Having not been able to get on a flight back to the UK on Friday night Singapore time, it meant I was stuck in Singapore for the whole day on Saturday waiting for the next flight out that night. Plenty of time then to take a walk around Singapore to take a few photos and to also look for something to take home for my beautiful wife.
China Town is a definite must to visit whilst in Singapore. It is an easy walk from the Swissotel The Stamford or anywhere near the Raffles area. You can just walk down North Bridge Road, crossing over the Elgin Bridge near Boat Quay, and then continue down South Bridge Road until you hit China Town.
You get some nice views of the Singapore River and Boat Quay from Elgin Bridge.
Just before Elgin Bridge on the left-hand side of the road in the Singapore Parliament Building, which is in a great location just by the river.
China Town is full of little shops all selling similar stuff. Nothing exciting to take home this time really. I want to have a good look and rummage once again when my wife is with me. I am particularly keen to get some paintings, but only of places both Yayoi and I have been to together.
One of the good things in China Town is the China Town Complex. It is full of little shops selling clothes and other sundries, but it is worth going there for lunch or just to experience the food centre. For the tired and weary, just outside the complex you can get a trishaw tour around China Town.
After wandering around China Town for a while, I returned to the hotel by way of Boat Quay. Boat Quay was of immense importance to Singapore’s maritime trade and commerce operations during the nineteenth century. Today the old shophouses remain, but a huge number of bars and restaurants have sprung up and these tend to be very popular in the evenings. Be prepared to be hassled by each restaurant owner offering you food or drink when you wander down Boat Quay, but it is worth it just for the views out across Singapore River.
At the lower end of Boat Quay, just down from the Fullerton Hotel and on the banks of the Singapore River, is a fabulous sculpture – Bird - by the Colombian artist, Fernando Botero. Famous for his paintings of fat people, you can spot the sculpture as a Botero straight away. The Bird seems quite at home where he is though! 
Passing by the Fullerton Hotel, you can cross the road into the Merlion Park to see the Merlion, the symbol of Singapore, and take photos of the spectacular Durian, the esplanade theatre, across the water. You can also catch a boat at the Merlion Park and journey up the Singapore River. I didn’t take a boat trip on the river this time round, but I can recommend it. You certainly get some great views of Boat Quay, Clarke Quay, and all the other areas around the river, and it is easy to imagine how busy the river would have been with coolies and merchants not that long ago…
Tags: Asia, China Town, Fernando Botero, Singapore, Travel
