Wednesday, March 22nd, 2023 Queen Victoria, Singapore
Updated: Jul 3, 2023
More shopping and mall browsing, including the famous British chain of Marks and Spencer’s – they have several locations across Singapore. After lunch we headed to a Hindu temple which is strangely located in the China Town area of the city. Sri Mariamman is Singapore’s oldest Hindu temple, it’s built in the Dravidian style and is a major tourist attraction it was founded in 1828, eight years after the East India Company founded Singapore. The temple consists of a central, main building and several smaller buildings – all within a high-walled compound. Shoe removal was required for entry, and as I took my brand my shoes off and placed them on a shelf in the street, I hope they’d be there on my return. The management of the temple were incredibly welcoming and open, anyone can enter, there was no fee, and the only requirement was to be respectful of those in prayer. On a previous visit we were even invited to watch a newborn baby ritual being performed that involved opening the inner sanctum of the temple. The most striking feature of Sri Mariamman are the brightly colored figures that adorn the temple roofs; some frightening, some friendly but all amazingly alluring. Exiting the temple, I was heartened to see my new shoes sitting exactly where I’d left them. One side of the Sri Mariamman is bounded by Pagoda Street – this is the central street of Singapore’s small China Town. Street peddlers once sold their wares all along Pagoda Street, these itinerant hawkers would squat on the pavement with their goods displayed haphazardly on bits of old newspapers, on pieces of cloth or on bags. Most of the shop houses were built after 1842 and by 1862 the street was completely built up; opium and slave traders dominated. Since our last visit to this area, all of the businesses have constructed “stalls” out in front of their shops, reminiscent of the “parklets” we saw pop up in front of restaurants during the covid pandemic – I wondered if these structures were also put up during the pandemic, though many did not look like temporary construction. Even though the sky was overcast, and rain threatened, the heat and humidity were starting to make an impact – we stopped for a cold drink, it really hit the spot and gave us enough energy to make it to the MRT. This evening we had a fantastic dinner at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, located on the 57th floor – Lavo Italian Restaurant was spectacular. I had made the reservation for our dinner about a week ago, just as well as many on the ship had tried today and could not get in. We took the shuttle bus over to the convention center and on the way met some German friends we knew from our nights at the gin bar – they mentioned that they could not get a reservation at Lavo, so we invited them to join us, provided I could convince the restaurant that I’d made a “mistake” with my reservation. The Marina Bay Sands consists of three enormous towers that are, incredibly, connected at the very top by a curved surfboard shaped structure – it’s an amazing piece of architecture. Lavo had a check in desk right in the cavernous lobby and we were soon whisked up to the 57th floor where I brazenly admitted to my reservation “mistake” at the second check-in desk – the reservation was changed from 2 to 4 with no issues, our friends were happy! The restaurant occupies a large, curved space with huge windows overlooking a wraparound deck area which overlooks the city and the bay. We were politely escorted through the restaurant and out onto the deck area where we’d been assigned a table for pre-dinner drinks. The views from the deck area were amazing; we looked down on the Gardens by the Bay, a series of botanical gardens surrounding a central area of Supertrees – these are 18 tree-like structures that dominate the Gardens' landscape with heights that range between 82 ft and 160 ft. Twice per night the trees are lit up in a spectacular light show and we happened to come out onto the Lavo deck area just after one of the shows had started – great timing. Cocktails were ordered and we walked around the deck locking down at the twinkling lights of Singapore, Queen Victoria could be seen in the distance, night lights blazing. We were soon called inside to our table for a great pasta dinner; even though the restaurant was not full there was a lively atmosphere – music playing, lights slowing changing color, the noise from the extensive bar, and the guest were mostly twentysomethings – we were by far the oldest people in the place. This was one of those special night when everything just seemed perfect.
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