Another fine day in Singapore!
Following a good time at Yale-NUS, we had an opportunity to enjoy more of the sights and sounds of Singapore. We opted to do a bit of sightseeing in the locality near the hotel, so we had a quick breakfast and grouped up to head out. Our first stop: the Masjid Sultan mosque on the adjacent block!
This local landmark featured informative displays in the lobby and an opportunity to view the large prayer area of the central floor. Following our tour, we ventured into the local neighborhood to pick up souvenirs and do a little shopping. The adjacent area is the Singapore Chinatown, harboring a number of shops and stalls. Some of the students picked up trinkets and gifts, while we picked up a knick-knacks for the house.
Thanks to the adjacent MRT stop, it was easy for us to hop on the MRT line after our shopping. Traveling just a few stops away, we headed to the Singapore waterfront to see the famous merlion. Fun fact: Singapore gets its name from words translating to "Lion Port", hence its mascot is a lion-fish hybrid. We took plenty of pictures, but soon found ourselves in the afternoon rain. It's very typical for this latitude to experience rain between mid-morning and late-afternoon, but we took it in stride. In a short while, the rain subsided and we headed to our next stop: a hawker market.
There's a large, indoor plaza featuring a wide variety of food stands - everything from Japanese, Korean and Chinese dishes, to Indian and European foods. Thanks to the low prices, you can experience a number of dishes for a very low cost. We spread out and soon found plenty of things to eat. Following lunch, we made a brief stop at a Hindu temple in close proximity.
After our temple tour, we had an opportunity to split and continue our cultural excursions for the day. While some of the students opted for more sightseeing or shopping, Ramona spotted something interesting on the map. To the south, there was an island on our tour map that seemed interesting. Like our stop in Japan to see the Odaiba waterfront, Ramona surmised it might be a nice place to check out. As she looked closer, she noted there was also a cable car stop there, something else she wanted to do.
A short MRT ride was all that was needed to get us there.
We soon reached the cable car station and bought our tickets. As it turned out, we could ride the cable car to the small island, called Sentosa. With nothing else in mind, we boarded and were treated to a fabulous view of the island as we approached.
Upon our arrival, we walked a short ways to see what we could do on this jungle resort. Compared to the city, the abundance of tall trees and foliage made this feel much more like jungle and less like a city. The air was thick and humid but we quickly acclimated. Before long, we found our first bit of entertainment : a jungle zipline! Yup - that's right! We paid our admission fee and were quickly introduced to our harnesses - and launch platform. While it might seem strange that we literally had some put on our harnesses and take us up a ramp with little or no instruction, you have to remember that the US is pretty heavily regulated, and not every else in the world is. :-)
At the top of the platform, we could see the end of the line about 400yds away. With a quick step, we were off the platform and racing through the air! It didn't take long before we were safely at the landing platform. At the booth, we collected our pictures and headed back to the cable car stop.
We said goodbye to Sentosa as our cable car brought us back to the mainland and returned to the MRT. Our next task: dinner! We would meet up with Stephen, a WMU program alum living in Singapore. As with our trip in 2016, he met us at Chin Chin restaurant and joined us for a sumptuous dinner.
As the evening wore on, the students were soon free to pair up and go enjoy their last evening in Singapore. Eric offered to show us a great night view of Singapore, so we headed off on our own. A few blocks away, we climbed a large building to a rooftop gastropub, known for its microbrews. Atop the roof, we could see the Gardens by the Bay and the Singapore Flyer. Thanks to the proper angle, we could also see the waterfront sound and light show we saw the previous evening, this time from an overhead view.
Bidding Eric a goodnight, Ramona and I navigated home, by way of dessert! And where else to get desert? The lower level of the malls always have excellent food choices. We found a patisserie with a nice cake set and we were set. A short walk brought back to our room to enjoy our dessert and we soon turned in.
Tomorrow would see us leaving Singapore, en route to Malaysia!
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