Bus Tour

This hotel doesn't have lots of tourist brochures at its reception desk but it does have one, of bus trips you can take.  I had a look at it and decided that a half day city tour sounded good and booked it at the front desk on Thursday.

Our bus picked us up just before 9:30 on Friday and we drove out to Gardens by the Bay where we registered (and paid!).

I can't escape.  Even in Singapore I am tagged as RMG :-D

We went first to Little India, where we had a wander through one of the Tourist Tat markets.  I do enjoy a good Tourist Tat market.  Then we drove around the city. We couldn't go to the river mouth and greet the Merlion - most of the central streets were closed for the National Day parade. So we went directly to China Town and had extra time there.  More Tourist market stalls, but you also had the option to visit a mosque, a Hindu temple or a Buddhist temple.  Jim and I pottered around in the market.  Then we drove out to the botanic gardens and spent some time in the orchid garden

The bus then took us back to our hotel.  Sandwiches for lunch from the local supermarket and then we went for a stroll up the river.  Iced chocolates in a little cafe and a stroll back. Then a nice rest in our room.

There is a restaurant round the corner that does wagyu steak and burgers. We went there for dinner. I could get used to eating wagyu beef in a proper restaurant.  The steak was delicious and very tender.  We had shoestring fries, corn and mushrooms on the side but they were not your ordinary fries, corn  and mushrooms. No - they had been elevated to restaurant quality sides. As I say, I could get used to eating like this. My budget, however, would be Very Unhappy Indeed!!

Many of the locals were very excited about it being the National Day.  A taxi driver, who was waiting outside our hotel (not for us) wished us a Very Happy Birthday. The city is decorated for the occasion.  People have national flags flying and banners up

Early in the evening there was a fly past.  We didn't see it, but we certainly heard it.  And we caught the night time fireworks on our way back from the restaurant. We couldn't see all of it; the fireworks were at the marina and there are buildings between there and us.  But we saw enough.  Had we left the restaurant a couple of minutes earlier, we would have joined the people on the bridge.  As it was, we watched from the path.

 I am rubbish when it comes to taking photos of fireworks, but video seems to work quite well.

It was a good day.  And now we are at our last full day although we don't have to be at the airport until 6 tomorrow evening so we have most of tomorrow too. I have bought two-day passes for the Hop On Hop Off bus for us both so we have the city at our disposal.  But first we need to go to Suntec to pick the tickets up.  I think we might go by train.