First day in Singapore

A warm and muggy day in Singapore. No sunshine but only one shower and we were inside at the time, so no complaints. Took the 'Heritage Bus Tour' in the morning which gave us an overview of the city sights. Tour went through Little India, the Colonial District, China Town, the Business District and along the quayside where the amazing Marina Sands hotel is located. Spent the rest of the day exploring on foot and (John) taking lots of photos. Architecture is mostly very modern and very tall but, in between the skyscrapers, some remnants of the colonial past have been preserved. One of the most famous being Raffles Hotel, where we enjoyed an early evening Singapore Sling on the veranda of the Billiard Room Bar. Walked along the quayside and up the river, where we discovered the Anderson Bridge built by Sir John Anderson when he was Governor of the Straits Settlements. (Yes, that's 'our' John Anderson, distant relative of Aenea and owner of the amazing silver casket we have at home.)

On the quayside, looking towards the skyscrapers of the Business District

Looked into a couple of temples - one Hindu and the other Buddhist - both fascinating but quite alien. We're promised an even more splendid temple tomorrow in Chinatown. Went shopping in a huge mall specialising it IT and electronics and treated ourselves to a new pair of binoculars. And of course we fell in love with an expensive pair and spent much more than we had intended to.

Were drawn to an Art Deco style building, the Parkview Tower, which turned out to be even more splendid inside than out. Paused for a late afternoon glass of wine in the very elegant bar there and were fascinated to find out that it is a modern building, built by a Hong Kong businessman, in 2001. Intriguing that someone would build a 1930s lookalike in the 21st century.

We dined in an expensive Chinese restaurant overlooking the harbour and were entertained by a laser light and water display from the Marina Sands across the water. This was part of the Chinese New Year festivities. Then we walked back to our hotel through the brightly lit streets. All in all, a very good day.