China Town Tour

Hi all,

This evening we went on a tour of Chinatown, which started off with a yum cha styled dinner. After dinner we shopped around the night markets for a bit, and came across many interesting souvenirs. The locals were very welcoming and were keen to sell us their intricate purses and paper cuttings.

The tour then continued with a Trishaw Tour, where we sat in pairs in a carriage-like cart accompanied by our own cyclist-chauffeur. The trishaw ride took us through the Night Markets and Chinatown to Clarke Quay. The ride was extremely entertaining, with locals stopping by to give us a wave and cars speeding past us on the main roads. The cyclists did their best entertaining us also; with loud blasting music, amusing stories of past trishaw ride experiences, and Joie & mine had an interesting rubber chicken he kept squeaking (as a substitute for a horn we think!). It was such a unique and incredible experience of Chinatown, as we rode on the busy streets of Singapore. Who would've thought it was legal to ride them on the main roads!

After the trishaw ride we then said our good byes to our hilarious cyclist-chauffeurs and embarked on a Singapore River cruise on a bumboat - which is a modern version of the old cargo vessels that once plied the river. The river cruise took us along the waters that surrounded the illuminated skyscrapers, hotels and restaurants of Singapore's city. The iconic Merlion statue and the three towers of the Marina Bay Sands were stand outs of the cruise. The Merlion statue is a statue that is half fish, half lion. The body of a fish symbolises Singapore's humble beginnings as a fishing village when it was called Temasek, which has a meaning of 'sea town' in Old Javanese. The head of a statue represents Singapore's original name, which was Singapura and means 'lion city' in Malay. The river cruise was a beautiful way to end the night, allowing us to see a different perspective of the city of Singapore, and giving us the opportunity to take in the mesmerising nighttime lights, whilst also wind down from yet another busy day. We are looking forward to the thimun conference tomorrow, and will keep you updated on our other adventures and experiences!