Feb 18 - Singapore

Woke up and headed down to see what Hotel breakfast was going to be.   Basically a small selection of breads to toast

(I picked a croissant instead), a selection of fruits,  some dry cereals or an interesting rice porridge that I actually liked.   Then this all came with a plate

with some beans (like we have back home), eggs, bacon and sausage.     Also came with self serve coffee or orange juice (I picked the OJ).

It was fine quality, but not on the "exciting" level:

I finished this off and then walked around the block a little to see what small breakfast offerings I could find.   I ended up deciding on trying what appeared

to be an egg samosa at a small cafe "garage" style restaurant just around the corner.  So a bread dough fried outside and potatoes, hard boiled egg, and 

some really flavorful (both savvory and sweet) spices on the inside.

There were several other choices near the hotel, including the duck place I saw last night, but it seemed like too much food for breakfast so I just took a 

picture and passed by.

So I actually went back to the hotel and decided it would be good to find the local MRT and get a tourist pass (lets you ride without thinking about the fares).

A 3 day pass is about $30 SGD, but you get $10 sgd back if you return the card at the end of the three days.    Probably "in their favor" (as in I might not spend that much

over 3 days if I just paid as I went) but it takes the challenge out of riding as you just swipe your card and go.   It also works on most of the buses around town, again

making it worth the price.

Anyway, as I headed towards the Chinatown MRT station I found a street full of vendor stalls -- most shutdown, but worth looking around.   Then I found a 

large crowd in front of another open restaurant "deeper" into Chinatown -- and they were having Dim Sum for breakfast!   While, what am I to do?  Guess!

Total cost for the above meal was about $15 SGD or $10 US :-)

I continued on my way to the Chinatown MRT station and I, along with three other tourists, got various directions until we found the ticket window (one that 

had al live human) at which we could buy our "tourist passes".    I got my pass and figured out which subway to take, and which transfer to make, to

get to the Botanical Gardens.   It was about a 35 minute ride.   Along the way there were some school kids who got onto the subway.   I always get a giggle

as, never having gone to a private school, the whole thing with school uniforms makes me laugh (at least inside).   Here's a photo:

Made it to the Botanical Gardens stop and started a 2.1km walk from one end of the gardens to the other.

I have many photos and a very cool video of some turtles but my internet connection at the hotel is not very stable so it will take too long to upload them 

while here in Singapore.   I will come back later when elsewhere on my trip with a faster (more stable) connection and upload all of these  -- the other items

here have been taking me over an hour to get online and are but a fraction of the items I took at the gardens.

After walking from one end of the gardens to the other I really didn't look forward to walking 2.1 km back to the subway station.   So I asked an found out there

was a bus stop near this "far" end of the gardens that I could take with my pass.    I walked across the street to that bus stop and confirmed with a nice young lady

there that this was true.    She gave me a few options on buses/stations I could take.    My bus came along and I hopped on, then rode about 6 stops and got off

to find another MRT station two past the one I'd stopped at to get to the gardens.    I started back on the subway, but realized that I could transfer to a different line

to speed up my return (the route I took out was the "circle line" which makes a huge circle around parts of town -- I had to go from stop "1" to stop "19" and was

currently at "stop 21".   So I got off and made the transfer and sped up my return to "stop 1", then transferred back to the line which two stops later took me to the

Chinatown MRT station that I'd started at.   Long story short - I made it back much faster than the 35 minutes it took me to get there!

I then walked back through the chinatown zone with all the vendors -- all the stands were now open and it was a bustling area.   I found a restaurant that was heavy

on seafood and decided to sit down and have an expensive lunch of Pepper Crab.   They had both Chili Pepper Crab as well as Pepper Crab,and I decided to try the

latter.   I was NOT disappointed!    Although the crab was about $46 SGD or $35 USD, it was very very good!   

After spending 30 minutes or more slowing taking this sea creature apart, and making a real mess of my face and hands in doing so, I was done!

I walked around a little more and headed back to the hotel to upload these images and take a rest before heading out again.   Tonight is Chinese New Year's eve

and there are parade events near by as well as a possible MRT ride to watch fireworks.   Not sure what I'll get done but want to by ready and rested for it.

Headed out to dinner around 6pm and decided to eat in Chinatown and get some duck.    Ended up ordering 1/2 a crispy duck, which you can see below.

I polished off most of it and took the leftovers back to my hotel room to save for a late night snack.    I also ordered some hot tea and was once again surprised that it

came in a large drinking glass -- just unusual as there was a small tea cup on the table, but I guess its more efficient that way (no need to leave a pot or to refill as frequently)

The meal also came with some white rice in a small cup.

After returning the small amount of left overs to the hotel I returned to the main street which was being shutdown for traffic

to prepare for what I assume was some type of show (i.e.: dragon dance or the like).    There were craws busy setting up 

scaffolding and were hard at work.    The crowds were intense.   I was able to get a spot right near the barrier facing the 

main street.   Here are some photos of what was involved:

Unfortunately after standing in this very crowded zone for more than 2 hours the show still had not started and a jerk and his wife kept pressing against me

(they were very aggressive individuals and were NOT nice).   It wasn't the only one giving them the stink eye, but in the end I decided this was just not

worth it and I left them and the crowds behind.   I suspect I missed a 'dragon dance' or some such, but decided that I would be much better off heading over

to the MRT and over to where the midnight fireworks were going on.   This was around 9:30pm.

I was RIGHT!   The area where the fireworks were happening was the promenade around which the major "nice" hotels were located.   It was huge and

the crowds were NOT wall to wall people.   I arrived there, much relieved, and decided that I had time to get something else to eat.   I wandered into the 

Sands Hotel and Casino's "mall" area (very high end, air conditioned, a nice).    Down near the bottom level (there were 3 levels) there was a very high end

"tea house" that had a dessert case.   Well, I couldn't pass that up, could I?    So I navigated downstairs and ordered a very nice white jasmine tea along with

an apple tart and a side of their vanilla tea infused maple infused ice cream.   Ah, that all hit the spot and took me to about 10:30pm.

I headed back outside and sat down on the tiered dock area, which everyone was using as seats.    Lots of "personal space" was preserved -- so it was very nice.

Took a few pictures of the skyline -- great view!

I waited until midnight for the fireworks to begin and WOW what a show!   Here are videos in two parts (and two orientations) of the main attraction:

Immediately after the show ended I high tailed it back through the Sand's shopping area down to an MRT station there and caught a nearly empty train back to Chinatown 

and walked back to my hotel to pass out for the evening.   Wow, what a day!