Bucharest, Romania

After a long flight via Frankfurt, Germany we arrived in Bucharest, the capital of Romania, the afternoon after we left Victoria.  Bucharest is a sprawling mass of concrete apartment buildings,busy streets and a jumble of monumental buildings,some never finished.  The traffic is incredible and cars park where ever they can find an empty space even if that is on the sidewalk.  On our first day we walked down to the old town to stretch our legs and wander the pedestrian only streets lined with small shops, massage parlours and dozens of restaurants with pleasant outside seating.  We sat and enjoyed our first Romanian meal, heavy on the pork which was delicious and the polenta which is not a favourite while sipping some Romanian wine.

The next morning after nursing a sore mouth all night I decided it was necessary to seek ou a dentist.  In all our travels we have been very lucky not to need any medical attention and I was a little apprehensive about seeking care in a foreign country.  The concierge set up an appointment and off we went.  The outside of the building looked a little sketchy but once inside we were pleasantly surprised.  The office was very modern and welcoming.  The dentist himself was young and spoke very good English and very professionally dellt with my periodontal abscess.  I was in the chair for 30 minutes and the cost was 30 dollars!  It is almost worth travelling here for dental care.  He even escorted us out to the taxi that he himself called.  Could not have had better service.

We found a little restaurant near our hotel where we had perhaps the best octopus we have ever had which is saying a lot considering I have it wherever I can.  The meal was so good the once Steve and Tina arrive from France later that day we went back for dinner.

We visited the Palace of the Parliament which is also know as the house that Ceausescu built, though he never got to live there as he and Elena were executed in 1989 before it was completed.  To clear the area for its construction he displaced 57,000 inhabitants and destroyed one fifth of the old town, including 19 churches.  The building is a fantasy of marble and guild and is the second largest building in the world second to the Pentagon.  It has 1100 rooms and is riddled with secret passages and anti-atomic shelters.  There was some controversy as to what to do with the partially finished building after his death but after a few years it was decided to finish it and it is now the home of the Senate and the Parliament as well as the National Contemporary Art Museum.  We had a delicious lunch in a restaurant in old town in a restaurant that used to be a church.  The entrance the the washroom was through the confessional door.  That was certainly unique.

We visited the National Village Museum which is an outdoor museum that covers 25 acres in central Bucharest.  It is dotted with examples of Romanian rural architecture which provides a comprehensive picture of the style of building used in the traditional rural houses and churches throughout Romania.

The four of us had a magnificent dinner at a Michelin star restaurant called the Artistwhere the tasting menu was presented on spoons.  The presentation and flavours were spectacular and the four hour meal was a wonderful way to spend our last evening in Bucharest.

Restaurants line the busy pedestrian streets of old town

The interior of the orthodox churches are very ornate

Beautiful old buildings are mixed in with much newer architecture 

The theatre inside the palace

Magnificent marble staircases

Beautiful room where the senate holds meetings

The Parliament Palace

Pedestrian streets of old town

Restaurant inside an old church

Hub of old town

Oldest church in Bucharest 

Old wooden church at the outdoor museum 

Example of typical wooden house from the countryside 

Wooden houses with wonderful woven fence

Hand painted Romanian wooden traditional eggs

Tourists hanging out at the museum 

The start of a wonderful dinner

Appetizers 

Soup in a test tube 

Main course spoons

Chef making manic

Dessert spoons

Singapore, Gardens by the Bay

Situated in the Marina Bay Area on totally reclaimed land is one of Singapore’s most visited areas both by locals and tourists.  The Gardens by the Bay is 225 acres of gardens from around the world.  The center piece is the super tree grove where twelve super trees built of a concrete core and reinforced with steel and planting panels tower 25 to 50 meters into the air.  They are covered with over 160,000 plants and at night are the site of two nightly music and light shows which are quite stunning.  Along the waters edge are two vast biodomes. One is the flower dome and is home to displays from different areas of the world as well the main floor hosts special shows. While we were there it was a tulip show which was very colourful but not near as spectacular as Amsterdam.  The Cloud Forest Biospere was amazing.  Home to the highest indoor waterfall in the world the plant displays were spectacular and the cloud walkway led you up to the top of the building where the view down was incredible.  Throughout around every corner one was met with eye catching displays of plants and flowers. It was an orchid lovers heaven.  

There is a charge to visit the biospheres but the rest of the gardens are free for all.  I definitely feel credit needs to be given to the city planners for providing such an oasis for their citizens and visitors alike.

