Singapore Day 3 - Shopping & Recon & Water/Light Show

The day threatens rain and thunderstorms. Fearful we plan a day of shopping followed by an exploration of the shoppes of the Marina Bay Sands complex. But first we begin with an Asian brekkie: dumplings, Laksa prawn soup, and noodles.

We return from shopping in time for afternoon tea.

Shopping in Singapore takes acknowledgement of wealth to a new level. We travel to the famous Oxford St. to purchase shoes for CJ. Is it possible that every ten blocks or so, there is a mall with all the name super expensive brands. By day's end we will have been to two of them!

We return to the Marina Bay Sands and do a recon mission to discover where our aperitif hour booking is located. The MBS shoppes have two story versions of the most exclusive shops in the world. Some high-priced places have taken up three store location side-by-side on two adjacent floors. That is the equivalent of SIX shops! Pictured a 6-store Dior shop. This was one of many two story, four shop, or six shops high end shops in the Marina Bay Sands Shoppes.

We have our aperitif hour at the MBS French restaurant, Maison Boulud. A table on the boardwalk overlooking the skyline of Singapore set with an appetizer tray, dessert, and a glass of Saint Emilion.

We decide to have a stroll outdoors. The temperature and humidity are comfortable. Is this the most unique Apple store you've ever seen?

People are assembling for the evening light show. We don't realize we must wait 45 minutes for the 8pm show to begin. While waiting we watch darkness descend on Singapore's skyline.

The coordinated water and music show is quite good.

There are tour boats out on the water watching this.

Following the show, we pass by Wakuda for evening sake. This evening's sommelier is Sammy, a bloke from the Philippines. He is very good. CJ is very bad. He should have a headache in the morning.

Singapore - Day 2 - R&R

After the long first day of travel and settling in, today is a rest day; a day to enjoy our beautiful view and recover.

Our booking gives us Afternoon Tea and Aperitif Hour. Unfortunately, afternoon tea is 3-5 and is immediately followed by the aperitif period for 5-7. 

Afternoon tea is held at a square serving kiosk. The specific offerings change daily. The stations do not. There is a station for scones, desserts, sandwiches, dumplings and rolls, fried food, cold cuts, cheese, and fruit. Coffee, tea, and juices are also served.

We get a complimentary drink and appetizer plate for the aperitif hour. We enjoy this first aperitif hour at the Japanese restaurant. Did they seat CJ next to the massive sake cellar on purpose?

A flight of sake and a follow-on carafe end suffice for dinner. CJ finds two very good and the third not to his liking. He orders more of the house sake, their "W" brand.

Singapore - Marina Bay Sands

The flight to Singapore is just over six hours. Exiting the door of the aircraft is a shock. After departing winter in Adelaide, stepping into equatorial Singapore is like stepping into a blast furnace.

The motorway from Changi to the city is one of the most beautiful expressways in the world. It is lined with flowering hedges. It is 17.4 km to the hotel. From the airport to the hotel is a quick 14 minutes. There is no traffic. It is the quickest move from airport to hotel ever!

We have a marvelous suite.

We overlook the Singapore Straits.

For this first afternoon, we take advantage of the afternoon tea included in our room category. It is held in the Rise Restaurant on the ground floor of the hotel. One can make dinner or lunch of the afternoon tea. Since we're late arriving, we can see their preparation for dinner service. It is a spectacular looking buffet. If nothing else, we must return at some point for the lobster.

Afternoon tea consists of a single serving kiosk. One side is deserts, one salad & cheese, and two savories. This is not a normal English tea. One can make a meal of this.

After a short break, we move to cocktail hour. Unlike the previous stay, they no longer have a dedicated concierge lounge for these events. If we did not have our room with a view, we would be very disappointed with the change. However, since we have the view, the change provides many more exciting options. This evening we select the Japanese restaurant Wanubu for cocktail hour. It consists of a course of complimentary savories followed by a desert and a single drink per person.

Seated next to the mother of all sake cellars, CJ spies a three-taste sake flight. He follows it with a carafe of one of them. They bottle the remainder of the carafe for the room.

Another advantage of this room is we can watch the evening Gardens by the Bay light show from the comfort of our room twice each evening. The last time we watched from the crowded observation deck of the hotel.

