Singapore, February 8th

Super Bowl Sunday was a heavy travel day for this group.  I didn't mind too much as my desire to ever watch the Packers is minimal (still can't believe they won).  Instead, we took a four hour flight from Auckland to Melbourne and after a few hour layover boarded an eight hour flight from Melbourne to Singapore.  Hardly a word was spoken on board, as we immersed ourselves in our personal TV's to watch movie after movie.  We landed late in Singapore and headed straight to the Goodwood Park Hotel, just a block off Orchard Road, the main drag.

After a good night's sleep and a successful school morning, I wanted to take advantage of our one full day in Singapore, so I headed out on my own to explore.  A shopping haven, Orchard Road provided a perfect combination of window shopping and people watching.  I ventured off the main drag to the Singapore River, the lifeline of Singapore in which immigrants first arrived and saw their city transform from fishing village to a bustling port city.  I bought a ticket for the River Cruise and enjoyed the entire boat all to myself--what a tour! We traveled down the river by several of the famous quays (Clarke, Boat and Robertson), century old shophouses, the landing site of William Raffles, Merlion Park and more.  After a fantastic walk and river tour, I was ready for a bite to eat and a comfy chair.  Locals and tourists alike said a "must do" in Singapore is a stop at the Raffles Hotel Long Bar, home of the Singapore Sling cocktail.  I wasn't going to pass this up, so I ventured into the beautiful Raffles Hotel Complex and bellied up to the bar with a delicious Singapore Sling cocktail and a bowl of peanuts :) The bartender and I became BFF, so much in fact that another Sling was in order to finish our conversation.  I called it quits after two, for another Singapore staple was calling my name night--red chili crab!!

Singapore prides itself on its cuisine, but it may be the most famous for its red chili crab.  Our group of six sat down at a table already equipped with a crab cracker and hand washing bowl for each person.  As we sat down, a person immediately "bibbed" us, as red chili crab splatter is just a fact.  The hard work was definitely worth it, as each bite of crab provided a perfect balance of sweet and spicy flavor! What a treat :) As we sat outside overlooking the river, with the fresh crab on the table and red chili sauce on my fingers, I knew that Singapore was my kind of town! It was definitely not enough time to explore, for we were headed to mainland Malaysia in the morning!