In between running errands and going for a bike ride, we visited a few of the tourist attractions in Singapore: The River Walk, the Botanical Gardens including the National Orchid Garden, the Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel, the Jurong Bird Park, and the Night Safari. We really enjoyed the Gardens and the Bird Park as evidenced by the large number of photos we took.
The Night Safari was OK, but is definitely overrated from our perspective. We do not understand why it is voted as the best attraction in Singapore. Maybe most people are much more interested in nocturnal animals (or animals in zoos) than we are. Becky’s favourite part of the Night Safari was watching the large fruit bats (about 1 foot tall) eat. We both enjoyed the animal show at the end as well.
Our vote for best attraction in Singapore is the Jurong Bird Park. We only had a few hours, and could easily have spent another day exploring. Unfortunately, when we got to the “World’s tallest manmade waterfall”, we were running out of time and were getting too hot, so we did not get a chance to climb to the lookout.
Our vote for best “free” attraction in Singapore is the Botanical Gardens. We barely saw a quarter of the park before running out of time. We could easily spend an entire week walking the various trails throughout the garden. Unfortunately, they do not allow bicycles – so the only way to see most of the garden is by walking. Becky’s best memory from the gardens is the huge spider, about 5 inches (12 cm) long. We did have to pay to see the Orchid Gardens, but they were fascinating too.
At Scott’s insistence, we all went to the Raffles Hotel and had a drink in the famous Long Bar. He had fond memories from the last time he was in Singapore, and wanted to share with Becky. It’s air conditioned now, so the mechanical fans are mostly for show, and the drinks are definitely set for a tourist budget. We both had the Singapore Sling anyway, since it was invented here, but at $23 SGD (about $20 CAD), a beer or a glass of wine would have been much more reasonable. It was a very yummy drink though, and being able to throw peanut shells on the floor felt somewhat rebellious given the stringent anti-littering laws everywhere else in town.
