ATW Day 51 - Singapore

Today is our second day in Singapore.  We arrived yesterday mid-afternoon to be greeted by a fire boat and a rain shower.

 In the evening there was an event for the ATW guests.  The event was held at the Pasir Panjang Power Station.  The station has historic significance as it was the first power station in Singapore and led to the modernization of the city.  That said, the venue was now really just a huge empty warehouse which I guess was needed for the 500+ people that had to be accommodated.  

The event was titled Singapore's Cultural Mosaic.  The description noted that we would be exploring "the city's most iconic neighborhoods."  In reality, they just had booths in the venue that did provide some cultural activities.

When we were seated for dinner, there was a variety of local entertainment.  Really good.

It was when it was time for dinner that things went rapidly downhill.  I am sure that feeding 500+ people is quite a challenge so I guess I'll have to give them a pass on the so-so quality of the food.  The real problem was that someone had the brilliant idea that the dinner cultural entertainment should be a band playing mostly American rock and roll music at 90 decibels!  It got so uncomfortable for me that I passed on eating most of the food and stood outside of the venue until a bus was available to take us back to the ship.  Linda joined me not long after I walked out.  That really ruined what turned out to be a mediocre and disappointing event.

Today, we decided to go to the Gardens By The Bay which we had visited last year.  We walked from the port to the garden which was probably a mistake as I had underestimated how long it would take us to get to the ticketing entrance.  It wound up being an hour in the heat and humidity.  The walk in did provide some good photo ops.

I was quite afraid that the baby would fall to the ground and get hurt, but he patted me on the head to comfort me.

When we got there, we decided to just do the Flower Dome which had 2 great things going for it - air conditioning and Tulipmania.  It's a wonderful garden with plants form all over but the tulips were the highlight - almost as good as being in the Netherlands at tulip time.

Some of the tulips were quite unique.

They also incorporated some Dutch art into the display.

Leaving the Garden, we walked over to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel area for lunch passing some sculptures and people apparently on siesta!

For lunch, we ate at the same Chinese restaurant that we ate at last year - Din Tai Fung.  Yes, it's an international chain and there is even one in Torrance, California (which we haven't eaten at) but it is so good.  We had buns and this terrific special dish - noodles with a crab roe sauce.  Yum!

After lunch, we grabbed a Grab to get back to the ship.  The 10 minute ride and the $7.20 fare were much more comfortable than the walk!

Tomorrow, we are in Kuala Lumpur as we begin the next exciting segment of our journey.

Peace and blessings,

Linda and Larry

ATW Day 48 - Surely It's Surabaya

We are back in Surabaya, Indonesia.  Surabaya, a city of 3 million people, is a major port as evidenced by the number of cargo ships anchored off shore as we sailed in.  

And the big guy guarding the port.

If you check out my post from a year ago, you'll see that we did not have a very good experience:

https://lindaandlarryontheroad.blogspot.com/2025/03/trowulan-torture.html.  

Today it was hot.  How hot?

So, rather than doing something like exploring the old town or Chinatown, we did the unthinkable - we went to the Tunjungan Plaza Mall!  Yes, it was air conditioned!  Since the shuttle bus was full, we grabbed a Grab to get there.  Driving from the port to the city provided quite a contrast.  The old parts of the city seem to us spoiled Americans as quite third world in nature.

And then you get to the more modern part of the city with a guy guarding it.

As for the mall, let's just say that it is huge.  It's either the largest or second largest in Surabaya with well over 500 stores many of which seemed to be restaurants.  Linda concluded that no one in Surabaya eats at home.

We actually did some shopping for a few provisions and I bought 2 locally made shirts for a total of $35.  You have to love how inexpensive Indonesia is.  After our good walk through most of the 6 buildings that made up the mall, we resisted the temptation of going to the rotating sushi restaurant and went back to the ship.  The Grab ride back was interesting, no wait time and fast.  The interesting part was that the driver was quite adamant in telling us that we could not fasten our seat belts!  I have no idea why.

At the port, we stopped at the market and bought some Luwak coffee.  If you don't know what that is I suggest you Google it.

Just to backtrack for a moment, the sail away from Bali provided yet another beautiful sunset with Venus making a grand appearance.

Tomorrow, as we sail to Singapore, there will be a special presentation giving us the details of the complete refurbishment of the Oceania Nautica.  She's even being renamed - Oceania Aurelia.  It should be very interesting.

And now for the latest news regarding the shower on our veranda.  We knew that there had been a good rain storm while we were off of the ship and, sure enough, the work they had done had not fixed the problem.  When we returned, we found that they had plugged up the hole.

GM Evan is not convinced that this will fix the problem.  We are anxiously awaiting another storm to see.

And one last comment for today.  The thing we love most about Oceania is the amazing crew that we know so well.  In Bali, Nyoman, who we  know well and who had been our waiter in the Jacques restaurant when we were on here in December, returned and we had a warm welcome.

And I can't fail to mention one of our favorite Sommelier's, Marija.  She is just so much fun to be with.

And now on to Singapore!  Oh, and before I sign off, look at the latest sunset as we prepare to sail away.

Peace and blessings,

Linda and Larry