The succulent gardens were so colourful they almost made me want to experiment 

Whimsical figures added to the enjoyment in the spheres

Viewing the tulip show from above. Once we were amongst the flowers it became a bit of an annoyance at times as it seemed that every Asian wanted their picture taken with every flower

Unusual displays for sure. Her eyes even blinked which was a bit startling at first

Unusual gnarly tree inside the flower dome

Highest indoor waterfall

Beautiful carved dragons set amongst the greenery 

Even a few Venus fly traps made from Lego in a display at the top of the cloud dome

It was a very long way down

The variety of plants covering the center dome was incredible 

Peep holes through the rocks revealed garden treasures

Some crystals found in natural formation added to the beauty

Another secret peek

Man made waterways with fountains and whimsical sculptures have walkways all around them so one can spend hours just wandering 

Where a tree has not grown just make one.  These were just two of the interesting ones dotted around

A view of the super grove of trees

I took this photo from the top of the Marina Sands Hotel. The center tree has a restaurant on top

Also from up top this shows the sheer size of these wonderful gardens

Trees lit at night

As well as the lights one can see how the planting’s are progressing up the trees

The lights at night were spectacular with the Singapore wheel in the background 

A great way to finish the evening in the garden before heading off to dinner and an evening martini

Singapore

Our visit to Singapore was both entertaining and enlightening.  Singapore is unusual as it is both a city and a country.  Under tight rule of what one could cal a Socialist Democratic government the reigning party which has been in power for many decades has tight control.  Eighty two percent of Singaporians own apartments in government housing.  These housing projects are huge high rises and citizens must be couples in order to buy a unit.  The units in all the projects are essentially the same ranging from two to five rooms and one purchases a shell and finishes the inside yourself.  The purchase is a 99 year lease and one can sell after five years but can only purchase once from the government and all other real estate is extremely expensive.  The units are sold before the buildings are built and to keep racial peace it is dictated that a precise percentage must be sold to Malay, Chinese and a small number to remaining nationalities.  Interesting approach.  An interesting fact we learn is that medical tourism is huge in Singapore and 60% of the surgeries performed here are done on tourists!

Singapore is definitely a city of contrasts with hundreds of high rises sharing space with with old colonial buildings that have been well preserved and turned into museums and grand hotels.  Even the old buildings in China town have been well preserved and this is a vibrant area to visit.  Singapore is the first city we have visited where we have not hesitated to eat any of the street food as every stall is very regulated and inspected regularly.  We did not see a single street person or begger anywhere.  There are wonderful walkways along the river and the ocean,many with covered walkways to protect one from the hot sun and the pelting rain that seems to occur daily. Though Singapore is densely populated they have done a magnificent job of providing plenty of green space throughout and have planting’s everywhere including on many of the buildings and on most of the walkways.  One never feels like you are in a concrete jungle.  Shopping is obviously a favourite pastime and the malls and stores are plentiful and over the top. The architecture of the buildings is fascinating with some giving the illusion that they are bent. Very interesting when one realizes that 30% of Singapore is land they have reclaimed from the sea, with more yet to be claimed.

The Marina Bay area of Singapore,built entirely on reclaimed land created a large fresh water reservoir needed by the city, and is a wonderful place to spend many hours .  Using walkways and bridges one can walk around the 3.5 kilometre promenade which houses shopping malls, a stadium built on the water, the unusual Marina Bay Sands Resort and the Merlion statue which symbolizes the union of the lion city and the sea.

Definitely the cleanest city we have ever seen and one well worth visiting.

Beautiful flowers adorn the walkways

Playful elephants welcome visitors into the Indian portion of Singapore 

The architecture was stunning with many buildings having the illusion of being bent



One of the many public housing buildings.  The fabric flying outside the units is actually laundry as every unit has special poles for this purpose to keep down energy consumption 

The greenery on some buildings was quite astounding and lush. Of course the plentiful rainfall most days makes for easy watering.

Historic old buildings along the river have been beautifully restored with no changes allowed to the outside and now are a busy area of cafes and nightclubs.

An old bridge from 1868 leads to the historic Fullerton Hotel

The round building is the courthouse and was apparently designed in this manner so no one would ever feel cornered by the judges or lawyers.

An interesting view of a river bridge

A river boat touring the unusual looking theatres on the bay

The Marina Sands Hotel. The views from the top deck of the 56th floor were absolutely panoramic.  There is also an infinity swimming pool up there which I think many may find a bit difficult to take

The food court in China town

China town was so bright and clean

Singapore food carts

All the old buildings are so well restored and maintained they almost look new

The harbour outside the city had literally dozens of frieghtors waiting to either load or unload

The malls were definitely fancier than what we are accustomed to at home

The helix bridge was inspired by the structure of DNA and leads to the science museum as well as the Gardens by the Bay

A view of the walkway along the waterfront with newer buildings dwarfing those in front

The merlion is the symbol of Singapore representing the union of the city of the lion and the sea



The river winds through parts of the city with low rise older buildings along its shores and more and more high rises the further away you get

The lotus flower shaped building is a museum.  I wonder how many balls are lost to the water in the unusual stadium built over the water

The financial district of Singapore