On our first full day in Singapore, we woke up around 7 am and went down to have breakfast. Like the lavish breakfast spreads of our Malaysian hotels, the buffet at InterContinental Singapore offers a wide range of options too. Perhaps the fact that the Malay peninsula, home to both Malaysia and Singapore is dominated by three main groups of people (the Malays, the Chinese and the Indians) means that to cater to them, the range of options in a buffet has to be extensive. Whatever the reason, we are not complaining! We had omelettes, cereal, a variation of Indian potato cutlets called bonda, yogurt and fruits.
Then we came back to our room and relaxed while Sereen took a nap. We left the hotel around 1 pm and took a taxi to the Malay Heritage Center. It's a cultural center with a museum that celebrates Malay history, culture and arts. There were galleries that outlined the growth of Singapore and the contribution of the Malay people towards that growth. Singapore is an island south of the Malay peninsula. It's strategic location meant that it became a trading hub quite early on in the 14th century and connected traders from Arabia, India, China and Europe. When Singapore reemerged as a major port in the 19th and 20th centuries, that brought in an influx of migrants from the nearby islands that today form the countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, southern Thailand, Cambodia, Brunei and the Philippines. The shared religious and cultural values led to close interactions between these migrants and eventually they came to be collectively known as the "Malays".
We also saw a royal family tree that showed conversion of Parameswara from Hinduism to Islam with his new name Iskandar Shah and the journey from Singapura to Melaka kingdom to the Johor-Riau kingdom. We also learnt about a family spat between two brothers that was exploited by the colonial powers that eventually resulted in Singapore forming its own identity, separate from Malaysia. The contribution of the Malay people in the city of Singapore towards commerce, film, literature, politics and education is very well documented in this cultural heritage center that's located in a building that used to be a palace of the Sultan.
After that we walked to the adjacent Sultan Mosque which is Singapore's largest mosque that was founded in 1824 and can accommodate up to 5000 people for prayers. It incorporates architectural elements from different parts of the world with golden colored onion domes, balustrades, arches and minarets. We took turns to check out the interior since Sereen's stroller couldn't go inside. We then walked on the nearby Arab Street which has clothing and handicrafts stores. For lunch, we stopped at a highly rated restaurant called Zam Zam that was founded in 1908. It's a hole in the wall place but the food is great. We tried their specialty Martabak which is essentially a paratha with a filling of omelette and the meat of your choice. We chose mutton. We also had noodles with beef and boneless chicken bites. Samia tried a local variant of the fizzy drink Fanta. After lunch, we walked back to the Malay Heritage Center to quickly check out their temporary exhibitions.
Then we took a taxi to Gardens by the Bay. Covering a vast areas alongside the waterfront, this horticultural attraction features thousands of rare plants in landscapes gardens. We first explored the Flower Dome which has flowers and plants from all over the world. Sereen loved all the brightly colored flowers. In the center of the Flower Dome, there was a special display for Chinese New Year. Then we went to the Cloud Dome which has the world's largest man made waterfall. We spent almost two hours exploring these two domes. Then at 7:45 pm, we saw the dazzling light and sound show in the Supertree Grove which are 16-story high vertical gardens that collect rainwater, generate solar power, act as venting ducts for the conservatories and look like giant trees. Suspended between two supertrees is a walkway. In the sound and light show, different songs from various Asian cultures were played and the lights changed colors based on the music. The famous Indian song Chayyan Chayyan was also part of the show.
After the show, we walked to Satay by the Bay that's a collection of street food stalls in the premises of the gardens. It was a refreshing ten minute walk along the waterfront. We had chicken satay skewers with customary mouth watering peanut sauce, Turkish Kababs and Malaysian fried rice (Nasi Goreng). We also tried the chendol dessert that has coconut milk, ice shavings, red beans, rice flour jelly with pandaan leaves juice and Palm sugar. It had an interesting taste but the concept of beans in a dessert was quite funny. Then we walked back along the water to the entrance and took a taxi back to our hotel. We reached back around 11 pm and went to bed. It was going to be Samia's birthday in a few hours and I had planned to stay up till midnight to wish her but fell asleep. However with our new parenthood sleep routine, I was able to wish her at 4 am. Till the next update, take care!
