Christmas Day parade on Orchard Road

Marina Bay 

Day 14:  Touristing in Singapore on Christmas Day
Singapore's Marina Bay is famous, so we started there.  We got off at the Marina Bay station (again, the MRT is ubiquitous and efficient) and walked through the manicured park by the bay.

We had read about the Supertrees, 300 foot tall man-made structures that are covered with plants (Bromelias), towering above the park.  There is a walkway among them, and we purchased some tickets (S$5 each) and took many photos as we walked on the suspended metal bridge between two of the larger Supertrees.

We then bought tickets to the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest, two large conservatory bio-domes (S$28 tickets for both.  Both were vey different and unique.

Cloud Forest dome had a 50 foot waterfall inside and was cool and misty throughout, meant to mimic a high mountain atmosphere.  There were several walkways around the inside of the dome showing off different ecosystems on each of several levels).

Flower Dome had a collection of flowers and trees from around the world including an impressive display of Large African Baobabs.

After spending much of the early afternoon walking, we went to the stunning Marina Bay Sands hotel and bought tickets to the observatory deck, which had an amazinf infinity pool 600 feet above the city.  Here we had a nice view of the city and took many photos.

We then needed a break and we went down to the Mall level (there are big malls everywhere here - all of them busy no matter what time of day).

Christmas is not a big deal in Singapore, everything was open (though I'm sure it was also a holiday for many) but you did see the odd tree or hear jingles in the mall.

We shared a big burger and fries (Kraze Gourmet Burgers) - good though not what you'd expect for a gourmet burger in Vancouver - plus quite overpriced at $25 for 1 burger, garlic fried and a drink.  FYI 1 USD is worth about 1.2 Singapore dollars so that lessened the pain somewhat.

After taking a break, we left Marina Bay for Doby Ghaut Station (a huge subway/rail interchange) and traveled to famous Orchard Street - Singapore's most famous shopping district (comparable to Robson - though many times larger).  The malls in Asia are not only spread out as they are at home, but they also go up several storeys.

Orchard Road was closed to vehicles on Christmas Day, and there was a parade going on, so it was crowded with people.  And we people watched.  The parade was interesting as the floats did not move - they were stationary and the crowd meandered through it.

It was actually a rather lame parade, and after wandering down the street and checking out some clothing stores, we headed off to Clark Quay, a popular clubbing/lounge and restaurant district near downtown and on the Singapore River.  Here we found a restaurant with an open table - a Tapas bar, and we enjoyed an overpriced pitcher of Sangria and a tapa while watching canal boats float down the Singapore river.

We were feeling pretty good so we decided to take a taxi back to our hotel - though we didn't quite make it, because we saw that Prata Paradise was open and we had an awesome freshly made layered prata with a spicy chicken curry. It was great value.