INDEX 2014 TO PRESENT

2026

NOV    USA/Argentina/Falklands/South Georgia/Antarctica

AUG   Alaska

May    France

JAN    Finland/Norway

JAN    Singapore

2025

FEB    Japan (Hokkaido, Tokyo, IzoKogan)

APR    New Zealand (8 trains, Christchurch, Wellington, Auckland)

JUN    Singapore

AUG    Sydney/Murray River Cruise/Manarto Safari Park

SEP     Fiji

OCT    Egypt/Jordan

2024

MAR    New Zealand (Wellington, Marlborough)

JUN     Fiji

AUG    New Zealand (Wellington, Christchurch)

SEP      France/USA

2023

NOV     Churchill Polar Bears and Oregon

SEP       Japan, Japanese Islands, Taiwan, Singapore

MAY     Galapagos and Machu Picchu

2022

APR      Svalbard (Above the Arctic Circle)

2021      COVID (Mom stuff - ignore)

SEP       Uluru

2020      COVID (Mom stuff - ignore)

2019

DEC      Antarctica

SEP       Danube Cruise and France

2018

DEC     Australia

NOV     Singapore

JAN     Australia

2017

AUG    Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa

JUL      Boston and Maine

FEB      Colorado

2016

DEC     New Orleans

NOV     San Diego

OCT     France

JUN      Thailand and Cambodia

MAR     Spain

FEB      Colorado

2015

DEC     Colorado

SEP      England and Ireland (Ashford Castle)

JUN     Thailand Golden Triangle and Chicago

FEB     Killington

JAN     France

2014

DEC    Belgium, Luxembourg, Bastone, O.B.E.R. Beer Festival, France, Christmas                    Markets

OCT     Al Andulus (Spanish Andalusian Luxury Train - best ever)

New Zealand Train Holiday - Final

It has been a fun and enjoyable trip. As the group disbanded in Wellington, the consistent theme was one of fatigue. This type of trip attracts seniors. Nineteen straight days on the go takes a toll on seniors and the sentiment of the evening reflected that toll.

An early morning Air New Zealand flight has us out of the airport before brekkie.

How does Air New Zealand do it? This is another nutty business class design. There are three aisles of seats. Along the windows, the very small modules are lined side by side angled forward. In the middle the seats reflect those of the window side behind them. You can see the side of the head of the person in front of you. 

Carol is on the window aisle. She is looking at a 'wall' and the back of CJ's head. CJ's seat looks across an aisle to the other window aisle. He is looking at a man seated next to his very young and well-behaved daughter.

It's been a long trip. We should not have scheduled a trip to Melbourne in three days!

Auckland

The weather for our second visit to Auckland is better. Although there is intermittent rain, there is no State of Emergency and businesses are open.

In Wellington, harbor watching consisted of the comings and goings of the two large (one white, one blue) inter-island ferries, two smaller ferries servicing the far side of the bay, and the rare arrival or departure of commercial vessels and the movement of tugboats to guide them.

Here is Auckland, we are staying at the Intercontinental by IHG. The hotel is on Quay St., the road along the water. There are few buildings on the other side of the street, EXCEPT for the historic building just across the street.

Our room's field of view provides us the constant movement of the "ferry circus". Just below our room, at least ten ferries operate. They come and go constantly, often arriving together and forming a queue or ferry gridlock.

Since Movida has inexplicably permanently closed, we return to Ebisu, the place just below it, for dinner. The Indian sake master has been replaced by a Japanese woman sake master. She is better and steers us to two very good sake. How do we know she knows her stuff? CJ shows her pictures of various sake we enjoyed on our latest Japan trip, she instantly picked out the "super expensive" one. We have a 180ml of the Denshin Rin Junmai Daiginjo before moving to a bottle of the Dassai 39 Junmai Daiginjo. The woman determines that the style we like is Daiginjo. Previously we knew what we liked but not what we preferred. 

It's the last full day in New Zealand of this holiday. It is another unsettled day with periods of sun mixed with rain. This time some of the rain is accompanied by lightning.

By early afternoon the rain has passed and a beautiful day breaks out. We continue to pass the day in the hotel. Even a spell of decent weather doesn't stimulate a desire to explore.

Train #7 - Great Northern

Today after a mad dash through brekkie, checkout, and the short ride to the train station we board the Great Northern for the ride to Auckland. We are in Scenic Plus, the coach where you get food and drink service throughout the 11-hour ride.

The carriages must have arrived while we were not watching. What brought them here, the locomotive is still unattached.

This decorated carriage is the Scenic Plus carriage.

The scenery on this train is different. The fields more rolling, the hills more barren.

We have a short early section along the coast. Eventually we follow a gorge for a long period.

One of the highlights of the ride is the view of Mount Ruapehu. With rain and fog we never see it.

A lounge and cafe carriage is located between our Scenic Plus carriage and the carriages of Scenic class.

igiugug

Eventually CJ makes his way to the open-air view carriage.

The open-air carriage is the place to cop pictures of the train.

Napping passengers corresponds with more boring scenery.

The view from our room.