We had decided not to take a ship (or private, for that matter) tour;
instead, we consulted a Lonely Planet guide book for self-guided
walks around the city. This would have been a good choice; however,
because of some problems with the ship's schedule, we ended up spending
only a half a day in Singapore. The ship arrived in port an hour behind
schedule and the captain announced we would have to sail two hours
earlier than normal. That left us only less than five hours total
in the port. Too bad, because there were a lot to see in this very
interesting city.
After leaving the ship, we took the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) subway
to Raffles Place where our walking tour of China Town began.
We found the MRT to be clean -- as Lynda put it: "You
could have eaten off the floor"!
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| We then began our walk, first
around the Raffles square, then followed the guide book towards
our goal -- chinatown (below). |
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| We passed a temple being rebuilt |
We found a vegetarian food
stand and I had to have a drink of some fruit juice. After
finishing the drink, it was time for a bit of goofing off. |
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| Hmm, where did they get that name? |
This is a barber shop listed in the Lonely Planet
guidebook. |
A tourist trap |
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| This was an entrance to a holy place --
now just a tourist attraction, |
Oh yeah?? |
Whew! It's HOT!! |
Right on!! |
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| Had a lunch snack since it was a non-smoking cafe |
A church?? |
Not sure what this is
(i.e., other than a building) |
This is how they dry clothes in most parts of Asia |
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Lynda had obtained an address of a tea house and, after some more
walking around, we decided to pay it a visit -- and have a taste
of Singapore tea! |
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| Lynda reading the menu |
The waitress gave us a 10-minute lesson on
how to make and drink the tea properly |
Enjoying it! |
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| This sign was inside a Mc Donald's |
Some more laundry drying |
Back on the ship, took a few more photos before sailing |
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Last look at Singapore as we set sail
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| The gondolas |
Evening sun was beautiful |
Then it was time for dinner |
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