Preparing to leave

It's time to get packed up, do our best to be inside the luggage allowances (23kg + 8kg).  The scales Chris gave us have been great this morning and we believe that we are 22.6kg and 22.5kg.  We will see how things go at Changi Airport later on!

The clocks in the hotel lobby show the time in Singapore, London, Tokyo and New York.  New York and Singapore show the same time (though not on these photos) - it's just that they are 12 hours apart.

The breakfast bar ....

It's now 20 to 12 noon, check out is by noon, so we are about to set off into the great unknown once again.  Being a posh hotel there's no problem leaving our luggage for us to pick up later.  If we don't get wifi at the airport, then this may be the last post ....

Singapore by Night

We set out to catch the last hop on, hop off bus of the day from the Orchard Road area to Marina Bay.

First of all, some interest at the  bus stop ....

Here's one for Chris Whooley

Who is that ghostly man in the middle?

Rates of crime are low in Singapore.  Chewing gum is illegal - as is jay walking - and our landing cards in our passports remind us in red print that the death penalty applies to drugs traffickers.  We have seen no litter, no beggars, no bad manners, no graffiti and no gangs of lads looking as if they have nothing much to do, all the time we have been here.  We did see a notice asking for witnesses to a handbag snatch some time in June!

The default BMW here is the 7 series, the default Audi seems to be the A6.  There are Jags and large Range Rovers aplenty, as well as a general array of Rollers and Ferraris on the road.  They don't buy used cars here - Singapore is the second highest exporter of used cars in the world!

Having got to Marina Bay, it was just starting to drop dark ....

We then realised that we could wander around on the Grand Prix circuit - next one is 20-22 September and it takes place at night ....

Lots of people were using the race track for running training and there is a lot of fitness and healthiness around here.  Now that I think about it, I haven't seen a fat person since leaving the ship on Tuesday - well, except in the mirror!

It really was dark by now and the are came to life in a splendid array of lights and colour ....

We then walked across the Helix Bridge towards the Marina Bay Sands Hotel area.. The bus commentary said it cost billions to develop on reclaimed land - think the bill came to $5 billion US - or was it 50?!  You could buy 10 new cruise ship for $5 billion - or 100 for $50 billion!

There is a massive shopping complex at Marina Bay Sands - including ice rink ....

Will there be time for more than this on the blog?  Not sure.  We do get free WiFi at Changi Airport - we think, so we shall see .....

And finally - two other things which are so civilised about Singapore - they drive on the left and, although the hotel has electrical sockets which can cope with a number of plugs, the extra sockets around our room show that the default type is the UK 3-pin variety.  What a truly lovely place!

Botanic Gardens

The Botanic Gardens at Singapore are one of the top attractions and justifiably so.

Singapore is one of only two cities to have a rain forest within the city boundary.  And it is something to see - so lush, you can smell the jungle - that smell of warm humid vegetation and all around it looked like something from the set of "It Ain't Half Hot, Mum."

People use it in the same way as we use Clumber Park - playing, picnicking etc, but its is just so luxuriant.  We found the National Orchid Garden.  The main gardens are free to enter, but they charge for the Orchid Centre - $5 SG for adults and only $1 SG for wrinklies over 60 - a real bargain.  Just enjoy these pics of the Orchid Garden ....