Singapore - February 26th

  Today turned out to be another day of eating.  We were picked up for our tour at 9 AM by our guide Gerry.  The tour group was small...a mother and daughter from Australia and a husband and wife from NY along with a friend (they had been to a wedding inn Kuala Lumpur or KL as everyone refers to it around here...we are trying to get with the program!  Our group picture is to the left.

Gerry told us that his goal for his food tours is to emphasize the multicultural nature of Singapore and the way people from different backgrounds all live and work together.

As Singapore is a very clean, organized city, food vendor carts are not allowed on the streets.  Instead, they are in "hawker" centers throughout the city.  Hawker Centers were first set up to address the problem of the unhygienic preparation by unlicensed street vendors.  The hawker centers are owned by government agencies and the stalls are rented.  Some of the stalls have even earned Michelin starts.  You can read more about them HERE...scroll down to the Singapore section.  

We started off our tour in the Little India center, sampling some of their food.  The Little India center was very crowded.  Gerry explained that it was Sunday and the day off for most people.  The hawker centers are like community dining rooms where people gather to socialize.  As rents are so expensive in Singapore, many families are living together in very small spaces thus prefer to use their apartments only to sleep.

We went into the Little India market, first walking through the wet market and then to the upper floor where clothing, etc was for sale.  

Feeding pigeons is clearly discouraged. 

We strolled through the flower market in Little India which was very busy as women purchased flowers to decorate their hair before head to the Hindu temple.  They were also purchasing flowers to adorn the pictures of their deceased ancestors.

As part of our tour, Gerry took us on various forms of public transportation.  So we boarded the subway and headed to Chinatown.  You can use your credit card to tap on the turnstile getting on and then again, getting off...very convenient!

We strolled leisurely through Chinatown, admiring the street art, viewing the site of an old opium den.  Gerry had pictures of old Singapore on his tablet and showed what areas used to look like.

 We next headed to a Hawker center in Chinatown.  You can see the number of different dishes that we tried!  Gerry purchased food from several different stalls and it was all we could do to try a little from each dish...even though we had learned from our food tour in KL not to eat any breakfast.

Our next "treat"...NOT...was the opportunity to try durian.  We had learned about durian on a previous trip to SE Asia but had never tried it.  It is known for its very strong odor and not allowed indoors in many places once it is cut. This was our first opportunity to try it.  Chris of course was eager and of course was the first one to take a taste, me not so much.  You pick the little white pods out of the inside (we had plastic gloves so the smell doesn't get on your fingers.) I did finally take a taste and it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected.  It tastes like a strong sweet onion and has the consistency of a cooked onion.  I actually didn't mind the smell that much but we were outside...  I didn't even dislike it as much as cilantro.

We visited a nearby Buddhist temple that had a beautiful orchid garden on the roof. Then our next mode of public transit was a double decker bus to the Malay section.  

We walked by a Malay cemetery from the 1800s with unmarked graves.  

Along the street we passed a Pug petting experience.  You book a time and go in and pet Pugs...like the cat cafes in the US.  A cheaper alternative to owning a dog.  This would be Chris's preferred pet alternative.

Our last food treat of the day was gelato from a Malay Halal (the muslim equivalent of kosher) approved shop.

We ended the tour walking through the Arab section and then headed back to our hotel.  It was a great tour, both because of our guide but also our tour group!

Boarding the vessel

But, this was just the first part of our day - 9 AM-3 PM.  At 4:15 PM we headed to Sentosa Island and our dinner cruise on the Royal Albatross.  We weren't sure we were going to be able to eat anything after our food tour, but the food was excellent and we somehow managed to eat. We paid a little extra to sit on the bow.  

Chris with his gin & tonic

For the first part of the sail while the sun was still beating down, they had a covering over the deck.  

But once the sun set, they removed the cover and we enjoyed the balmy breezes and beautiful lights for the rest of the trip.

Course of the Royal Albatross

Singapore is the 2nd largest and busiest container port in the world after Shanghai and the container ships were lined up waiting to unload, refuel, etc.  The number of ships was impressive.

Container ships on the horizon

 We decided we needed some laundry done.  It turned out to be very expensive.  $6 US for a pair of socks or a pair of underwear.  $16 for a shirt, etc.  The laundry did appear back in the evening with even my ex officio travel shirts folded with cardboard like when you purchase a men's dress shirt at the store.  Maybe the cost was the fancy boxes the laundry returned in...