And now, from sailing to travel.

This blog is called the Schady-Muller sailing and travel blog. So, after three and a half months of sailing on Esprit, it was time to take a break and travel on land.

Esprit on pole moorings next to Ultimate Warrior.

We left Esprit tied on fore and aft pole moorings at Bowen marina in tropical north Queensland and took a shuttle bus to Proserpine airport for the flight to Brisbane. A quick transfer from domestic to international got us on a flight to Singapore, where we arrived late afternoon for a three-day stay in the city.

In pirate party spirit, the happy Annie wanted to fly to Singapore on this bird

I bought us economy class plane tickets instead, as my princess deserves only the best.

Annie found us a small boutique hotel situated conveniently in the heart of the panel beating, sheet metal fabrication and industrial area of Singapore, within a brisk 10-minute walk from the MRT station. No swimming pool, wet bar or sauna to while away the three days, so we reacquainted ourselves with this wonderful city using an unlimited MRT and bus pass and walking a lot. This was a good way to regain our land legs.

Office block forecourt.

Supertree grove walkway.

On the walkway.

Singapore was a frequent stopover in the first five years of visiting rellies in SA, when the kids were small and doing long-haul flights with them was difficult. In the subsequent fifteen years, the population in Singapore has grown exponentially and consequently the number of new apartment buildings grew apace. There have also been numerous new developments in the city, catering for every architectural taste.

Cloud forest dome

Seven story waterfall inside the cloud forest dome.

At the very top of the dome.

On the walkway inside the dome.

Inside the flower dome.

Little India, Chinatown and the Malay quarter still have all their charm and one would hope they don’t fall prey to redevelopment of more modern tower blocks.

Malay area with the Sultan mosque in the background.

Chinatown.

Hindu temple.

Indian gardens.

Two new structures that were quite amazing, were the Marina Bay development next to the white ArtScience museum and the Helix stainless steel bridge next to it.

Amazing stainless steel detailing, welding and polishing.

Helix bridge and the Marina Bay Sands behind.

Hotel foyer – not ours!

White ArtScience museum on the right.

Spelling mistake?

After four nights, we boarded the British Airways flight from Changi airport to London. Our next post will report on the UK leg of this trip.