL… they started bringing out these hot stones and told us that we had to cook our own dinner. Suddenly chicken was not a safe bet. About 30 minutes later with sizzling oil bursting onto my face and smoke in my eyes, I finally got to taste this chicken. Anyway point of the matter was I prefer to go to a restaurant so others can cook for me not cook for myself. Ratings: Food 5/10, Experience 10/10 Would I go again: Probably not.
The final stop of the night was the infamous Raffles hotel the oldest hotel in Singapore. If you can afford to pay the 700.00 SGD per night you can stay in one of their cheaper rooms, for the rest of us all we can afford is a 25 SGD cocktail in the Long Bar. Apparently the birthplace of the Singapore Sling. Lucky for us this drink came with the tour. The atmosphere alone in this bar alone warrants a visit. From a city with heavy penalties for littering, it’s perfectly ok to throw the shells of your nuts on the ground here. The sling however wasn’t anything special but I guess it is just one of those must do’s when you visit the Long Bar. For me it’s just one less than to tick off my list. Exhausted from the day’s events we headed home. Ang mo Kio Station here we come!!!
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