Singapore - Happy New Year!

Singapore skyline
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Shopping, shopping and more shopping…..

We hit Singapore thinking what a great place to ring in 2008. Little did we know that it’s a shopping haven – of course we stayed just off of Orchard Road which houses I don’t know how many malls and department stores. What great clothes they have here – all very hip and fashion forward. You can imagine how excited Scott was when we arrived - not.

Thankfully, we got away from the shopping district and hit Little India for some good Indian curry, the Raffles Bar to drink a Singapore Sling at the bar where it was originally created, strolled along Clarke Quay and the Singapore River and walked along Bugis Street (oh – more shopping here). We also of course made time to stop at Archipalego & Brewerkz– two pubs that serve up local microbrews.

City at night
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We had heard about how the city is very sterile, but we didn’t find it to be the case. Although, we will say the city is much cleaner than all the other cities/countries we visited in Asia. One thing we did have to get used to was the costs of everything. No more joy of cheap Asia prices for us.

For New Year’s Eve, we decided to hit the “must-have” chili crab down at the East Coast Seafood Center. Of the many options for dining, we chose Jumbo seafood and were not disappointed. The chili crab was excellent (albeit soooo messy with the chili sauce) and we also tried some spicy stir fried prawns which were excellent. We were also lucky enough to catch a stunning sunset along the beach during our walk to the restaurant. We then headed downtown as there was plenty of music/bands and fireworks planned over the harbor at midnight. What we didn’t realize was that there were what seemed like two million other people with of course that same game plan. We made our way through the crowds and down to a pub which had a side view along the Singapore River to the harbor. We heard a waiter tell the table next to us that the view would be perfect, so we thought great – we’re good! Sadly, as the clock struck twelve and we awaited the big show (along with a huge crowd of others) we all realized that the fireworks were flying behind the skyscraper and out of view. We realized it when we noticed the fireworks reflecting off another skyscraper in the other direction. So sad really, especially for the table next to us as there were two children with them. Their small faces continued to stare into the sky hoping they would still be able to see some. We haven’t stayed up for fireworks in I don’t know how long and the first time that we do, this is what happens. Oh well, if that’s the worst thing that happens during our travels, I think we’ll be just fine.

Ahhhhhh.....Guiness (it's been awhile)
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Next we move on to New Zealand --- goodbye Asia you will be missed!!

Tidbit of the day:

Modern-day Singapore is well known for its clean, modern attitude but part of the efficiency involves a continued tough civil order stance, especially with regard to hard-line criminals. Since 1991, the Singapore government has executed over 400 murderers and (more commonly) drug-traffickers, giving the tiny nation the highest execution rate per population in the world.