Friday Oct 4, Little India

   Today was a compromise between seeing the historic little India district and browsing the brand new shopping district. We started with the Little India district.  The first temple was undergoing major renovations and was very crowded with a major festival going on.  The festival included a meal at the temple and families were sitting and eating all over the floor.  I would have joined the food line but I didn’t know if Christians were allowed.  So after a short visit we headed for the second temple on our list.  The second temple was much more spacious and quiet.  We wandered for a while and then Joan and Barb headed for the shopping district while I stayed behind and took pictures.  The temples in Singapore have signs posted telling visitors when to remove shoes, where and when pictures are allowed and where visitors are not allowed.  All signs are in English so this makes for a very comfortable visit.                              
  In the evening we dined at a cheese and chocolate restaurant.  The restaurant is situated at the top of a 3-tower building with a boat on top.  We were able to wander around the “boat” and enjoy the views of Singapore at night.  I was a model of decorum at dinner and I kept it down to 3 plates of cheese and 2 plates of chocolate tidbits.     

         
 

                 

Sands Hotel and Casino

Thursday Oct 3 Singapore Zoo

Proboscis Monkey

Hamadrys Baboon

                    We have been to several zoos in our lifetime, but the Singapore zoo was highly recommended so we gave it a try.   It was delightful!  The whole zoo is under a canopy of trees, so we were seldom walking in the hot sun.  Most animal enclosures were separated by a moat, rather than a fence.  The Orang-utans were roaming free and stayed up in the trees along the path.  It was only after a branch fell on me that I looked up and discovered a mother and 2 babies right above me.   Joan got to see her Orang-utans, I got to see my Komoto Dragons, and Barb got to see her Mandrills.  (Barb is a great fan of the Lion King).

            The weather is consistently 30c and high humidity.  After a day of walking we are hot and sweaty, so we went up to the pools and hot tubs to refresh ourselves.  Jetlag is kicking in so we had a very quiet evening and early bedtime.

Wednesday Oct 2 Chinatown

Our first day in Singapore was a quiet day walking around the city.  We walked to the hawker’s market in Chinatown and had our first street lunch. Similar to a food court in Montreal there are 50 different vendors each with their own speciality Several tables are available for people eating right away.  I chose the Pork offcut vendor and I had Pig’s tail soup.  Pig’s tail tastes like pork hocks.

            After lunch we walked around Marina Bay – a 2km walk around the water in the middle of downtown.  We then went back to Caroline’s place to use the swimming pool and hot tub.  A gentle first day.

Flight from Montreal to Singapore:

We departed Montreal at 12:05 right on schedule.  Our flight took us from Montreal to Newark to Hong Kong to Singapore.   The leg from Newark to Hong Kong went right over the North Pole, so 4 hours after departure we flew over Montreal on our way north.   The skies were clear in southern Quebec and we had a great view of the Eastern Townships and Lanaudiere.   Later we also had a great view of Siberia and Mongolia.  The snow is already on the ground in Siberia.

            All flights were on time and we arrived just before midnight on Tuesday.  It took 24 hours to fly to Singapore.  We did have a problem finding Caroline’s place, but after circling the block for half an hour we tracked it down.

Countdown to Singapore

My oldest daughter Caroline is living in Singapore.  Joan and I and Barb (Joan's sister) are heading to Singapore on  Sept 30 for 6 weeks.  We fly for 24 hours from Montreal to Newark to Hong Kong to Singapore.  We arrive midnight October 1st.