Our last night on the ship, we docked in Singapore. We dined in Polo Grill with a view of the city.
Our final day has arrived and we disembark in Singapore. We left the ship and took a cab to our hotel (which Tim found for us), the St. Regis. Although it was only about 10 a.m. our lovely room was ready. We were brought coffee and biscuits while we settled in. After a break, we headed by subway to Chinatown. Chinatown makes up about ¾ of the entire population of Singapore. We started at the Maxwell Hawker Center for lunch. This center is known for its famous Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice stall. This is in the Michelin guide. However, we bought our Chicken Rice plate at the neighboring stall which locals told us was even better.
After lunch we went to the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple nearby.. It features the traditional Tang-style design with red-lacquered walls and houses the sacred Buddha tooth relic—his left canine tooth. After we explored the temple, we returned to our hotel to enjoy it.
At 6:30 pm they had a special sabrage ceremony to celebrate the transition from day to evening. A bottle of champagne is opened with a saber from a staircase in the lobby. Then all present are treated to a glass of the champagne. This tradition dates to Napoleon who said, “Champagne in victory, one deserves it. Champagne in defeat, one needs it.”
We dined in the Yan Ting, the elegant Chinese restaurant in the hotel. I started with the soup of the day, which was a meal in itself, then had Prawns with mushrooms. Bob started with Marinated Jelly Fish Head, Black Fungus, Vinegar, then had a fish dish. The food was superb as was the service. This was a real treat to end our trip.
The next morning we started with coffee at 6 a.m. and then left for the airport for our 14 hour flight home.
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