Then we came back to our room and relaxed while Sereen took a nap. We left the hotel around 1 pm and took a taxi to the Malay Heritage Center. It's a cultural center with a museum that celebrates Malay history, culture and arts. There were galleries that outlined the growth of Singapore and the contribution of the Malay people towards that growth. Singapore is an island south of the Malay peninsula. It's strategic location meant that it became a trading hub quite early on in the 14th century and connected traders from Arabia, India, China and Europe. When Singapore reemerged as a major port in the 19th and 20th centuries, that brought in an influx of migrants from the nearby islands that today form the countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, southern Thailand, Cambodia, Brunei and the Philippines. The shared religious and cultural values led to close interactions between these migrants and eventually they came to be collectively known as the "Malays".
We also saw a royal family tree that showed conversion of Parameswara from Hinduism to Islam with his new name Iskandar Shah and the journey from Singapura to Melaka kingdom to the Johor-Riau kingdom. We also learnt about a family spat between two brothers that was exploited by the colonial powers that eventually resulted in Singapore forming its own identity, separate from Malaysia. The contribution of the Malay people in the city of Singapore towards commerce, film, literature, politics and education is very well documented in this cultural heritage center that's located in a building that used to be a palace of the Sultan.
After that we walked to the adjacent Sultan Mosque which is Singapore's largest mosque that was founded in 1824 and can accommodate up to 5000 people for prayers. It incorporates architectural elements from different parts of the world with golden colored onion domes, balustrades, arches and minarets. We took turns to check out the interior since Sereen's stroller couldn't go inside. We then walked on the nearby Arab Street which has clothing and handicrafts stores. For lunch, we stopped at a highly rated restaurant called Zam Zam that was founded in 1908. It's a hole in the wall place but the food is great. We tried their specialty Martabak which is essentially a paratha with a filling of omelette and the meat of your choice. We chose mutton. We also had noodles with beef and boneless chicken bites. Samia tried a local variant of the fizzy drink Fanta. After lunch, we walked back to the Malay Heritage Center to quickly check out their temporary exhibitions.
Then we took a taxi to Gardens by the Bay. Covering a vast areas alongside the waterfront, this horticultural attraction features thousands of rare plants in landscapes gardens. We first explored the Flower Dome which has flowers and plants from all over the world. Sereen loved all the brightly colored flowers. In the center of the Flower Dome, there was a special display for Chinese New Year. Then we went to the Cloud Dome which has the world's largest man made waterfall. We spent almost two hours exploring these two domes. Then at 7:45 pm, we saw the dazzling light and sound show in the Supertree Grove which are 16-story high vertical gardens that collect rainwater, generate solar power, act as venting ducts for the conservatories and look like giant trees. Suspended between two supertrees is a walkway. In the sound and light show, different songs from various Asian cultures were played and the lights changed colors based on the music. The famous Indian song Chayyan Chayyan was also part of the show.
After the show, we walked to Satay by the Bay that's a collection of street food stalls in the premises of the gardens. It was a refreshing ten minute walk along the waterfront. We had chicken satay skewers with customary mouth watering peanut sauce, Turkish Kababs and Malaysian fried rice (Nasi Goreng). We also tried the chendol dessert that has coconut milk, ice shavings, red beans, rice flour jelly with pandaan leaves juice and Palm sugar. It had an interesting taste but the concept of beans in a dessert was quite funny. Then we walked back along the water to the entrance and took a taxi back to our hotel. We reached back around 11 pm and went to bed. It was going to be Samia's birthday in a few hours and I had planned to stay up till midnight to wish her but fell asleep. However with our new parenthood sleep routine, I was able to wish her at 4 am. Till the next update, take care!
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