We arrived in Singapore at 7.30am after an ok flight. We didn’t get as much sleep as we were hoping and there was some patches of turbulence but we were ready to make the most of the day.
We caught the MRT after purchasing our day tourist tickets and headed straight for Little India to a market place for breakfast. Everyone was keen to try something authentic- chicken rice, butter chicken, Dahl, rice and wonton noodles.
We then had wander around the fresh food markets. Aahh the smells, Jen loves it, Lexie not so much! From here we explored a bit more. Becky was feeling the heat but was a real trooper. We enjoyed the colourful buildings and I enjoyed the small shops that reminded me of the old Singapore, didn’t see a plastic buckets shop though.
From Little India we took the MRT to Chinatown. They were preparing for Chinese New Year so decorations were out. Lexie was on a mission to find some ‘white rabbits’ (sweets) so she took us to the supermarket she went to when she was here in September and success! The girls enjoyed having their photos with some squishy pigs as it’s the year of the pig. It was lovely to see the old shoe menders which bought back child hood memories
It was back on the MRT and of at Orchard Road and a walk to the National Museum, passed the YMCA which was nothing like I remember 🙁. The museum only has one free exhibition which was ‘different’ but we enjoyed the air conditioning. We then had a wander along Orchard Road to hunt down Lexie’s special noodles – she should run eating tours!! Unfortunately they were not found and instead we just had to eat some char sui buns -yum!
On to the MRT again – we are experts now! And headed for the Merlion which looked too clean to be the original but it was a great spot for photos along the water and nice to see the old bum boats. Marina Bay Sands looks very imposing in the background. While we were having a sit down Jamie was approached by some visiting Hong Kong students to answer some questions.
It was then that Alan suggested that we take the short walk to Gardens by the Bay. We all know what Alan’s ‘short’ walks mean and we had just about disintegrated in the heat by the time we got there! We did see a police motorcade on the way there and wondered who it might be. Jamie thought it was the Czech Republic flag on the car. We also stopped in at a shopping centre to pick up water and saw an impressive chandelier.
The Gardens by the Bay trees were impressive and the orchids were lovely. By this stage it was time for us to get back to the airport and so it was back on the MRT and to the airport. The children all thought Singapore was great, very clean, orderly and easy to get around. A fantastic but tiring day.
Brake Family Adventures 