First steps in Singapore – overview of the Indian Quarter and Marina Bay at night
This visit was not a vacation in the strict sense. (I came to buy equipment which is much cheaper here than in Thailand) but that didn't stop me from enjoying these few days in the city-state on the Malaysian peninsula. In addition, it allowed me to go and see a mutual friend of my wife's. (one of those ex Thai students).
Landing in the Geylang district
I arrived alone on this first day, due to lack of initial planning, Jitima joining me only at the beginning of the afternoon (as it had worked out, she just couldn't take the same plane as me). For the sake of economy, I booked in the "famous" Geylang district, à 81 Princess Hotel.
The advantage being that it was right next to the store where I needed to do my shopping. Otherwise, forget the charm of the Thai welcome, here rigor is required…. But let's be honest, given what I had heard, the staff at this hotel were reasonably courteous.
The little room we had.
Very clean bathroom, nothing to say.
View from the bedroom.
1 hour later, a few prostitutes were already keeping watch, in broad daylight... Yes, that's the "famous" Geylang district, among others.
Once Jitima arrived, we would go to join our friend by metro.
A pile of soulless buildings, it is not always visible in the photos I took but Singapore has the merit of being a rather green (and super clean) city.
While waiting for the bus, head to the shopping mall!
Lots of people, normal it's the weekend.
Little India Tour
After the air conditioning of the stores, radical change, direction little India. Knowing that Singaporeans are a mix of Chinese, Malaysian and Indian cultures (and therefore the main languages spoken in the country being Mandarin, Malay and Tamil to which is added English, normally spoken by most of the inhabitants).
After that, it was time for dinner, and while we were at it, we might as well eat at a good Indian restaurant nearby (Indian restaurant, not the guy! Ouuuuh but what humor!). And this time, it was in the purest traditional style, namely a banana leaf as a plate and our fingers as cutlery. You can always ask for cutlery if it really "disgusts" you. There are of course sinks for washing hands before and after. And with all that, it was delicious!
Yum Yum!
Fingers full!
Look for the elephant (Ganesh, the Hindu deity) the restaurant is not far.
After that, what could be better than a good digestive stroll. LThe opportunity to soak up this nighttime atmosphere, while people are still shopping in the local grocery stores open at this late hour.
Neighborhood grocery store.
A match of I don't know what (cricket?) is in progress.
We continued this evening by passing through the lively district of Clarke Quay and its covered street of Read Street, where restaurants and bars line up in a good-natured atmosphere with all kinds of music in the background.
Clarke Quay runs along the quay and the river, further east (about 400 m) there is the famous Merlion, symbol of Singapore and the Marina Bay.
All the young people meet here to unwind, all nationalities combined.
We are approaching Marina Bay, it is bright everywhere, we feel like we are walking in an amusement park.
The only and unique “beggar” I would see…
Marina Bay at night
We originally thought we'd stop for a drink and enjoy the atmosphere at Clarke. Quay, but not staying very long in Singapore either, I wanted to move around and see as much as possible. For once, since I had my tripod, it was also an opportunity to practice night photography a little, and for that, what could be better than the view of Marina Bay and its iconic hotel, shaped like an ocean liner.
The business district is rather sleepy at this time.
The parliament.
St Andrews Cathedral.
With all these night shots and lights a tripod is essential…
In blue bridge version.
In red bridge version.
The famous boat-shaped hotel at the top, the Marina Bay Sands.
The famous also, Merlion Hotel, known above all for its fountain in the shape of a fishtail lion, the symbol of Singapore. The latter spitting water, but was under renovation when we passed by...
After that it was time to go home. To keep it simple, we decided to take a taxi, here, no traffic jam, and 10 minutes later we were back at our hotel.
