Singapore

March 5, 2023

We docked in Singapore a little later than expected which delayed people’s planned activities a bit. However, what delayed them even long was the Singapore immigration process. The day before we got to Singapore, we received notification from the ship that Singapore requires an online health certification to be completed no more than 3 days before we docked. I was able to easily complete Brian’s and my certifications and got them uploaded and accepted.

We had booked an excursion through the ship which would take us to Little India, Chinatown, and to a Chinese tea demonstration and tasting. A Chinese set lunch was included along with a Singapore Sling at one of the nicer hotels. Originally, we were supposed to go to Raffles Hotel where the drink originated but out ticket said we would be going somewhere else for operational reasons. Anyway, we met at our assigned time in the Princess Theatre and waited and waited to be led off the ship. Finally our number was called and we thought we were making progress. Then we hit Singaporean immigration. We stood on the gangway for awhile (which was a very long gangway) until there was room inside the building for more people to enter. Brian and I were the last two in our group. We were greeted by a long zigzag lines (like at airport security or a Disneyland ride) that was slowly moving forward. After roughly half an hour, we reached immigration where our passports were processed and we were fingerprinted and we where sent on our way. Later on, this process was taking a lot longer. We headed downstairs and went through customs. Since we had nothing to declare, we just had to go through a security scan. We found our tour guide and proceeded to wait until our other tour companions arrived. All in all, our tour left an hour and a half late.

Throughout the day, the weather reminded up we were in the tropics. It was overcast with occasional downpours. The overcast helped keep the temperature down so it was only slightly sweltering instead of extremely sweltering! I was able to take some pictures from the very nice bus through raindrop covered windows.

Our first stop was Yixing Xuan Teahouse where the founder’s daughter, who know works with her father after years in finance, explained how tea was processed and brewed. I didn’t realize that all tea (other than herbal and flowery and fruity teas) come from a single plant. The type of tea depends upon which leaves are picked from the plant. Our time here was truncated due to our late start but we had time to sip four types of tea. Included I. The tasting was the best jasmine green teas I’ve ever had. During the tea appreciation class, we learned that white tea is extremely high in antioxidants and other cancer preventatives and extremely low in caffeine. It is an incredibly lightly flavored tea.

We were hustled back onto the bus, which was blocking the road and causing a lot of drivers to lay on their horns with enthusiasm. We went off to Chinatown for lunch and while we would have time to shop then, we would spend more time here later.

Singapore is a fascinating city to observe. It is multicultural (Malay, Chinese, Indian, and Eurasian) with a lovely mix of old and new. Almost everyone speaks English and there is generally English signage along with another language.