Singapore - 10 June 2012

We woke to sun and blue sky, a marked contrast from yesterday when we arrived to an overcast sky and rain, also (fingers crossed, touch wood, etc, etc,) tum feels better.

After breakfast, we wandered down to the Marina Bay, passing Raffles Hotel on the way, where we said we would go for a drink in the evening - more of that later. The weather was extremely hot and we had to use our umbrellas as parasols because of the intensity of the sun - temperature was 33 degrees, although it felt much hotter. Our hotel, which was recommended by Lucy at the Flight Centre, was really well situated and less than 15 minutes walk from the marina.

Singapore is a lovely city and like Japan, very clean. Signs are in English which is also widely spoken. Once at the Marina, we went into the Esplande Centre which houses shops and a theatre. We went up to the roof terrace to get a good view of the harbour. There is a hotel, The Sands, consisting of six separate towers, with what looks like a boat perched on top, an amazing sight. Coming down from the roof terrace, we stopped for a drink overlooking the harbour and did our favourite hobby of people watching!

We then walked over the bridge to another part of the marina and then followed the river, stopping for a light salad lunch on the way. The buildings in the financial centre are really tall and impressive, but too tall to get a good photograph.

By mid afternoon we were wilting in the heat, so we headed back to the hotel.

A couple of hours later after a rest and shower we headed out for dinner, but first a drink at Raffles in their Courtyard Bar. Dave decided to have a gin and tonic and, as I am avoiding alcohol, I had a diet coke. The surroundings were lovely and we joked that these drinks were not going to be cheap, so for a bit of fun we guessed the possible cost, I said £15 and Dave said £20. We were so way off, as these two drinks came to £35! The most expensive diet coke I have ever had. Needless to say, we did not have a second drink.

We continued on to the harbour, which looked lovely lit up, found a nice restaurant, where the meal and two drinks cost £25, significantly less than the two drinks at Raffles.

We wandered back to our hotel in the humidity, it's not much cooler than the daytime temperatures, such a pleasure to get to our air conditioned room!