So, 2nd sightseeing day for Singapore. I tried to get started a little earlier today and got out of the house by 10am. I got to the bus stop and was reaching for my map with all the notes on it, only to find out that I left it at the house! Oh well, that's ok, there were only a few more stops that I wanted to see: Chinatown, Orchard Rd shopping area, and the river cruise.
As I looked more closely at the tour description last night, I realized that there was a free Moonlight Adventure Tour. It was 3.5 hrs and started at 6pm until 930. I thought that this might be a good way to meet other potentially single tourists. But I had to book in advance, and I wasn't sure what J and M were up to tonight.
It's a national holiday on Good Friday, so J said most people will be drinking and letting loose for the long weekend, so we could meet him and his coworkers at a bar later if we wanted. M wanted to check out Little India after ~ 3pm, so we'll see what happens after wandering around a bit. Funny thing about travelling is that I like to plan what to see, but spend as much time exploring as possible. This is evident from yesterday as I only made it to a few stops.
Chinatown was my first stop. I shopped quite a bit and found another pair of capris similar to the one I bought in Thailand that I couldn't find back home. It is made of lycra material, but flares at the bottom, so it looks like a skirt but they're as comfy as pants. I also bought 3 sets of (4) oriental placemats and chopticks (so, 12 in total) for only $10, what a steal! I picked a design and colours to match the table runner I bought in Thailand too. Hmm, what will I buy in Cambodia for souvenirs then?
I found a stall that sold Indonesian desserts and tried the bamboo cakes (rice and palm sugar) and some pandan rice cakes, not bad. I stopped at the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and made an offering of candle and jasmine garland for a smooth journey and good human relationships. I saw 100 Buddhas, they are all different and lined up on the wall in cubby holes. I saw the Protector of the Rat, the prayer wheel and orchid garden on the rooftop.
I headed to try and find the tour bus stop but missed it probably by half a block as I saw it whiz by me... That's one thing I don't like about this bus tour, their signs are not marked. So, instead of waiting for the next one 25 min later, I hopped the MRT (which I found out stands for Mass Rapid Transit) to Clarke Quay.
It's a nice quay full of restaurants, and a mall. I hopped onto the river cruise and it was 30 min of history and sights. I saw the first bridge, also used for the Grand Prix; bronze statues of 5 little boys jumping into the river, the floating football field, along with all the other cool buildings on the waterfront, the MICA building which has 911 coloured shutters and original boats from Singapore.
The lady had a really great voice and some humour in her presentation. She helped me take a photo by saying "I will help you as you look like you're alone". I was appreciative at first, and then I thought, wait, it sounds like she feels sorry for me. Yesterday, I think I only took one picture with me in it. That's the only thing with travelling alone, I don't feel like asking people to take photos for me, and in this heat, I just look horrible; sweaty all the time, my skin looks swollen, my pores are large and just feel uncomfortable, not photogenic at all. She also thought I was from Burma from the way I was dressed (I had a long sarong and tunic). I explained that I was Chinese in origin, but going to Cambodia so brought all my ethnic clothing with me.
I had got a tourist discount card from the Central mall and didn't really get a chance to look around cuz I had to meet M, but I did buy a small purse for going out tonight or tomorrow. I look too much like a tourist with my backpack and MEC shoulder bag.
Funny thing though, an elderly couple stopped me on the bridge to ask if I was from here! They were from England and had wanted to ask me about the building on the waterfront (the casino). We chatted for a bit and saw a little kitty on the multiple lane bridge and thought for sure he would get run over; I couldn't watch.
M and I wandered around Little India for a bit looking for Indian bangles. No luck. It was so hot, we ventured into a mall with AC. I found a food stall selling soybean drinks, so she got a match freeze and I got a green tea bubble tea! Cool, I love those pearls, and the stores back home don't use soy milk! Of all the cultures, you would think they would. With my food allergies, it took a long time to communicate, as I wanted to ask about their bean pancakes, which I was hoping were crepes made from bean flour. No such luck in these little ethnic communities, not wide spread English, and Cantonese wasn't working either.
We headed to Orchard Rd to check out all the shopping. It was tons of multi level malls, all high end names, and pricey goods. I got another tourist discount card from Ion mall and got a free little card wallet with Singapore on it. Cool. I love these little treats. We ended up going for tea at TWG (is that supposed to be for Twinnngs tea?). $10.50 for a pot. I had creme caramel roobois and M had a Japanese green tea. we were there for quite a while talking and resting.
We decided not to join J for a drink and headed to Paragon mall to go to Din Tai Fung, for the famous xiao long bao cuz we both hadn't eaten since lunch and it was about 830pm. They only spoke Mandarin here, and luckily the table beside us, helped us out. We ordered crab and veggie dumplings, pork chop (no drunken chicken left), and some greens. Not bad, but almost the same as home I think. I still haven't had any Malay or Singapore food. I find that I'm constantly thirsty because of the heat, but I have to be careful as I don't know when I can find a decent washroom. I'm not that hungry, and haven't really eaten that many meals since I've been here.
It was almost 1030pm, and we decided to head home. My feet were quite tired, and I was just sticky. There were so many people out, and there were long lines for taxis. There are designated stops, but we found a pseudo stop and got home by 11.
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