Free buffet breakast - if these three words are ever mentioned you know you are onto a good thing. We headed down to breakfast at about 9:30 and were expecting a small fair with a few options like what we experienced in Japan, when we sat down and had a look at the buffet we were very impressed with the spread.
We had choices between:
- croissants, toasts, breads, and pastry’s
- Fruit, even the exotic dragon fruit.
- Curry’s and rice dishes.
- Yogurts, a huge variety
- Cold meats
- hot meats including chicken and sausage
- bacon, hash browns and eggs
- dumplings
- fresh juice and much much more…
Luckily for us we took our time and fueled up on a variety of food which would get us ready for the day. Our first stop was meant to be Fort Canning Park, however it took us a while to get there. Dawdling down Arab Street we were distracted by the hawkers bartering their wares. One such guy took us into his shop to sell me a guard for my camera LCD screen which was good. It was then that he started his demonstration of this attachment lens which worked as both a macro lens and a wide angle lens. We were entertained as he showed us how it worked with our cameras taking a variety of pictures with the lenses and comparing them. To cut a long story short after a bit of bartering and some indecision Steve and I ended up buying one each. I will say they were a good investment and have been used a lot today.
With new lens attached and some extra pictures of the beautiful Sultan Mosque taken, we jumped on the train and headed to City Hall to make our way to Fort Canning Park. Fort Canning Park was originally home to the Malay Kings before Raffles came to Singapore. It is reported that many of the Malay royalty are buried on the grounds, now it is a park that provides some nice shade from the heat. We did some walking round the park or really managed to finally find our way to the Battle Box. The Battle Box is a series of underground tunnels where the British Armed Forces kept a secret base in World War 2. The Battle Box at Fort Canning is actually the place where Britain decided to surrender Singapore to Japan during the War. Besides some scary wax dummy’s the place was very educational and well worth a visit.
By this stage it was getting hot and humid and being in the middle of a park wandering around was not the best idea. Singapore flyer sounded like a splendid idea as we knew it meant half an hour of aircondiitoning. We headed to the train and it was at the station where we decided to have lunch. Chicken and rice was our decision for lunch after looking at a variety of shops. I was shocked by the price as it was S$3 for the chicken and rice. It was YUM!!!! The chille was a little hot but it was tasty too. I have decided already that my favourite drink this trip is Ice passionfruit tea and i ordered this here. Anthony has the same food as me and enjoyed it too. Anthony decided to get some dessert and we were all happily eating near the station, that was until there was an announcement saying ‘No eating on the station’ we found out that eating on the station is a $500 fine. Luckily they didn’t fine us. It was then off to Singapore flyer
Between Esplanade station and the Esplanade theater we were able to travel underground. When we finally returned to the surface it had been raining and has raised the humidity up a lot. We walked along the Singapore river towards the Singapore Flyer, taking pictures of Marina Bay Sands (which is a engineering marvel) and the city scape. Unfortunately it was a bit overcast and we were unable to get the best pictures. We found an ice-cream vendor on the way and were able to cool off a bit.
Going round the flyer was pretty cool, alothough it is the biggest tourist trap ever. The 360 degree veiw is spectaluar and as it moves so slowly (30 minutes a rotation) you are able to enjoy the view. By showing your passports at the Singapore Flyer you are entitled to $5 of free food from the Singapore food trail. Singapore food trail is a collection of small cart hawker stall on the outside of the building. They sold a variety of food for approximately $5-6. I settled on Pork Noodles Soup, Anthony had Hokkein noodles with seafood, Sarma had medicine soup (otherwise known as Bak Kut Teh) and Steve has satay noodles. We sat outside and enjoyed our food as the temperature had dropped to a reasonable temperature.
Walking home seemed like a good idea even though i feet were tired. We walked through the malls and made our way to Suntec Mall. The fountain of wealth which is at Suntec City had a cool lights display. My beautiful boyfriend encouraged me to have a go at taking my camera of automatic and start trying some of the things Steve taught me. I think the photos turned out well and I was glad I got good results taking it off automatic.
The rest of the night was spent with a dip in the pool and lounging on some deckchairs by the pool. Anthony fell asleep for a while and we were kicked out as they closed the pool. It was a wonderful day.