Bay revisited, Chinatown, shops and a show.

The weather was a little kinder this morning, so we thought we'd have another attempt at Gardens by the Bay (the 15 minute trip on the Downtown Line was just a smidgen quicker than getting there by foot). Due to the lack of imminent rain, we paid for a stroll across the OCBC Skyway, which thrilled me no end.

Walkway suspended off over-zealous metal trees?
What a splendid idea.
*sigh*

We took the elevator up with a German couple, with the lady taking one look outside and then clamping on to the inner rail. I fared better, and was able to enjoy the view from above the Gardens.

Hamish demonstrated the same level of fondness for
heights as his father does.

Supertrees with the dome of the Cloud Forest
in the background.

Your time on the Skyway is limited (to avoid sending up too many people for the cables to cope with - I applaud their conservatism), with people gradually making their way to the other end.

Hamish is thrilled to make it to the down elevator.

We entered the lift to head down and were followed in by a couple, then a group of Chinese ladies - who then proceeded to beckon in a fairly large gathering of people. The elevator was not much larger than a cupboard, so the OVERLOAD light came on (not what you want to see) - prompting a few members of our can of sardines to depart. We made it safely down once again. 

We moved on from the Gardens, and entered the Flower Dome (slightly less intimidating than the Thunder Dome). We were hit with an environment several degrees cooler than outside and of substantially reduced humidity. Many people were just standing around grinning at each other. There were several of the world's regions represented, including arid and European sections (the tulips on display were ridiculous). Scattered throughout the Dome were a variety of sculptures formed from what appeared to be driftwood or tree roots.

Wooden horse, wooden go (yes, I went there).

Hayfever guy is wondering what on
earth he's doing here.

From the Flower Dome, we walked through to the Cloud Forest (located in a dome - try to keep up). There was an enormous waterfall, which misted all over selfie-takers and reluctant Team Martin photo subjects alike.

The kids were domed out, and we made our way to Chinatown (which had been but one MRT stop away from us all along). Chinatown was awesome - everything we were hoping Little India would be to be honest.

Walking through one the of the markets, our confused indifference was viewed as shrewd negotiation by a couple of sellers - who frantically reduced their initial prices for their wares. There was one gent who asked me in a fairly bantery way, "Hey man, do you want to buy some jewellery?!!". His tone cracked Hamish up. Lily made several purchases, and we walked away with some clearly genuine brands...

Durian Stall - a vague plastic/off-meat smell.

We farewelled Chinatown and made our way to Orchard Road once again. The kids were keen to try Popeye's, which marketed itself on its genuine Cajun spiced chicken and fish. I don't know about you, but when I'm after serious Cajun flavours, I head to a mall in Singapore. Lily and Hamish took this to another level and ordered a fried chicken and waffle burger. 

This burger bit back.

After wandering the multiple levels of the multiple shopping precincts along Orchard Road, we chilled back at the apartment for a while (Lily making the most of Fox Sports on the TV). For dinner, we made our way back to Lau Pa Sat - this time purchasing the Chilli Crab. To be honest, there was a lot of chilli and not so much crab (the sauce was very nice though).  

Saucy crustacean.

Fortunately, we also picked up a mound of satay skewers while the boys opted for bento boxes. Speaking of the peanuty-meat on a stick, we arrived at the satay stalls just before 7pm, and the busy city traffic was still careening past (inches away from the stalls).

As soon as the time clicked over to 7pm, dozens of vendors swarmed the street - armed with collapsible tables and plastic chairs. It was time for satay.

While we had only 20 minutes to spare, we thought we might risk a dash over to watch the Marina Bay Sands light show (a sound and light extravaganza!).

Due to the wonders of the MRT - we traversed a couple of stops along the line and up several floors of shopping centre with 5 minutes to spare before the commencement of the light show. It was fairly spectacular, and the (spoiler alert) water spray misted over the crowd - which noone was going to complain about.