Singapore: Days 4 & 5

Wednesday, March 26: National Gallery + Food Tour 

We decided to go to the hotel restaurant Lime for breakfast this morning to check out the full buffet offerings in comparison to the more limited options in the Club, and we finished up with second coffee in the Club as we confirmed our plans for the day.

Our first destination was the National Gallery, which is just across the river and was an easy walk, especially with my awesome sun-shading parasol. I had found a self-guided tour on the web site, so we used that to navigate through the galleries and see some of the highlights of the collection. We ended up on the rooftop deck, which provided a great view of the city skyline along with a multi-colored sculpture that shimmered in the sunlight.

The rooftop also had some lovely flowers, and one of the galleries featured a painting that's part of the Singapore currency.

 

We were fascinated to learn more about the history of the building, which was originally two separate structures that were united to create the National Gallery. You can still see the dome of one of the buildings coming through the top floor of the new structure.

 

Our next activity was an afternoon food tour with a local guide, booked through Trip Advisor. I had communicated with the company in advance about my food restrictions, and he did a pretty good job of finding suitable alternatives for me to sample. We visited three different neighborhoods of the city to taste different cuisines -- Malay in Kampong Glam, Indian in Little India, and Chinese in Chinatown. Our final stop was very close to our hotel, which was great since we were quite sweaty and warm after the 3-hour tour and definitely in need of a shower and a rest!

 

We returned to the Club for dinner and met a friendly couple from Brisbane, R and D. R saw me reading our Lonely Planet guide and remarked on it, so we struck up a conversation that continued during subsequent evening visits to the Club. I think they particularly appreciated that we knew how to pronounce "Melbourne" correctly!

 

Thursday, March 27: Merlion + Peranakan Museum + Lime Seafood Buffet Dinner

 

Back to the Club for breakfast and then a morning walk to visit the wonderful Merlion. Our cultural destination for the day was the Peranakan Museum (pronounced like "piranha-ken"), which was featuring a couple of special textile exhibitions. It was fascinating to learn about the art of batik and to see the creations of three generations of women from the same family, each of whom put her own twist on this craft. We also enjoyed seeing the other clothes, jewelry, and home furnishings that are part of the museum's permanent collection.

 

 

As a souvenir, we bought the 15cm One Singapore 2024 plate, which came with a display stand and book describing and explaining the meaning of all of the icons on the plate. A great way to learn more about the history and culture of this fascinating country and city!

 

After some down time in our room, we headed to the bar for cocktails and reading time. The ice block in my Negroni was imprinted with a botanical design, which was a nice decorative touch to the beverage. 

 

Dinner this evening was the seafood buffet at Lime, which was included as part of our room package. We definitely took advantage of the lobster claws and crab legs but decided to opt out of the durian custard dessert. 

 

We finished up the evening with additional beverages and dessert in the Club, with some more chatting with R & D as we wrapped up the day.