And we didnt do a lot! Just relaxed and had a nice lunch and chit-chat.

I had a solo dinner on Arab street. Lots of grilled meat. Yummy!

Ive enjoyed Singapore so much. I can’t wait to come back, but I’m excited to be in Malaysia too. 

My overnight bus was a breeze. The border crossings were ridiculously easy. The driver literally gave 5 words of instruction,  which was enough! “Passports only” and “passports and luggage”. It also helped that it was 1 in the morning. 

When i got here I had to sleep a little!

Now I’m off to explore downtown KL.

The metro is less than one dollar, which pleases me greatly. 

Talk to you soon!!

You’re so fun,  let’s be best friends!

But seriously, another great day walking and enjoying local sights and flavors.

We spent the morning in Chinatown at a temple, eating snacks, and watching the market slowly wake up. Tried some good, and not so good, street food.

After things literally heated up a bit too much, we walked back to the river for a tour boat. It was fun, lots of nice folks to talk to, and had hilariously entertaining narration. We might even have learned something!

We cooled off with a short visit to the Fullerton Hotel. The hotel is located in an historic building on the Singapore river, about 25 meters from the original trading settlement. Very nice.

Back to the hotel for a swim and a nap.

But, you know me. I wandered out on my own for a little bit, in search of postage stamps. I found…a church, a library, 2 temples, a shop with great prices on peanut butter, a street full of fortune tellers, and no postage stamps.

For dinner we went back to the main Chinatown food street. I had a taste for Thai food, and wasn’t dissatisfied. I’ve yet to have a bad meal. Also, bingsu happened. So that was awesome.

Last activity of the day was a nighttime zoo visit. Amazing. Genius idea, actually. It was much cooler without the direct sun, and some of the animals were really active. Even saw a few new animals.

I’ll be sorry to leave tomorrow. My time here has been such a treat, and the company of such amazing friends, outstanding! Thanks, guys, for everything!!

Good night everyone 

In this cool city with good friends.

We had —-an amazing morning communing with nature; a yummy, fun lunch at the oldest hawker food court in the city; a delightful glass of wine at a friendly shop; an informative visit to a Muslim Indian information center; a nice walk home to the hotel; a short rest and recharge; and to top it all off, dinner at a famous seafood restaurant. Sounds cool, eh?

The Jurong Bird Park is a great example of what a zoo could and should be. The animals were well fed and feisty, the park was clean, and with enough signage to explain the exhibits. You could market this place on the landscaping and gardens alone. Wonderful. We got there just as the birds were being fed and oh man, what great timing! What fantastic noises! I have to say the waterfall enclosure was my favorite. Full of free-flying non territorial birds, it’s amazingly calming to listen and relax in the shade. There’s also penguins, a fantastic selection of parrot species, toucans, other flightless birds, and so much more. A great place.

The food scene here might be better than the one in Hong Kong, and that’s saying something. The food courts here (we had lunch at Lau Pa Sat) are amazingly affordable *and* provide a ridiculous selection of cuisines from all over asia. For lunch,  you can get a gourmet meal from Armenia, Turkey, Korea,  China, Japan,  of course India, etc.  Well, maybe not gourmet….but still really good!  The tables are clean and the atmosphere 100 percent legit.

Just walking slowly through neighborhoods here gives you a feel for how things used to be. For sure, a lot of skyscrapers, but little glimpses here and there of the old Singapore peek out. Between a fro-yo shop and a 7-11, a 100 year old Hokkien temple is now a museum. One block away from a French wine shop, a community center detailing the lives of Indian Muslims welcomes you in to learn about some original inhabitants of Singapore…in a building from 1828.

This is the good stuff, my friends.

A speciality of Singapore is Black Pepper Crab and Chilli Crab…so you know what had to happen. We went for dinner at Jumbo’s, one of several outfits that claims to have invented the dish Black Pepper Crab lol. I don’t know and I don’t care who gets the credit. I do thank them kindly for helping me to finally enjoy a crab dinner. After countless tries…..those guys are delicious!!

So that was cool. I’m trying to shorten the list of foods I won’t eat. It’s down to, like, brains…and mushrooms haha. And cream cheese. Still struggle with those for some dumb reason.

Well, all told another great day in Singapore. The weather is mostly cloudy so that’s been super too.

Couldn’t ask for more.

Words can’t describe how great today was. 

But I’ll try to anyway.

Starting with 2nd breakfast and ending with right now, the day spiraled upwards to super awesome in the most spectacular fashion.

Started off with a nice walk and metro ride in the very clean and air conditioned SMRT. Met up with my friends after breakfast and took a walk to a ferris wheel thingy. It takes 30 minutes to go around and the view is really cool. Some of the modern architecture in the city is fantastic. Also the view of the harbor is revealing. So many container ships waiting to unload. Business is a-boomin’ in Singapore.

Next was a coffee break  (huzzah!) and a drink in a boat-shaped skybar. More views and some lovely breezes up there.

Down the street was one of the citys botanical gardens. So beautiful. Saw a few plants that were new to me and some great plantings of orchids. There’s a stand of metal “trees” that carry a catwalk. Very Star-Wars-y looking, kinda like at the end of Jedi. Neat!

At that point it was too hot and sunny for much more walking. We got a ride to the Little India neighborhood and did some walking around and got a cool drink. I managed to at least see the outside of a temple and a mosque so I got my daily temple fix.

Back to the hotel for a cool-off and phone recharge.

And then boys and girls, we checked an item off my “life list”….we had a Singapore Sling at the Long Bar in the Raffles Hotel!!!!!  Maybe you had to be there lol to see it.  I’d dreamed of seeing the Bar and having a drink there for many years, and this was one of my must-do’s on this trip. So, thanks Willie and Kate!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was great.

Then a lovely dinner and a walk. The walking situation at the riverfront area is delightful. A path runs on both sides of the Singapore river, and running off on side streets are lots of shops & restaurants, museums, and government buildings. I saw an Anglican cathedral,  a mosque,  an Armenian church and the former city hall, which is now the National Gallery. Lots more….but I was ready for a shower and bed.

So, to reiterate…life is awesome beyond all expectations.

Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!