Singapore 2025

 

Singapore

 

Singapore Airlines

In late December we took a trip to Singapore and New Zealand. I had been to New Zealand before and fell in love with the country, culture and natural beauty of the island nation. What makes this remote island different is the fact that unlike Australia, the indigenous people of New Zealand (Māori ) are treated with respect and their culture celebrated. The greeting of '"Kia Ora" is means "have life" or 'Be Healthy" is uttered by all New Zealanders. Māori is now the official language of New Zealand. Jacinda Arden, the ex-Prime Minister of New Zealand showed that at her commencement speech in Harvard when she opened the speech by talking in Māori.  

The trip from the USA to New Zealand is a long one and we broke this up by flying from Newark to Singapore directly. It was on Singapore Airlines and an 18-hour direct flight. The plane has only two classes of seats. Business and Premium economy. Even though we were in Premium economy we had booked early and chosen the bulkhead seats, so we did not have any reclining seats in front of us. A very comfortable way to travel. 

The flight leaves at 9:30 am, which makes it good for travelling. You have to adjust your body clock by sleeping during daytime (Night in Singapore) . Service as expected is flawless and meals are well prepared and served at the right time. The flight lands in Singapore the next day at 5pm and you can get a magnificent view of the massive amount of cargo ships docked to unload and load goods to from East to West and vice versa. It is my understanding that each container ship was offloaded and loaded in half a day (so there is no shore leave for the merchant marine crew!) 

Singapore 

View of Container ships when landing at Changi Airport

Singapore is a vibrant, beautiful city with the only drawback of the type of weather it exhibits. Being at the equator it is hot, humid and gets thunderstorms instantly. However, it is a well-connected city for public transportation. With so much to see and do it was not surprising that we did 22,000 steps per day! Obvious places to visit are the Gardens by the Bay, Little India, Chinatown, Kampong Glam, Joo Chiat. All easily accessible by public transportation.  A visit to the Gardens by the Bay hotel complex, Flower Dome, Cloud forest, Super trees and the light show in the evening is well worth the time and effort. We spent most of the day in this area one day. A lot of walking. The Marina Bay Hotel has a public viewing deck on the left at the top and they charge $30 Sing dollars. We did it a little differently. We went on the opposite side of the tower to a restaurant called LAVO on the 55th floor. We went there for lunch, and they charge you $33 Sing Dollars. So, for same price you get a better view of the entire surrounding area and Lunch! I recommend doing this if you plan to visit this area.                  

Marina Bay Sands Hotel complex

Downtown Singapore 

The other attractions which you cannot miss are the Cloud Forest and Flower Dome. These are shown in the picture below and are in the Gardens by the Bay complex which is adjacent to the Marina Bay Towers hotel. It is a huge complex with two huge glass domes and artificial towering trees filled with various plants and ferns. At night there is a light show which incorporates these trees. A truly spectacular show as depicted on the attached YouTube video at the end of the blog. 

 Light show at the Gardens by the bay. 

You cannot miss visiting the Cloud Forest and the Flower Dome in the "Gardens By the Bay" Complex. The Cloud Forest tour is best taken by walking from the very top to the bottom. The structures cooling system is cleverly staggered so that the upper levels provide a cool mountainous climate which gets warmer as you walk down. As the photo depicts there are waterfalls created to simulate the rain forest. The Flower domes 

Cloud Forest 

Flower Dome

In keeping with the tradition of multi culture ethnicities, Singapore has lots of Hindu Temples, Mosques, churches and Buddhist temples. Here are some photographs of the temples and Mosques. Singapore has four ethnicities which live side by side in harmony. they are Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Christianity. The food, signs etc. are multilingual and its the only City/State that flourishes with the multi ethnic society.  

Hindu Temple 

Mosque

Buddhist temple

Singapore offers a large variety of food options with cuisines from all over the world. The Hawker stand areas are well-known, but we thought they were too crowded.  If you have the time and patience, I will thoroughly recommend eating in one of these areas. The cuisine is fantastic and cheap! Between $6-$10 you can have a hearty lunch or dinner. However, the Black crab at Long Beach restraunts are classic and worth the high prices. Go for the Sri Lankan crabs.  

These are Sri Lankan crabs 

      THE JEWEL AT CHANGI AIRPORT

Changi airport has been said to be the busiest airport in the world and is the most beautifully landscaped structure. It has the large “Jewel” building which is located between the terminals and is on the landside of the airport. This allows people who are not flying in or out to visit the Jewel. The central theme of the "vortex" is showcased at the heart of its stunning design.  It stands six stories tall, with shops and restaurants lining its interior, and it is typically busy but never overwhelmingly crowded.  Presented below are several photographs of the location.  If you are in Singapore, do not miss this exhibit.               

The Jewel 

This Six story structure has an immense glass roof structure that provide the shape which creates the funnel shaped waterfall. It is huge with shops, restraunts and a fantastic garden at the very top. It is located on the "land" side of the airport and is available for not only the passengers travelling, but also for the general public. It is always full of people yet does not seem to be overcrowded. Beside all the trees and shrubs planted around  the perimeter at every level it contains a beautiful flower garden at the very top. Flowers are the theme in Singapore and they are abundant anywhere and everywhere. The climate allows full bloom all year long and are constantly tended to by the staff. Al few examples are shown below:

Video of all Singapore highlights

https://youtu.be/23PtUY4MwVg