Merry Christmas in Singapore

Orchard Road - Christmas night
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Christmas morning saw us up early to get organised for our trip to Singapore. Santa appeared to have forgotten that we were in Vietnam and left us nothing (considering that there was no tree and no stockings for him to fill this was not surprising.... given that we've already had to send home 15kg of extras, neither Keith nor Wendy was really inclined to purchase Christmas gifts to add to the weight of our suitcases!)

We left Saigon on time for our 90 minute flight to Singapore. Christmas dinner on the plane included a chocolate cake with 'Seasons Greetings' written on it. We were very impressed.

As always, the Singaporeans were the very model of efficiency in the Customs and Immigration departments and we were soon heading into the city on the subway. (Pausing only briefly to buy a new ticket for Keith as his one from our previous visit was hiding out in the document folder and refused to reveal itself until we were safely installed in the hotel. He now has 2 smart cards for the Singapore subway if anyone needs one!)

It felt a bit like being "home" again as we walked from the subway to the hotel, and we were soon installed. After Vietnam, we could only marvel at the quietness of the traffic and the cleanliness of the streets.

We did a bit of checking out electronic stores nearby, then off for our evening's entertainment - a walk down Orchard Road, Singapore's main shopping drag. It was almost as crowded as Saigon a couple of nights previously, but without the motor bikes. The whole length of the road was decorated with Christmas lights, all very pretty. Carols were coming out of loudspeakers, there were people playing seasonal music, all that sort of thing - not to mentions some serious shopping going on, no such thing as waiting for the Boxing Day sales here!

Back to the hotel for an early night as we had a very early start next morning.