A very full Friday

We continue to cram as much as possible into our day and walk the short distance to the Red Dot Design Museum at Marina Bay.  The small museum showcases some of the world's best designs for objects ranging from telephones to active wear to robots. 

Marina Bay

My favourite work has to be "Life Stripe" by the artist duo SPREAD. The artists use coloured strips to map out 24 hours in a subject's life. The display shows the life stripes for animals and people from various professions (bankers, students, trainees). I think I found one that comes close to Ross' ideal existence... the dark orange stripes are meals, the light orange stripes are activities, and the blue stripes are sleep... I couldn't find one that was all blue!  

Could Ross secretly be a cat?

We leave the museum and walk into The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands - the very posh shopping centre next door. By now we are both tired and hungry as breakfast was a few hours ago. We don't want to spoil our appetites for high tea later though, so we decide to buy some snacks from a convenience store. Gluten-free isn't well-catered for here and so I end up purchasing some Australian rice crackers that I see in Coles all the time, but right now are very welcome indeed. We sit down outside for long enough to inhale some crackers and walnuts, and then decide we may as well just walk the rest of the way back to the hotel.  

A little oasis of calm at Marina Bay

Thankfully we're rewarded with magnificent views across the bay

It's wonderful being back in our room and having a few hours to rest before we head to the next thing. I spot a 'hidden' window that has been concealed behind a blind. The blind is exactly the same colour as the wall and flush with the wall surface so it is something of a revelation to see the astounding view over to Gardens by the Bay and the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. Happily the plumbers have repaired the bathroom sink and so we don't need to move away from our corner room. I am glad because the view is intoxicating.

The view from the hidden window

And another of Suntec City

At 5pm, suitably rested and freshened up, we make our way downstairs to the lobby to partake in High Tea at the Lobby Lounge. This is another of the 'extras' in our accommodation package and it is all very nice. A pianist lightly improvises popular tunes in the lobby as we sit on plush seats under the golden arch of the ceiling. We're informed that we are the first guests to try the hotel's Sakura High Tea as it is the 1st of March and the new monthly menu has only just commenced.

Sakura cherry blossoms by our table   

Waiting ...

When it arrives, the asymmetrical serving stand is a sight to behold. The lowest tier has beautiful savouries (sadly not enough) and the remaining tiers hold exquisite hand-made  sweet perfections that delicately float towards the apex. Keeping with the cherry blossom theme, the little mouse cakes, sponges, and scones are all lovely shades of pink. It is all wonderful but we struggle to get through the sweets, not least because both of us prefer savoury flavours, and (as we discover later), we're really really not used to eating sugar. But we have to give it a go so we at least sample everything and leave the table feeling very full indeed.

Sakura high tea

Fortunately this evening we have the opportunity to walk off some of the consequent sugar buzz. Hopping back on the MRT, we make our way to Bayside station and join throngs of people inching towards the Supertree Grove at Gardens by the Bay. It is our second visit here for the nighttime light show, but we immediately notice that compared to a few years ago, there are lots more people and it is standing room only. Perhaps it is because it is a Friday night. In any case, the 15 minute light and music show is just as dazzling and we enjoy it immensely. Funnily enough our last visit in 2016 also followed an indulgent high tea. Seems we are making something of a habit of going from tea to supertree...

The Supertree Grove reveals itself

The show begins - views of the enchanted forest

When the show ends we take a small detour through the gardens and happen across the slightly bizarre but captivating sight of a floating baby, suspended in front of the city lights.

An unusual view of the city at night

Comfortably back in our room by 9pm, we should be tired. Ordinarily at this time we'd be stifling yawns and struggling to keep our eyes open. Even more so after a very full and exhausting day walking around for hours. But we're both absolutely wired. The sugar from the afternoon's cakes has delivered a massive jolt and we end up watching Die Hard - the 1988 classic that until now I'd never watched all the way through. 

Lights out at 11pm, and then begins a very uncomfortable night.