Singapore

Our next port of call, and the last of our major Asia cities, was Singapore.  I have heard a lot about Singapore and have found it very interesting for a long time.  It is a self contained province connected to the country of Malaysia, but it has become a huge metropolis, known for how clean, modern, and expensive it is.  I was excited to see what the city had to offer and get a look at this almost futuristic city in person.  When we arrived, most of the cast headed out through the terminal, which was a really big mall connected to the underground train system.  Super convenient for us!  

Now Singapore is known for being very clean.  It is even illegal to chew gum here and right away that organized, clean, orderly way of life was evident.  Just buying tickets for the train, there were organized lines, touch-screen maps, and clear signs to get us onto the train.  Once underground on the train we looked around and I looked at the floor and was amazed.  I would have eaten my lunch off the floor of that train, it was so clean.  Ha ha!  The day began with the first stop being the famous Raffles Hotel!  Not only is the Raffles a gorgeous building in a crisp, white, colonial style, but it's also the home of the Long Bar, where the Singapore Sling was invented.  We walked around the grounds for a bit and headed to the Long Bar.  We knew it would be expensive, but we just had to be tourists and have a Singapore Sling.  The Long Bar is a really cool place, actually, with woven palm fans and dark wood transporting you to a whole different time.  There are bowls of peanuts to much on, and tradition has visitors throwing the shells on the floor.  Then it was time for the drinks!  I got the original Singapore Sling, which was really good and refreshing for this incredibly hot day.  Some of the other cast had variations on the original, all equally delicious.  

Singapore Slings in the famous Long Bar at Raffles Hotel

Next we headed out walking through the city and we came upon another large mall.  We made a quick stop for coffee, wifi, and brief shopping, before continuing our walk where we saw buildings designed and based on human fingers and a large fountain area called the Fountain of Wealth.  All of this was mostly commercial space, but it was cool to see and we had fun playing in the fountain for a bit.  As we headed toward the waterfront we found another fun fountain and I had to get in.  Fountain-hopping is an old hobby of mine, brought into my life by Laura Cochran, and I was happy to get my feet wet here in Singapore, too!  

Singapore- Marina bay Sands all the way to the left

We eventually made it down to the bay, where there were some great views of the city and its ultra-modern architecture and skyscrapers.  It almost feels like a city on a different planet, or at least built in a different generation.  We walked through the helix bridge over to the incredible Marina Bay Sands hotel and shopping area, a building that is indescribable, really.  We stopped for lunch in the food court area there, which is in yet another mall (this whole place is like one GIANT shopping mall) and is right next to the indoor ice skating rink.  

Right by the Marina Bay complex is an area called Gardens by the Bay.  I had seen some pictures of it and thought it looked really cool, so I had to check it out.  It's basically the most out-of-this-world botanical garden you could imagine.  There are two buildings, which look straight out of the Jetson's.  They are greenhouses and hold rain and cloud forests and their sloped design collects rainwater to recycle and water the plants in the adjacent sprawling gardens.  The plants are beautiful, but the big attraction and most unique feature of the gardens are the structures they call "Supertrees."  They are these huge structures, up to 160 feet tall, shaped like trees that irrigate upward, allowing them to grow plants vertically.  They also collect solar energy and are just amazing to see.  I was only sorry that we weren't able to see them lit up at night.  Look them up to see some pretty awesome images.  I couldn't get over their strange look and how they changed the landscape of this otherwise fairly normal park.  

Supertrees at the Gardens by the Bay

We headed back to the ship to get ready for the night.  It was our dancer, Sasha's birthday, so we were excited to celebrate with her.  Since the city is so sleek and modern, we all got appropriately spiffed up for a night out on the town.  We started at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.  The very top of the hotel is a big park area with a Skybar we wanted to check out.  We actually happened to be there the night of a big lightshow over the bay, which was fun.  The bar was great and seeing Singapore all lit up from the top of that amazing building was a pretty spectacular experience.  It felt glamorous and fantastic to be there, really.  

Celebrating Sasha's birthday!

After that we headed to another area of the city, again via the great subway system.  Clarke Quay is a really nice spot along the water.  There are tons of restaurants, people everywhere having a great time, and the energy was just right for a birthday celebration.  We had fun wandering around and exploring this fun spot as Sasha, the baby of the cast, turned a year older.  What a fun place to celebrate!  Our second day in Singapore was mostly taken up with some easy shopping and lots of internet time to catch up on pictures and calling family and friends.  I was so thankful for a good spot to do that!  Timing of this contract is coming into more and more perspective.  I have less than 2 months until I'm back at home and I'm SO EXCITED!!!  It's been tough to be away for so long, but I know it will make life back home that much sweeter.  

Live rejoicing, 

Tripp