2 June

We had a slow start. The blog took quite a time to complete.

We went out onto the street to look for a Nikon shop that we had seen over the last couple of days, but the shops always appeared closed. When Jim inspected it today, he found that there was no Nikon store there, but simply that Nikon had naming rights to the shop front. Jim went inside the Burlington Mall and instead of finding any Nikon shops he found a number of shops selling valve or tube audio amplifiers. The purists reckon these are the best. He popped into one and chatted with the engineer, who turned out to be a ham radio operator.

A bunch of thermionic amplifiers

Across the street in the next mall was a collection of camera and audio shops including several that specialised in Nikon products, so Jim browsed but couldn't find anything that he really had to take home.

The Singapore Air Force were out practising as the South East Asian Games kick off in Singapore on Friday.

SAF Exercising 

Choy met us back at the hotel and we threw our baggage in his car. He took us to the Marina to show us his favourite supermarket and then we had lunch. The supermarket was a cross between Walmart and Countdown. Everything from groceries to electronics goods.

Lunch was a local pork chop soup, with rice. However getting it was an experience. You pulled out a drawer and there was a tablet device like an iPad, on which you scrolled through the menu and placed your order, online. Then you opened up the ends of the table to get your eating utensils. Of course the lunch was delicious.

Choy then drove us to the Aquarium which is in the entertainment complex on the edge of Sentosa Island. In the group of activities was a casino, Universal Studios and a large collection of supporting stalls, shops and restaurants. Access to Sentosa is via car, cable car, monorail and probably boat.

The aquarium was educational and delightful. We paid an extra couple of dollars each to attend the introductory session.

We watched as the skipper of a 13^th century Chinese sailing boat was tasked to take a special consignment to the Sultan of Oman as a wedding present. We all moved into the next room which turned out to be a combination 180 degree cinema, planetarium, motion sickness generator, lightning generator and water distribution system. As the boat got under way, there was some rocking and rolling, but when they ran into the storm, it was all on. There were thumps and bumps as the ship hit the waves, the lightning flashes were realistic, the wind blew your hair and to cap it off, there was a fair amount of water sprayed onto the audience to give them the impression of being on a storm battled boat. Unfortunately the boat hit a rock, everyone was lost and the casket containing the wedding gift sank. We then left the cinema and were immediately faced with an aquarium that held the remains of the sailing boat and the casket lying on the ocean floor. Quite an introduction indeed.

The boat at the bottom of the sea

What do you call a bunch of moray Eels?     Hungry

Fish of all shapes and sizes were in display aquariums and we managed to take a large number of photos. It was a little busier than usual as today was the start of the school holidays. It was mind blowing to see all the kids taking great photos on their iPhones and iPads. Apple has probably more than 60% of the smartphone market here and just everybody has one.

Seahorses

Coral  in various shapes

Coral again

These are like Seahorses but different

Large Jelly Fish 

 On the way out, we came across the Ark. We didn't recognise it at first, but then got the message. It was a full sized cross section and showed how they had got a pair of Giraffes and Hippos into the Ark.

After a snack and drink, Choy drove us to the airport, It was fantastic to be chauffeur driven there and we were truly grateful.

At the airport, we changed into our travelling gear, had another light snack, changed our Singaporean dollars and patiently waited to board the plane just after midnight.

The trip to Singapore has been fantastic. We have met our old friends and have been really well looked after. The only thing that Jim has struggled with is the heat. The last couple of days have been 31+C and today got to 34C. He needs a few more days here to acclimatize. Thanks very much Choy and Yat Keng!