Arriving at Singapore.
The cruise terminal is very modern.
You can see the unique, three-tower structure of the Marina Bay Sands and the Singapore Flyer observation wheel.
And also the Supertree Grove and dome buildings at the Gardens by the Bay.
Donut station at the buffet.
Scattered rain in the distance.
We left a tip of bills of the various countries we visited.
We made it the entire cruise without doing laundry and are clothes are all still mostly fresh.
We were planning on storing our luggage here, then coming back and picking it up before heading to the airport.
But they closed in the early afternoon, and we didn't want to have to rush if we wanted to spend more time somewhere, so we paid to have them take our luggage to the airport instead, which wasn't too much more expensive than just storing it, although with the slightly increased risk of them losing it.
We took a taxi to Chinatown and passed many tall buildings.
Sri Mariamman Hindu Temple.
All of these apartments have racks to hang laundry to dry.
Chinatown Visitor Center.
And Complex.
Chinatown Street Market alley.
Most of the shops were still closed before 9am.
A sticker on the ground telling you where to stand for a picture.
Back of the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum.
And the front.
Left guardian.
And right.
Shawls and sarongs if you're not dressed modestly.
Ogii placing an incense stick.
Items to purchase.
The main hall.
To the side.
One hundred Buddhas in the walls.
Each zodiac sign has a different personal guardian diety.
Ogii with hers.
Ogii donating money in a back room.
Large bell.
There are multiple halls on each story.
Along with a museum.
With many artifacts.
Feet.
Other statues.
There was also a story of Buddha on these plates, although the first few were elsewhere.
Another statue.
And another.
More story boards.
The last one.
Smaller Buddha statues.
Hallways...
... with a history of Chinatown in Singapore.
Acalanatha is the wrathful manifestation of Vairocana Buddha and leads the Five Wisdom Kings in Esoteric Buddhism.
Ucchusma Vajrapala is another one of the Wisdom Kings, associated with fire.
Most of the Buddha statues are very thick and heavy; I like this thin and light one.
The temple gets its name for housing what the Buddhists regard as the left canine tooth of Buddha which was recovered from his funeral pyre, but no pictures are allowed here.
Another hall.
Famous visitors.
I didn't recognize most of them, but I do know Modi.
The main hall from the second floor.
A hallway with famous monks.
Many different types of Buddhism came to Singapore over the years.
A mural of a Samsui Lady with a cigarette by Sean Dunston.
We had planned to eat lunch at the Maxwell Food Centre, but we're too far ahead of schedule; it's only 10am and we're not hungry yet.
There are many rows of vendor stalls.
Some were open.
Although many were not.
This one had a little more space for more tables.
Samsui women sculpture.
This map tells you what's within a 5-minute walk.
A history of Singapore.
Pinnacle@Duxton is a huge residential development of seven white towers connected by skybridges.
The Oasis Hotel is very open and green.
Other cool skyscrapers.
I like the openings on this one.
Some workers.
Someone cleaning a fountain.
Tall Christmas tree.
We took the subway.
To the Bugis Street shopping area.
Which has tons of vendors.
Clothes.
Shoes.
Food hall.
Purses.
$2 clothing.
This shirt has a built-in fanny pack.
$5 and $2 items.
ABC Stores are also a chain here, although these are general retail stores, not the Hawaiian convenience stores.
Outdoor vendors.
Fun slippers.
Fruit.
Next we went to the Marina Bay Sands complex, which has a hotel, casino, mall, and expo hall.
The expo center feels very similar to the one in Las Vegas, although that is no longer called the Sands; now it's the Venetian Convention & Expo Center.
Like the Venetian, it also has a little waterway with gondolas.
One difference is that the subway in Singapore connects directly to the Sands, whereas the monorail doesn't stop right at the Venetian in Las Vegas; it's about a 10-minute walk to the closest station.
Multiple stories.
A restaurant in the middle of the water.
We went to the convention center area to see if we could charge our phones.
But the outlets in Singapore are different. I guess we'll have to use our portable chargers instead.
There is an outdoor patio along the convention center with a large Christmas area below.
With our cruise ship in the background.
And a nice view of skyscrapers.
Rooftop garden.
Where you can see the triple-tower hotel.
With the SkyPark on top.
There is also a casino, although we didn't go in.
And a huge shopping mall.
Christmas tree.
I like the big origami animals.
A screen in the back of this store was showing ads with Mads Mikkelsen.
Above an expensive restaurant.
I told Ogii there has to be a food court with cheaper food, and according to the sign, there is.
Many restaurants there.
