Wednesday 18th

Again an uneventful flight to Singapore. Only about 80% full – Anne had an empty seat next to her. Very clear skies for much of the way. Both slept a reasonable amount and also watched films. At Singapore we cleared formalities and were in a taxi in no time.  Empty roads at that time of night, and we were soon at the Miramar. Rooms have been spruced up a bit. We are on 15^th of 16 floors! Had a cup of tea and went straight to bed.

Thursday 19th

Up relatively early. After we’d showered we ordered an ironing board and iron – amazingly this arrived outside our door in about a minute – given that it must have had to come up the 15 floors it was really good service. But unfortunately the actual equipment wasn’t up to much.

After coffee and biscuits we went to the lobby and they confirmed that the SIA bus still ran. Anne popped to next door garage and got some water. There was still quite a long wait for the bus so we went outside and instead got a taxi to Suntec City. This was so quick that we were there before any of the shops had opened. Starbucks was open however and we had a coffee and a snack. By this time it was just after 10am and many of the shops were still not open. Perhaps they open late – we know from other places that they certainly stay open late in the evening. We decided to walk to the Flyer which was relatively simple once we’d worked out where we were and negotiated the construction works.

The Flyer was terrific – we got concessions for being SIA passengers and for being over 60! In the end our joint fare came down from S$60 to S$37. The 'flight' took 30 mins. It was very quiet and very very smooth – at some stages it felt stationary. The cabin was really spacious and the views were tremendous. We could see the new barrage which is turning the inner harbour and the bottom length of Singapore River into a reservoir. We could also see all the new development alongside the harbour and in some cases being built into the harbour – a new resort with casino and pedestrian bridge to Flyer. In the cabin with us were an Australian couple. They came from Christmas Island and were surprised when we knew of it and its current problems (government uses it as a holding area for asylum seekers whose boats are intercepted in Australian waters). They had a party of teenage schoolgirls with them – all Asian – from the school where they teach. Luckily as we were last off the cabin at the end of the flight Les spotted a purse and rucksack that the girls had left behind. They wouldn’t have lost them, but they would have had to wait another half hour for the capsule to come round again.

We looked at the shops on the two floors below and then went into O’Leary’s Sports Bar for an apple juice before walking round the small rainforest that’s been created immediately underneath the Flyer. We were looking at the carp when a cabin went over and liquid starting running out into the pond. We were a bit worried but then worked out that this must be the condensate from the airconditioning in each cabin. Brilliant design feature that tops up the pond continuously with pure water.

We caught the SIA bus as far as stop 6 and walked back to Boat Quay where all the restaurants are. We walked through refusing all the offers of free drinks if we stopped for lunch at each venue. We crossed Fullerton Bridge and looked at the Museum of Asian Civilisation and some sculptures/statues along the riverfront. We caught a tour boat at Raffles Landing and did the tour downstream to see the Merlion in its new location and then back up to Clarke Quay/Riverpoint where the development that had been going on for our last few trips has now finished. Smart new shops, restaurants and offices. We spotted a Manhattan Fishmarket (last seen in Kuala Lumpur). To our horror we noticed that our Indonesian Barbecue is now a Japanese restaurant, so we’d need to find somewhere new for dinner.

The boat returned to Raffles Landing but we stayed on to redo the river crossing and got off at Boat Quay. We found a Vietnamese restaurant that did calamari so Anne had that while Les a set meal of rice paper rolls and pork chop/rice. The rice was better than anything we’ve ever had in England (or anywhere) – Anne had some too!!

We then walked towards Raffles via St Andrew’s Cathedral which was unfortunately closed for works. We slipped through the Raffles shopping centre to stay cool and then into Raffles Hotel proper. A quick look at the courtyard and then, simply to stop everybody asking us, we had a drink in the Long Bar. This is an outrageously expensive parody of what it used to be. It cost as much for a lager and a fruit juice as we’d paid for lunch. Each table has a huge dish of peanuts in shells and the custom is to throw the shells on the floor. It’s full of tourists coming in for their Singapore Slings.

Came out and got the SIA bus back to the hotel seeing various changes from our last visit. Unfortunately they’re building some fly-overs etc which take away from the charm of the place. We can’t see why they are needed given the bus services and subway system that already exist.

We purchased 3 hours internet access from the front desk (S$12) and caught up with emails and banking as well as doing the online check in for Saturday. Anne had a rest while Les downloaded photos and started writing up this diary.

We went out around 7pm and walked down our usual route to Clarke Quay. We were amazed at the number of restaurants, etc that have opened along Robertson Quay  and they all seemed to be full. Sadly the only empty one seemed to be the original restaurant that was the first one there (with the deckchairs). We walked through Clarke Quay, crossed below Boat Quay and found the Manhattan Fishmarket in the new Central Mall. Interestingly it was full of locals and we were the only Europeans there. Had a nice meal sitting out on balcony overlooking river. Had a quick look round the shops inside the mall and went down into the market on the lower ground where we bought some fresh mango for breakfast. Walked back to hotel and straight to bed.

As we walked back there was some filming going on outside Riverside Point exactly where we’d seen filming on our very first visit – obviously a favourite spot. We also saw people flying kites on the open green by Riverside Point. We’d seen them doing this there in daylight on previous visits but this time, in the dark, the kites were all edged with coloured lights.

