Friday, January 22, 2016: Day 1 in SINAfter finishing working in TPR, I got ready to leave the airport at around 7:45am. I davened shachris in one of the private rooms in TPR, changed into hot-weather clothes and was through immigration and customs in a matter of minutes (no queues).
An empty immigration hallI ordered Uber to pick me up which was easy and convenient. After about 25 minutes of light traffic we were at the Grand Hyatt, my home while in Singapore.
Since it was only 8:30 when I got to the hotel my room wasn’t ready yet. I was invited to go up to the club lounge on the 20 (21st) floor and have breakfast there. The breakfast spread was decent, but the really good news for me was that one of the cereals they offered was from America and had an O-U! Big score! I was told by my LOR that the milk would be ok (chalav stam) at the hotels so that worked out really nicely for the duration of my stay. Between cereal and the fruit, I was set.
After breakfast I took a few snacks I’d brought with me and headed out for the day, leaving my bags with the concierge (the room was still not ready).
The first thing I did was walk to see the shul. I wanted to familiarize myself with the area and how to walk to shul so I’d be set for Shabbos. I also made sure to pass the kosher Coffee Bean in Orchard Central mall on the way so I’d know where that was.
Worlds smallest McDonalds?Kosher CBTL in Orchard CentralCertificationI looked around the shul for a bit, took some pictures and checked out the kosher market but didn’t end up buying anything.
מגן אבות exteriorמגן אבות interiorAfter meeting an nice couple from London who’d flown in for the week for a (non-Jewish) friend’s wedding on a small Malaysian Island), I headed off walking to the Marina Bay Sands. I continued down the same road (Orchard becomes Bras Basah becomes Raffles) and checked out the famed Raffles hotel. I then walked to the Esplanade, which is a concert hall right on a small lake. I took the footpath all around the lake, staying on the edge of the CBD, to the Marina Bay sands. I arrived at the hotel at 11:50am, just 10 minutes before the Bar, Ce La Vi, opens. After cooling off for a bit I went up to the bar and got a drink to enjoy the views (instead of paying for the Skypark).
Esplanade path to the......Marina Bay SandsInside the MBSSmall Pirtzus Alert AheadInfiniti poolA couple things to note about Ce La Vi: First it’s all outdoors, so don’t expect any air-con up there. Second, the tables fully in the shade are reserved for hotel guests, so you’re stuck partially in the sun. Third, the music is really, really loud up there and they won’t turn it down. Finally, the cheapest drink (water) costs SGD8++ in case anyone was wondering.
I didn’t spend too much time up there before heading across the street to Gardens by the Bay.
Gardens by the BayI walked around the free parts of the gardens (I skipped the Cloud forest and flower garden in the conservatories) for a while. It was nice, but I didn’t feel like spending that much time there and left after an hour or so.
Gardens by the BayFrom there it was a short walk to the Singapore Flyer. While I know going at night is supposed to be nicer, I went during the day and had a great time.
Views from the Singapore FlyerBy the time the that was done I decided to just walk back to the hotel, all the way up the street. It was cool going through all the malls, staying out of the rain (it rained intensely for about 20 minutes).
At this point I was quite hungry (I’d actually had some leftover sandwiches I’d brought from home for lunch at Ce La Vi), so I stopped by Coffee Bean for a salad and drink. That hit the spot!
Coffee Bean snack to goI got to the hotel, got to my room, 837 (I requested a lower floor on purpose), and got ready for Shabbos. Mincha is always at 6:45p, so at 6:30 I tried requesting an Uber. It was torrentially down poring outside, and I didn’t feel like walking. It took Uber 10 minutes to get to the hotel. It also was surge pricing (2.4x) and the traffic on Orchard Rd. was horrible. It took about 25 minutes to get to shul, but I arrived at 7:10, a mere 7 minutes before shkia. The ride ended up costing more that the ride from the airport to the hotel (about SGD25). I lit candles at shul and made it in time for Shabbos.
The following are pictures of my room at the GH Singapore