Hanging meat.
Our lunch.
The place was packed, so it was hard to find an open seat. If you did, you put a little tissue paper packet down to reserve your spot, then you went and ordered food.
Walking back through the mall.
To an open area by the Arts Science Museum.
Which has a flower-shaped design.
The spiky buildings across the water are the Esplanade Theatres on the Bay.
You take the Helix Bridge to get to them.
The bridge has little sections that stick out for a view.
It was raining a bit, so this family had their umbrellas up until they hid them quickly for the picture.
Singapore Flyer observation wheel.
Panoramic.
The Helix Bridge is based on DNA.
And has lights in the floor with the nucleotides abbreviations.
Which light up at night.
Pictures by kids.
A sculpture of a mountain.
By an 11-year-old? Ah, the sculpture was adapted by a drawing done by the kid; that makes more sense.
A basketball player hidden in the plants.
More cool buildings.
Next, we took a bus to the airport. Many buses stop here, so we had to wait for the correct one.
This woman wants to take the bus, but she has to cross the street, and there are no crosswalks nearby.
So she ran across when there was no traffic.
The bus driver waited for her.
The bus was cheap.
There weren't any open seats, but it wasn't too long of a ride.
Another neat skyscraper.
Dining options in this area of the airport.
As well as shops.
The Changi airport is massive; there's even a water park.
Cute display.
A huge area of wall covered by plants.
Huge Hello Kitty statue.
From above.
There is nobody at the information desk; the workers are all remote.
There are four airport terminals and the Jewel, which is a huge entertainment and retail complex which has the HSBC Rain Vortex waterfall.
Which courses down multiple floors.
A glass-floored walkway above.
A bouncing net canopy.
A tram.
Although I'd prefer to get around the mall on one of these dinosaur scooters.
Cooking lessons.
Hedge maze. We didn't do any of these because you have to pay for them, though.
Looking down multiple levels.
And at the waterfall.
Bright logo.
One of the world's Top Ten Best Restaurants in a 1993 feature of The New York Times.
Walkway back to the airport terminals.
The Crowne Plaza hotel.
The walkway, tower, and Jewel terminal.
A kids area.
With a wall covered in reversible sequins to make pictures.
And windows.
Into a ball pit.
Terminal 2.
A streetcar-themed restaurant.
Waterfall movie.
Stores from above.
Our luggage was waiting for us here.
The semi-hidden staff canteen located outside of Terminal 1 is open to the public and has cheaper food than the restaurants in the terminals, although it's a bit of a walk.
Especially compared to Swensen's buffet, which is $35 per person.
Although their desserts look amazing.
Plenty of seafood, too.
But we wanted something more in the price range of McDonald's.
Our standard order.
We found some seats with chargers, too.
After walking all around the terminals, I was quite warm. Good thing I was wearing my pants I can zipper into shorts.
We can drop off our bags at United now.
I think that guy has the same pants I do.
They look very similar.
Each terminal had a few different unique areas. Terminal 2 had the most, including the Enchanted Garden.
Which had fish inside.
And a sunflower garden.
Although it was outside, and I stepped in a big puddle, so my right shoe and sock got soaked.
Lacoste alligator.
Which is more obvious from the side.
Childrens' play area.
Orchid Garden.
With glass flowers.
And a koi pond.
Nice lights.
Guys watching soccer.
Our gate, although we couldn't go in yet, so we had to sit outside.
Until it got moved.
Plenty of chargers in the chairs.
We mostly slept on the flight, although we did eat once.
Almost there.
The Golden Gate and Bay Bridges.
Downtown San Francisco.
Global Entry is so great. You just get your face scanned at the kiosk...
... and only wait behind a few people, instead of the huge line for standard customs.
This person put different colors of tape on their luggage to find it easier.
Some people put their name and address in huge letters on theirs, too.
The Relaxation Room has a micro-hotel called Freshen Up with rooms with beds and showers. We thought about sleeping there for a few hours, but it's quite expensive. And we had left the international terminal, so we decided to just stay up all night instead. Which was easy, because we slept on the entire flight between Singapore and San Francisco.
To get into the next terminal, we had to go through security again. Occasionally the TSA Precheck wait time is longer than general, but it's still worth not having to take off your shoes and everything.
Pictures by different photographers.
I've seen many of this guy's pictures online; he takes some really great drone shots of the area.
Ogii is skinny enough to fit under the armrests to nap.
It was 10:30pm, so all of the restaurants were closed. A few convenience stores were still open, though.
Including one with the pick-and-choose candy.
One plane leaving around midnight.