Singapore: day two

 We were ready for a jam-packed day after a lightish buffet breakfast, and a rainstorm had just rolled over to incentivise us to get a move on. It meant that we didn’t go for a swim in the pool, rather straight to SAM - the Singapore Art Museum down by the Docklands in what used to be an old power station (think Carriageworks style). The driver asked “are you sure there’s a museum here”, and yes, amongst the random warehouse spaces, there was. And it had a cool kids space that talked Ethan through some modern artworks with a helpful sticker book. In the floors above, more art from this gallery and other private galleries too. It felt kind of White Rabbit Gallery, with billionaires private collections on display. It was modern Asian art, presented how we like to consume it - in a random old warehouse in a dank part of town.

From there we caught a cab to the Duxton Hill area and found a sushi joint that was air conditioned and had wifi. It was good to cool off as by lunch time it had hit the mid 30’s. After some food we had enough energy to walk up the street and I found a great shirt in a shop called So Sus (meaning something sustainable). We caught a short taxi ride to the Gardens by the Bay as we had booked tickets to the cloud forest and flower garden. Now, we are firm believers that tourist things are touristy because they’re good and this one is good! It’s a giant concrete mountain overflowing with waterfalls, within a glass dome, covered in beautiful Jurassic plant life. It was cool in there and spectacular to see! They had an orchid display on that was particularly special, as we know how hard it is to cultivate orchids. And there were SO many of them! It was really beautiful. Then you take a lift to the top and snake your way down over sky walks and through jungles and at each turn where you think it is the end there is a new garden to see. It was fantastic- 10/10.

We also bought a dual ticket to the flower dome, which was a nice presentation of gardens from around the world, but just after seeing an artificial mountain inside a glass dome? Only ok. The monet exhibition was kinda cool, with flowers interspersed with projections, and plenty of insta-worthy spots for pics, but we were then on the clock to get to the next venue. We’d booked a table at Spago at the top of the Marina Bay Sands. We took the 57 floor elevator to the top and found our table right next to the sea side of the city. The amount of ships waiting to dock is insane. We had a couple of cocktails while Ethan played his iPad and we took a few snaps for good measure. A storm rolled by but it didn’t matter too much, the staff lowered the curtains and closed the pool but then opened it all again later. 

Once we were done pretending to be rich, we took a short cab ride to Moonstone, a small bar just outside of Chinatown. Once we’d had a short drink  there, we went to Lau Pa Sat, a well known refurbished Hawkers market where you can get any number of Asian cuisines in a food court style eatery. We enjoyed Xiao Long Bao, teriyaki skewers, crispy skin duck among others and it was all great! Finally, after such a huge day, we headed back to the hotel as Ethan was crashing and I went to the hotel bar Origin to write this post. What a huge day! Kinda ready to go home tomorrow but still a lot more to see before we go!