We've arrived in Singapore!

We left Lake Charles at 4:00 PM on January 20 for a flight to Houston and then on to San Francisco.  From there we had a 17 hour flight which crossed the International Date Line and totally missed January 21 before arriving in Singapore at 8:00AM on January 22

.

We had to submit paperwork to Singapore three days before our arrival and received our approved for entry.  When going through these gates, we scanned our passports and our thumb prints.

We stayed at the Conrad Centennial Hotel which is located very conveniently to many of the iconic sights in Singapore.

Once we arrived at the hotel, we dropped off our bags and decided to walk to the The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, a mall near our hotel.  On the walk from the hotel we stopped at the Youth Olympic Park and took these pictures of the Singapore skyline.  The building on the left side of the picture is the Science and Arts Museum.

The Helix Bridge is the longest pedestrian bridge that links the Marina Centre with the Bayfront area.It is modeled after the double helix DNA, symbolizing “life and continuity, renewal and growth”. There are pairs of colored letters ‘c’and ‘g,’ as well as as ‘a’ and "t’ on the bridge, which represent the four bases of DNA.

This Digital Light Canvas in the center of the Marina Centre is an artwork space that consists of a 46 ft-tall light sculpture suspended from the ceiling with  countless full-colored LEDs and a circular 49 foot floor monitor consisting of individually controlled LEDs, which allow for graphics to be rendered in real time.       

In the Youth Olympic Park there  are drawings done by children that are decorations on the wall. This drawing by 11 Year old artist Joyce Han “I want to scale the highest mountain in the world!”  A replica of her drawing was built in the park.

 We walked through the food court at the Marina Centre Mall which was absolutely the largest food court we’ve ever seen with 60 restaurants! Alll the food choices were Asian, but we did notice these roasted chicken, pigs, and ducks on displayed, but were dismayed that all the heads were still attached. 

Once we walked through the food court, we exited the mall and continued walking until we reached the  iconic Marina Bay Sands Hotel. The scene pictured below shows the Marina Shopping Center and the Arts and Science Center and the Marina Bay Sands Hotel with its observation deck behind.

We paid to ride the elevator up to the Observation Deck on ihe 56 floor where  From there we where able to get a wonderful view of Singapore.

The Flower Gardens are visible in the foreground and the barrage (the salt water barrier) is located in the upper left.  Notice all the ships waiting out at sea to be loaded or unloaded.

Gardens by the Bay

When we left the Marina Sands Hotel, we walked to the Gardens by the Bay. The Gardens are comprised of the Flower Dome, Floral Fantasy, Cloud Forest, and the Supertree Grove. We paid to tour the Cloud Forest which contained an amazing Avatar display as well as the largest indoor waterfall (according to the Guinness Book of World Records).

The Supertree Grove 

These super trees are home to a large array of plant life. The vertical planting panels installed on the trunks are planted with various species of bromeliads, orchids, ferns and flowering climbers. When dusk falls, the super trees lights up.  In addition there is a sight and sound show each evening.

We walked back to the hotel and rested for a couple hours before walking the same path again for dinner and to see the lights of Singapore.

By the time we walked back to the hotel, we had walked over 10 miles today.  What a great day!