Singapore 1

From Wednesday July 9 to Friday July 11 we spent basically 2 full days and 2 nights in Singapore. During that time we did more sightseeing in Singapore than we did in the 11 days we spent in Jakarta and Bali, Indonesia. Before I get into the sightseeing fun we had I want to share with you my great love and admiration for Singapore Airlines and the Changi Airport (Singapore). To the left you can see us eating dinner on the flight from Jakarta to Singapore. The food on Singapore Airlines is great, it takes good, and it is free. Another reason why I like Singapore Airlines is because before take off you are given a warm cloth to clean your hands and wash your face. It such a great thing to do and I think it speaks a lot about that Airline. When was the last time you received a warm cloth from an Airline? I have not. Especially on my first flight on Singapore Airlines at the beginning of our trip it receiving the cloth makes you feel as though you are entering the flight attendants' home not an airline. Right from the get go you are shown hospitality and that continues throughout the flight. With the pillow, the blanket, head phones, the foot covers, the individual TVs, the food, the free drinks (both non-alcoholic and alcoholic), and the joyful attendants. Not only was the flight great, but so is the Changi Airport. From the moment you walk in the airport (above picture right) you do not feel as though you are in an airport but rather a mall or a hotel. In this picture you can see the wall is covered in plants. In the next picture (left) you can see that there is a waterfall feature in the airport too. As if the beauty present in the airport was not enough to have me admire it, the many - many - amenities at the Changi Airport. From this one directory along you can see a transit hotel, shower, hairdressing, gym, lounge, and free movie sections present in the airport. This does not include the many free internet stations, sleeping areas (with beds), duty free shops, restaurants, TVs, or smaller movie sections also present in the hotel. It seems like it would be fun to purposely plan a 10 hour layover at the Changi Airport just for the chance to experience all that is offered there.

The next two picture are ones that interest my stomach more than anything else. I am unsure how familiar many of you are with Goober, but it was something that I was pretty much obsessed with in college. It is a product of Smucker's and peanut butter alternately placed in a jar with jelly. In the states I have only seen this done with grape and strawberry jelly. While in Singapore I was amazed to find a jar of Goober with peanut butter and chocolate. What a perfect match, like a Reese's peanut butter cup in a jar! Anyway the other picture is of satay in the making. Satay is what I call Indonesian shish kebab. Chunks of meat (chicken, pork, beef, lamb) - in this picture chicken - are placed on skewers and grilled. Satay originated in Indonesia, but is popular in many Southwest Asian countries. It is often served with a spicy peanut sauce. This machine was amazing to watch and let me tell you - the satay from it was delicious to eat.

Now onto the sightseeing pictures. Another reason to like Singapore Airlines is that you boarding pass can be used to get you on a bus that will take you around Singapore for only 6 bucks. The first picture here is of the Swissotel, it is the tallest hotel in Southeast Asia and from its 72 floor you get a great view of the city. The second picture is one of the pictures that I took from the top of the hotel.

Next is a picture of the Singapore Flyer, a very impressive Ferris wheel similar to the London Eye. It is 42 stories tall, with 28 air-conditioned capsules, holding up to 35 passengers, and takes 37 minutes for a complete rotation. We never went on Singapore Flyer, but I took a bunch of pictures of it and here are two of them.

Lastly from our sightseeing adventures is the Merlion: a hybrid of a lion and a fish. The lion head alludes to the fable beast that once roamed Singapore and the fish body symbolizes Singapore's origin as a flourishing seaport. This Merlion is a popular tourist attraction and is located at the mouth of the Singapore River. Below is a picture of it during the day and also one at night.

The last two pictures are ones that have a short story. In the middle of Singapore right near the above Merlion statue under a bridge was this Starbucks (left). I am convinced Starbucks is everywhere and is taking over the world. At one of the malls in Indonesia you could be at one Starbucks on the 1st floor and look down by the escalator going to the basement floor and see another Starbucks, personally I thought it was ridiculous. The other picture is of Nancy enjoying her iced coffee from Starbucks waiting in the shade at the cross walk of a traffic. She was enjoying so much until we ran to hop on the Singapore Airlines bus. Upon us about to enter the bus we realized that we could not bring our drinks on the bus and Nancy ended up throwing 3/4 of it away. What a disappoint, yet somewhat funny!