Singapore, again!

I planned this trip to Singapore to fly the route one more time before United changes the equipment in October.  I liked the routing to Singapore via Hong Kong because the trans-Pacific flight segments are long enough to eat, watch a movie and sleep for awhile.  And then the ongoing segment is on nice equipment as well (updated 747).  Unfortunately, very soon, the segment from Hong Kong to Singapore will be covered by a two-class Continental metal 737-800.  So this was one last time on the big plane.

If I want to stay on bigger planes, I can fly the route via Tokyo, which covers the NRT-SIN segment with a 777.  But not many of those planes are updated yet, and the segment to Tokyo and return is only around 10 hours.

There were a couple of things I wanted to do in Singapore specifically.  Normally, I just hang out, shop and spend a little time in the Marina Bay Sands casino.  This time, the new ArtScience Museum at the Marina Bay Sands is open.  It was that lotus-flower looking building under contruction.  The scaffolding is all gone and you can see the structure clearly.  I even went inside and the exhibition I was most interested in seeing was in the upper sections (most of the exhibition space is below ground).



The Dali Exhibit seemed very appropriate for the space.



I also wanted to eat at a restaurant that I managed to find that serves molecular gastronomy/avant garde cuisine.  It's called 53 and it has been doing this for a few years.  Normally, I dont' eat out too much in Singapore because the Exective Lounge food at the Conrad is usually pretty good.  But I made an exception in this case.  Fifty-three is a small, simply decorated space with just a few tables (eight, I believe).  I took a lot of photos of the food (as I normally do) and of the room, but I did not use a flash because I don't like to disturb others.  However, it was pretty darkly lit and so most of the pictures aren't very good.  But these are probably the best lit three shots, one of the room and a couple of food shots.

It was a short trip, but a nice one for some warm weather.  I will have to decide later if I am willing to try out the new equipment next year.