Friday 20th

Awake 7ish and after fresh mango, coffee and biscuits in room typed up this diary. Caught 9.27 SIA bus to Botanic Gardens. Gardens very busy – hadn’t realised it was school holidays and also Botanic Gardens were offering special deals for school children. Walked through the rainforest and saw Slender Squirrels and heard cicadas (we think) making very loud high pitched sound – could understand early settlers being driven crazy by that noise.

We paid S$1 each to enter Orchid Gardens (concession to over 60s). Just as stunning as we remembered and we spent a long time wandering around and taking hundreds of photos and some video – Anne had forgotten to charge battery! Saw VIP orchids and walked through Mist House. Just before we went into Mist House we saw a tiny black and red bird which we thought maybe a type of humming bird. We were told by passers by that it was a Sunbird. In Orchidarium got chatting to Irish lady who was travelling on her own back from New Zealand. She is catching same flight home tomorrow as us. A few spots of rain as we left Orchid Gardens but not much. Bought drink and fries from kiosk and sat outside entrance to eat.

Afterwards walked around Symphony Lake which is full of fish and turtles. Large stage for concerts in middle of lake where a group of people where having a picnic  to celebrate someone’s birthday. Around far side of lake we were going to visit the Evolution Garden  but the sky looked very dark and we thought we heard thunder,  so headed for exit which was nearby and caught SIA bus back to hotel – have now done full circuit. Rained quite hard with lightning and thunder during one hour journey back.

Bought another 3 hours of internet access. Anne debating whether to go down for swim as rain has stopped. Anne eventually decided to swim and left Les on computer. Anne got talking to lady in pool who was on way back from NZ and she said they’d had lousy weather whilst in NZ. Strange because the Irish lady we spoke to at the Botanic Gardens had said the weather had been fine.

We both showered and Anne washed her hair to save time in morning. We were thinking of the 6.07 SIA bus but there was no direct transfer at the Botanic Gardens and it would have meant a 30 minute wait. Instead we got a taxi down to the Flyer. Not as easy to get a taxi as it is in the morning. The driver said that 6pm to 8pm is the busiest time – still only cost us S$8. As we neared the Flyer we saw Marine Square Mall. Anne had identified this on the internet as the home of a Croc shop so we asked the driver to drop us there instead. Of course when we got inside we realised it was yet another huge multi-level shopping mall that we’d not noticed before. Found a Directory and made our way to the Croc shop on the 3rd floor. Very busy but Anne bought a black pair of Mary Janes. We then went to the cash machine and looked round briefly as we were in the food court. If you didn’t mind eating in a shopping mall you could eat really cheaply here.

We left the mall and walked down Raffles Boulevard to the Flyer. We had intended to eat before the flight but in fact the seafood restaurant specialised mainly in shellfish, and the fish were all live for you to choose. We went into a bar and lingered over a Tiger beer while it got dark which of course it does very quickly. We got our tickets, again getting the pensioners’ and SIA discounts. The flights were slightly more crowded than before. It was a little strange because there was a party of 9 or 10 locals in our cabin who were all either deaf or dumb – they were communicating solely by sign language. The views were terrific but difficult to photograph.

After the flight we got a cab to Boat Quay. We had wanted to be dropped off at the end of the Quay by the bridge but in fact the driver dropped us in a tiny backstreet behind the Quay that led down to the English pub. Amazing to see that these backstreets are also crammed full of restaurants. We walked along the Quay and finally settled on a nice looking place called Haven Seafood. Anne had delicious deep fried crispy baby squid and Les had Thai shredded duck – in fact this turned to be simply a large amount of sliced duck breast coated in a crispy crumb on a bed of peanut sauce. Les thought he’d accidentally been given the large portion having ordered the small but the bill confirmed that this was the small portion. We shared a dish of Chinese vegetables & mushrooms and a pineapple rice – this came inside a hollowed out whole pineapple and included sultanas and other bits and unfortunately prawns. It was all really nice and in fact we probably over ordered. Les’s duck would have fed two. Our most expensive meal at S$102 (£48), but it was worth it for the view. They sat us at a waterside table next to each other facing out across the river to Raffles Landing.

Walked to Clarke Quay and stopped to watch Xtreme Swing and Bungy along the way – took some photos from the bridge. We were intending to walk home but it was 10.20 by now and Les thought his knees might not stand the walk, so we got a taxi – quite easily this time and only S$7.

Saturday 21st

Our last day. Nothing much to do except get up and pack. We took our time doing this and then got a cab to the airport. We had lots of time to kill, but it's never a problem at Changi. We had a leisurely breakfast at Delifrance, and then Les sat while Anne wandered around the shops. We were amazed by the butterfly house, and the whole terminal is as smart and spacious as the old one. The only disappointment is that they don't have the banks of desks with free internet access like the old terminal. There are some freestanding computer stations, but nowhere to sit down and plug in the laptop - you have to connect to a wireless network for a fee - a backward step.

A reasonable flight home. Again the plane wasn't completely full, and this time it wasn't too bumpy. What a horrible contrast when you get off at Heathrow.

We took so many photos at the Botanic Gardens that we've put them in a separate gallery